an exhibition in hämeenkyrö

Saturday, July 27, was our exhibition at Heiska. It was a pretty hot day. There was a giant pig roasting, the squawking, tweeting, and chirping of Emilie's birds (from a CD of 100 Finnish birds used for her performance) and the loudspeaker here and here as a soundtrack. We had free soup inside the main Heiska house and ate lots of ice cream. There wasn't much else to do. There was a sahti brewing competition, a tractor parade, a smoke sauna, an exhibit of old bikes by a pretty interesting local sculptor, and more. 

my video, being projected on mosquito netting at Heiska

Here are the links to watch the videos that I projected:

The Restless

and

Failure to Communicate

We drank some leftover competition sahti before leaving. There is some loophole...something like because the sahti legally can't be purchased unless it's sold with food, we got it for free (since we didn't want the food (roasted pig)).

Here are some more photos:

part of Lyndon's installation based on part of the Kalevala

part of Laura's bread installation. It means "road to home"

It felt like a long day. I helped Emilie document her performance. She was untangling fishing line while sitting between two buildings and two windows while 100 birds were taking turns chirping (or squawking). She was wearing a life vest. The idea was to continue until she had untangled it all. Quite an exhausting task requiring lots of endurance.

on the road

I'm writing from DFW airport as I wait for a connecting flight to New Orleans. Lyndon and I left St Louis today, with nearly everything tucked away in storage, for our summer adventures. It's been an entire week of packing and moving slowly using a WeCar and eventually a UHaul van, and I'm glad to be able to relax and stop looking for nails to remove from random walls and dust bunnies to sweep.

nearly packed to the gills

It's been almost 8 years since I first went to New Orleans, and I didn't get to see much that time as we left the night Hurricane Katrina was landing. I'm excited to see the city, but sad that I didn't have a chance to and will never know it for what it used to be.

On this trip, I get to see my former roommate from a semester I spent in Italy almost 10 years ago (time flies!), as well as spend quality time with plenty of in-laws. :)

On the flight here, I had a fresh wave of excitement about the upcoming residency and all the new things I'll get to see and do and make. Most of my posts about that will be on the Finland blog once I get there.

Thank you friends, family, and supporters for helping to make this upcoming Nordic adventure possible!

kickstarter launch!

Today I launched a KickStarter campaign for the artist residency I will be attending this summer in Haukijärvi, Finland at the Arteles Creative Center. After many weeks of work on the video, it's a relief to finally be able to share all the fun little animations I made with you.

The project is:  Ephemeral Past --> Material Present

Check out the Video

I will keep a Finland blog that will be open to the public until June 9, 2013. After that date,  the Ephemeral Past --> Material Present blog will be private and dedicated to all $25+ backers of my KickStarter campaign, who will be added to the "readers" access list.

I'm grateful to all backers and supporters of me and the project ... Backers below $25 will still receive official project updates via the KickStarter site, and will be able to view this blog as always, but those updates will not be as frequent or as detailed as the ones on the Finland blog and won't include extra insights and fun details about food and travel.


I have never kept a blog during my travels, so this is a very special case where I have decided to do so as an extra special part for most of the rewards. 

While the campaign is active, I still have the ability to add rewards. If you think of something I may have overlooked that would make a great reward, please feel free to leave a comment and I will consider it!

Thanks to all for your support! Remember, KickStarter is all-or-nothing, so please spread the word. :)

sneak peek: kickstarter video

I've been having a lot of fun making these little animations. So far, I have taken photos for probably 10 clips out of a possible 20+. Some are long and required hundreds of photos, and others are like this one above: quick and easy. I hope to finish the video and launch the KickStarter in the first week of May. I backed two projects that are currently going on at the Arteles Residency and received a postcard from one artist and a letter (and photo) from the other this week...fun! I don't know either of them, but have enjoyed hearing about the snow, the art making, and a trip on a ferry to Tallinn.

This afternoon, I spent a good amount of time cutting out little paper objects (tiny undies, a tube of toothpaste, and an umbrella among them) and will photograph them for a "vessel" clip that I'm really excited about tomorrow. I also cut out leaves for a plant and spelled out the word "project" using sticky letters. I stopped cutting when I realized the sun had set and it was too dark to see in the room. Most people would have just turned on a light, but I took it as a cue to make cinnamon popcorn and write this blog entry. 

Scary...the middle finger on my right hand has actually gone tingly from overuse of scissors...and it's been two days since then. So now I'm using an x-acto knife to cut. It's great to be semi-ambidextrous at times like these. Scissors go in the right hand and most other tools in the left.

More announcements coming soon!

winging it

Here's a peek at what I've been working on lately using those cardboard boxes. I managed to watch two films while making these parts: 1) The End of the Line (a documentary on over-fishing) and 2) The Flaw (a documentary on income inequality and the financial crash).

Now I'm off to get started on my KickStarter video! If you have any suggestions for great rewards for me to offer to backers for my project in Finland, feel free to leave a comment.

Until next time....

new year announcements

The holidays, lovely visitors, and various bureaucratic processes have kept me away from my blog and studio. In the hiatus, I have made things to eat and wear and use around the house, as I'm prone to do. But now I'm back!

Great news: Lyndon and I have both been accepted to an artist residency in Finland this upcoming summer. More info to come soon. We're both excited and glad to have something to look forward to...

photo by Stephanie Chambers

photo by Delilah Jones

Currently, I'm working on one of the two pieces I plan to submit for this year's Incognito at The Santa Monica Museum of Art. I have yet to have been able to attend the actual event, but who knows, maybe this year will be the one. Maybe not.

Of course, I've chosen a very tedious and time-consuming process to make this piece, but luckily, its size is limited to 8" x 10". I can't post images of it until after the event (because the whole point is for patrons "to trust their instincts in selecting the works, as each work is signed on the back and the artists’ identities are revealed only after purchase")

For now, take a look at the two I submitted in 2011:

paint samples and ink on illustration board

paint sample collage

Here's to a Happy 2013!

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.

happy 2012

Happy New Year!

So far, the year is off to a great start. The B and I went on a long walk and managed to randomly run into a friend filling her tank at a gas station on our way home. We ended up eating bagels with her with the sun streaming in on us from in between the gaps in paint on the beautiful holiday window mural at Meshuggah Cafe.

Some places to see my work in early 2012:

The 11th Annual Art Inter/National, Here and Abroad...
Invitational International Group Exhibition

If you're in Pittsburgh, check it out:
Public Reception: Saturday, January 14th: 5 pm - 8 pm 
Box Heart Gallery
4523 Liberty Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15224


The 33rd Annual Paper in Particular Exhibition
If you're in Columbia, Missouri, check it out:
Reception: February 3rd: 2 pm - 4 pm
Columbia College
1001 Rogers Street
Columbia, MO 65216

Wishing you health and happiness,

addoley