Commission

A few months ago I was asked to do a commission for a 25th wedding anniversary (the silver anniversary) present from a husband to his wife. Although a bit intimidated, I was really excited about it. Through lots of brainstorming with other family members and friends of the family, I was able to come up with an idea for the gift. I had started collecting old silverplated platters a number of months ago with vague ideas for them in mind, and this opportunity seemed perfect for some of my ideas. So I pitched the idea of creating silhouetted portraits on antique silver platters to the family and they were excited about the idea. Then I got to work! I collected photos of all the family members and turned them into silhouettes. Then I made hardware for the platters to hang from. I think that was my favorite part...not sure why. I also made these little fluer shapes that have the anniversary date stamped into them.

It took me forever to get 5 platters that were the same basic oval shape. They are all different, and I like that they look old. I want to make more! After weeks of work and worry, I finished the platters and was really happy with how they turned out! I delivered them to the family this weekend and got a great response. I was glad they asked me to do the project and that they gave me so much freedom to work. I had a lot of fun and know it was a great experience for me!

Tucson

I spent this weekend in my beautiful hometown of Tucson, Arizona. I love summer. Summer means monsoons, which means thunder, lightning and rain. It was gorgeous. I love the desert.

New Piece

Here are some pics of my new work. This piece is in the Night Gallery if you want to see it in person. Check out photos from the show in the post below.

I feel like I am still experimenting at this point and don't really have all my thoughts formulated about the piece yet, so I will leave it up to you to interpret. Although I will tell you that the girls come from a photo of my mom and her sister as children. Please tell me what you think. I plan on making a few more of these in the coming weeks, so that is what I will be up to. I'd love to hear your thoughts...good, bad, anything! Critique me:)
"Shadow"

Altered silver plated platter and embroidery
10"x6"x1"

Night Gallery Grand Opening

Last night was the grand opening reception for the new Night Gallery in Tempe. The space was layed out beautifully and the work in the show was amazing. I know I am biased, but it was one of the best shows I have seen in the valley in a long time. It was a great mix of contemporary artwork from both veteran and emerging artists, and if you missed the opening you should head on over to the gallery another time to check out the show. Info can be found HERE. The show stays up for a month, so go check it out! Some gallery shots...Me and my piece...This piece is by ASU sculpture grad, Ryan Lamfers.This piece is called Urban Sprawl by Damien Johnson, and is real cactus with neon!This skull and portrait of Britney Spears created with swimming pool lane lines, was made by ASU painting grad, Ryan Miller.This is the work (below) of Photographer, Christoper Colville.This ceramic installation by ASU ceramics grad, Jesse Armstrong was really interesting.I was completely captivated by this motorized rotating piece by sculptor Al Price. It spun slowly in a circle, chaging your view from spheres, to circles, to flat planes and casting beautiful shadows on the wall.There is so much great work in the show, I can't share all of it, and you need to see it in person. Take a walk in the Tempe Marketplace, get some sushi at Kabuki (delicious by the way!), go see some great art, and make a night of it!

I want to thank all my friends that came to the opening. It really means a lot to me to have so many people that support me in all my endeavors. Thanks guys!

Utilitarian

Sometimes I find great joy in making things that are purely useful. This is some hardware for a comission I am working on at the moment. It really just makes me happy to make things that have a practical purpose! u·til·i·tar·i·an
–adjective
1.pertaining to or consisting in utility.
2.having regard to utility or usefulness rather than beauty, ornamentation, etc.
3.of, pertaining to, or adhering to the doctrine of utilitarianism. –noun
4.an adherent of utilitarianism.

[Origin: 1775–85; utilit(y) + -arian]

—Synonyms 2. practical, useful, functional, sensible.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)

Deadline

I have a big deadline coming up and will most likely be disappearing into the studio this week, with no hope of emerging until my task is completed. I will share it all with you next week, but until then I have to get to work!

Luckily for me I have Denison Witmer to keep me company...I can't get enough of his music lately! I wish there were better songs of his on youtube, but here is a small sampling. Check him out!

Etsymetal Finds

I will now be doing a weekly feature on the Etsymetal Blog, called Etsymetal Finds, featuring new work in members shops within the last week, like this Oksana Sterling Silver Ring, by Indiaylaluna. Check it out every Sunday here.

And, in case you want to know, "Etsymetal is a global team at Etsy.com. We strive to be a unique group of metal artists who support Etsy and each other. Our goal is to promote metal working on Etsy, and to direct traffic to participating shops offering work that incorporates hands-on metal working techniques."

Come See Some of My New Work at the...

I just finished a new piece! I have started in a very new direction, and am excited to see where it leads me. I will be exhibiting my first entirely non-functional piece of artwork since I started grad school. Its a big step for me:) So, if you want to see it, you have to come to the show. Otherwise you will just have to wait until I post a photo of it after the opening:)

"Be a night owl! Come to the opening reception of the ASU Herberger College School of Art Night Gallery at Tempe Marketplace.

When: Thursday, June 26, 20086-9 p.m.

View the exciting kinetic work of David Young, International Sculpture Center’s (ISC) 2007 Outstanding Student Achievement Award winner. Night Gallery also features a group exhibition of other ASU Herberger College School of Art graduate students, faculty and alumni.
Tempe Marketplace, east of Barnes & Noble, 2000 E. Rio Salado Pkwy., Tempe."

Night Gallery is a community project of the ASU Herberger College School of Art and the ASU Office for Community Engagement in partnership with the Tempe Marketplace.

Arrowmont: The Instructors

While at Arrowmont, I met some really amazing and talented people. One of my favorite parts of Arrowmont, was that everyone there was so kind, so willing to learn and share. There were no cliques, no judgement, and no competition. Everyone was there to make art and friends. I have to say, it was very different from the realm of graduate school that I normally confine myself to. Anyway, I thought it would be nice to show you the work of some of the instructors that were there while I was there. They were all so nice and so down to earth, and after seeing their work, I came home very inspired.Michaelene Walsh was there teaching ceramics. These cups were in the faculty show. The images below are taken from the Dubhe Carreño Gallery website. "Elegy""Bittersweet""Ghost"Another instrctor that was there, was Jennifer Angus. I have to admit I was a bit starstruck when I met her...I only give lectures to my students about her work a couple times a semester! Jennifer creates huge installations using real bugs. She creates a wallpaper like pattern on the walls of a room using little insect bodies. Her work is beautiful. She was super nice and everyone who took her class had a great time. Check out her website here. This is one of her installations.This is a detail from a different installation. All the colors of the bugs are natural. Isn't it just beautiful?
Another one of the instructors that I really enjoyed meeting was wood artist and furniture maker Michael Mocho (his work above). While working on my undergraduate degree, I took many woods classes and was the wood shop monitor at ASU, so I have a soft spot in my heart for woods. Michael let me go down to the wood shop and bug him a few times. I am trying to talk him in to coming to AZ for our Yuma Symposium. Anyway. he too was very nice, and his work was stunning. I wish I could find more images to show you...
This was the wood shop where all the lathes were.
This is the shop where Michael was teaching box construction (and probably wondering why I was taking a picture of him from the looks of it). I wish I could have taken this class too! I got some images of his work (below) off the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship website, where Michael has been an instructor.
"Enso Flask #1""Bubinga Swirl"

David Ellsworth was also there teaching wood turning. I didn't really get a chance to meet him, but I enjoyed listening to and watching his slide show. These are some of his hollow turned vessels. (above and below) I also got to meet Printmaker and Book Artist Diane Fine. (One of her collaborative works above). She was very nice and I really liked her work! Check out more images on her website.
And last, but not least, is Becky Chader McDonah. Becky is the metals professor at ASU, and the reason I was able to go to Arrowmont. The piece above is what she had in the faculty show at Arrowmont. It was hard to get a picture of because it is actually supposed to be mounted on the wall. Its a little cootie plaque. Becky's work always makes me smile.This is a raised bowl she made as a reliquary for dandelion seeds.

This one is a reliquary for mosquito repellant. It was really fun to get to spend the week with Becky, and all the other people at Arrowmont. There were other instructors there that I am not showing you, but these are the ones that I was able to meet.

I had a lot of fun last week and met so many great people. I know that I am changed from my experiences at Arrowmont.