New Twig Structures

I've been working on some new twig structures in the same vein as the ones I made for my senior show. I really enjoy some of the effects I've gotten so far. My favorite piece uses a picture frame as the base to support a forest of twigs with spent matches hanging like lanterns between their branches.

Recently I also started a new one using nails as connectors and stairways between the different parts of the structure. It seems that my twig structures, like my maps, always come back to the idea of making a visual and practical path among the elements. I'm always trying to make sure that other viewers will see the same connections that I do, but the differences are interesting too.

When I make freestanding structures like this, I use clothespins to hold up the main branches in the right arrangement until I've put all the connectors in place. At this point, the structure can actually stand on its own, but I've left the clothespins (as you can see in the first photo) because the twigs are balanced in an only barely stable way.

I also have one more that uses toothpicks and spent matches as complex connectors, but I don't have any good photos of it at all for some reason. I will post more once I get them all finished and up on the walls!

Necklace

I just finished a new necklace project. It's very time-consuming, but yet the result is really delicate. I'm not sure if I want to make more to sell because of that, although they are very sweet.

Artist's Choice Exhibit at Somerville Museum

Last Friday was the opening reception for the SOS member show at the Somerville Museum. I had one of my favorite map drawings in the show. It'll be up through May 14th. I took some photos of the work at the opening reception:

It was grouped with some other works, a few of which were thematically linked and all of which went together tonally:

The space was too tight to get a wider angle without bumping into the work behind. It was set up with many walls full of art on both sides in the main area and a side room. It was pretty difficult to even see all the pieces until closer to the end of the event. However, it was nice that they made an effort to include as many SOS artists as possible, and I'm looking forward to seeing the ones who will be showing at the Armory with me the weekend after next!

Little House Studios

I recently started working in a small studio space in the Little House Studios in Somerville. It's a nice biking distance from my house, and an easy walk from Porter Square. I went last night from work, which was a great way to de-stress. I'll be there a lot more often now that Somerville Open Studios is coming up!

Here are some things I have been making there lately:

Leafy Wire-wrapped Rings

I've been a bit disappointed with my efforts to make wire-wrapped rings using the paper beads. Last night I experimented with making little sparkly leaves out of glass beads and twisted wire, giving a sort of sparkly halo effect to the top of the ring. I think they turned out nicely; the only issue would be that they will inevitably get stuck on everything. But they're adorable, and very spring-like. I will post them on Etsy once I have some better photographs.

Castle Animation

I recently did an animation project for a friend's TV show. It took me forever to get a satisfactorily creepy old castle in a forest, but I think it turned out fairly well. The animation itself is just a slow zoom, so here's a still from the scene:

I'll post the actual zoom at some point, either here or on my portfolio site.

SLAM at the Burren

I'll be participating in SLAM (Saturday Local Artist's Market) at the Burren in Davis Square again this Saturday. I have a lot to do to get ready, but I'm hoping to have some nifty new things there, like the new accordion papercut cards and paper bead rings. I've been working on some methods for making fabric necklaces, but so far have not come up with anything I'm particularly satisfied with. It's unfortunate, since it would be a nice springy thing to show, but maybe something will occur to me.

Also, hey, one of my maps is on the poster for the event!

New Pop-up Direction

A little while ago, I was playing around with paper at work and ended up with this alternative to a pop-up card.

I've been toying with different ways of adding dimension and depth to pop-ups, and this could be an interesting way to do it. It loses depth because it's not a pop-up, but it's an interesting way to convey city imagery in a multi-layered way.

Window Gallery

The CVS in Davis Square has enormous windows onto the middle of the square, and they always have some kind of art display up. Because Somerville Open Studios is coming up at the beginning of May, they've filled them with Somerville artists for the next month -- including two of my map drawing pieces! The display just went up yesterday, and there'll be a reception in the square on the 23rd for all the artists, fans and passers-by.

MIT Walks

For the last month and a half I've been working at a company between Central and Kendall. Now that the weather has been getting warmer, I've been using my lunch breaks to take walks around the MIT area.