Getting ready for first lecture (taught by me!!)

In Studio Practices II, the Professor Nina and I discussed the possibility of me having total control over an assignment.  The assignment: One Minute Performance!!  I am excited, anxious and a little scared.  At least I know the students are great people and they won't tape me to the wall and torture me.  I have selected a number of artists to talk about and show the students.  Artists like: Yoko Ono, Wafaa Bilal, Ana Mendieta, William Pope. L. , Berry Le Va ( who doesn't really make performance pieces, but the body's absence is always made present, also I find his Impact Run Energy Drain from the 1960's really interesting.  And Finally, Joseph Beuys.  Look Familiar Brian?  It should, I learned about all these artists from your classes and how could I forget Wafaa Bilal?  I still have the handout from the  I Don't Know Their Names piece he made at Linfield College.  Anyway, the lecture will be given on Nov. 20th so wish me luck!

New Artist Statement as of 11/5/14

Holly Vader

Artist Statement

            While wandering, I hear voices calling out to me from the landscape.  Following the voices, I come across abandoned objects.  I perceive the soul within the object through examination.  All objects desire to be useful, to have a purpose.  For some objects, they are content with becoming shelters for smaller organisms before breaking down into minerals for other entities to feed on.  However, I hear some objects cry out in frustration, yearning for a different purpose, to become art.  These are the objects I harvest.

            I hold no predetermined ideas and therefore I do not have a specific object or shape in mind when I set out to make a new piece.  I frequently scour Biology, Human Anatomy and Veterinary textbooks searching for inspiration.  The structures of plants, organs of animals, and internal systems of humans influence my work.  When construction occurs, the found object is accompanied by pieces of formed metal.  This integration of metal acts as my contribution to the item.  Metal, in my work represents humanness, a material fashioned for manipulation.  There is a tension between industrial metals and natural materials.  This pressure between natural and man-made objects began when humans set to control and tame the natural world.  However, my purpose is not to dominate but to provide a connection between these two worlds.  I build this connection by creating my own ecosystem of materials.  Bringing a variety of elements together, such as: wood, metal, bone and nylon forms this ecosystem.  These materials reflect the tension and kinship between natural and man-made objects. 

            I spend copious amount of time examining and listening to the object.  I develop a relationship through respect and understanding.  This relationship helps guide me when I begin constructing the ecosystem.  When I force objects to try to be something they are not, resistance builds and incidents such as: entire sections shattering or rejection of materials occur.  During these mistakes, I must take a step back and reconnect with the object. 

FINALLY SOME IMAGES!

Alright, I have been very busy this semester.  I am still harvesting materials from the landscape but I am also implementing metal and nylon into these works.  I also included my Plaster carving because hell, that was the last thing I was working on at Linfield.  

 These images are of a couple cocoons attached to a weathered piece of wood.  I was reading Rebecca Solnit's book A field Guide to Getting Lost, and on page 83 she talks about the process of transformation consists of mostly decay and if a chrysalis were to be cut open it would contain a rotting caterpillar inside.  This hit me like a truck!  I loved the idea of something decaying inside a enclosed space so I tried to replicate it.  

 Whole Piece.

Close-up of one of the cocoons.

 Here is my plaster carving.  I was a little upset that the tail broke when I was trying to create some negative space but now I can really play with the amount of space between the main piece and the tail end.

 One of my metal and found wood pieces, was playing around with the "trash" pieces from the next piece and made this piece.

 This piece was fun to make, it started out as a heart in my head.  When I began forming the metal it changed to lungs.  Now I have no idea what it is, but I like it.  There are some welding rods piercing through the metal.  Recently, I have burnt the rods so they no longer have that bright copper look to them.

 Here is the same piece from the other side.  (Flash I know!)  Still trying to figure out Photoshop please keep this in mind.

 Close-up of the rods, they remind me of the voodoo pins.  Like I said previously, they are no longer that bold copper color.

 Here is my latest piece, I found the stump by the Rio Grand River and I could not leave it behind.

 I formed more metal and used a patina on it in order to move away from the metal-ness of it.

 Really like this, I filled panty-hoes with packing peanuts and then cut some small holes in the first layer of nylon, creating a punctured intestine appearance.  Also working with the idea of parasites and how they burrow into something and take it over inside out.

Here is an image of the back end of the piece so to speak.  It has plenty of that worm-intestine squirming around under layers of metal.  A whole lot going on.

Well, as you can see I have begun using metal again.  I really enjoy forming the metal and learning new techniques as often as I can pester the Mattox woodshop/metalshop manager Justin.

A few draw backs

Well, been a while since I have last posted.  I have run into a few issues, bought a Canon Rebel camera and found out it is not compatible with my current operating system.  Had to upgrade my Mac, hopefully it will come soon and I can upload some images of my work and what I am doing.  I am doing something slightly different than when I was at Linfield, I am still harvesting materials and building relationships with my materials but instead of making pieces look like organs and whatnot I am using the organs as reference points and allowing the material to really shine.

Here is my latest artist statement:

This body of work expresses my interest in harvesting abandoned objects from both rural and urban landscapes.  Immediately, upon discovery I seek to build a relationship with the object.  I perceive the life it once had.  My intent is not to dominate the object or to absolve it of all its previous experience; instead I use my intuition and awareness of the material to resurrect life back into the object.  I harvest items because I do not wish to be wasteful, I am a firm believer in reconstituting items in order to give them purpose again.

The biggest influence in my work is Biology, I often refer to human anatomy or the physiologies of other organisms when constructing my pieces.  I am apart of the figurative legacy passed down through many artists, however due to my age I interpret these forms differently.  I choose to create forms form humble materials in order to demonstrate the level of sensitivity I have towards my materials.

Anyway, I will get my images uploaded as soon as I can!  When my operating system gets updated and I get Photoshop downloaded I will have my images up.

Artist Lectures

Last night I gave my artist lecture about my work, we had to keep under seven minutes.  We had a great turnout, SCA Contemporary even ran out of chairs.  I am so proud for everyone in our group that gave their presentation!  Everyone was professional and there were no technical difficulties!!  As a personal note I know I need to provide better documentation of my work in the future, luckily I did just purchase a Canon Rebel T5 camera that very purpose.  (I only need to learn how to use it and all the handy dandy parts that came with it.)  Well, I am excited to be here and I can't wait to get back in my studio today and finish one piece I have been working on.  I will document it and get it on my blog as soon as possible because I am starting to explore with forming metal using a ball point hammer and and the results are wonderful in my opinion.  I just need to be confident and try to listen to the piece, what does it want to be.

At First Sight

My first exhibition in Albuquerque!  Located at the SCA Contemporary Art Gallery on 524 Haines Ave. NW.  It's a great location and all incoming graduate students will be showing a piece and giving artist lectures on Sept. 11 at 6pm.

UNM Moving In

8/18/14 Marks my first day as a Graduate student at UNM.  I have moved most of my things to my studio, have found a Lumber supplier with great prices and managed to get introduced to a professor who has an interest in carving, Professor Randall Wilson.  Monday is the day I get introduced to the Graduate Outdoor Studio course, I cannot wait to see what it will be like.  The few things different from undergrad and graduate is that graduates buy ALL their own supplies!  This includes: nails, screws, tools, wood and safety equipment.  However the studio is a good deal bigger than my previous one.
I went to an art retreat on 8/15/14 and enjoyed talking to a few professors and some of my fellow classmates and it is confirmed I am the youngest graduate student in the class.  I don't see my age as a disadvantage and I am trying to be more social.  I cannot wait until the other grads start putting up some of their work in the their studios, I want to see what everyone else is up too.  I managed to meet another female welder that has a studio in the same sculpture building as myself I hope I get to see some of her work.  I am still working on my plaster carving, but I will finish it.

On the 22nd I will be dropping off my artwork for the At First Sight Exhibition which, will be held I assume at SCA Contemporary.  This is not on campus, but I am hopeful that I can either get a ride from one of the other grads or maybe I could get used to using public transportation.  The weather here at New Mexico is great, I have seen my first thunder storm, it was a little frightening but also powerful.  It turned the sky into shades of purple and the sound was almost like gunfire only much deeper.  I have already started getting a tan, even my feet oddly enough.  There are a lot of bugs here, I don't much care for bugs.  Anyway I hope to provide some images soon of my studio and my plaster carving.  I miss Linfield but I am trying to see this as an adventure, and a continuation not an ending.  I want to grow while I am here at UNM and I know I will in time.

At First Sight Exhibition

 I just submitted the entry form for the At First Sight exhibition,
this exhibition allows entering MFA students to display their work at UNM.  ( I cannot wait to see everyone else's work!)  We had to submit three images and then a juror will select the best piece to show at the exhibition.  My choices were: Ridgeback, Broken Bust and Bridging the Gap.  August 1st I will know which piece has been chosen.  (Personally, I think Ridgeback might be my strongest of this bunch.)  Anyway this is what I am up to recently.

Ridgeback 

                                                                       Broken Bust

Bridging the Gap

Cermics Monthly and new carving

Last week I sent a few photos of my ceramic work to the Ceramics Monthly undergrad showcase.  The images were of : Behemoth, (the ceramic whale bones), Ridgeback, and images of the two pieces that went into the Anagama.  I recently checked and the package was delivered.  All I can do now is wait, but at least I am trying to get involved and show my work.  Here are the pieces.

Besides Ceramics Monthly,  I am also trying something new, I am trying to carve plaster.  Professor Totem gave me some stone carving tools on loan for me to try to carve a large piece of plaster.  I don't have a clear idea of where the piece is going, I do think that I will have to get the basic shape of the piece done before I can try adding some details to it.  I have looked into some stone artists but I have not yet found inspiration.  There are cons and pros to carving plaster, cons it is pretty fragile and it does not have grain like wood does so if a piece is delicate and I use the mallet more cracking and breaking can occur.  Plus it does not have grain so I can carve in one direction then switch and not have to worry about going against the grain.

Final Carving for my Senior year at Linfield

Well, I took my last final at Linfield today at 1pm and afterwords I went to the woodshop to finish this carving I have been working on for the last few weeks.  The base is not mounted on completely.  Originally I had it attached with two hand made dowels I made but the carving leaned to far forward or back for me to feel that it was safe to leave so I took the dowels out and merely set the carving upon the metal stand.  (Small branch was also added) and now the carving stands.  I think I will talk to Totem about using more of that concrete substance that allowed my large bone piece to connect with the carving.  I feel that the front side of the carving is far superior than the rear side but I may decide over summer to continue carving on it.  Anyway here are some photos.

This is the rear side of the carving, I added the bone piece because this side did need some extra help.  The bone was given to me by Cindy Hosskinson, she said it was found among Nils things.  Looking at it documented the piece looks nice.  I understand that I will have to adjust the background color, a little too gray for my like, the bone almost gets lost.

 This is the front of the carving, I love the bridges that attach to both the left and right side of the carving.  I think this side is superior due to how deep I was able to go on this side.  The rear side I was not able to go as far because this side was made previously.

Here is an angle that shows just how deep this side of the carving is.  I also like the bone whispering from behind the edge of bark.  

Anagama Pieces

Here are some pictures of the pieces I put in the Anagama, these pieces had the glaze which, Professor Nils ashes went into.  Originally I was thinking about leaving these pieces at Linfield as a keepsake so the Art Department would not forget me, however under some light convincing I have reconsidered.  I will make something for the Art Department over the summer to have but these are coming with me.

 This is my back piece.  I will call her Piece #2 for the time being.

 The skeletal structure of my back piece.

 Here is the front.  Piece #1 I will call her for the time being.

 Here is a side view, I really enjoy the darker splash that relates the two pieces.

 The break that appeared on the left breast is what I would like to call a Nils improvement!  

This is the skeletal structure of the front piece, piece #1, the color found her is amazing!! (Almost as interesting as the front!)

Performance clip

Here is a clip of  the first performance I did this semester.  This was the dry run to the performance I did on the Linfield Gallery today 5/14/14.  All the vocals are done naturally, I did not use any electric amplifiers or stereos, it is all me!

Latest On the whale bone molds and figure piece

Alright so after talking with Don and Cindy about the molds here is the schedule when I will be able to put my stuff in the gallery.

Tuesday 6th unload figure from the kiln, stain her then reload her in another kiln and load whale molds for first cook.

Tuesday 6th Talk to Tim Stewart from Facilities about Dirt and talk with Totem about stump as pedestal.

Wednesday 7th The rest of the pieces will be fired (1st) time.

Thursday 8th Pull the pieces out of the kiln myself and stain the pieces.  (Get stump into gallery)

Sunday 11th Meet with Cindy and Don load pieces into kiln.  I will put up both of my wall hanging pieces in the main gallery. If dirt is available will put in gallery as well.

Monday 12th Turn on the kiln for final cook of pieces.

Tuesday 13th Install bone and figure pieces.  (Get stump into Gallery)

It is a little later than I would have liked however it is still within the timeframe.  Cindy and Don are not worried yet so neither shall I.

Revised Artist Statement 4/29/14

            My work uses plaster molds in order to create impressions of the original natural shapes of forms.  The process of creating a plaster mold for an object begins with wrapping the object in a protective layer of plastic wrap then building up clay around the form to create a wall, which, the wet plaster can settle on.  After the plaster dries the object is removed from the mold, the new mold can be used to create the silhouette of the model.  The mold allows me to keep the silhouette while also being able to add some miner details such as texture or connecting them together.  Some pieces I make with the molds are pieces of larger works or are used as canvases for me to apply other objects to.  This process provides me with the opportunity to replicate the organic forms presented to me with a fairly high degree of accuracy.   However, complete accuracy is not what I value in my work.  I seek to use the forms to bring attention to structure of the figure, to show the bones within the bones. 

Grass sculpture "Progress"

Here are two images of the progress I have had with turning grass into a sculpture medium, I think I might of had a better chance if the grass I had picked didn't dry out.  I picked the grass around two weeks ago and just now decided to work on it.  I think that didn't help my situation.

I tried doing a mixture of weaving and sewing with the grass strands through the chicken wire and it was working but I must have put in at least three hours and this is all I have to show.  (Not happy!)

Ideas for the Senior Thesis show and piece placement

Okay, I think I have managed to come up with a working plan for my work in the Turnt Senior Thesis show.  Here is the layout.

First, my branches piece and newest carving will be on the walls aside the closet door and the emergency fire alarm.  Next I will have a large piece basically cutting the gallery floor in half.  That piece will be composed of dirt and the vertebrae molds I have been working on this semester.  I have the real whale bone, and two full molds complete all they need to do is dry and be glazed.  I will make two halves later this week and hopefully pull them Monday (4/28/14).  In front of the window will be two bust pieces.  I have talked to Totem and reserved a large tree stump to serve as pedestals.  Today (4/22/14) I have made a front and back bust.  I will put them out either Thursday or Friday of this week.  Next week I will work on the final bust pieces.  So I think that will work, I feel pretty good about it.  We will wait and see.

Also, I have been working with the idea of using grass as a sculpture medium.  Since the grass in the field is so plentiful I might as well try it.  I started out weaving it and I could not believe how time consuming it is.  If I want to continue using grass as a medium I think I will use is in the not so conventional way.  I will upload some photos after this post of my "progress" with the grass.

Work on the molds

Here are some more photos of the continued work being done on the vertebrae piece.

We finally managed to open the mold by forcing compressed air into the cracks.

Here we see the mold without the bone inside, inspection from the professionals.

 The plastic wrap I surrounded the bone with left some interesting textures inside the mold which, ended up being a happy accident.

Here are two photos of my newest molds.  

As you can see these are of my body, here I am laying on a table while plaster is being placed on my back.  I decided shoulder to bellybutton is a decent range.  I wanted to have enough space to work with while not encasing my entire body with plaster.  Removal of the plaster was a little painful, my upper half was red (like a sunburn) for a few hours but nothing serious.

Here is my front and back, out in the sun so they can dry.  There was a moment where one of my shoulders decided it didn't want to be cast so the plaster fell off right before it was time to remove.  Overall, I am very excited about the pieces.  I plan on connecting them back together and having them presented on a pedestal.  

Spring Break drawings

Here are some drawings I did over Spring Break, finally photographed and edited.

Revised Artist Statement

            My work examines the form, reaching into the cavity constructed of soft flesh and bone to extract and reawaken my creativity.  I appreciate the form and all it has to offer, with as much respect as I can, I seek to express what remains within the form in a new way.  I am grateful to the form, because I understand that death had to occur in order for me to create my work.  This appreciation is amplified when I am given the opportunity to examine a body in its entirety, undisturbed and complete.  Recently I had such an opportunity, however it required me to dig up the remains of a whitetail fawn.  During the retrieval, I felt as if I was robbing the fawn of something.  It was at this time that I fully realized the amount of respect I had for this little fawn.  I believe with all my heart, that this animal gave its life and body so I could to reconnect with my art and muse.  Know I feel that I have a better understanding of the importance of life and what it means to give it so another may benefit.

University of New Mexico

Dear Holly,

 

Congratulations!  This letter is to inform you that you have been accepted into the MFA in Sculpture in the Department of Art & Art History for Fall 2014.  The UNM Office of Admissions will mail you additional notification. 

I'm so excited!! I can't sit still!! Thank you God!!!!

Making the mold of a whale vertebrae

Here are some photos taken of the first moments with the first half of the mold.  Don and I smeared so much plaster that first day, the Wednesday after we actually put another layer of plaster on the same side to strengthen the first layer.  Don said about a half inch or so of plaster would be strong enough.  This is the first time I ever played with plaster, I am excited to see how the mold will turn out!!

Plastic over the vertebrae so the plaster wont ruin it, blue tape to make it extra safe!

We had to build a clay wall that the plaster could sit on and collect and not dive off.  We also had to fill the hole in between the vertebrae with clay or else we would of had to of made a six piece mold just for the gap.

 The pouring of the plaster.

 Of course it goes over the side a little, making a mess.

More plaster is always good for a mold. Yes, I had to make it "perfect".

Today, we flipped it over and smeared the other side with a bunch of vaseline to act a barrier before we put a layer of plaster on.  We didn't want them mixing or else we couldn't get the mold open later.  I was told that it could be ready Wednesday, but I think I will wait until after Spring Break to take them apart.