3/20
I gathered more boxes over break and my living room is filling up. Our cat is thrilled to have a new playground! 😹 I also sorted things from my studio and added them to this pile of things I foresee using for the installation. Due to space I think on install day I’ll concentrate on arranging the boxes and tables from the studio and then over the following few weeks, add more art supplies to fill up said boxes
3/7
Can I use any of these wooden desks hat are in the sculpture room if I see that it would be useful? Thanks either way.
3/6
I have been collecting wooden boxes and crates from friends for this install. As well as creating a big pile in our living room of things I want to take and exhibit. In the exhibit, I will also display a portfolio of my artwork to show off some of the ways I've used these random things.
I have a running list of items I'll bring for the "shelves" used for display, and some of them are: suitcases, ironing board, a vintage ice chest, world globes, a rolling cart, a wooden ladder in my yard (if the ground thaws!). I haven't yet started measuring and laying out where things will go as I don't have all the items yet.
I might also do something like this if I need to fill more wall space and create height
2/23
I am 100% down with the ode to artist Joseph Cornell and author Nick Bantock studio recreation concept you posed! This is a fun idea, thank you for the encouragement (as per usual!) What sort of shelving might there be around the art dept that I could use? Some of mine are heavy and awkward to move.
Are there exact measurements of the “other” gallery space anywhere? Thanks
And, as of late 2/22 I decided the beaver will be for my site specific install. I am thinking of making a small, cast iron beaver tail for/during iron tribe.
This evening I spent time in my studio pondering what and how to transport things. I came up with the idea of using some of my empty wooden boxes to use for transport and display. I foresee these boxes as being part of the exhibit, holding objects in them to highlight collections. It will be interesting to see what makes the cut for the show, as well as if any of these things don’t come home with me.
I decided that when I have an emptier studio, that I’ll finish making and at least begin glazing tiles for our kitchen. Since it’s winter and I need a large space to lay out my tiles to spray the glaze, this might be a great time to do that instead of waiting for summer.
Hi Jodie, so where are you with this? Which one- the beaver dam or the globes? One thing I want you to think of.. here is a chance to really push all of this great stuff you have been hoarding. What is you used this chance to showcase all of the many treasure you have in one space. Its conveniently located, no shipping, and it could get out of your studio things you have been saving forever? Think Joseph Cornell, cabinet of curiosities, Louise Nevelson but in the round?
Recreate your studio in the space so to speak?
2/19
I’m currently thinking about making a cast iron beaver tail…
2/18
More inspiration I saw today
2/7 There is no planet B.
These ideas are just that. Ideas. I look forward to feedback and what you the reader of this blog sees.
Originally I thought I'd date the globes and create some sort of "ode to" an endangered species in each one, ideally corresponding to the age of the globe. I like this concept, but it's not possible to complete this for the assignment at hand, so I have set it aside, but not abandoned it in my mind, as most of the globes I would use for the installation in the west gallery wouldn't really be damaged and could be transformed at a later date. A big reason for my passion for endangered species is that my dad was a biologist at UW, and when I was in grade school, he was on the original team of scientists who worked to save the Black Footed Ferret from extinction. Pretty f-ing cool.
That being said, I am leaning more toward water as an overall theme for this installation.
Endangered rivers. Clean water. Plastic pollution. Endangered species around the west/the world.
I have five, (yes 5) more world globes. Well, actually 8 more, but that come later. These 4 of these 5 globes are roughly the same as the one I am using for Small Wonder. The 5th, is just a bit smaller and it is no longer whole, it was broken/torn in half when it came to me.
In keeping with the dam theme, I did a bunch of research on dam locations as well as the very few, completely free flowing rivers left in the world and ones that have been taken down/decommissioned. I might use map pins to pin point these areas on individual globes, the pin color separate for each topic, with a "key" on the gallery wall corresponding the color of the pin with more info about the topic at hand.
1. The biggest dams in the world 2. Free flowing rivers 3. Dam deconstructed/decommissioned 4. Ode to the beaver 5. ???
4 species impacted by dams: Sturgeon, Egrets (yes birds!), Irrawaddy Dolphins, and People.
https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/4-species-impacted-by-dams
Ideas for the globes:
I like the idea of the globes I have hanging from the ceiling. Something I'll have to create since there is no ceiling in the west gallery space. While these are actual lamps, this is an idea about a way to hang them.
My stash of globes, including one that's broken in half and inside out that is in the bottom R of this image
The 3, wee tiny globes, well maybe they art part of this, but I don't have any super specific ideas for them... but, the more the merrier?
The Beaver Dam
I plan to piggy back on the Small Wonder dam theme. I plan to make one of them into an ode to beavers and their habitat and speak to their benefit to the land by creating wetlands for all sorts of wildlife, not just themselves or a singular purpose. I might use the one that's already busted, but that isn't set in stone.
A beaver skull woven among willow branches. Life and death are one. The globe might initially seen as closed, with maybe a peep hole and/or a hinge that opens the globe, showing off the piece. When it is open, the viewer could see more details of the dam. We as Laramie residents have beavers living in our community. You can see them regularly on the green belt. With this piece I feel like it could become an etherial other worldly experience when viewed and that very much appeals to me, vs. the darker and heavier concept of the damn dam. Yet, they are both connected. Both are dam related. Both a part of our lives as humans on this planet.
Interesting facts I clipped from the web about beavers from this site:
https://www.britannica.com/animal/beaver
Massive chisel-shaped incisor teeth have orange outer enamel because iron has replaced calcium, and this makes them stronger.
Beavers often construct a dam a short distance downstream from the lodge to deter predators. The dam impedes the flow of the stream and increases the depth of the water that surrounds the lodge. Dams also create additional wetland habitat for fish and waterfowl and contain or impede the downstream movement of oil spilled into rivers.
I have a book on hold called "Eager" by Ben Goldfarb. The title alone makes me want to read it! I also have a friend who volunteers for https://www.beaverinstitute.org/library/ - an amazing resource for all things beaver. I really want to make this sculpture engaging and magical. I see this piece as well as the dam piece for Small Wonder both being part of the overall installation.
I am still super keen on the artwork styles of:
Gregory Euclid - his swirls get me every time
Ellen Jewett has an amazing way with movement. Something I strive for with the beaver idea.
I will add in the beautiful work of Aurora Robson to this one. Maybe the idea of large pieces of plastic, cut into beautiful shapes to mimic being in and/or under water.
As well as the photography of Jodie Atherton (haha). I don't really fancy myself a photographer, but I have had a camera every day since my 12th birthday. When I am in and around water, I love capturing images of the light on water. I have hundreds of these images taken on river trips, in the hot springs and in hot tubs. The play of light and water stops me in my tracks. Here are just a few. I have always thought it would be cool to see these images really large and have thought about projecting them onto the walls in the gallery for this installation as well.
Jodie,
ReplyDeleteThe way that you collect curious little objects and bits of information is always so fun. Your studio must be a fun visit. The environmental advocacy and thinking is a rich part of your work, and it's good to hear those roots run deep. If you have a camera, you're a photographer. Your photos are great - I think that they lean in a direction just abstract enough that they may do well projected into the gallery space. Sound could be an interesting element to bring into this work.