I am 22 going on 5

Today I got really excited to go to an art opening. I did the thing where it's like do I go right when it opens? Do I go in the middle, or towards the end? What's the best time for the best scene?

From work I went home and got ready and calmed my nerves by sitting at the dog park till I felt time was appropriate to head over. I have always worked this place up in my mind for gallery openings, because the artists are of major interest!

Here is the online version of what I saw in person.

http://cgrimaldisgallery.com/static/current.html

Upon my arrival I saw that my timing was good. I looked around at the work and was shocked by the quality. The photos that I saw online prior weren't doing them justice. The actual size of the work and the quantity was comfortably tasteful. Mid browse of the gallery I noticed that the other artists at the opening were all above 35 (and 35 was maybe two couples, and then the rest near 50) making me feel like a five year old viewing such an unfathomable thought like black holes and ant hills. This made my comfortable feeling quickly turn to an overwhelmingly unease feeling. Thinking how am I to goto art openings and network if I am a minnow in an ocean. Or more simply how am I to net work if I don't grow a back bone and make myself present (of course this didn't come to thought till I was homeward bound).

I finished perusing the works and even went back and did a double take to a few. I even flipped threw a few books that were published that had his work plastered within. All this just to stall my departure (ok, not just! I also did it to educate myself with nicely crafted work. Also to see if any other people would come into the gallery). Then I ran. Ran out of the emerging artist gallery and went straight home.

My experience with this opening was not what I had hoped. I didn't get what I wanted out of it, but got a surprise and ended up learning something that I wouldn't have guessed to learn. which is that I cannot begin to call myself an emerging artist if I don't grow a back bone. Going to the opens wont cut it, applying to galleries wont cut it. You have to present yourself, and know how to do it well! This is just another thing I am tacking onto my summer in order to learn more and develop myself to become that better person/artist.

But Ps. i thought of Chrissy Day and how she should show with him! Look into his work Chrissy

The Sketchbook Project

While doing research for places to place my work I randomly ran accross this traveling show case of sketchbooks.
The idea is really awesome! You send them a shout saying you want to be apart of it and then they send you a sketchbook in the mail. You then fill it up with what ever you may please and send it back to them. The only requirorment is that whe the book is closed it stays the same size you got, and it must be returned with a change to the book (meaning it can't go back to them the same way it got to you).

The show travels around the country with all the other sketchbooks and you can view it via barcoade. One apparently can choose to sell their book if they please.
This really is exciting!
I may just do it as a summer project?
To find more information or to be apart of this you can visit their web by clicking the link below.
http://arthousecoop.com/projects/sketchbookproject

The Scavenger Hunt

Today was like a scavenger hunt. Searching for a book lead to finding a wonderful artist that lead to a kick ass gallery.
I think I should share all!

The book was recommended by Amazon when I order thinking through craft, so I checked it out. The book is called "By Hand: The Use of Craft in Contemporary Art" by authors Shu Hung and Joseph Magliaro. The book may be interesting. I mean it shows some awesome artists, some that I knew prior and some new ones which lead me to artist Kristen Hassenfeld.

Her work is fantastic! Room filled installations with paper made sculptures. The work is decoration that is being decorated. Almost like a decorative decay of beauty. She has shown in multiple galleries both in solo and group exhibitions. While I was searching her past path of showings I found Rice Gallery in Houston, Texas. They show other amazing artists that fill the space with wonderment.

Check em out
By Hand: The Use of Craft in Contemporary Art http://www.amazon.com/dp/1568989423/ref=pe_606_15377320_pe_ar_t6
Kristen Hassenfeld http://www.kirstenhassenfeld.com/installations/installation.html
Rice Gallery http://ricegallery.org/new/exhibition/

the comfortable and the familiar

I get stuck in what I know is comfortable to me. I feel its perfections and I dismiss the flaws, but when the familiarity of that comfort gets changed by the simplest rupture of news, information, or realization then it turns into a problem. The hole that I created for myself meant for comfort then turns into a pit of despair.

Why is it that I am so ready to allow cloth to never be whole, but find myself weeping for relationships to mend. When I am creating holes in cloth; am I really just waiting to try to mend? Am I really trying to heal and keep things together instead of breaking it and disrupting it? Even on that note, why have I left the biggest relationship (my extended family) fall into a non-existence. I know in my body it is failing the norm. I know my family is failing its previous expectations. I know this is discomforting and concerning, yet I have no answers.

I fight to feel whole, I fight to feel hope, but then I don't give just anyone that chance to experience that action with me. Past events have ruptured me making me start to fight for other relationships for all the wrong reasons. I need to stop fighting for familiarity and comfort and I need to start fighting for better reasons that I currently have no words to put to. I need to start looking at my weavings with the idea of RE instead of DE, because just as much as I want the cloth to fall apart I yearn to mend it back together.

22 views and 2 votes

Apart of my venture to become known as an artist and to make a little money I became apart of an online art competition in Florida (http://worqz.com/user-profile.html). The deal is you post your work online and then it gets voted on by the public. It is just like Maryland's bakers arts awards... just less well known.

So here is my venture and my venture to those who know me. Go on this site and find work that you like (if you like mine it would be greatly appreciated if you voted) and vote. It will only take a few. Jurying goes on until July 30th, so you have time, but then after the polls get shut down and the winner becomes announced.

you can find me here

http://worqz.com/user-profile.html

Now ya'll have seen my work, so get out their and tell me and the public whatcha really think.

Thanks!

Camping on a Beach Results of Finding Dinner

As some may have heard me speak about it before; my brother has spent the last year of his life in Costa Rica. Documenting the life as an artist he takes trips to nearby countries in order to compare life styles and to try out the waves for surfing.

His recent trip was to Nicaragua and while their he found to me some interesting ways of living (I wish I could post all of his pictures, but they are not mine to post. So here is one I don't think he would mind me sharing). Down their they choose to eat mantarays as a common meal. He said that surprisingly they were heavy to lift, but he lacked in the adventure to try and taste one.

This would have been a sight to see the butchering of the mantarays. Only because it is a skill to get the most amount of meat out of such a thin animal in such a fast amount of time. I am also amazed by the different textures of the mantaray. Don't get me wrong. I think I is a little sad to be seeing them lined up for dinner, but it is also a culture, and that is what they choose to eat.

So in my amazement of my brother's adventures I will sit in the the U.S of A. and wonder of all the stories he will tell me when he returns home. We miss him dearly! But I wouldn't want him back here for my selfish reasons if he is finding things like this because he is a beach bum.

The growth has begun in both mind and art. This was one of the most bipolar weavings to date. One day I would like what I was doing and the next not so much. Finally it was to the point where I could take it off the loom and saw that my weaving had a penis. Not what I wanted at all! In figuring out ways to fix it I flipped the weaving upside down and tucked the little guys behind the dowel rod.

Now I have a geographical piece again, and now I am the most excited parent of a weaving! This piece provided me with a lot of knowledge to how I want to direct my work. Making it as much of a piece of art as is a learning tool.
I am supper excited for my parents to see what I have been working on! My plan is to decorate my dad's tennis shop with some weavings, and maybe one of the club members will see them and then connections will develop from their. I cannot wait to go home!

Educational Venture

This summer I am going to fill it with research, reading, and networking. Thus far I have done well, and I am only in the first week of summer! It all started on Saturday when I made new connections and saw old faces at the Art Mart . One of which was Cara Obber, who is a very active artist and blogger. Running into her lead me to run straight to my research about finding places to display my work. Finding her blogs were of much help! It reminded me of the Maryland Art Place and the Baker's Art Awards. That I am sure to be doing when the time comes next year!

Which leads me to today, when I went to Barns & Nobles and failed at finding two recommended books, but found a guide on how to write artists grants (ironically something that I have been wondering about). Still in search for the books I went against my beliefs and ordered online.

So I must say that within the first week of the summer I am off to a good start, and I am very excited for my books to be found sitting on my door step.

Now presenting Mallory Steele

Within the past few days my writing style has picked up the form of a different hand. So, I though that I would welcome the intruder and invite him to write my artist statement. Here it goes.

Mallory Steele is an artist who has been bitten by the weaving bug. Rather than portraying traditional styles the work transcends the language of weaving and speaks the language of deconstruction and decay. Her infatuation with the reverse process goes deep into her senses that, in comparison to her work, are actively failing. The unstructured structures are compressions of time that begin to portray death and birth within the same breath. By letting go of what is expected by the norm she asks that the viewer look into the past in order to understand the present state of the work.

Also the words were able to form by the ability to discuss it to others for copious amount of time. I think I have been able to narrow it down to the "elevator statement." Thank you Chrissy Day!

A Key to Something Bigger

I am moving out of Baltimore for the summer season, and as a result I have had to handle a few things before my departure. One of the biggest things I had to do thus far is give my copy of the Squidfire store key back to its proper owners. As I was passing it off I felt that I was ripping out a part of me that I felt should never have been removed. It is a triple blow. Leaving Squidfire, Jean and Kevin each has their own corkiness and history about them that I wish I could be around for much longer. I hope giving over the key isn't writing me out of their lives. Like I say I love them boys, but you really don't know how much you love something until you can no longer be apart of it.

Here I am separating myself from the store in hopes to move on, and at the same time in hopes to not be forgotten. It is difficult to let go of something that you are comfortable with and that you love. It takes more then just the act of letting go. It goes deeper, into the soul. The soul must depart along with the act. With that in mind I guess I never did let go. It isn't in me to let go of them, for now.

I guess now my thoughts about art will have to steer from deconstruction to the idea of letting go. Do they go hand n' hand? Or do they have personalities of their own? and how is it that the idea of deconstruction is a more comforting thought then letting go? How does one fight to keep what is desired? I have no answers. The answers lie beneath time, and in time I will know.

wind wind go away!

Yesterday was the Squidfire Spring Art Mart, and as much as I enjoyed the idea of another event it turned out to be a constant struggle all day. The struggle was a mutual feeling by all the booth vendors at the event. Starting at 9am and continuing until we left at 6pm we were feeling the blows of 40 mile an hour wind and the terrible economy.

(This was the "pose of the day" shot. Note: all the vendors are holding down a corner of their tent. (ps. pictures of me not standing in front of the merchandise will be coming soon.))

I did not do as well as I had hoped, but, as I keep looking at these events, it was a learning experience. And boy was it! Taking notes during the event I figured a few key things that are pertinent to being successful in the world of arts and craft. You would have thought that I would have had this all figured out in the December Holiday Art Mart, but I think I was too blind struck by being apart of the event that I didn't take in as much as I should have. Although someone who is just starting out in arts and craft business it is difficult to understand the ins and outs of the world. One booth vender that I spoke to it was their second season traveling in craft shows, and they were even telling me that they are still learning new things about the craft of selling. Of course Jean-Baptiste and Kevin have their craft to sell down, but they are even learning new ways to approach the art of selling. In this field of work I think I will constantly be learning new ways to approach the craft, art and selling.

I am very thankful that I was able to be apart of their event again. Even if it meant that my tent was lifted by the wind and was carried about three feet over, and had to stay on guard holding things down all day. I love them boys and I can only say sorry to all the vendors whom either had merchandise broken by the wind or had their tents broken by the wind. It is things like that that hurt more then not being able to sell anything.

(one story I must share about the wind though, and then back to importance) The ladies next to me had flimsy tent that they were using, and with the first good gust of wind it broke the one leg to the tent. Understanding this we decided it would be best if we tided each others tents together for extra support. I had gone out and gotten waits for my legs so all seemed to be well. Until around 2pm... when a gust of wind came and lifted all four of their legs off the ground starting to lift mine with theirs. I quickly grabbed the nearest leg that I could and the booth vendors around swarmed to help in point some seconds. That gust had mangled and tangled so bad that they had to take it down by breaking the rest of the tent to get it out of sight. About an hour later the vendor behind me had the same thing happen to her tent, just this time not that many were as quick on their feet. I was the first to see it be picked up, so I acted quickly upon the situation as others would follow suit. Sadly her merchandise were breakables and one of the legs form her tent hit it just so that half her merchandise broke. After that she took her everything down and went home. So here I must say thanks to those who were fast on their feet to help out fellow vendors, and here is to hopefully a better season.

All in all though I give props to Jean-Baptiste for picking such a fine selection of vendors. To put on such an event is difficult when the cards don't seem to go your way. Sorry that the weather turned out the way it did! Somethings one just cannot help.

And thank you again Squidfire boys for seeing potential in me and my work that you allow me to be apart yet another event! It means a lot to know that someone has faith in ones dream that they will help you as much they can to make sure the dream gets fulfilled. I hope we can experience more craft shows together in the future. As always love you boys!

new children

So i have had this new idea manifesting in my brain for some weeks now, and in the past few days I have put my thinking into action. Here are the results of my pondering.

During the time of thinking of the idea of birth and death and decay and the new I have been saving the scrap yarn from finished weavings. I knew that they could be put back into the weaving some how, I just didn't know at the time. Then it recently hit me; a technique that I learned awhile back that brings my pondering full circle. I could take those pieces of scarp yarn and beat them down until they lose the hold of yarn and turns itself into pulp that can then be made into paper.

Unknowing of my new direction, I was forced to make sample weavings by Chrissy Day. That I soon found to be the perfect size for this idea of making a weaving that goes into a new being while in the process of destroying itself.

I am super excited that I pushed the idea out so quickly. Now I am just on the search to find the means to do it during the summer