sticks straws sleeves and lids finishing out the year

this bright spot on the wall is where the prints will go when they get back from being framed.











this is how the year will end and it is also a little bit of how the year will begin.

sticks straws sleeves and lids: progress on straws, sleeves and sticks

the straws are starting to take shape. the trick has been to make them long enough that they hold a curve and themselves up but short enough that they do not snap and make an angle.
been working on the interior passage of the sticks.

the sleeves have decided to stay in place for the moment but I am keeping an eye on them as I am convinced they are secretly working themselves loose.

I actually wove me cell phone on the other side of the piece and didn't realize until someone called.

Tomorrow I will continue to resolve the outer edges and form on the sticks, I will resume work on the straws, and I will tinker with the sleeves a bit just to make sure they are stable. I hope by early next year to have the installation finished and the lighting done, so I can focus on preparation for the installation at Nurtureart in New York that starts on January 15th. It has been a really different experience after doing almost all of my installations as traveling gigs to be working where i live, it really allows me to step back at the end of the day and make a plan for the next days work, and in the case of this show even take a day offsite, a luxury i usually don't have.

sticks straws sleeves and lids: more progress

began work on the straws yesterday.

decided to turn off the fluorescent work lights for a bit just to see what some of the finished shadows and lighting might do.This is one of the nicest features of this gallery, the track lights. Unlike most galleries where you can either turn off or on or dim all the tracks at once, this space has individual programmable dimmers for each row of track lights. For anyone who is a gallery nerd like me you know how pimp that is.

the sleeves are starting to take shape, i hope to finish this gesture in the coming week.
lids are done except for tweeking lighting and getting the framed works on paper up on the adjacent wall.
have been enjoying the less than insane pace of this installation. working like this with a few days and nights off i should have this installation resolved sometime next year.

sticks straws sleeves and lids: progress

So far work on this show is moving along without incident. In honor of the solstice I am making it a short day and staying home for the evening,

sticks straws sleeves and lids, laying the groundwork: first day on site

seems like this is how it always begins, pictured are cases of sticks(courtesy of perfectstix.com), cases of lids(courtesy of solo plastics), and in the distance cases of sleeves(courtesy of java jacket).
Today I began installing Sticks straws sleeves and lids in the McMaster gallery at The university of South Carolina. With this installation I am very fortunate to not only have a beautiful gallery to work in but a generous amount of time to work and the comfort of sleeping in my own bed throughout the process. I spent today prepping the gallery and beginning three of the four major elements of the show.

The Sticks

the sleeves

The Lids.

the tried and true simple circle compass using wire,a nail and a mechanical pencil.

vibrating coffee cup fabrication time

So, with the impending end of my kickstarter fund drive, and the start of the installation of "Sticks, Straws, Sleeves and Lids" at The Mcmaster gallery at University of South Carolina, it was time to start making some vibrating coffee cups.




At the heart of each vibrating coffee cup is the very special "mocha motor", which has been modified from it's original intent and now drives the coffee cup.
here is the full set of vibrating coffee cups for the pledge drive including one special cup i am holding back as an artist proof. (coming soon for the holidays is a video of 8 cups a vibrating, isn't that what you give on the eighth day?)
Although there are four more days of pledging I believe most people who wanted a vibrating coffee cup have pledged, and I still have some time after the pledge drive ends to get make more I already have everything else for the pledge rewards packaged and ready to go once the drive ends and the funding clears. Tomorrow I start weaving, stacking, arranging and otherwise affixing, sticks, straws, sleeves and lids to the McMaster Gallery which I will be doing until next year. It is very liberating to say "I am spending the rest of the year working on one installation and nothing else..."