As I expressed earlier, I need to take a step back from the images I'm filling my brain with from the web and use more of the real world for inspiration. So I will post about some of my past work for the remaining of the week and then take a little break from posting.

I found a CD of images scanned from slides of work going back about 10 to 15 years. Here a few more detail shot of the piece I posted about from my first blog post, called Spot Shifting.

This is a past work of mine inspired by Elizabethan collars and the absurdity of the garment. I wanted to see what might happen conceptually when it was enlarged and over exaggerated covering one's entire body.

I came across these while I was cleaning my studio recently, I made these when I was about 10 years old. At the time I had planned selling them at the local mall or to friends for Christmas ornaments but never did. When I was making these I told my mother that, "I did not like to make things over and over".  Not much has changed. Each one has a funny personality and in a different stage of completion. The materials I used were definitely a sign of the times. Check out the head band and bangle earings!

I thought I would share a bit from my past installation work. This is a performance piece I did as part of a one person show I had in Raleigh, North Carolina at Lump Gallery, called On the Dot. The gallery was at one time a garage so the space was shaped long and thin, which worked perfectly for this piece. Basically, two women dangled from the ceiling each in front a target shape hanging from opposite walls. They both had a telescoping pole that allowed them to reach across the room to touch each other and a metal trough.

One performer was equipped with a trough filled with water the other with frosting. The performer on the left wall had a tub of frosting attached to her belt in which she continued to cover her own face. The performer on the right wall would reach across the room and attempt to wash the other's face each time she "applied" more frosting. As the performer on the right washed away, reveal or erased the frosting from the first, the first was "applying" frosting to the second performers face.

They continued this cycle of apply and reveal through out the duration of opening night.

Well, here we go... this is my very first blog entry. I write this on the day of my daughters 4th birthday. A nice way to re-ignite, re-fresh and re-new what I started 4 years ago, which was initially inspired by her birth. Afraid I would simply dry up or become invisible and driven to keep channeling my creativity, I began a cottage industry I call b.delicious. In which I make and design a collection of contemporary goods for children, including t-shirts, hair accessories and room decor.  Like this felt flower pot.

On the other hand, this collection of
star barrettethat also come as a ponytail holder.

 
Many of my past installation art pieces were whimsical and inspired by fantasy and fairytales. So, I used these same inspirations as a jumping point and transitioned my installation art ideas to the medium of apparel and the environment of my daughter’s room. I struggled to find garments for her that was unique and functional that matched my aesthetic. Here are a couple images from a large installation piece I did called Spot Shifting. I made an Elizabethan style collar that stretched the 10 x 12 square foot of the 3-sided room and attached to the wall at "neck" height. Underneath I created about 350 soft sculpture plant and flower formations. Two women dressed all in white powered each other repeatedly until their faces became camouflaged against the white collar. This live action performance element was acted out continuously for the duration of the exhibit. The  gallery lights that shown through the collar reflecting onto the fabric plant formations underneath created a magical quality, similar to sunlight that is diffused through the leaves onto a forest floor.

I will continue to share the ever-changing goal of work life balance, between my kids, my creative thoughts and projects. I am a person that must "make things" so you will be able to see them here first.

I hope you enjoy what I will share with you in the future and I wish you will return often.

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