Friday, March 30, 2012

9 to 5



march 2012



This video contains an image for each of the 480 minutes in a working day.  In 9 to 5, I sought to capture that archetypal chunk of time when most people are away from their homes and at their place of employment.  The room is sealed off; no one passes through. The room and the camera are left alone to experience the daylight. 

Having spent many days at home during these hours -while unemployed either by choice or by circumstance- I have become familiar with the passage of light through my bedroom. This measured passage of time began to concurrently represent both the transgressive freedom of “playing hooky” from standard work hours and increasing anxiety at my separation from what can be viewed as common experience. 

I continue to be interested in the idea of work, in terms of what qualifies as work and the value placed on work. As with my Year Project, I am also fascinated by the passage of time and the many ways in which something so intangible can be quantified and depicted.

Saturday, March 3, 2012

the studio

Finally... a photo of the studio. It is all mine and I love it. As it got colder, I worked less and less in here and found myself working in the warmer rooms of our home (usually while watching a DVD and making a big mess).

Now that the weather has been getting warmer, I can get back in there daily instead of just using it for photographing, storage and arranging.


my studio, february 2012

As you can see, I have boxes and boxes of random materials. In the orange prescription bottles on the windowsill are tiny paper flowers that I have been making off and on for over a year. I have yet to come up with a solid plan for them.

One place I really miss from my Portland days is SCRAP, a creative reuse center where I bought the empty prescription bottles, as well as the paint samples I have been using to make the flowers.  Now, I have been visiting a Goodwill outlet as well as a Habitat for Humanity ReStore for material inspiration.

Do you have a photo of your studio? Post a link as a comment so we can check it out.

Friday, March 2, 2012

Thursday, March 1, 2012

older works: buttons

I have a friend visiting tomorrow from Florida for a long weekend, so I am in the process of cleaning up the studio to serve as a guest room. Since my mother moved across the country to greener pastures some months ago, I have now in my possession (and feel the weight of) all of the things I have kept throughout my life, from a koala puppet named Timothy to the first book I made at the age of six.

I had several unopened boxes I had been avoiding for as long as possible, and today I dug out this piece from circa 2004.


2004

It was squashed, and the wires had gone a bit rusty, but I managed to reshape it. Curiously enough, I cooked octopus for the first time last night (with great results). The design of an octopus - with its perfectly laid out tentacles and suckers - is far more elegant than this piece, but it was easy to draw a connection.


last night's dinner




I still have a lot more to unpack (but that won't be happening today). I'm curious to see what else I have held on to.