Sunday, September 6, 2009

This has been another Second Seating day. What 's new? It's now 7:00 p.m. and a few minutes ago, I poured myself a goblet of chilled white wine. Think I'm through for the day which began at 6:00 a.m.
Worked on the gallery guide and sent the first draft with all of its blank space to each of the artists so they can fill in titles and dimensions and prices. I need a short bio of each artist. You know, I am really excited about this group of artists. Each is so talented and their work for Second Seating is really going to surprise folks. When we meet tomorrow at the space, I'll gather some information from Jose and Ted and get it in draft form for them to take a look. And then I'll call everyone else and get theirs in draft form for review, rewrite, whatever.
Also got closer to the final draft of a very 'short story' about the East End and shot it off to Mary Vargo for read. There is nothing she doesn't know about the East End and she says she'll take a look.

Also tightened the several paragraphs I've been working on about Doris Bain Thompson. My mom is 92 and several weeks ago I experienced an epiphany. I have her genes after all and with Second Seating, I may well be doing what she did with her choirs in Aruba. We are both able to think something up from scratch and make it work. After I made this startling connection, I decided to dedicate Second Seating to my mother and though I called Seattle and told her, it will bear retelling again and again. My mom has increasing dementia and it has taken its bitter toll on her ability to retain information or to articulate her own thoughts. But back in her prime time? Well, that's another thing altogether. She had guts and vision.
Here's a photo of her taken last Christmas. She'd broken her arm and was in the hospital for awhile. But she's looking pretty good in this picture. I wish she could see this show. Makes me think I should find someone who can take a video of the opening. Now that, she and Dad would enjoy.
Break time after writing about Mom. I walked out to the oyster shell pile which is something I do often now. That oyster shell pile simply calls me these days.
I've just realized why. Granted, I need to check on them and turn them so they get clean with rain and sun for Second Seating. But every time, I go out there, I also select at least a dozen or two and bring them back into the kitchen sink to scrub and dry. My kitchen counter is covered with oyster shells. There may be 100 shells drying there and I plan to write gold words on each and bake them. Point is, I really like 'choosing' things and the oyster pile is as good as a resale shop. And today, I occurred to me that maybe folks at the opening might like to buy a shell with a word like 'love' or 'longing' or 'yes' or 'maybe' on it.
Sort of a little present to take home? Or give someone?
After the shelling expedition, I glued more collage pieces together and they are now weighted down with big books. The collages are just about done. On Tuesday, I'll buy sheets of plexi and begin drilling holes for the little brass carpet nails that I use to affix plexi to frame.
Took another break to read parts of the NYT, ate a couple of bowls of pecan praline ice cream with sliced bananas. Really. The last thing I need.
Mid-afternoon, I cut and sewed another vesty garment made from my stash of fabrics salvaged from Hurricane Ike. The first vest I made with some of these fabrics, I took to Turkey and to Seattle and I like it very much. Here's a photo of it taken in Discovery Park, where by the way there's been a real live cougar on the loose. Which they caught last night and will take to 'the wild.'
But the garment I put together this afternoon leaves a lot to be desired. It's not what I want to wear for the opening, though that was the intention when I began.
I began to search my closet and now my bed is piled with stuff. All fashion disasters. I need to wear a 'piece of work' basically. After I tried about 15 different approaches, I took a patchwork wall hanging I made for the show and wrapped it around my waist and then above my waist, Empire style.
It was the first thing that made sense. And looked like Second Seating. I wish I had a dress form my size so I could drape the thing. More and more I think about that draping class I took my junior year in college. It was as useful as an Algebra class. Or physics 101. One doesn't always realize how often we call upon the information we learn in basic classes. I may take the wall hanging to the alternation shop and hope they take mercy on me. Maybe they can drape it on me and put elastic through the top. Or I'll find harem pants - wish I'd bought them in Turkey when I saw them at that roadside stand by an ancient aqueduct. But it was either look at the aqueduct or shop. Actually, I think I did some of both, but not as much shopping as I might have liked.
So, late in the day, I made another trip out to the oyster shell pile. And then took a look at the clock and poured a glass of wine.
Tomorrow, I meet Ted and Jose in the space. We'll unpack their work and imagine where it will be installed. And the carpenter should be there with his helper and we'll build shelves for the Wall of Plates. Then I'll be busy with house paint and a 100 plates.
Talk soon again.

Work To Be Done and Plenty of Time

It's Monday and it's mid August. That means there is still 1/2 of this month in which to work on Second Seating. And there are several weeks in September before the opening party. I look at time the way you look at a cup half full instead of half empty because it allows me to stay 'in the zone' and get the work done.
Here's the day in photos. The early morning sun, by the way, was gorgeous and I couldn't resist photographing the coralita vine that has taken over the door leading out to my studio. I've not cut it back even though it's choking a climbing rose. It just too glorious and honey bees are buzzing all over it. Kitchen counters and table are overwhelmed with Second Seating 'stuff' even after Catarina and I lugged a car load of 'stuff' to the Harrisburg studio late last week. Obviously, we didn't make a dent.
Made another montage of wallet size images of the East End. I'm liking these new pieces.
There is more 'air' in and around them than the square collages I made with fabrics from Hurricane Ike. Maybe there is a metaphor there somewhere?
Am embellishing the Ike fabric wall hangings and am trying to figure out how to affix lots of little painted labels with images and text. Needs to be unselfconscious in the doing. Haven't made that happen yet.
At the moment, listening to CDs for music that I'd like to hear in Second Seating. That is my excuse for taking the time to write this post. I am also listening to music and making decisions about what I am hearing. Also working on a series of taped 'sounds' with Houston Institute For Culture that will 'be' in the Second Seating space: street traffic, trains, water sounds, snippets of music from cars, those sorts of East End sounds.
I've heard from Aggie Eyster and the etched metal table tops for those four pedestal tables are almost finished. Can hardly wait for photos. Here's a sample of her work and she says the new designs imprinted on these table tops are quite different. We have a surprise awaiting us. Also have images of Mercedes Fernandez paintings and embroidery.


And I got a confirmation this a.m. from Admiral Glass who'll supply the polished glass table top for that shiny metal arch table base that the Offenhauser Company is making. The table will reference those shiny metal arches that they fabricated years ago for Uptown and Post Oak Blvd. Message being, 'We make stuff here in Houston's East End and our reach is far and wide. Think roasted coffee, Clorox, Bud Light and oil pipes, for starters.'
And today, friends are working on Second Seating's behalf in many, many good ways. Thanks to all. In the end, everything is about collaboration. It's the way things get done and in my mind, that is the beauty of it.
Well, the music's over so I'll head back into the studio.

Collage, Montage, Whatever

I've not been out of the house today except for a morning walk. Back to work in the studio, after a unplanned cleanup of the place. It hasn't been fun to go into the studio lately because the floor was covered with fabrics from work on that chandelier with the red vase at its center. The counter space was piled high with photographs, books and just plain mess. When Catarina was here yesterday working on the database, I decided to straighten things up out there. Strange how a clean-up mode takes over, comes out of nowhere and for me, so infrequently. Finished the job this morning and so spent the afternoon mixing and matching photos and fabrics.
I always think nothing is going to come of the process. It's painful how long it takes me to assemble something that looks like 'something.' It was easy to make the cut out of the gelatin salad and tuck it in behind the smaller one gelatin salad that's been sitting for some time on that square piece of weathered tapestry. It works, but how on earth am I going to affix these gelatin salads to the tapestry fabric? Back the photos with mat board? Cut around them again. Adhere with Velcro? Glue? This is the part where I think that everything should be done with PhotoShop.
Went on to work on another potential piece. Mixed and matched forever. Then all of a sudden, the collage appeared and I think it's OK. So, collages are sitting on the floor assembled and waiting for judgment. It's time to decide just what steps I need to take with each one in order to, tape, glue, sew and otherwise secure it. As I said, this is the part I don't like because I mess up so many times. I am not good at gluing. I can ruin a whole piece very quickly, so I have to think all this through carefully and see what portions of each piece I can take to Art Supply for a dose of their vacuum press.
This new one with the bananas and a portrait of Caroline from long ago is going to take a lot of big stitch sewing and I'll probably use embroidery floss. By the way, it's always a surprise how random images like this shot of Caroline are just right for a piece.
Worked on and another collage appeared and it may be finished. Not totally sure.
So here are all of the pieces, just sitting there on the floor, fermenting or seasoning or whatever. I'll look at them again tomorrow and see what the next steps are. Probably don't need many more. Need to get back to those fabric wall hangings and see how I can mess them up a bit. They are way too tame.
Also finished the first draft of yet another grant application today and will have a friend review it on Monday to see if it's seaworthy. And I'll look forward, yet again to see if I am 'worthy and well qualified,' as my dad used to characterize graduates every year at commencement.
Back to the collages. They all look more than a bit baroque at the moment.
By the way, I am writing on more plates, platters and bowls and was given a light fixture with pieces of foot long rectangles of beveled glass. I've decided to write words on all the glass, bake them and paint the structure. Another baroque piece to add over the table with the patchwork cloth.
Roofer is coming to Irma's on Monday to repair Hurricane Ike damage. Good news. Still need a final bid on the sheet rock panels I want to have installed here and there along the walls of the space. Onward.

Wednesday After Four Hours of Sleep

So what's new? Another busy day that began with an extracurricular early morning meeting at 7:30 a.m. I had plenty of time to get there. I woke up at 3:30 a.m. and never went back to sleep. I am more than tired tonight. But made the most of the day.
After the meeting, Catarina and I went to the management district offices and moved three tables back across the street to my Harrisburg studio in order to reassemble the 'banquet' table which is made with six 36 inch square tables. None of this is fun in the heat. The studio is as breathtakingly hot as the street, but we persevered and got the big drop cloth on over the tables. It's perfect. Touches the floor on all four sides. Then we overlayed the patch work cloth and it's all going to work. I just have to paint patterns on the drop cloth with house paint. That's next.
Catarina also counted all the filigreed Clorox bottles. There are 51 in the Harrisburg studio. Plus more at home that Carmella's made. Imagine that many bottles in one chandelier.

Had a late lunch at Irma's with a friend and then went back to the district to look at all the photos on their server. I'd taken so many over the years and a few days ago, I decided I'd like to use some in the collages I'm working on. I sat there and sorted through hundreds of images. I love doing it. My daughters are sure that should I become dementia-impaired in my very old age, they can give me a box of photographs or perhaps a lap top and I will be fully entertained sorting and arranging images. They think I may even use the same collection day after day. Perhaps. All these thoughts are certainly the result of mom's decline into dementia. The girls are looking at their grandmother and now are looking ahead and fearing the worst for their mom. OK, back to the photos for Second Seating. I found a real trove of images I'd taken and have a CD just chock full to print and use. Nice afternoon.



On the way home, I stopped at Value Village and bought a few more plates. That stack on the lower left cost we $5. 26. Not bad. I have all of these to write on. A batch I finished the other day is now in the oven baking at 300 degrees.
And there are more on the counter waiting to bake. We'll have that wall of plates at Second Seating for sure.
My today is over.

Foray Into The Studio

Foolishly, or not, I've been writing about 'Second Seating' on Rockbridge Times instead of saving all progress reports and forays into the studio for posting right here. From this day forward, I'll simply includes links between the two blogs, beginning with a link to a post I wrote a couple of days ago that contained images of a collage or two now underway.
Feels really good to begin the work, though right now it's like splashing a foot in water at the beach. Have barely begun.