Clorox Chandelier 'In Design and Construction'

'Second Seating' has so many facets - and such a growing list of partners. Monday evening was the second of three weeks of classes at Houston Community College Southeast where students are working on 'Second Seating.' Amazingly and all together, we are creating that Clorox bottle chandelier.

I think most of the students are having a good time. We've developed design parameters, but within those constraints they are free to design almost any kind of pattern for their own Clorox bottle.

They'll continue on next week and as they finish, we will begin to starting the bottles on a series of rolled white tablecloths. Then it will be time to hang them from a metal structure where the effect will be somewhat like a May Pole. Does anyone know about May Poles anymore? Then there's that mirrored rotating ball that will be affixed in the center so it will project sparkle absolutely everywhere.

Laurie Perez came to Monday's class and photographed the students. By the way, she is 'Second Seating's official photographer and she will document this installation from this moment until the tables and chandeliers are installed at Irma's and we've in the middle of the September 24 opening. Laurie is a really good photographer - she finds expressions and details that make a narrative. She is the perfect choice for documenting 'Second Seating.'

June Woest invited me to join two sections of her Art Appreciation classes this semester so her students can have hands-on experience in making design decisions, working together as a team and seeing how their work on a large project contributes to the whole.

During the first of the three weeks of classes, I talked about 'Second Seating' as a concept. I shared where ideas come from, how one raises funds to make an exhibition possible, the ways a show is promoted and how the artist or artists create art. Told them that making art is a visual process and decisions are being made minute by minute.

Some decisions are good, some get scraped. I think that they will begin to see once they are into their filigree pattern how 'more' can be better, how a clear pattern is stronger than a 'little of this and a little of that.' We'll be learning about these Clorox bottle patterns together.


The second class meets from 11:00 - 12:30 today. I bought a dozen more knives so everyone will start off with their own knife. The pairing of students so that they shared a knife and a hole punch did not work so well because everyone needs to begin with a knife.