Homecoming

Victoria and I represented the Metals Department at the Herberger College of the Arts Booth at Homecoming this weekend. We had lots of jewlery to sell and had a great time meeting people!

We were under a tent with Art Ed. and Sculpture who had great booths as well.

I couldn't believe the two of us made enough jelwey to fill up two large tables! We were busy making jewelry all week!!
There was also great music and a really fun parade with the marching band!Victoria took this great shot of the parade.
She also took this great shot of the tuba players!

And this one of the beautiful traditional dancers...
Other fun parts of the day included seeing our supportive friends and co-metalsmiths!

We even got to take pictures with the Chick Fil A Cow!
And he gave us some nifty little souvenirs...

Like this little piggy bank is really big enough!!

All in all it was a fun day and I was glad to have spent it with Victoria!

Don't Miss This

I will be selling jewelry at ASU's homecoming this Saturday at the annual alumni art walk. Come stop by and say hello on the lawn in front of Old Main between 2pm-6pm!

What You Missed

If you did not make it to the New Graduates Exhibition or the 2nd Annual Intercollegiate Exhibition, then here is what you missed seeing in person... These are images of my first two pieces as a grad student!

"A Lasting Impression"

Sterling Silver, Copper, Vitreous Enamel, Embroidery Thread

Detail of back.

"Remnants"

Sterling Silver, Red Brass, Human Hair

Creativity

Dictionary.com defines Creativity as:
the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.; originality, progressiveness, or imagination

Wikipedia says:

An alternative, more everyday conception of creativity is that it is simply the act of making something new.

As a new graduate student, creativity has begun to hold an entirely new meaning for me. People often say that there is no such thing as an original idea. We are at a point in time where most things have been done, most ideas addressed, and most techiniques discovered. How then, is it possible to be creative in a world where everything has already been done? This is something that I am currently struggling with. It seems everytime I think I have a new and fresh idea, someone points out to me that it is being done by so and so. Are our thoughts ever actually our own? Everthing we think and feel is influenced by our experiences with others. Others words, others actions, others thoughts. What I am thinking right at this moment has likely been thought already by someone else somewhere in time. Yes, I have my own unique set of experinces and outlook, but it is likely that someone with entirely different experinces will possibly have ideas similar to my own. George Kneller said, "Creativity, it has been said, consists largely of re-arranging what we know in order to find out what we do not know." I have come to realize that while it is important to research the work of other artists, and also to be aware of what is going on in the art world today, I need to pursue my thoughts and ideas without being afraid of not being completely original. My ideas can be similar to someone elses while still being my own. My new advice comes from Joseph Chilton Pearce who says, "To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong."

.

(The image above is something I am working on in my Intaglio class.)

Working Away...

Making jewlery for my upcoming sales...

10 more days until the first art fair at ASU Homecoming! (See details in right hand column.)

More Intaglio

Here are some proofs from my latest Intaglio attempts. I love printmaking. It is offical.

This piece is about how we as people are all connected to eachother. The hands are in a gesture of offering to propose the question, "What do you have to offer? What kind of link are you?"

The ink in this last one is a little over wiped, but the professor kept the good copy so this is the print you get to see. Just use your imagination to make it look perfect:)

Always Something

One thing I love about ASU is that there is always something going on. On Saturday I was on my way to the studio, and was delayed for about 20 minutes by an unlikely bicycle parade full of hundreds of people in wigs and crazy costumes. They were riding bicycles, tricycles, and unicycles that were all decked out. I found out later that the parade was actually the "Tour De Fat" put on by the Tempe Bicycle Action Group. It was an interesting crowd of people for sure!

Curratorial Attack

Last Wednesday I received the following email:

"Hello Fellow Graduate Students,

David Young and I (Marco Rosichelli) are curating a show to go inside our “Trojan Bike” art project, and would like to invite you (our colleagues) to “apply”. Your pieces will be sealed inside the“Trojan Bike” and then wheeled to the ASU Art Museum for a curatorial attack. The Show title is “Trojan Bike: A Curatorial Attack” Here are the guidelines for this curatorial attack:

1) Your piece has to fit inside the “Trojan Bike” (along with every ones pieces)

2) We need your piece by today... MIDNIGHT (Wednesday October10th)... Place your piece inside the bike, which is currently parked in front of the Sculpture Graduate Studios (you will know it when you see it)

3) We take no liability for any loss or damage incurred to you oryour artwork... after all... this is a Curatorial Attack

4) Update your CV with this awesome show (which is also a CuratorialAttack)any questions... call/email-Dave Young and Marco Rosichelli (Curators of the “Trojan Bike: ACuratorial Attack)"

I decided this would be fun and interesting to participate in, but wasn't sure I wanted to donate a valueable piece to the show. I created this paper and string necklace for the show. It was fun and I can't wait to see what becomes of the Trojan bike!

The "Trojan Bike"

My piece, "Linked" made of paper and thread.

Intercollegiate Awards, etc.

I am finally posting more pictures from the 2nd Annual Intercollegiate Metals Exhibition. Four Awards were given by Juror Jessica Calderwood (her piece pictured above and below). I love the electroformed edge and beautiful drawing on this piece (entitled "Layout", copper and enamel).

First Place Student Award went to Lauren McAdams for her piece "Transportable Dialogue". Lauren is a graduate student at Arizona State University. Second Place Student Award went to Arnold Martin for his piece,"Tension Structure #8 (Wave Interference)". Arnold attends Wayne State University.

Third Place Student Award went to Kazumi Ito for her piece "The Warmest Place In The World". Kazumi is an undergraduate student at Arizona State University.

Honorable Mention Student Award went to
Kriste Dian McAnally for her piece, "Mind’s Fire". Kriste attends University of North Texas.
Here are images of some of my favorite pieces in the show.

Becky I. Chader
Venerable Vestment: Cloth vs. Convenience
Copper, Brass, Nu-Gold, Diapers, CZs, Sterling Silver
Arizona State University

Kelly Kaatz
Precious
Foam, Plaster, Copper, Acrylic, Bone
Wayne State University

Kyleen Jeans
Armored Clutch
Copper, Brass, Fabric
Arizona State University

Victoria Altepeter
Dynamical Balance (one belt buckle in a series of 7)
Sterling Silver, Fine Silver, Nickel, Copper, Brass
Arizona State University

Ana Lopez
System
Copper. Brass, Patina, Oil Color
University of North Texas

Kurt Thompson
Slave To The Traffic Light
Brass, Copper
Arizona State University

Jessica S. Mohl
Reciprocity Series #3 Emergence
Sterling Silver, Copper, Plaster
University of North Texas

Janey McClain
Legacy
Brass, Nickel, Gut
Murray State University

Jonathan Leo Brown
Gothic Garden
Brass, Bronze and Silver Alloy, Rutilated Quartz
Arizona State University

Opening

I just want to say thank you so much to everyone who made it to the openings tonight! Both shows were packed full and it was great to see the galleries filled to the brim!

Thanks especially to the Rusinkes, the Kaufmans, and Mary Lynn Olsen, I really appreciate you guys being there (and everyone else)!

A special thanks to Mom and Dad for driving up from Tucson to see the show, I love you guys!

And, if you didn't make it to the show, you missed out on some killer munchies, and some great art! You can still go see the show anytime though, details are below. I will be posting images of some of the work (and the winning pieces) very soon.