Lately

Lately I have been doing a myriad of things...looking for jobs (got one for the summer!) more jobs (for the fall) painting some small watercolor pieces, working on a public art piece for August and getting lesson plans together. Whew.

The lesson plans really have to be done first, with everything in place and the budget and ordering form ready by June 14 (Flag Day!). I start work as the Lead Instructor for The Creative Alliance and Baltimore City Public Schools in early July. This is five weeks of STEM classes for middle schoolers in BCPS. I am actually really excited about some of the things we will be doing....including but not limited to: kinetic sculpture, light sensitive paints, flip books and mosaics. I'm most excited for the light sensitive paints - solar energy, yo!

And here is a photo of the watercolors I have been working on. These are all 5" x 7" pieces, but I still have to figure out if they are finished and if they merely need to be mounted...

 

For the public art piece, later this summer, I have been tasked to work with a non-art business in the Station North Arts and Entertainment District (SNAED) here in Baltimore, at Honey Carry-out. The curators from MICA (Curatorial Practice candidates) decided on an idea that 'marries' the artists and the local businesses. Just like an anniversary present, the number of years that the business has been in Baltimore reflects the medium I will use (to a certain extent, you'll understand why in a second). Honey Carry-out has been in its neighborhood for 6 years, making the 'gift' material iron. Yeah, I just said I had to work with IRON. I don't know if you know anything about iron, but I did research so I can tell you....iron, in its purest form is somewhat tough to find. It's also extremely heavy. Most other metals have some bits of iron in them though, and you can check this out by using a magnet. If it's magnetized, then it is an iron alloy. 

So, long story short, me being a 'works on paper' sort of artist, and with a limited budget, I had to get crazy creative, right quick!  What I am doing is using prints of the iron manhole covers in a collage fashion. These prints will make up a portion of a honey bee. So this piece will be about pollination and the environment. I am also fixing their outside signage for them, just because I really think it's needed and a fresh coat of paint is akin to putting on a Sunday dress in my opinion. Everyone feels like a million bucks when they 'dress up'. 

Here are the preliminary prints that I have done. These will be altered and I'll go back in and hand paint these so that they fit with the bee body. These giant bees with be flying over fields of flowers. The picture is really strong in my mind, so even though some of you may not be able to imagine what I am talking about now, rest assured, it's golden in my head. 

Prints (the neighbors were really awesome by the way, lots of questions, lots of amazement)...

And lastly, you may remember that I was in an exhibition in April at MOCA DC in Washington DC. The curator of this show, Lilianne Milgrom created this short video. The closing shot is me. Hilarious.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=JlGVBpTAaqk

I also have a few photos from that night, which I just uploaded to flickr here, located in the last row.
Well, I think that's it for now, time to work on lesson plans and other fun things. Cheers.

ETA: Oh! My final thesis exhibition images are here. Please check them out if you haven't already!