Hello Again!
Well, I guess I took the rest of the summer off from blogging. Oops! There’s a lot to catch up on. And some reorganization of things (but I’ll stick with this theme).
For now, please enjoy the murky-bright colors of this TIMELY flier (made by Chad and me)…
Demand + Supply
“Beginning with an Assignment (DEMAND) to create a list of Materials (SUPPLIES), Hopper and Jones engage in a closed-economy art experiment, wherein the elements themselves are also used as tools without any additional means.
ASSIGNMENT:
1) Create a list of mutually agreed-upon supplies limited to 20 different elements with specified quantities.
2) Gather all supplies on list individually.
3) Install supplies at Co-Lab on specific sides of room, working independently except for at the meeting point (somewhere in the middle).”
“STUFF”
Chad has instituted a new system of rating little sentimental “STUFF” + things on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being RED HOT, CAN’T POSSIBLY PART WITH. This is to help us pare down our wild collections to more manageable menageries of bric a brac, by eliminating anything under a “6” on the new scale.
Meanwhile, I’m just going around taking pictures again. “Oo, look how pretty it all is together!”
Like so.
Kan you see the kangaroo theme?
Fully Febby
So much going on, behind the scenes! Not much time for bloggin just yet, but if you can come on out to Salvage Vanguard Theater tomorrow night (2/14), I will be making a Synaesthetic Dessert on the stage. ♥ Lights, sounds, color, motion!!
— — — and next week… — — — (rain or shine…)
Junk-a-thon! This time the theme is let’s barter more — so, bring stuff you don’t want or need! Drop it off or trade it for something you DO want or need. I want to have a bulletin board sort of thing, so people can leave a flier or note advertising themselves and their services or products or whatever! Let’s make connections, people! It’s a new economy.
HEY, LOVE YOURSELF! YOU DESERVE IT!
Welcome Sun
art in the yard. 2/7 =come play and work with me, materials and earth.
Beautiful Weather Observations
look how green and faded the film has gotten!
Good weather for doing projects outside– come on down, the price is right.
Speaking of Experimentation…
There are, of course, countless piles containing past experiments which have not yet been placed in OUTGOING flow-paths. (Such as the boxes of photos and collage material, but hey, that’s normal!)
Plucked from the random piles, here is a batch of photos that were shot on some slide film which went undeveloped for about 2 years, during which it was exposed to Texas heat extremes and who knows what else. Plus, it looks like I had the camera on the wrong ASA. But they turned out neat!
“…contemplating the universe, remodeling everything…”
Video Game Living Room
Yes, I’ve been BEHIND on blogging (leaving a flier for an event-past up for 2 weeks, oh my!). So here is a photo to savor while I get all my ducks in a row!
— — — —
The year is rounding out to a close. That means almost 1 year of Synaesthetic Breakfast, and an opportune time to write a NEW Artist’s Statement, new goals, and to re-organize my folders once again! (If you haven’t noticed, I love RE-organizing… more than maintaining pre-established order. I think it’s genetic. My maternal grandmother used to rearrange the furniture to the extreme of making her children switch rooms. My father liked to remodel everything…)
Off the cuff I’m going to throw out there that I would like to do some self-interviews as a way of synthesizing, digesting all this work that I’ve been producing since moving to Austin (almost) 5 years ago. Five years– that’s like going to college all over again! And it really has been a time of self-education and creative development that I am proud of. I’ve flailed from time to time for lack of “structure” and moaned about my miserable record of documenting/cataloging/writing about everything that has happened…. but those failures aside, I am pretty happy about what I have achieved and what I’m working on now. (I almost said “where I’m headed,” but the crystal ball is being coy just now.)
For the future of Synaesthetic Breakfast: more photos, colors, textures; more writing about other people, project updates and catching up with my self-documentation goals.
Among the many things I’ve been meaning to blog about but haven’t within the past weeks/months/year:
– The interview transcription from Neighborhood Acupuncture Project, covering topics such as how co-healing is actually more effective than treatment in isolation…
– The video/audio/photo documentary of Scott and Jen’s ever-evolving garden-scape (outside of but not really separate from their Museum of Natural and Artificial Ephemerata)
– My report on Saturn Return now that I’ve gone through it!
Also, I’ve been meaning to share these photos:
My dog has a lot of cat friends. I put up this sign to try and protect them from those crazy drivers!
I had fun visiting studios during E.A.S.T. Then I came home and played with blocks.
Another Big Idea/fantasy plan that I haven’t blogged about: Science+Art Barn-Raising.
Basically, my studio/yard is a test-site where collected/scavenged materials (mostly man-made post-consumer scraps) are subjected to extreme (Texas) weather conditions.
Two teams (coexisting, not opposing) will converge on the site = Scientists, studying the breakdown of these materials into the environment + Artists, creating conceptual work from and with the materials through constant rearrangement and manipulation.
Science is a steady collecting of data that must be grounded in physical reality. As an artist, I am immersed in this physical reality and its constant changes; I observe the weather, the passage of time, the biodegrading occurring. I struggle to keep up with the challenges of this “outdoor studio”, this “man v. nature” drama which usually results in the ego/idea surrendering to that which is so much larger. Decomposition keeps pace with composition. I find myself gluing things less and less. So maybe this struggle and surrender, this process, IS my material? I let go and observe the transformational work of Nature? If I could morph into a part-time scientist, it could be my subject of study, which might actually be objectively useful in the field of environmental science. As it is, I am kind of stuck being an artist (at least for now), so I would like to invite some other people to come be the scientists.
Consider this a rough draft! Please do: edit, question, comment!
Time Exchange works! & E.A.S.T. is gonna be great.
before -- after
I met a new Austin Time Exchange buddy today and cleared some paths in her living labyrinth! Wow, it is amazing. Smells so good, like lemon trees, geraniums, roses, and life.
Passionfruit. Mary's son, Sequoia, told me the right way to eat a passionfruit: open it up and chew the juice out of the seeds! This one isn't ripe yet, though.
You’ll have to check her out (Mary Kraemer – Rosa Milagrosa) during E.A.S.T. in 2 weeks!
Also, for those in Austin, TOMORROW -and every 2nd Sunday- there is a social orientation to ATEN (Austin Time Exchange Network) with potluck to follow! If you want to get involved and start trading work hours with other Austinites, come out to Soma Vida (on Rosewood) at 5pm!
And speaking of E.A.S.T., definitely keep an eye on the Co-Lab schedule, for there is going to be a very special week of Happenings there. >heart<
SOME current fliers &”commentary”
This one was a fun collaboration back-and-forth between myself + Chad. There should be a good little collection of fliers we’ve made together by now.
Man! And I made the puppet show production one, but you’ll have to look at http://www.r-e-r-t.org/puppets or I will scan again. The promotion for that is still evolving. How do you advertise a PROCESS — something that is perpetually in progress, but that requires community connection? (many answers, flowing)
Oo-oo! By the way, Fernando has decided: every Sunday, 3pm: Fence Paint! Anything goes! All ages. Yes!
Anyway, Chad got this other flier whipped out, too:
And, also from the ALF book…
Ha!
That’s for the “programming” that I will be providing as part of the E.A.S.T. (East Austin Studio Tour) celebration in November, at CoLab (for she’s a jolly good art space).
So, here’s the run-down of things I am excited about:
Oct. 2nd: Chips’ b-day party and puppet-making soiree!
Oct. 3rd: Night Viking at FREE WATER2
Oct. 6th: |:The Lost art (of):| performs at Beerland with Palit and Liz Burrito & the Bubble Machines!
Oct. 10th: Open Call / Dress Rehearsal for puppet show. Also, benefit for the Lipstick Pages.
Oct. 17th: JUNK-A-THON Opens! Pot-luck and PUPPET SHOW!
Oct. 18th: Junk-a-thon Day #2, w/ Craft Tables!
Oct. 23rd: Emergency Casserole!
Oct. 31st: Halloween and Butthole Surfers at Stubbs!
Nov. 15th: “An Ostrich and a Rainbow”, a movement-based play by Starlight Dance Troupe, at the Carver Theater.
Nov. 17th: E.A.S.T. workshop/performance at Co-Lab.
and more and more! So much to look forward to.
(sigh)
Weaving
Click on the title of this post to see the pictures more up-close. I’m using the 2nd-to-last image as a desktop picture this week.
Art For Walls
ephemeral galaxies being observed
Miss Messy's Lasagna
Chad and I are trying to get a coffee-shop show together. Here are some examples of my recent work, and some of his (below):
The Holidays Are All Mixed Up
July 4th should be Mother’s Day (most Cancerian holiday).
Here’s a picture for my mother and for the Fourth of Jewel Lie:
RAW COLLAGE
3: I Spy…
Can you find: inner tube, pine cone, paper clip, a thought, engagement ring, magic yellow notebook ?
2
book shown: Between Heaven and Earth, a comprehensive and accessible book about Chinese medicine.
P.S. I am soon going to interview the practitioners at Neighborhood Acupuncture Project soon and write a feature.
Synaesthetic Breakfast 