Courtney Starrett Solo Show

This is not Betty's Bundt Cake Recipe (Detail of Installation), sillicone rubber, vinyl and 

powder coated washers, upholstery tacks

On February 4 I went to Rock Hill,  SC with Angela Bubash to attend the opening reception of RubberMADE, the solo exhibition of Courtney Starrett. RubberMADE is a collection of colorful, cast plastic jewelry and objects inspired by Courtney's interest in the history of silicone rubber and its relationship with the culture of the 1950's. The pieces with titles like "This is not Betty's Bundt Cake Recipe" and "Almost Everyone Appreciates the Best" remark on life mid-century and post war. Some pieces have an organic, almost other-worldly feel, while others take a more rigid, recognizable shape. The display of the show was also fantastic--clear acrylic cut outs of an iconic image of a typical 1950's housewife.

Almost Everyone Appreciates the Best, silicone rubber

Strawberry-Kiwi Jello, silicone rubber, sintered nylon, stainless steel

All images by Zan Maddox at Social Design House.

The show is currently on view at Winthrop University's Patrick Gallery through March 25, 2011.

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in less than 24 hours

last thursday angela bubash and i drove to rock hill, sc to lecture and lead a critique at winthrop university. the lectures went really well. i was nervous as per usual, but also as per usual i was prepared and being prepared always helps me to battle the nerves. i had written brief notes on 3 x 5 cards, but only used them for the first few minutes. i would talk about a few images, realize i wasn't using the cards, and then pause to advance in the deck. this was a bit awkward so i took a leap and put them aside. i remembered most everything i wanted to say and, although the nerves lingered, it felt natural to talk. all in all, for the little experience i have speaking about my work in this way, i think it went really well with room for improvement. angela's talk was great. i've heard her speak before as a penland resident, but those presentations are only 5 minutes long. this was the extended version and i loved hearing more information and details. i think our talks complemented each other nicely - our work is quite different, but we are interested in similar things.

the next day we lead a critique for a group of senior art students whose bfa exhibition opened that day. we met at 11am and talked about each students' work, ranging from painting and sculpture to jewelry and ceramics. i was impressed with the work. the ideas were thoughtful and well-executed.

other highlights from the quick trip include spending time with courtney starrett and michael gayk - after the lecture we made a fire and sat outside chatting and eating pizza at their house - and earlier in the day we visited gallery up and checked out a local patrick dougherty installation.

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guest star friday #60...courtney starrett and michael gayk

loti 1, bracelets, collaborative project, selective laser sintered nylon and rit dye

last night i gave a lecture at winthrop university with angela bubash (more on that soon) and was hosted that evening by courtney starrett and michael gayk. courtney is assistant professor of jewelry and metals at winthrop university and michael is an instructional developer at york technical college/3D systems university. i went to school with michael at the university of washington. he was working on his mfa while i was working on my bfa. a few years later we crossed paths and that's when i met courtney, his wife. they are wonderful people and are making some really interesting things both separately and collaboratively. i really like the forms and textures of these pieces and i am especially interested in how the texture is created via repetition and layering.

domestic goddess, courtney starrett, silicone rubber

sucker, michael gayk - cast silicone photopolymer

the sociable choice, courtney starrett, silicone rubber

squares, michael gayk - cast silicone photopolymer

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