Benzie Box.

Oh man. It has been AGES.
I've been up to much mischief this summer, but unfortunately all of THAT will be my next post. This post is going to be about my end of semester work for Spring 2012. Graduation and my show are nigh. These were important steps and experiments I've made.....

This first one just started off as 12 yards of satin and 10 yards of tulle (you should've seen the lady at the fabric store's face when I said, "12 yards, please." She said, "Are you making dresses for a wedding or something?" and I said, "No. I'm an art student. I am going to hang this on the wall in a weird way." Silence. Haha).
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't find a way I wanted it to be oriented that fit with my theme and general feelings about the piece as a whole.

Here are my adventures with the fabric. There were a gazillion images of my process with this one, but I saved you all from boredom and chose the best "catalyst"-like pictures that led me to the next step, which would eventually lead to the final product.

It started as just a wall hanging. Then I added wire and made a "hole" on one side....

Then when it didn't feel enough, I added the tulle.

Still not satisfied, I took it down (let it lay on the the ground for several hours, ignored it, yelled at it, kicked it, and listened to music instead of working.) and then hung it up again, but in a different way entirely. Still using the "hole," but being very aware of the way the satin was "pooling" on the floor. It was so beautiful! Very regal.

Unfortunately, it still wasn't what I wanted to express entirely. I do plan to make another "pooling piece," but this one will be way bigger. Taking it down again, disconcerted, I got on a ladder (almost falling and dying at one point) and pinned it up higher and used the wire frames in a new way - still being conscious of where the fabric was flowing and being pulled. Until....

I found IT. The way I wanted it to be. The fabric pulls looked intentional and beautiful and creepy all at once. And did I mention that the only thing sewn on this piece is the zipper (middle left, under the tulle)? Everything else is pinned on, giving the work a nice sense of impermanence and the possibility of being able to change its shape. This currently attracts me - conceptually.
PS this piece is about 6 ft. tall. Going bigger all the time!!

Then we have my final project for Painting III. Now I know what you're thinking - this is not a painting. Nope, I haven't actually painted in about 2 years for a class. But it is, afterall, my major still. Technically. I did use paint in this project though! This is fabric with waitress guest checks soaked in yellow/ivory house paint. The fabric is gorgeous - it has "flowers" that are textured on it and it is very thick and flowing. It is also 9.99 a yard. So I used it wisely. Haha. I have yet to take this piece off the mannequin, but I hope to have someone model it or a piece similar to it at my show (right, Claire!? Skinny? I need my models!).
This is the metamorphoses it went through (about a month's worth of work):

Printmaking this semester was really interesting as well. I used old pictures as references and experimented with printing on t-shirts as well as satin and silk. These are just the test prints on brown butcher paper....
Left is of me at 3 with the chicken pox and right is my brother and I (he's a pirate and drew his mustache on himself, that rascal) on Halloween about 1992. I made the chicken pox print into a t-shirt and made enough that almost all of my friends either have one or will get one (I'm making another batch soon!) My fella, Nathen, was nice enough to pose his shirt for me. As well as mimicking my face on the shirt. Haha.

This last picture is of my part of the studio at school - that I have pretty much taken over (The United States would be proud because I pretty much imperialized the space without asking), but it also shows another project I was involved with this semester. I posed for a drawing for my friend Kelsey's senior show (far left). Her show was compiled of life-size (if not a bit bigger and beautifully elongated) drawings of strongly posed female figures, hiding behind their hair. Giving it an almost anonymity/universal feel for each of the characters. I was very honored to be involved, as well as proud of myself for getting out of my shell (body-wise) and representing big beautiful females in the project. Thanks Kelsey! Proud of you! This picture also gives a nice scale reference to the peach satin wall hanging. It was huge!

Here's some jam for your week (the first one is for you, Carl, miss you! Go make some things in new places! You'll be great.):

More posts soon, I promise! I've been busy being lazy and squishy and sewing. If you're still reading this, I love you. XO.