"And PS I love You Like The Song, I Love You Like In The Song."

Sick Day Today. And yesterday, actually. I haven't had a normal 98.6 temperature in about 2 days. I think the highest it has gotten today was 96.6. Yesterday it started out at 94.8. I am so not kidding either. I feel like an alien in my own body. I cannot function at all. Did I mention on of my tonsils is swollen? Yay.

So, I am taking it easy. Reading a little bit of the Hunger Games (#2 That I borrowed from the lovely Kathleen, Carl's wife - OMG Girl, we need to talk about the book and I need the 3rd one too please?!) and brushing up on the book Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism, and The Future. I'm also listening to the soundtrack from the film I Am Sam. Composed by John Powell, it's one of my very favorite pieces of music (If you want some crazy Katie trivia for your day: my favorite composer of all-time [so far] is Thomas Newman. He did films such as Finding Nemo and Revolutionary Road) and the movie is pretty good too :)

....listen to John Powell's love of the strings and how even the most delicate of melodies can influence a scene - with no words whatsoever. Beautyful.

My ultimate sick day film, however, is Corrina, Corrina. I used to watch it every chance I got when I was a kid, sometimes I'd even fake sick from school and just have movie day with myself (I never do that now....shifty eyes). It makes me feel better.

....in this scene, the protaginist (Ray Liotta)'s wife has just died and he has hired a new housekeeper to watch his little girl (yes, that's the girl from Napoleon Dynamite) who turns out to be a crazy (Joan Cusack). Enter Whoopi Goldberg for the win. And one of my favorite films of all time.

Here is some art in progress, which I will work more on tomorrow when I'm feeling myself again:

Dont' be alarmed, it is the same piece. The picture on the right is the most current. I made it (left), then after some hefty critique from my loverly teachers and myself at school, I started to notice some inconsistencies about it. So it is still in progress. The lighting will definitely stay as dramatic as the photo on the left, I'm just not finished yet!

It is a piece about my parent's marriage.

When I asked my mother how she felt being married to my dad (after the first couple happy years, when he started to be really terrible), the first phrase that came out of her mouth without hesitation was, "I felt chained" to which she added, "I felt tied down, censored, trapped."

So, I've assembled a chain around her neck made from the very nightgown she is wearing. They are both caught up in a subtle, but still violent series of chicken wire pieces, which is what his insides are also made of. There was a struggle/fight from my mom, but not until after they had been married for about 20 years. The wounds took time to create.

Stay tuned for the finished product.

Alright, well I am going to go watch another movie. Maybe try to eat? We'll see how that goes. Otherwise - sketching, moviewatching, reading, and poetry win out for the night. I love all of you out there reading this. Go create something. Keep your heads held high. XO.

Velvet Spacetime.

Well, dreamin' children, I did it. I went to National Graduate Portfolio Day at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. I went to Chicago with my art cronies - and we had the best fucking time. Seriously. I have done so much traveling the last year and it makes my heart happy!! As a girl who grew up in a small town, being told "you'll never go anywhere really" a lot of the time - it's awesome to have branched out. I think that Portland, Philly, Boston, and New York are on my list next. Here is our adventure through the camera on my phone:

Eating Carrots. Christopher, Carl, and Ashley (from left). It was a 9 hour drive both ways. We started out listening to an amazing playlist (made by Ashley's manfriend Andy) then we switched to NPR's Radiolab and couldn't stop listening to the different podcasts. I'm addicted to Radiolab now. Curse you, Ashley!!



...I've been dreaming of this for ages. Seeing Anish Kapoor's Cloud Gate.





Photo Cred on this next one goes to Carl (Sorry for stealing this, Carl, but I love this picture):

Then there was the Chicago Museum of Art (located right across the street from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago).
Lee Bontecou. When I saw it, I froze and lost my breath at the same time. I don't know about you, but some art does that to me. I probably stood in front of it for about 45 minutes. Right next to it was an Eva Hesse [Hang ups] piece. I was in Heaven.

Another artwork to take my breath away - The Felix Gonzalez-Torres candy pile. I ate a piece and kept the cellophane. It was gold. Visitors are encouraged to take a piece from the candy pile; enjoying it, but making it slowly fade away. It's a metaphor on death (particularly the death of Felix's lover Ross from AIDs). Beautiful.

Carl with Georgia O'Keeffe's painting of clouds.

Then a Rauschenberg (Drool. I love him.), Van Gogh Self-portrait [Those paint chunks are 4 times as old as me!], and Ashley with Seurat.





Then, to end the trip with a bang, we ate traditional Chicago Pizza Pie and talked about our journey, art, life, and general mischief. Carl at 5 pieces on his own. Haha.

I would have eaten more if I hadn't been so exhausted. The elevator at the art school went out and we had to scale 7 floors after, that morning, walking 6 blocks in the wrong direction. We were tired. Did I mention that the actual Portfolio review went really well? I got some semi-legit offers from a couple of really great schools. The phrases "This is beautiful feminist work", "I want to work with you" and "I could see you working with some of our sculpture staff" were used. [I totally went in the bathroom after that, jumped up and down then called my mom]. Now I just have to keep working, pass 2 more semesters, set up my senior show, and graduate. Details, Details.

And just because it fits so well - here you go:

XO.

Your Arms Around Me.

Hope Everyone had a SpookHappy Halloweekend!!! I'm sad it's over, but it was so much fun. Halloween Is My Absolute Favorite. I don't remember if I mentioned it on here, and you may have heard some rumors that I was going to be SQUINTS from the Sandlot for Halloween, but after I found the perfect auburn wig....I decided on Ethel Merman. Some people didn't know who I was (dammit our generation!!), but I had the most fun anyways. This was the first year in about 3 years that I dressed as a girl for Halloween. What can I say? I make a cute fella too. I sang so many old songs this weekend. Sorry when we hung out I couldn't remember all the words, Carl. There was some rum in my belly. Not as much as in Andy's though. "I want to talk to literature about somebody." Haha.

My art history teacher said I looked "like a John Waters movie." I can't decide if that's a compliment or not. I AM DIVINE (for you three John Waters nerds out there that will get that.) Hah!

Mamabird drew up the back of my legs with a sharpie to give the illusion of stockings (it took me til today to get that damn black line off) and I made my petticoat out of some old curtains (I wore it under my dress with suspenders so I wouldn't lose them during the night. Haha). Apparently it is beyond our society now-a-days to make a petticoat that will go past your ass. Mine needed to go to my knees. I was, afterall, playing the role of a 1940's broadway star and socialite lady. Sheesh. [Photo by the lovely Miss Kaycee - I didn't even know she took this until I looked at the pictures on her camera.]
...And just because I'm trying to become more comfortable with how beautiful I am (or at least saying it. The confidence thing I am not so good at.) - here are some cutesy pictures of me. Is that lace? Scandalous. Some people thought that wig was my real hair. Even though it has a plastic shine. Good job, Everyone. It alllmmoossst made me miss my long hair, but I loved going back to my rock n' roll short hair.


Progress is going slower on the big sculpture, but that's expected because I have to clean it up and make it presentable. It may be put on hold for a bit as I just recently learned how to weld. I love sculpture class so much. I am taking the exact same class next semester for another 3 credits. Did I mention that I scheduled the other day? My second-to-last-semester of college ever. Weird. Scary. Happy Dance.

In other news, I recently acquired semi-contact information for Kiki Smith and I am going to send her a letter about how much I love her work and a couple questions picking her brain. Must. Be. Brave. I'll let you know how it goes.

In 5 days (technically 4 now) I leave for Chicago with my favorite art friends to attend National Graduate Portfolio Day. Holy Shit Yay!! More on that later. Here's some pep for your step:


I can sound JUST like her. I swear. Ask around.

Grant Lee Buffalo (now Grant Lee Phillips. For you Gilmore Girls nerds out there - he was the town troubadour.). I love him.

Making hats to keep my head warm in Chicago this weekend.

Eek.

XO.

I'm Still Staring Down The Sun.

So today..... WE GOT TO TURN MY SCULPTURE OVER!!!! After 3 and a half weeks of staring up its rear-end, I finally got to see what it looked like right-side up. Did I mention it took 3 people to turn it over? 150 lbs. Hatch says it weighs. Well, go big or go home I suppose. Haha.

Look at that beautiful mold-ness. Today I shopvac-ed the plaster drops off, styrofoam, and other miscellaneous shit and found a huge mass of fuzz my mold is growing on one side! Everyone seems to miss out on the beauty of the mold except for me. I love it. It adds to the "organic" feel I want the piece to have. Who wouldn't want a naturally occurring pattern? Exactly. In the next week I am going to clean up, carve, and stain the sculpture (to my heart's content) then I'll show you more pictures of it.

In other sculpturenews, here are my two works from last week:

I think I am going to start trying to use cardboard to emphasize the figure (like in the blue dress [half-head and a shoulder]) and symbolize body/movement/emotion. We'll see how it goes. Yesterday when I was in the studio, the sunlight caught the pink dress sculpture in such a beautiful way. I think I took like 10 pictures of it. When I put it up in a gallery (I think I'm going to put it in my show next year), I want dramatic lighting like that. The shadows on the wall are pretty, but almost look like teeth - making the piece feel more violent/violated, just how I envisioned it. I consider the pink dress sculpture to be my first real feminist artwork. It's held open by zip ties. Zip ties imply force. Force implies lack of permission. So you could say this piece is about a number of things: domestic violence, rape, controlling partner, etc. I want to make more.


And lastly, this last week - I got this book in the mail [look at my kitten in the background. She loves books too.]. The Every Boy by Dana Adam Shapiro. It was one of my favorites from high school, but I had it on joint-custody with a friend who isn't my friend anymore (I didn't get it in the friend divorce). So, when I saw it on amazon for $0.01, I jumped on it. The shipping made it a total of 4 dollars even. Better than a garage sale buy. It still remains one of my very favorite books.

[postcard from the lovely Miss Sharon Harper - sculptures by the beautiful Niki de Saint Phalle]

"...she wasn't a hypochondriac - it was more of a quest for proof that things could get better."
- The Every Boy

XO.

Needle In The Camel's Eye.

Here is my plastercanvas sculpture's progress through photos:

[that looks like crystals, but really it's just excess water beading through the surface. It's nerdy, but I love to just sit there and watch it. Click to Enlarge.]











Hatch says one more pour and we can turn it upright again! Then the real work begins. Not to mention that he said after this is all said and done the finished work will be about 150 lbs. WOW. And drool.

Oh, and PS those spots are mold and I'm thinking about sealing them on the piece. I like the patterns that have been created at random. And pink mold!? Who knew.

Beyond plaster, here are some other sculptures in my world recently - I've come to adopt t-shirts to my newest work. And screens:
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[the one laying on the backpack is still in progress, but it's a Hard Rock Cafe t-shirt I got in Washington D.C.]

For my next sewing with clothes endeavor, I was thinking of working on this bright pink prom dress I found in my closet. I thrifted it a few years back for some lame banquet that I don't even remember. But it's so bright pink and happy, I think I could really tear the shit out of it, add wire frames, and make it super creepy. Until then, here's some jam for your brains [this week is a-mite glam rock-y. What can I say? I've been addicted since I was 14 and used to wear glitter under my eyes like Bowie & Bolan]:

...I'd just like to say that I love this Lou Reed song so much that I almost missed the bus to campus the other day because I was singing it in my car. Very Loudly, in fact....didn't even see the bus coming.....

XO.