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Recognition of the two that baited and then hooked me into Blacksmithing – So glad to still be friends!

Ms. Elizabeth Brim and Mr. Kirk McNeill, and with many thanks to my very talented undergraduate professors Mrs. Marilyn and Mr. Jack Da Silva

In 2004 (or maybe, 2005), toward the end of my freshman (or possibly sophomore) year in undergraduate studies of Metals and Jewelry at California College of the Arts and Crafts my professors Marilyn and Jack Da Silva invited me along to attend my very first California Blacksmith Association conference in Petaluma, California. I always completed the projects set forth for me but I was often told by Marilyn and Jack, “Shelly, you hammer on everything, perhaps you should meet the blacksmiths.” At first, I honestly felt a little in-different but was excited for the exposure into another form of metalsmithing. That conference however has changed my world forever! It opened me to the possibility and desire to become one of them. 

At first I sat along the side lines watching the beautiful southern bell named Elizabeth Brim. Her long braid tied in a bow, pearls around her neck and southern twang mesmerized me as I watched her inflate a steel welded pillow into form. Next, I went over to the demonstration area where Kirk McNeill was. His style of teaching was so approachable and digestible. Honestly at this point I have learned so much from Kirk, I can’t quite remember what that first demo was. Nonetheless, upon meeting them both after their demonstrations were done I felt so blessed to have conversations with them! It was as if I was just meeting the Hollywood stars of the blacksmithing community right off the bat! So lucky and in debited did I feel, and still do! I am so honored to say that they have continued as friends, mentors and supporters for the path I am on.

 Shortly after that conference I worked directly with Kirk McNeill and Lester Markarian at a Penland-like art camp for adults put on by Jack DaSilva called Maker which was held in the woods of California at a YMCA camp. I was blessed to be Kirk and Lester’s assistant in the blacksmithing class. This really solidified my desire to take up blacksmithing! They taught me to make my first hammer, drift and guided me in making my first leaf belt buckle that I still wear to this day. Both of these gentlemen were perfectly macho and tough in the sense that they were fabulous blacksmiths but realistically they were more like a guiding light that acted sweet, silly and kind of like a quirky teddy bear with no sense of misogynistic testosterone towards a young female that that wanted to learn. I owe both Kirk and Lester a lot of dues for my continuation in this field of metalsmithing and art making. Being that I continued to live in California past undergrad I interacted with the both of these gems frequently. 

 It was many years later in 2012, that I traveled to Penland, North Carolina and re-kindled my friendship with the beautiful and inspiring Elizabeth Brim. I was lucky enough to be asked to assist a class taught by another dear friend and bad ass lady smith, Shawn Lovell out of Oakland/Berkeley, California. Just recently, now in graduate school at SIUC, my head professor Rick Smith had a whole slew of us students up to his property just a few miles away from Pendland and Spruce Pine, North Carolina where there is an annual blacksmithing conference called “Fire on the Mountain”. Elizabeth has always been kind and supportive to anyone that wants to continue in blacksmithing regardless of gender but I have always had a sweet spot for her because she helped show me there is a place and way into this male dominated field. On top of that Elizabeth is a huge fan of 2-Pac which is just perfectly out of character unless you get to know her!

 Ok, now onto why they are relevant to this blog and my socially engaged art class, 

Elizabeth Brim has played a major key role in the development and continuation of Penland School of Crafts Iron studio. She herself teaches classes here and assists in bringing in top of the line contemporary blacksmiths to teach classes. In her own work, she has made a large body of blacksmith work that depicts a strong female presence. She has created iron high heels, iron aprons, iron frilly umbrellas, iron pillows and so much more. She has made a deliberate statement that iron work or blacksmithing is not just for the boys! Her work is absolutely beautiful and her execution of craft is top notch but beyond all of that she is a strong, sweet, tough woman. Quiet the role model for me and many other women taking on this craft as an art form.

Kirk McNeill has two projects I want to discuss here. He has made plenty more however two of his most recent works really hit home for me. The first is an environmental awareness piece called “Sharky-go-Round” and the second is a feminist/activist piece called “The Safety Pin Project”. “Sharky-go-Round” is a massive kinetic sculpture that was featured this last year at Burning man 2016, held at Black Rock City Desert in Nevada. This sculpture took so many hours, busted backs and hands to complete. There were countless weekends that numerous blacksmiths showed up to Kirk’s shop and volunteered to work on this project as well as install this humongous sculpture in the middle of the no-where desert. This is by no means Kirks first environmental piece but for this one he was wanting to bring light to the human decimation of the shark population. Not only was the art piece socially created but he also made shirts promoting his message, they read, “Stop Shark Finning! Humans kill 100 million sharks every year for soup. Sharks kill less than 10 humans every year, mostly by mistake”. The sculpture was beautiful and was lit up at night, it was quite the sight in both day light and at night. Hopefully people will consider what they eat and the impact they have on the animals and creatures of this world beyond their own human existence. 

“The Safety Pin Project” is possibly the most masculine feminist activist work I have seen in my lifetime. Once again Kirk invited many volunteer blacksmiths to come assist in his shop to create these oversized safety pins. The pins were an awareness and activist raising project that donated the proceeds to his local Planned Parenthood. Female rights in regard to health and choices have come under the chopping block with this current political administration. I am so happy and proud to know a white male that is standing up and saying “NO!” to the destruction of these human and female rights! Below is Kirk’s writing for the art show and reasoning for his “Safety Pin Project”

“The Safety Pin Project:

 A Fundraiser for Planned Parenthood Art Exhibit and Sale

 April 7 – May 12, 2017

 Coffeetopia, 1723 Mission Street, Santa Cruz

There will be a soft opening for the exhibit on April 7th from 4:00-6:00 PM, and an official First Friday reception on Friday, the 5th of May, from 4:00–8:00 PM. The safety pin sculptures will be on sale for $350.00. Of that amount, $300.00 from each sale will be donated to Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, the local Planned Parenthood affiliate.

Following the Brexit vote in Britain last year, there was a surge of racial hate crimes. Many people in the UK began wearing safety pins attached prominently on their outer clothing to show that they were “safe” and standing in solidarity with those being attacked. 

 Since our election here in the U.S. in November, there has been a similar surge in hate crimes here. Many Americans have adapted the safety pin to our own situation here. They are worn as a sign to anyone threatened by the increasing hate and fear in our sadly divided country that the wearer is not among those committing or sympathizing with these acts. They are also intended to show compassion and support for immigrants, LGBTQ, and other at-risk groups. 

 Along with my generous and talented crew of volunteers, I have been working on the architectural-scale safety pin project for a couple of months, always envisioning it as a fundraiser for Planned Parenthood — another threatened entity. 

 If a pin on your coat shows you to be a safe person, a pin on your home shows it to be a safe home.

” By: Kirk McNeill

Both Elizabeth Brim and Kirk McNeill give me much to aspire to. Again, I am honored to know them, share the amazing things I know of them and their artwork and channel their support towards larger political, social, activist works I foresee myself creating.  

I love my bad ass blacksmith family! 

 Elizabeth Brim http://www.elizabethbrim.com 

 Kirk McNeill   http://www.freedom-forge.com

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Nap-In with Barbara Bickle My personal reflection and perspective SIUC – March 8, 2017 Barbara Bickle is my professor this semester in an art history credit class called “Art as Social Practice: Applications and Theories”. The “Nap-In” is a project of hers and her colleagues and has be performed many times all around the world. My classmates and I were invited on March 8, 2017 to take part in this project held in the rotunda of SIUC’s library. We began by sewing and stitching little pillows that were stuffed with lavender and mug wort. Once the pillows were completed we all sat or laid around the central dream scroll at the center of a tape labyrinth and were encouraged to fall asleep with the thoughts of diversity in mind. We only had 20 minutes for this part so I unfortunately did not fall asleep. I think a few of my classmates did but for me that was an awkward spot with too many surrounding noises for me to fully relax into a dream state. Although I could not fall asleep I was thinking of someone that means a lot to me who shortly after the most recent presidential election tried to enter the USA. This friend typically would travel to and from the states through Florida but this time was going through US customs in Texas. He was detained for over 12 hours, thankfully not roughed up but interrogated by several immigration officers, made to wait with no food or water and then interrogated again and again. After the first hour of being hassled he was more than willing and offering to just go back to Columbia, South America but the racist Texas officers kept him in a holding room for far longer. After this extremely long waiting period they stamped his passport to make it illegal for him to enter the USA for the next 5 years! This friend yes, is a light skinned brown man who speaks English just not without his Columbian accent. He is a talented blacksmith that has shared his knowledge and techniques with many adults and children across the United States over the last several years. Blacksmithing communities have requested his presence and teachings at many conferences. He is compensated for his time with room and board and travel expenses. It makes very little sense that he was treated so poorly in Texas, beyond that the USA has now elected a racist head that wants to go to great lengths to keep out immigrants. This friend of mine has enriched and inspired the furthering of the blacksmithing arts and knowledge for so many and it is very disappointing to see what this country is headed towards on a whole. He was not in any way trying to move here or do anything illegal, he was just teaching and sharing, not even being paid. No longer is the USA a melting pot of culture and diversity, it’s an arrogant white supremacy totalitarian place of the top 1% ruling in a practically Hitler-like way. This country is reversing in its progressive ways and everything from human rights, female rights, environmental rights, animal rights are all on the chopping block. I am devistated by how this is the world I currently live in. To come back to the Nap-In, After our 20 min of dreaming/nap/thinking time was up we were asked to create something to add to the central scroll. I made a little heart like pillow that had several multi-colored knots/bows as a tail, like a kite or balloon might have. Asleep or awake I dream of a world that is more accepting, loving and community based. Around the time that the Nap-In occurred a FOX reporter was trolling student newspapers for stories they could slant upon. It’s outrageous that FOX can even still have the word “news” in their title since they are nothing more than a fabricated entertainment show rather than an actual news broadcast! On top of that Fox is primarily filled with arrogant, sexist, racist white men with perhaps one token man of color. Thankfully, there has recently been several white male FOX anchors that are beginning called out on several sexual assault charges. Beyond the males on FOX the women they have employed as news casters portray themselves as nothing more than unintelligent sexy dressed distractions that agree with the men on everything as if they have no brains of their own. This broadcast slant on the Nap-In was trying to say that parents are paying for their children to get a degree in sleeping! On top of that they had an interview with a mini-me FOX reporter/student from SIU that was not even in the slightest way aware of the purpose or intent of the Nap-In. However, she fit the stereotypical architype of female FOX prefers so of course she was the one to be the face of this internal interview not Barbara or any of the other facilitators of this project who could clearly explain the project. Interestingly enough, my class attended the Nap-In on International Women’s Day, March 8th. So, in conjunction of Trumps attack on women’s rights during this week this slant broadcast aired just a few days after. It was absolutely planned shenanigans and brain washing bull-shit. How are people buying into this crap? They must still have ratings that are keeping them on the air, but really? How can people keep listening to fake news and not question the spoonful’s of crap they are being fed? A short while after the slant broadcast was aired, Barbara held a panel session to discuss further the project and the benefits of taking resting moments. Most interestingly for me there was a Neuro-scientist on the panel that has proof through MRI brain scans that our brains are very active during a resting/dreaming state. Our brains function at 70% while resting and only 1-3% higher when we are fully awake and cognitive! Even if you aren’t in a dream state, just closing your eyes and relaxing for short periods of time can be extremely beneficial to re-focusing and being more productive. This world we live in is overly stimulating and distracting. There is always 101+ things to do all at the same time, especially as a student. With digital media bombarding us across our phones and computers we are saturated with distraction as the norm and focus can be a true challenge. In a somewhat related way, while I was working towards my undergraduate degree I took many classes in Asian art Studies and Histories. During one of these art history classes I did a project on Kum Nye. I attended regularly a 2 hour Sunday Kum Nye class held at the Nyingma Institute in Berkeley, California for that entire semester (and continued this practice long after). Kum Nye is an ancient Tibetan medical spiritual technique that refreshes and revitalizes both the body and mind and was developed and brought to the states by Tarthang Tulku. In the simplest and possibly mis-represented way for me to explain this, it’s essentially a type of slow movement and breathing yoga that helps to align and center the body and mind. To begin with I had no idea that I would connect with or get so much out of this extra class. In closing one’s eyes, paying attention to one’s breath going in and out of their body and slowly moving their appendages according to a particular exercise, this practice can open up tension and relieve stress and distraction. Many people taught this class but my favorite was Santiago. He and I spoke often after the classes. I felt like an obvious amateur in this practice but he assured me that just like physical creations the more practice given to Kum Nye the more accomplished and centered I would feel in some of the more difficult poses. He also said that of course it’s nice to have the Sunday 2 hours to practice but that even the 10-15 minutes I could give to this during the week would prove to be beneficial to my existence in this world. He could not have been any more right. I’ve taken many forms of yoga that help to keep me flexible however I have not had another class where my brain and body become flexible and open at the same time. I am so thankful to have had this experience and do continue to practice from memory and books I acquired while still living in California. I do see and feel a beneficial similarity with Kum Nye practice and Barbara Bickles Dreaming Diversity Nap-Ins.

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Susanne Matsche

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Susanne Matsche’ - Discovering a Socially Engaged, feminist, political, and fantastic metalsmithing Artist

Susanne Matsche’

Filigree Workshop

Monday April 24, 2017 and Tuesday April 25, 2017

Artist Lecture April 24, 2017

www.susannematsche.com

 Susanne Matsche’ recently visited SIUC to teach a wonderful 2-day filigree workshop and indulged us with a lecture that explained her evolution as a contemporary artist. Although she did not directly speak as herself as a feminist, some of her work was very much body related and spoke to me of a feminist perspective.

 Susanne studied in Vienna, Russia, and Germany.  She has lived in Austria, USA, Netherlands and Germany.  

 Ever since she was a child she’s loved jewelry.  She has a very vivid memory of a pleather jewelry box that her mother owned and would allow her to wear pieces from.  Susanne said that ever since she was a child she’s been addicted to jewelry, and even now never leaves the house without something on.

The first year of art school Susanne studied ceramics.  She enjoyed the soft sensual aspect of clay and the variation of clay bodies and the large kilns they got to work with.  However, she was not interested in making tableware so she decided to switch in her second year to the metals department.  The metals department was not jewelry focused but rather larger sculpture, furniture, and even mechanical.  Although she enjoyed working in the metals department after 2 years she wanted to reclaim her passion for jewelry.  Her interest provoked her to studying in Russia.  Susanne learned Russian and applied for a 1 year scholarship in Moscow.

 Russia was an eye-opening experience, here she was introduced to traditional filigree. Materials were hard to source and buy. So, she was taught to melt down old jewelry, tableware and coins to make ingots, wire and solder from scratch.

*Filigree is a technique for a patient person with excellent eyes.   In this style of metalwork, you take many tiny thin wires, some are flattened and some are twisted and compile or fit them into one another in a patterned fashion. The wires on their own are relatively fragile yet when many are soldered together the shape or design becomes rather ridged.

 After Susanne’s year in Russia, she encountered a clash of culture kind-of response by her head professor as she returned.  He could not believe her previous year was spent working with teeny tiny wires.  He thought it was a waste of time!  So, with that as his response, Susanne started in on larger non-traditional furniture that was inspired by 1970’s soft objects.   She created a large “Red Snake” that could be manipulated in many ways to lay on, prop your feet up or arranged however you like.  Next, she made a “Flower Ball” sofa.  This was a very large sculpture that changed in form.  When it was all closed up it looked like a big donut but then each of the eight petals folded open.  Each had a compartment that housed a small-medium size yoga-like ball with the center of the flower dressed in fluffy soft carpet.  After creating these pieces and having them in many installations Susanne came to feel that this series of work had reached a dead end.   These pieces were not as practical due to them not being washable or reusable and after many installations they got pretty gross.

 After graduating a good friend of Susanne’s was working in the theater and requested her assistance in making a costume.  This was an interesting and amusing piece.  She created for one of the performers a large head (body sculpture), and for the second an oversized body suit.  The head and the body preformed separately and then at the end the head sat upon the shoulders of the body.  

 The next few works Susanne created were interactive wearable pieces.  The first she showed was called “Dress you can eat”.  The pockets were lined with plastic/pvc so that the contents didn’t soil the dress or spoil in reaction to her body temperature.  She filled the pockets with things like chocolate, cheese, salami and more and encouraged people to interact and remove and consume the contents of the pockets.  It was funny to hear her say that the backside of the dress went empty well before the front side.

The second interactive wearable piece (I don’t remember the exact name) was a breast costume.  It was inspired by a multi-breast goddess of Asian mythology.  Susanne was interested in the sensual feeling that this costume took on, it activated a comfortable, safe, warm and proud feeling for the wearer.  This costume was all white with 25 breast forms all over it.   Susanne encouraged people to touch and feel the costume.  One of her male friends insisted on wearing it and it turned out that he really enjoyed it and almost didn’t want to take it off.

 Susanne then moved into discussing that the transitions in her work are sometimes hard and odd. That here creative force drives her to make an assortment of things in varied materials.  She feels comfortable with the shift and change but acknowledges that she’s not a straight and narrow creator in just one medium. I really appreciated that, I feel that my personal passion is typically created in metal yet I also deviate from time to time in making other sculptures or objects in alternative materials.

 The next several images she shared in this lecture were of beautifully crafted traditional filigree. An inside out ring, where the filigree was on the inside.  Typically, the filigree is the decorative element to be shown off however this ring kept it hidden for the wearer to feel or to be seen only when the ring is off. Then a beautiful heavily layered mask necklace piece.  Next, a Siamese pendant that was inspired from conjoined twins.  Then a less traditional filigree wire nest-like ring. And finally, a gorgeous scissor necklace that was inspired through a dream, where ½ was a real scissor and the other ½ was lacy filigree.  

The following images were not filigree but leather primarily.  There was a leather breast pins with hair.  A nipple ring pin that was inspired by a 16th century nipple pinch painting of two sisters. And a “Virgin Ring” which was a piece of red leather sandwiched between two silver rings that were riveted together.  To wear the “Virgin Ring” the wearer would need to cut or pierce the leather, hence the title.  Susanne was thinking about and wanting the audience to think about what it means to wear a ring.

 Her succeeding images were of other mixed medium works.  She showed her “roll up poem pins” which contained secret messages like a secret scroll. Next, a mini luggage set that was created for a Rock, Paper, Scissor show at Velvet daVinci in San Francisco.  Then, an Anti-War Medals call for entry, where she made “War Kills”- a cigarette box broach that was based on the UK labeling on cigarette packs.  And then, “Tags Necklace” originally created for the Craft Museum in Oregon.  She brought the “Tags Necklace” to SIU and even invited all of us attending the workshop and/or lecture to participate in writing a message on a tag.

 The images then progressed back into filigree and her most current work but these were much edgier.   Susanne is very much interested in the traditional and classical look of filigree but made these next works in a tricky kind of way and incorporated her frustration, irritation and sometimes self-doubt within them.  She made a broach heavily decorated with filigree that then was engraved with the message “Fuck Jewelry”.  Next was another all filigree broach that had a hidden message within the filigree pattern that said, “Jewelry Sucks”.  And finally, a pair of lacy filigree underwear.  Susanne named this piece “Her new Underwear”, it was inspired by a friend of hers that is transgender and recently made the change.  In honoring her friend this piece stood for liberating gender identity.

 I enjoyed everything about Susanne’s workshop and lecture but her ending advice was touching and inspiring.  She is honest, confident and true to herself and others.  She told us all that “It’s fine to struggle” and “Don’t always listen to the voice of efficiency.  Art making isn’t efficient.  It comes from somewhere else” and “Don’t give up”.

 I’m blogging about Susanne because like so many other female artists, I believe she is an artist that should be more well-known and respected for her contributions in the art world. Several of her projects were socially engaged whether it be through touch, taste, or even writing.  She is a talented metalsmith but she is also a feminist sculptor.  I drew a lot of encouragement and inspiration from meeting and working with her.  

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This are the last few weeks to catch Barbara Kruger’s mural on the High Line, which is being de-installed in March! The mural features an adaptation of a quote by Afro-Caribbean philosopher Frantz Fanon. The original statement, “Blind idealism is reactionary,” suggests that political and religious convictions stem from the situations from which they grow, not from the inherent nature of individuals.

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Chris Wubbena

Reflection on Chris Wubbena Artist Lecture on 3/22/17

 Chris Wubbena was a visiting artist and the juror for Critical Forums open call for entry that was held at the Surplus gallery here at SIU Carbondale.  One of my most recent art works created in graduate school here at SIU, titled “Woven Vessel” was included in this juried exhibition so I was very interested in attending Chris Wubbena’s lecture.  

 His initial work may not be very socially engaged but his later and more current work absolutely is. He is and has however been very involved in the communities he’s lived in, promoting artists and spearheading several art in public spaces projects.  

 Like a lot of artists his work is a reflection of his life, or an expression of his life experiences. I very much appreciated going to his lecture and seeing the evolution of his artistic career.

 He received his BFA from Iowa state in 1998 and then his MFA from San Francisco State in 2002.   Chris is now a ten-year sculpture professor at Southeast Missouri.  He comes from a hard-working blue collar family that encouraged his pursuits into the art world.  At a very early age he was exhibiting artistic ambitions that led his parents to take him to what Chris called an “oracle” which I guess was an older man in their community that was a successful artist where his parents essentially asked “Does Chris have it?”.   The man must have said “yes, he does” because his parents continued to foster and believe in his path into the challenging artworld ahead.

 The lecture started with acknowledging that he has 20+ years of artwork in the world.  That scale, conviction, and change are all important topics to him and his expressions.  He then re-wound to talk about his high school challenges where his academic standing was not so good.  He was always making art but his general education grades were below average. This made it very challenging for him to get into college.  Chris however convinced the Dean of Iowa state to accept him on a merit scholarship where he was admitted to the college on an almost academic probation position. He got serious and graduated with a 3.75 GPA.

I think this was a very important piece of his development to include about his life in his lecture. I’m including it in this blog because I also feel this is or can be of great encouragement for young people in the current struggle to find themselves and their own direction.  In other words, just because his grades weren’t amazing didn’t mean that he was unable to go to college.  If you believe enough in yourself and convince others to believe in you, other doors can open.  Change is possible and his internal desire to go to college provided him an opportunity to prove to himself and others that he can get good grades.

 In his Undergraduate work, he created several painting, political photos and then also larger metal sculptures.  During Chris’s Graduate studies, he continued with large metal sculptures that also conceptually tapped into his childhood experiences.  His father was a factory worker as well as a Vietnam Veteran and his mother a custodian/cleaning lady.  His relationship with his father was rather distant when he was younger.  As so many of our Veterans have suffered from PTSD it affects them and their families.  So, in graduate school Chris created several metal etchings of factory workers.  A lot of his metal sculptures were also inspired by geological sedimentary layers.

 He showed a very moving sculpture that was metal but looked like rock.  It was open in the center and appeared eroded from the center to its structural sides.  On one side, there was an etching of Chris’s portrait throwing a rock and on the other side an etching of his father throwing a rock back.  He discussed this piece as his “present space” (or it was at the time of creation).  

I found this piece moving because he was discussing his relationship with his father.  Up until this time things were rocky and distant with his father.  To me it seemed that this piece was about him and his father breaking down the barriers that were previously there during his childhood.  The eroding distance between them was breaking down and his father was opening up to him in regards to his Vietnam experience.  

 Another impacting sculpture Chris showed was one created as a response to his personal life and 9/11. He and his wife had been contemplating having a child, 9/11 then happened and they weren’t sure if the time was right to bring a child into the world.  This piece was again metal with an etching of his wife on the left, an etching of him on the right and at the center there was a print made from each of their etchings as the background and then a clean sheet of paper on top.  

I thought this piece was very beautiful in its layered process and meaning.

 I’m not sure if it was after or while Chris was at an Artist in Residence in Mississippi but he created another very interesting piece called “The Writers Room”.  It was/is a two-sided piece.  On the “back side” Chris mounted a typewriter within a frame, instead of paper a pair of his work jeans were threaded through the rollers.  Typed on the jeans were the words “As well as I can”, “By any means necessary”, and “As if it makes a difference”.  He also made the etched metal desk that sat against the wall and the stool in front of the desk and frame.  On the “front side” or the gallery facing side was a framed stack of papers with a hand print on the top sheet.

I really appreciated the dual sided aspect and all the well thought out parts and pieces to this artwork.  

 Chris moved into trying to change and work in different ways.  He created a piece made up of cut up phone books that were mounted on the wall with fans directed underneath them to assimilate grass moving in the wind. He also tried out some sound work pieces that were run on overlapping loops of yelling, anger, cheering and booing.

 There was then a large instillation piece that traveled around and even traveled here to SIU.  This piece grew out of a bettering relationship with his father and the research Chris was doing into Vietnam and understanding PTSD.  He filled a room with pictures, papers, scrambled televisions, howitzer (larger war weapons), his father’s duffel bag from his service years and a timber created shrine.

I also have several family members that were in Vietnam, the conversations I remember having with them were instantly brought back to me when I saw the installation Chris created. Although I was not a   student or resident of Carbondale when this piece came to be shown, the pictures Chris shared were very visceral and heavy hitting for me.

 Back and forth throughout Chris’s artistic career he’s made commission pieces to help pay the bills. They have been large metal sculpture of beautiful visual form however they lack the conceptual content of his previous pieces I have mentioned.  His current work is now moved into a more Socially Engaged Art realm.  Chris has been creating a series of large roughly finished sculptures that he is encouraging students and other people to decorate or apply their own sensibilities to.  In the lecture, Chris discussed wanting the future of his work to be “less selling and more giving”.  By creating pieces that are intended to go out in the world and have more handprints than just his own I think puts these new works into the Socially Engaged Art arena.

 I very much enjoyed learning about Chris Wubbena’s path and journey.  There were many other pieces that I didn’t discuss but I do encourage anyone interested to research him further.  He’s a very inspiring and talented contemporary artist.

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Unusual AIR with Michael Fisher

R. Michael Fisher

-Visited March 1, 2017

 Recently Michael Fisher shared an interesting artist and residence experience with my Socially Engaged Art History class.  It sounded like an Artist In Residence like no other I have ever known of.  He considers himself an Eco-Social artist.

 Michael Fisher’s month long AIR was at a place called Creekside Commons in Canada.  Creekside Commons is a chosen communal living community or co-housing place/space.  It was made up of 3 pods connecting to a central Community House.  Each of the pods were living quarters for several families and individuals.  The Community House was an area where people came to cook, be social and hold community meetings.  

 Prior to Michael’s arrival he sent 3 questions to the residence of Creekside Commons.  To the best of my memory and notes the questions were as follows: The first question was “What can an embedded artist do for you?” The second “What can an embedded artist do for your community?” And thirdly, “What can an embedded artist do for the world?”

I think this was an interesting way to pre-connect to the community that he was about to work with.

 Upon his arrival, Michael choose to set up his “studio” within the common house being that it was a common space or common ground where he would be interacting with everyone from all 3 of the pods.  He noticed that in this area there was a manifesto-ish banner hanging on a wall with the Common House ideals.   While working in the kitchen/common area he created a sense of care for him from the community by dressing in a hat and scarf.  Some of the members of this community noticed him and interacted with him based on his “cold-looking” situation.  People began to ask him what he was working on and suggested that the heat could be turned up.  He would ask people “How is art in your life”.  Some had answers and some weren’t sure how to respond.

The change in environment or temperature was an interesting way to almost force a connection or conversation with the community.  I don’t know if I would have thought outside the box in that way to encourage or insight conversation and involvement.

 The one night or early morning there was something about the kids sandbox that Michael drew inspiration from.  He decided to create a sand serpent that brought much delight for the community’s children as they woke up and went to their classes.  The kids were very inspired by Michael’s serpent and continued their own sand sculptures in the days following.  

 Another project that involved the children was a masking tape labyrinth that traversed the floor, cabinets and multiple rooms and areas.  It was so well received that one of the parents wrote up an art show flyer and posted it around.  Instead of the tape being considered a mess by the community members it was seen as an artwork and the community embraced it.

 Michael also worked with adult members of the community to create natural sculptures in a Andy Goldsworty likeness or way.  They broke up into groups of roughly 5 per group and went to open areas of the compound. Initially they just sat and listened to the space.  Listening to what the space was asking for and not projecting what they wanted the space to be.  Paying attention to creating something that was “with the land” versus “just on it”.

 My most favorite part of Michael’s re-telling of his AIR experience involves an older man named Len.  I guess Len on an almost daily basis would walk up to Michael and ask him if he was the artist in resident and then promptly walk away. After several times of this happening Len then shared with Michael that he once was a ceramic artist and asked Michael if he would like to see his work.  Michael said “yes, of course” and so Len returned with several boxes filled with beautifully decorated ceramic shoes.  

The few photos Michael shared with us of these ceramic shoes took my breath away, but the story gets better.

Michael and Len set up an installation within the common room to showcase these beautifully crafted and unique artworks Len made in his younger years.  During the exhibition of Len’s installation there was a raffle like give away of the shoes.  

I think this was a wonderful way to further or initiate a connection of the members of this community. I wondered how many people really new Len before this exhibition?  How many people knew anything of his earlier artistic career and how incredibly sweet of Len to give away all of his creations.  I bet his community had a changed opinion of who he was after the art show give away.

 All in all, I see Michael’s very interesting Artist In Residence almost as an Arts and Community Facilitator.  As much as this is a “community” place and the people all choose to live in a communal compound kind of way, perhaps Michael’s AIR encouraged the sense of closer community and interactions among its members.

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Cade Bursell

Cade Bursell and “the beloved puppetista’s”

-visited February 22, 2017

“All species Puppet Parade”

Earth Day

Carbondale, IL

 Cade Bursell received her MFA from San Francisco State University in 2002 and is currently a professor at SIU Carbondale in cinema and photography.  She has been internationally recognized for her independent films and does interesting experimental processes like developing film with coffee.  Cade possess a strong artistic and educational directive regarding politics and environmental issues.  The “All species Puppet Parade” is a beautiful project she has brought to Carbondale and the community.  

 Earth Day is upon us and the “All species Puppet Parade” with the “beloved Puppetistas” will be marching the streets of Carbondale in just a few weeks.  This parade is in dedication to all the animals and is meant to shed light and respect for all the inhabitants of this planet including the environment and habitats that animals live within.  In preparation for this parade there have been multiple workshops and a wilderness hike to involve and inform children and adults.  

 While Cade was visiting our class, she brought up the topic of The New Ecuadorian Constitution which includes a chapter; Rights for Nature.  That the ecosystem itself can be named the defendant.  Meaning there are rights for the earth and animals.  I’m baffled that this isn’t something the entire world has in place.

 With this being the first year I’m living in Carbondale and the first time I will be experiencing the “All species Puppet Parade” I am truly excited.  In our current state of disjunction here in The United States of America and in reference to some of the most recent bills being passed such as, moving forward with the Dakota Access pipeline which was heavily protested and now the very recent allowance to kill hibernating bears and wolves, I am appalled. This parade has so much to say, so much it stands for and in my mind, should be happening all over world.  

 How on earth are these bills being approved and passed?

Why aren’t there more people in higher political offices concerned about our water and life of our planet versus money and oil?

And truly how can a bill be passed to cowardly kill hibernating animals?  This is right along the lines of sport safari hunting!  

 I’m terribly disappointed in the political agenda of the current administration.  I’ve only mentioned two of the awful bills, yet there are so many more to discuss.

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Love is never easy, but it is beautiful

Happy Valentine’s Day! Here are photographs of some of our favorite couples from the Archives of American Art. 

Wilna Hervey, a silent film actress and painter, and her partner, painter Nan Mason, are shown here in Florence, Italy in 1926. They were together until Hervey passed away in 1979. The finding aid to their papers can be found at http://s.si.edu/2lLlzEs 

Painters and Jacob Lawrence and Gwendolyn Knight are shown here in 1979. They met in Harlem Renaissance sculptor Augusta Savage’s workshop, and married in 1941. The finding aid to their papers can be found at http://s.si.edu/2kFSLfR 

Yasuo Kuniyoshi and Katherine Schmidt, shown in circa 1925, met in 1917 through the Art Students League in New York, and married in 1917. Schmidt had to surrender her United States citizenship in order to marry Kuniyoshi. The finding aid to Yasuo Kuniyoshi’s papers can be found at http://s.si.edu/2lfvJzE, and the finding aid to Katherine Schmidt’s papers can be found at http://s.si.edu/2lfj8fT.

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Coming this Saturday

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I’m going to try and show through pictures and  text, my step by step process of creating my first ever cast iron vessel. 

Step 1:

These initial five photos are showing the stages of the sewing and growth of this vessel form.  It’s made from a cotton exterior/nylon interior woven rope.  

At this stage the sculptural form is very soft and squishable, yet also a little heavy.

(As a side note, this rope was a treasure that I dumpster-dove for at least 5 yrs ago in San Francisco.  This past September I moved from the Oakland Bay Area to Carbondale, IL for my Graduate Degree.  I parted with many of my material possessions, but I couldn’t let go of this rope! )

#shellycournoyer

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A Response to:

“The Art of Participatory Video: Relational Aesthetics in Artistic Collaborations”

By: Verena Thomas and Kate Britton

This was a particularly interesting read into the developing language and conceptual categories that participatory video is asked to define.  In current contemporary culture there has been a shift or blur in what the line is between facilitator and participant.

The merging of facilitator and participant, being a collective entity, making choices and aesthetic decisions about what information is presented and how it is produced is very exciting in a collaborative creation .  This type of work moves from an individual artist essentially creating a documentary film about another person or a group of people into empowering the subjects to also be active participants that are collectively directing the product. 

This new perspective of collective engagement opens the door to a more truthful telling of the content of the films being created.  The process and product are not separate entities.  

The initial facilitator may be an outsider to a specific cultural group, however the facilitator offers options, inclusion and direction from the participants.  In this way the initial facilitator is blended into the participation and relinquishes a control on the final output or product.  

I really appreciate this integrated aspect of human interaction and participation. In this article, “Relational Aesthetics” is referred to or defined as “an art taking as its theoretical horizon the realm of human interactions and its social context, rather than the assertion of an independent and private symbolic space” (Bourriard, 2002, p.14)

This article also discusses the possibilities of/and directly mentions of this type of film making as a way of creating intergenerational dialog and learning.  

I am by no means a film artist, I am a metalsmith, however I have a lot of respect for any type of artwork that can transcend information in an inspiring and engaging way that offers new thought and encouragement to a variety of ages and cultures.

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Waxing a vessel form to be cast in IRON