ART FROM THE ROAD: Experimenting with Bamboo Skewers and Super Glue

"All The Stars In The Sky," Drawn in Ball-Point Pen (Small Scale Study #1)

Upon returning recently from my latest adventures throughout sunny Florida, I have had the privilege of satisfying my urges to push quantities of work in an attempt to whet my more-so (recently) mania driven appetite in the realm of visual arts. This is not only because my "traditional" studio practice isn't quite as feasible to maintain outside the studio and on the road, but because of my tendencies to work several pieces at once, and to explore relative concepts that come to me organically and satisfy a certain physical or psychological need within me. Put another way, I don't work on a piece if I don't have the literal need to work on it; similarly to the way a person wouldn't make love or masturbate without the urge to do so.
That being said, it can be observed with practicality that I would return on such a trip that forces me to be exhausting more internal facets of creativity such as writing, poetry, note taking, meditation, photography, etc.; and now feel the need to work aggressive, experimental, physical, and visually oriented works.
Similarly to some of my more meditative work, this piece almost develops aesthetically from within the first marks of its original conception, and is only loosely controlled through the implementation of the process.
Essentially, I very quickly drew and re-drew the simple five lined star that we all learn to make in kindergarten- I did this over and over again using a variety of sizes from one inch stars, to one foot stars, and repeated this for a few hours every single day. Not only did this provide an insightful opportunity for aesthetic development and reflection at the end of every days session, but it provided a certain time slot for me to relax my tensions in the frustrations of art-making by venting creatively.
Many have likened this quality to some of my work as therapeutic, and suggested that I work more toward that field (art therapy), however; although I do not work against, or deny this observation- why must any/all other facets of art be lacking this self healing quality? I was led to believe very early, that this was always a major function of art, no matter what your subject, medium, or intent are. I hope we do not begin to compartmentalize this healthy function of art as a new trend or movement, but conversely- strive to fulfill that personal importance as an asset to any artists working philosophy, whether someone paints a vase, a figure, a circle, or a wall.
I will continue to work off of what was observed in this smaller scale study (2'x2'), and am already considering how I will go about making these into large scale pieces. Since I used only one blue ball point pen, on a scrap board painted over in house paint- I have allot of decisions to consider when making the leap to large scale.
No matter what I decide for the future works, I cannot help but be amazed in the beauty of the single star itself, and then the resulting pattern created by obsessive repetition, and aggressive spontaneity.

A Simple form, untactfully placed;
sequentially repeated, the unit erased-
marriage of function, disparage of form,
essentially deforming the symbol first born.

dramatic reformation is creative masturbation.
clean up your mess, it is time to embrace
this curious new form.

Taken From Joseph R Reeves Esq.
(The Life, The Writings, and the Essential Life Writings of Joseph R Reeves Esq: p.26, par.4, WPP. '09)

THE FIRST TREE I'VE EVER MADE!

If you like this and other pieces, you should know that many of my current pieces are created on the road, as I am writing "THE LAST GREAT american NOVEL-" Be sure to follow this blog, it is my main priority currently (in the world of blogging that is)
The link is a few posts below, and on the side of the site this site as well- it can be found at:
http://www.thelastgreatamericanjourney.blogspot.com/


It was a bit frustrating being in Jacksonville NC- a Marine town with nothing to do at all, AND, Brian and Mark were working most days. I stayed productive initially by writing for the novel until midnight most days, and then pounding cheap beer with Brian until 3 or 4 and passing out, and then doing it all over again. I did get a bunch of work done on the novel, and I actually don't mind that sort of life- but after about a week I realized there was something missing in my life- I was feeling unfulfilled.
I decided to stop staring at my computer screen for hours on end, unless I was ACTUALLY writing, and decided to change out of Marks sweatpants, and go walk around outside.
It was a beautiful day out, and there were these wonderfully cute little lizzards running around all over the place. I began to go explore the back of the camper, and ended up just playing around with the nature that I saw, which eventually got me thinking about what kinds of art I could make out of it. The way I approached it reminded me of being a kid, and how much time I spent just goint and "playing" in the woods. The revitalization of that spirit began to inspire me, and as I came across a big dead tree that had fallen, I started to jump around on it, trying to get a nice piece to break off. After propping it up on a rock, and finally jumping onto it with a snap- I had a nice length of wood that I could carve or do SOMETHING with, I just wasn't sure what.
I sat there among nature and just looked at it and thought. Although I have always enjoyed earthworks, and natural installations, and that type of thing- I don't often see new concepts being explored; most of the time it is using elements found in nature, and arranging them in an eye pleasing composition. With that in mind, I began to think of how futile an effort that can seem be in comparison to the authentic beauty of nature. Put another way, nature in itself, is so inspiring that artists most often times use fragments of it as a medium to make something that is "MADE OF NATURE" but is no longer "Natural" or within the context of "Nature."
I thought about it over the next night, and when I approached the sad dead log, I suddenly had an idea. What if I could bring this dead log back to life? although I found a certain beauty in it already, I began to wonder if I could make this a "REAL" tree again. Along with this notion, is also a certain trickery that always appeals to me. The idea that I could "FORGE" a tree, or "FALSIFY" nature, began to intrigue me as a challenge.
I ran back to Marks trailer, and grabbed a pair of scissors, a box of toothpicks, and the fold-up marine standard shovel that he had given me for my trip. The results, are not too bad for my first try, and my limited materials. Although we left Jacksonville before I could really put some touches on that tree that would fool anyone- I am pleased with how far I was able to push it, and will be trying to invent new trees and plants now as I continue my travels.
A really great part about the process, is how meditative and reflective it really is to try and replicate nature in such a literal sense. It is not only a humbling experience, but it gives you a sense of inferiority that is intriguing to use as a challenge against yourself, and is at the same time, an aspect that contributes to the way you appreciate nature that isnt invented by wacky traveling artists such as myself.
the day before I departed from Jacksonville, I was overjoyed when a neighbor came over and asked- as if astounded- if we had a magnolia tree growing on the side of the trailer.

"ONE BOX OF TOOTH-PICKS" (In the process of becoming: "1000 BOXES OF TOOTH-PICKS")

So as I was staring at the Computer screen writing for hours and days on end- I started to go a little crazy, and needed some fun relief that could serve as another form of artistic release- thus, the toothpick sculptures were born!
I made it as far as One box of toothpics before I left NC, but you just wait and see- someday, this will be a large-scale outdoor sculpture! Think of how crazy it would be if I could get 1000 boxes of toothpicks together! What fun!!!


Start small, and be patient!








If you like this and other pieces, you should know that many of my current pieces are created on the road, as I am writing "THE LAST GREAT american NOVEL-" Be sure to follow this blog, it is my main priority currently (in the world of blogging that is)The link is a few posts below, and on the side of the site this site as well- it can be found at:http://www.thelastgreatamericanjourney.blogspot.com/

Duct Tape Form

I was a bit burned out on some other projects one day, so I decided to go to the corner store, buy a roll of duct tape, and see what kind of forms I could create by just playing around with the material. I really do have far too much fun with my art for it to be considered work! Anyways, as I played around with the material, and built this cute little button of ribbons on the wall- I began to envision a duct tape button that would nearly fill a room! This is the result of one or two rolls of tape. Along with many many many other experiments, this will be put in my to-do pile of future projects. Anyone know of someone who might want to donate a thousand rolls of duct-tape?? Just thought I'd ask...

My Favorite Spot on the Floor, Put On the Wall

This work is in similar fashion to my previous studies of "indexical relationships," as well as my efforts to apply spatial relationships to 2-d works. In this piece, I studied the floor of the Rae-Schilling gallery, in order to find a spot that I though was the most interesting and compositionally compelling. This gesture alone applies a conceptual focus that takes alot of the traditional aspects of "art-making" and tosses them aside, for a more experimental investigative approach, i.e. I didn't draw that piece of the floor even though I found that the marks were beautiful, I simply uncovered their inherent composition- outside of my artistic abilities- and brought attention to them by replicating them with a painted plaster mold. I than painted that spot on the floor white, to bring further attention to this switch, as well as add a slight twist of humor.
I was pleased with the results and will continue in this line of studies.

Wall Drawings/Floor Drawings

These are pretty simple concepts in terms of drawing, but as is common in my work; I am most interested in the process. It reminded me quite a bit of drawing on the wall when I was a child. Being allowed to have this freedom in the context of a pristine gallery- has an emancipating effect on your actions. I found that in a way, it was almost a form of action drawing- allowing me to carry my physical gestures through my arm and onto the wall in a rather fluid manner. The simple stencil idea, relates to many of my studies of indexical relationships, as well as my recent attempts to carry out 2-d work in the spatial and physical mannerisms of a sculptor.

Lace and Styro Form

This surreal looking form, was really inspired by process and materials- and conceptually came about intuitively. I definitely enjoy using the lace and plaster in this manner, and will continue to work different variations of this concept- we will see what happens!

Cinnimin Gumdrop Man

This is easily probably my best figurative work to date- it was done quickly when I noticed one of my fellow peers had left a container of cinnimin gum drops out on her table. I quickly fashioned a small gum drop man to sit on the edge of her container and wave hello to her upon her arrival. I am in the process of selling this piece to the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago for 12,000 dollars- it will be tough to part with though, this is a truly priceless work. I know what your thinking, go ahead, I dare you to tell me why this is not art. You don't got the guts punk!

Boundary Experimentation

This is one of the first experiments I did with boundaries and social interaction- by dusting the two sides of this hallway corridor with plaster dust and writing "Please use other side" on all four entrances, I was aggressively confronting individuals to make their own decisions about how to react to this barrier. The most interesting part of this experiment was to see its progression. As more and more people decided to disregard the prompt, you could see more and more footprints going different directions. This led people to believe more easily that it was ok to walk through, and funny as it was, people would tend to use the exact same side that the footprints were on- as if one side was ok to walk through, but the other was not. No one wanted to be the first set of footprints to break the rules.

Spatial Boundaries

This is an ongoing piece that explores some of my literal fascination with boundaries in particular, but also space, and interaction. What is especially fascinating, is that I used this strangely delicate lace/plaster boundary in the context of an art school, a place where people are expected to interact with pieces of art. When confronted this aggressively, without time to think or react- most people immediately look for someone around them to confirm that either they can move it, or that they should go under it. So far reactions have been nearly 70/30 with 30 % of the people actually getting down on their knees and crawling under the surreal hurdle! at least its good to know that so many people respect art, right? Wait- is that what this is? Nevermind...What is really amazing about this piece is the video footage of the actual reactions taking place- I will post some of the footage as I compile more and more, and in different locations with different context. (I just need to learn how to post video footage, thats all)

"STYRO-FORMS"

This is the latest piece in my "Styro-Forms" series, a series of more-so "object like" works that are created by a simple method of carving forms into blocks of styrofoam, pouring plaster into those negative spaces, and than reductively uncovering select parts of the styrofoam off of the plaster forms. I find the texture to be absolutely beautiful, as well as the questioning of process it evokes to most viewers. Below, are some of the first works created last year, when I first discovered this process.

Experimenting with pink foam and pressure

I'm not quite sure where this, or these (types) of works are headed, which is something exciting to me. I had the notion of using pieces of styro-foam board, and figuring out a way to make them cross an entire room held together purely by their pressure. This is a model using pink foam instead, and this is about as far as I got. The density of the pink foam didn't help, nor did their 2"x2" size. If I contrive a process to hold the other pieces together somehow, while adding in the new ones- I will be closer, but I also know now that the size of these units as well as their density, will be a significant factor.