a work in progress

I'll keep this brief, but I wanted to share one of my projects here. Other projects from last semester can be viewed here on my website (the still-in-progress brick project, neighbor hood book, conversation collaboration, and koti pizza). Unfortunately, I haven't had time to provide contextual information for those yet.

This project is currently taking up most of the space in my studio. I realized yesterday that it needs more work, so it's officially a work-in-progress again. Yes, that is a giant air plant in it!

It's been a very busy semester. Open studio day feels like it was ages ago, and that was the last time I wrote a post here. So, there is approximately only one month left before summer break, which means I'm almost half way done...and I still have so much to do.

More to come in the future! Thanks for checking it out.

open studios

Two copies of Neighbor Hood left out for visitors to peruse
2014 MFA Open Studios. Photo by Stan Strembicki.

{To see photos of people milling about and of other students' work, visit this photo gallery}

the handmade bricks (and some windows I procured this week)

the cookies went fast

mosquito test

The forests are so beautiful (and look so peaceful) here in Finland. However, every time I step inside one, I'm surrounded by flies, mosquitoes, spiders... How maddening that the time of year when it's warm and sunny, and one would want to have skin exposed, is also the time when you're most likely to be attacked by little, annoying creatures.

Yesterday, after such an adventure into the forest (to pick bilberries), I came back to my desk and made a big, ugly mosquito using newspaper and a torn up book, along with some black cord I found, feathers my friend Ais gave me, and a few BBQ skewers.

I'm trying to figure out how to move the mosquito in a way that mimics the creepy way that they buzz around with their nasty dangling legs. He's a little test I did today:

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!

work in progress

june 2012

work in progress

may 2012

I loathe styrofoam, but a few slabs of it came with some furniture we bought, so I've been putting it to good (re)use in the studio as a surface to organize and photograph on . 


The sunlight was trickling in beautifully through the blinds and across the floor as I snipped away with my favorite scissors. Meanwhile, the B was hanging out in the studio too, now that the semester is over...busy with his needlework project. 


I should have more photos soon as this project progresses.

In other news:

Scripts and Systems

If you happen to be in Lexington, KY between May 24th and July 15th, you can see this piece.
Lexington Art League @ Loudoun House: 

209 Castlewood Drive

 Lexington, KY 40505

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.