Only a Few More Days

detail of Island of 14,264 Days

"I Live Here Now" closes this Saturday. It's hard to believe, and I do feel a little bit sad; all that work, effort, emotion, and then it's over just like that! However, all that work, effort and emotion was worth it, every little bit of it. I am so happy with this work, the process and the exhibition. The ideas and pieces developed in this beautiful, natural way with both difficult challenges and rare moments of clarity. As a whole, it feels like my best work and it also feels like the beginning of something even better.

Necklace No. 3 from Alone/Together

Since 1882, Since 1976

If you live in the Gothenburg area, I hope you will visit Four to see the show. If you don't live there, I please visit one of the following links to view the entire body of work:

Website

Facebook

Flickr

Necklace No. 7 from I Can Only Stay Away for So Long

Lost and Found

"I Live Here Now" closes Saturday, May 3.

Thanks for reading. 

Never Let Me Down

pocket watch detail

Growing up, my brother and I were close. We fought occasionally as siblings do, but got along really well and had a lot of fun together. We remain close today and I still admire him as my "big brother." "Never Let Me Down" is about our relationship and the many moments when we looked to each other for advice or to simply commiserate. It's also about how I admire him and how he has influenced my life over the years.

Never Let Me Down

When we were teens, Mark carried a pocket watch. It set him apart from everyone else and I admired this, although I may not have realized it at the time. "Never Let Me Down" includes a pocket watch, cufflinks, tie tack and handkerchief and the papers underneath list the song titles from mix tapes he had as a teen. I used to sneak these out of his room when he wasn't around and it was those tapes that changed my perspective on music.

cuff links detail

In addition to the objects you see here, I also recreated the mix tapes, song for song. I was talking to Mark on the phone months ago about the tapes and he told me then he still had them. After we said goodbye, he sent me images of them via text messages. I hadn't seen the song titles since I was 16 and it was pretty incredible to read them again. It also felt like reading pages from a book or like reading a poem. I put together the mixes shortly after and then listened to them in their entirety back to back. It was even more mind-blowing to here the songs again! Later I listened to them while carefully writing each title in Cursive handwriting on practice paper. If you would like to listen to these mixes, you can find them here and here on Spotify. 

handkerchief detail

tie tack detail

I posted lots of process pictures on Flickr. I have also added images for "Silently (I Saw a Robin Today,"  "Wayfinder" and "Forget Me Not," pieces I have written about here already. Please take a look.

Thanks for reading.

A Few Images

Here are some images of the installation and a few from the opening. I wish I had more pictures from the opening... I was pretty busy the whole night talking to people, which is of course wonderful, but it does mean there was no time for pictures. It was a such a great evening and when it was over I felt a little bit sad.

Thanks for everyone who came that night and for all the wonderful comments, questions and conversations!

 with Hervée Darmont, my dear friend and "Belgian sister"

she made a special trip for the exhibition

More images on Flickr.

Thanks for reading.

I Live Here Now…In Its Entirety

Since 1882, Since 1976

My solo exhibition, "I Live Here Now," opened on Friday. The opening reception was wonderful--there were lots of guests, I received many beautiful comments and had some very interesting conversations. The work looks wonderful in the space and the exhibition as a whole has a quiet, intimate feel in the gallery. I have published all of the images online on Facebook, my website and on Flickr for all of you to see now as well. I will continue to share details about the individual works and lots of process photos in the coming days.

Never Let Me Down

Departing Ship

We Walk on the Same Ground

I am With You, You are With Me

Alone/Together

Lost and Found

I Can Only Stay Away for So Long

Island of 14,264 Days

Thanks for reading.

I Live Here Now, Part 14: A Third Look

Silently (I Saw a Robin Today)

"Silently (I Saw a Robin Today)" is the first piece I made in the "Homeland" part of "I Live Here Now." It's about my mother and was created with her wedding dress, which she made back in the 70s. I got the idea for this piece while on one of my walks. It was mostly about using the dress as the material and it felt like a strong place to begin. My mother was happy to give me the dress which I hung in my studio for a few days just to look at. Then I got scared. I knew I had one chance to "get it right" and the pressure of that thought made me procrastinate. I decided to ease into it by deconstructing the dress. I thought maybe I could "warm-up" by taking it apart, getting to know the material as I worked. I also thought the process would remove some of the dress' preciousness and it would become less scary to work with. 

The process took several days with a long pause in between. I saved every thread as I worked and even crawled around on the floor to retrieve any bits that had fallen. As I worked I thought about my mother and how she felt while she made the dress. I also wondered how she came to choose the pattern and the fabric. These questions sparked an interesting conversation between us and I now know a little bit more about her past. Once I was done I arranged all the pieces on the floor in my studio and took pictures. I still wasn't sure what I was going to do with it, but after a few more days I realized the piece was in the process, in the ritual of taking the dress apart and of unraveling a memory of part of her life. 

In the following days I focused on the lining of the dress. I had been thinking about making a big necklace that when coiled up would resemble a nest and I liked the idea of giving a presence to something that is usually unseen. I cut each pattern piece of the lining into strips and cut these into four pieces each. I cinched the pieces into bows and tied them around more thread. I later added four gold bows, a subtle reminder of ancient Greek wreaths and diadems, and completed the piece by tying a single knot in every string. 

 Thanks for reading.

Materials and an Interview

I can't stop thinking about rope and last night I started feeling strongly about black rope... A few days ago I realized my "Island" piece falls in the "Outerland" part of the exhibition and not in the "Heartland," where I had pictured it before. Ever since I made it I have wanted to make a complementary piece in black. I always thought this piece would be a similar embroidered work only in black and gray, but now I wonder if this companion piece could be something else, a different object or some form of jewelry. This morning I went to a fishing store and bought 20 meters of black rope. I'm still not sure what I will do with it but I'm glad I have something I can move around with my hands. It's definitely time I start making something and I think this lovely black rope is a good place to begin.

Boel Ulfsdotter taking photos of the work during the interview

Also today I met Karin Roy Andersson, my gallerist, and we hosted a writer from the Gothenburg Post, Boel Ulfsdotter. She interviewed me for an article that will appear in the paper this weekend. She took a lot of time to just look and then asked me questions which lead to conversations. The work seemed to resonate with her and she did have an emotional response, which was thrilling. It was also really good for me to talk about the work out loud--every time I talk about it, my thoughts and language become more clear. In preparation for the interview, Karin and I decided to begin installing the work last night and will complete it tomorrow afternoon.

Thanks for reading.

Taking It All In

sometimes I feel like my eyes are in my hands

It's been just a few days since I've arrived and I'm just beginning to take it all in. Jet lag has been pretty rough on me, which is not unusual, but is something I seem to forget every time. I barely sleep with jet lag even though I am exhausted and then I find it hard to concentrate and motivate. I'm feeling some pressure due to the amount of time I have, but I imagine this working to my advantage once I have a more concrete idea. I know I can't force any of this, but I have to keep the timing in mind. Striking a balance between these will be a challenge, staying on task while allowing things to happen naturally… I have gone on a few walks so far, just wandering with a few destinations in mind. So far I am thinking about islands and the connections we create as we go from place to place. I'm wondering about how I create home in a new place, especially a new place that is also foreign. I'm also looking closely at roof lines and these funny pruned trees. I will continue to walk and observe today and tomorrow and then I'll regroup. The actual creation really needs to begin on Wednesday…

islands off the coast of Sweden

today I will travel to the islands of the Southern Archipelago

little floating islands

I could have watched these guys for hours, they just floated on their backs the whole time

rooflines and street light

these oddly pruned trees are all over Gothenburg

See more images on Flickr.

Thanks for reading.

Hello, Sweden

Sweden from above

I flew to Gothenburg, Sweden yesterday…and today, I begin working on the final piece for my exhibition, "I Live Here Now," which opens next Friday, April 4. This piece will be about my "Outerland," which I define as the home I find wherever I am. I will begin by taking one of my long walks, and as I walk, I will be thinking and collecting pictures. Up until yesterday, I did not think about this piece much at all--I wanted to come here without any preconceived ideas or attitudes so that I might be open to any and all possibilities. I barely researched Gothenburg, too, deliberately keeping myself from learning about this place in advance, again, in an effort to keep myself open. I like discovering a new place as I wander about and experience the culture first hand. I find this informs my work in a wonderful and unexpected ways, which is exactly what I want. Now that I am here, my mind is racing... I know today's walk will serve as a way to begin my process, but it will also be the perfect way to settle my mind, even if only a little bit. I am terribly jet lagged, too, and know being out in the sun will help me acclimate. 

cloud installation at the Gothenburg airport

my work unpacked at the gallery

roof line near my hostel

Thanks for reading.

I Live Here Now, Part 13: A Second Look

Wayfinder

brass, address book, pencil, compass, key

This piece is about all the places I have lived in the United States since I left my childhood home for college in 1992: four states, 11 cities, 25 different apartments or houses. The top is a map that combines all of these places into one geographical area. I began with photocopies of the states, cut them into pieces according to the number of places I lived in each and then arranged these pieces into a new state. The cities are represented in their approximate location with a tiny perforation. My pattern of movement from city to city is defined with inscribed lines. Hanging from this map are a pencil, an address book, a compass and the key to my parents' house. (A key that has never been off my key chain until now.) It took me a few weeks to compile the addresses--I combed through papers and asked friends to look in their old address books. Once I had all of them, I wrote each in a different pen in chronological order in the "T" section. I revisited chatelaines for this piece, but my version is worn as a brooch instead of hooked to the waist. 

Thanks for reading.

I Live Here Now, Part 12: A First Look

Forget Me Not

This necklace is about my father. It's modeled after Victorian mourning jewelry--painted black to represent jet and with both a picture of my father and some of his hair inside the locket. The image is one I took when I moved to Asheville from Seattle in 2007. My parents helped me move and spent a week with me getting my apartment ready. It was the last time I had true quality time with my dad before he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's a few years later. The image is obscured with his hair and further blurred by scratched acrylic. 

sterling silver, spray paint, acrylic, picture of my father, my father's hair 

Thanks for reading.

I Live Here Now, Part 10

I got my photographs back from Hank a few days ago and they are gorgeous. I can't wait to share them with you, but I do have to wait at least a few more weeks. Once we get closer to the show, I will start to publish some pictures. Right now, I'm working on my statement, titles, prices and I'm thinking about the display… 

Oh, and I made three more pieces! I added a necklace as a companion piece to another necklace and made matching earrings and ring for another piece. I was thinking about these piece before, but only in my periphery. Then I just ran out of time before my photography deadline. However, I couldn't let them go. Once I found out Hank could fit them in this week, I knew I had to follow through. I made them over the last two days and now they are off to Seattle. 

Finally, I broke my trusty Craftsman pliers while making chain. I've had these for years and was shocked that they just snapped.

Thanks for reading.