Vintage Oak

Maybe just old. Can't resist old oak furniture as revealed by this shot of my shrinking office. Cubbies courtesy of Julia Richmond Educational Complex. Bent wood chair courtesy of 7th Regiment Armoury.

Wolf, Not Done, but Mounted

In a short day today, got to mount the wolf carving permanently in the ground at Teaneck Creek (well permanently till some kid knocks it over). Though I neglected to take a picture there is a green oak 4x4 lag bolted into a notch in the back, and mounted in the ground, hopefully protecting the poplar a bit from  moisture. I'll note that I'm not a tooling person, but a post hole digger is one of those little miracles that makes an apparently impossible task easy.

A quick glance at another piece of the same tree, makes it clear why I have worries about the pieces longevity. But I put another coat of sealer on it, and we shall see.
 

 

The less than virgin forest aspect of the creek park was highlighted by the fact that digging this 4x4 hole I hit two plastic children's toys, and a piece of pottery. I suspect that is more recent fill contamination, rather than the 40's-50's household waste that underlies other parts of the park... On that front prowling the eroding bank as I tend to when the greenery is low, I finally succeeded in my long term efforts to find a blue medicine bottle, something I have a childish obsession about.  Bromo-Seltzer good for what ails you.

Processional cross: initial dry assembly

I debated if I should post a recent work in progress pic of this ongoing commission, thought it might give away the surprise. I decided there was no harm, on the basis that my phone takes such terrible pictures its almost like you're not seeing it at all.   The base needs some more shaping, but otherwise its final fitting, finishing and assembly. A relief to be sure its actually going to be done on time.

My First Mesh

Strictly speaking I've created hundreds of thousands of meshes for work, all data driven however, and unfortunately, mostly lots and lots of spheres. This is my first ever free form 3D sculpt. I can't imagine actually making sculpture like this; it seems very fiddly. However, I could see doing concept maquette work this way.  For free I don't know how much you can expect, but I was a little surprised  given this program is based on a professional tool, that it seems to have so much trouble keeping the mesh from penetrating itself and creating odd artifacts that you can't smooth out, like those visible around the eyes. Maybe I'm doing something you're not supposed to...

Dried Persimmons!

I'm not aware that I've lapsed into my mania for exotic fruit here before... I had always heard of the existence of a variety of legendary dried persimmons prepared in a traditional Japanese manner by skinning the fruit hanging them from strings and massaging them while they dry to get a tender uniform texture. Thanks to the generosity of my co-worker Yuko who received some from Japan I was finally able to taste one.

One of these is conventional dried persimmon from a Japanese grocery. The other was hand massaged daily by the farmer who grew it. Can you tell which is which?

How about when they are cut open?

I had the opportunity to compare it with a more conventional dried persimmon (presumably) the same or similar variety, skinned, but not massaged and I imagine dried in a conventional dryer. The one on the left is the massaged one.  I am not really a foodie, so generally disapprove of enthusing over 'fancy' foods, but I was amazed by how good this was. Its interesting that parts of the store persimmon were a brighter orange, but it was very leathery, and didn't taste like a whole lot. The massaged one was as rumored amazingly soft, almost not like dried fruit at all, I admit I'd be afraid to keep it unrefrigerated even if someone told me I could.  I was surprised by how much the taste resembled a fresh persimmon. Admittedly a persimmon doesn't have the most subtle flavor, but I don't think I've ever eaten dried fruit that tasted so much like its fresh counterpart. For once a legend doesn't disappoint. Very exciting if you're into that sort of thing...

1). All of the Above -Open Call

Openings, a NY based artist collective I'm involved in has an open call out for its 2013 fall show. 2012 show had close to 1k visitors to the opening of the exhibit held every year in an active church near Columbus Circle. Be nice to see more folks from the surreal/visionary community involved. No fee submit an application. Call details below:

Call for Artists

1). All of the Above

Deadline for submissions: Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Openings invites artists to submit proposals to participate in 1). All of the Above, a group art exhibition taking place in Fall 2013 at the Church of St. Paul the Apostle in NYC.

With this year's theme, 1). All of the Above, Openings is asking you to tell us what you're passionate about, what you're thinking about, what you're interested in. We're curious to know how you would begin this conversation. We're curious about the questions you would ask. We're curious about your answers. We believe your response can address the question; "Where is the unity in all of our diversity?"

Openings is a collective of visual artists whose mission is to explore the connections between creativity and transcendence.  Each year the group presents an exhibition addressing a particular theme.  The theme for the 2013 exhibition is 1). All of the Above.  Artists are asked to submit a detailed proposal for artwork in any medium which explores their interpretation of this theme, addressed either personally, publicly, politically, aesthetically, conceptually, or spiritually.  Artwork will be exhibited within the unique space of the interior of the Church of St. Paul the Apostle on Columbus Avenue at W 60th Street in New York City.

Submission Guidelines

Artists are asked to submit the following materials:

●      Detailed Visual Proposal for 1). All of the Above: This should include clear and descriptive text/drawings/sketches/schematics of a proposed artwork for the exhibition or images of finished artwork you are proposing to show. Artists are encouraged to visit the exhibition space within Church of St. Paul the Apostle in advance of sending their proposal.

●      Proposal Statement of 250 words or less (in doc or docx format) describing the proposed artwork and how it addresses the theme of 1). All of the Above.

●      Contact information: name, address, email, telephone, website url (in doc or docx format).

●      10 separate jpeg images of recent work (no greater than 800 pixels or 11 inches at 72 dpi). Each file must be labeled with title, medium, dimensions and artist's name.

●      Current CV (in doc or docx format).

●      Artist statement of 250 words or less (in doc or docx format).

Eligibility:

This call for entries is open to any visual artist over the age of 18.  All submissions must be received via email to alloftheabove@openingsny.com. There is no fee for submitting a proposal; however, we will request a fee of $60 once you have been accepted into the exhibition.  This fee will go towards the cost of promotion, hanging, publicity and opening reception.  Artists will be selected by a jury of current Openings members and invited guest jurors. In addition, selected artists are required to sign an exhibition contract and to comply with the terms therein. Failure to do so will result in disqualification. All selected artists will be asked to schedule a studio/work space visit with one or more of the exhibition's curators as a way to show/discuss works in progress as they relate to the theme of the exhibition.  The suggested studio visit will also be used as an opportunity to record photo/video material for the purposes of generating PR for the show.  Artists or their representative must be present for both the delivery and installation of artwork as well as the de-installation and removal of artwork on the dates specified below.  Openings and the Church of St. Paul the Apostle will not accept or store works delivered in advance of the installation day and cannot store artworks after the de-installation date. Openings reserves the right to refuse to exhibit artworks that differ substantially from submitted proposals.

Event Schedule:

February 20, 2013: Completed submissions due via email

March 10, 2013: Notification of selected artists by email/phone

March 27, 2013: Artist meeting, exhibition space walk through

May 7, 2013: Artist update via email

June 7, 2013: Begin studio visits with selected artists…

August 13, 2013: Deadline to submit work-in-progress reports

September 12, 2013: Delivery/Installation of exhibition at Church of St. Paul the Apostle

September 13, 2013: Exhibition opens to the public

September 19, 2013: Opening Reception

October 3, 2013: Artist walk-through

October 25, 2013: De-installation of exhibition

Please send all submissions via email to alloftheabove@openingsny.com

Any questions pertaining to Openings or the exhibition can be directed to alloftheabove@openingsny.com

The deadline for submissions is midnight (EST), Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Art For the Storm

There are a bunch of great artists donating work to this fundraiser, a great opportunity to find some amazing work at a bargain price. Please if you can help spread the word about this event.  

Openings will hold a one day sale of art from the members of the Collective to benefit the victims of Hurricane Sandy.

When: Sunday, December 9 from 11am to 5pm

Where: St. Paul the Apostle Parish Center, 405 W. 59th St., between Columbus (9th) Ave and 10th Ave. Manhattan.

Artists contributing work: Joey Kilrain, Denise Penizzotto, Sandra Mack Valencia, Walter O'Neil, Daniel Nelson, Frank Sabatté, Robert Aitchison, Michael Berube, Iliyan Ivanov, Marjan Moghaddam, Anthony Santella, Keena Gonzalez, Johanna Bartelt and Mark Brennan.

100% of the proceeds from sales will go to the Mayor's Fund of NYC and will be directed to Hurricane Relief. 100% of funds received go to New Yorkers in need.

http://openingsny.com/?page_id=1262