Studio Progress
Intro to my work:
Jess! I am very much looking forward to working with you. I am sending you a primer on recent work and my plans for developing these ideas further. To provide context, my work responds to my experiences as an adopted person. Balancing definition and belonging with living in ambiguity (unknown bio family, discarded at birth, exiled from the pack) embodies much of my personal experience.
WORK PROJECT 1: “CRITTERS”.
KEY IDEAS: the abject, failure at the feminine performance, fawning as survival, ambiguous origins, rhythm (focus & unfocus)
Where I’ve Been:
These are sculptures made in response to the saddest object I’ve ever encountered, an overly used & discarded “Barbie Make Me Pretty” toy.
(Also, as an fyi, I spent my entire life as a natural blonde until recent years when I darkened my hair.)
Made with peeled acrylic paint, braiding hair, face makeup & poly fill
Made with silicone, braiding hair & poly fill
Where I’ve Been:
I am creating tableaus using these “critters” and personal mementos from my childhood. Below is my first hair brush, comb and the mirror that sat on my childhood vanity. The 2nd tableau features a toy crib I played with as a child and the quilt I was brought home in from the adoption agency.
Where I’ve Been:
Using my background in graphic arts, I stereographically photographed the tableaus and designed vintage stereocards to resemble stereocards from the early 1900’s.
Stereocards printed on a laser printer
Where I’m Going:
I currently have plans to design faux packaging for the paint peel critter (the one that most resembles a toy) to make it appear to have existed in history.
Image to reference vintage toys in packaging
WORK PROJECT 2: FAUX HEIRLOOMS
KEY IDEAS: Missing heritage, anti-essentialism, Belonging through mimicry, Artifice, Seduction
Where I’ve Been:
I am exploring absent personal histories through the art of keepsakes and victorian hair art.
Where I’m Going:
Through the use of mimetic representation, I am creating paper casts of keepsake boxes and dishes. I plan to paint and fashion them with other representational details.
Sample of a bubble gum container and a paper cast of it (still in progress)
WORK PROJECT 3: FABRICATED HEIRLOOMS
KEY IDEAS: Essentialism, loss & Grief, Artifact
Where I’ve Been:
Using used make up cloths, I created a series of embroideries responding to the make up markings on the cloths. Additionally I have been creating felted hair baubles that are more about touch than sight. These works feature hair, nails and dead skin collected from my body.
Where I’m Going:
In using these same materials, I am using embroidery to create decorative edges to these cloths allowing them to resemble vintage handkerchiefs. The beaded edge on one of them is made with felted hair beads. I plan to add my fingernails and dead skin sequins into future designs.
WORK PROJECT 4: ABJECT PAINTINGS
KEY IDEAS: Abjection, Feminine Performance, fawning as survival, hyper focus
Where I’ve Been:
Having been a painter since childhood I began this series years ago where I compose seemingly innocuous moments of the body and objects with “skin” into suggestive compositions.
Where I’m Going:
Instead of painting recognizable things, I am creating compositions with my “critters” where I ask friends and peers to play with and style my critters. I photograph their results to create a new composition for painting.
“critter” result
Photographed composition for a future painting