A Few of My Favorite Things

I started working on a new piece the other day, and opened up several images to get started. Water and sand seem to be theme for me lately. I think these elements are strong symbols. Water is necessary for all life. It causes life to occur. A square foot in the rain forest has thousands of biological specimens. Babies, before they are born, live in water in the womb. The splash and flood of water to me, is like a birth of sorts.

Sand, likewise, is a source of life as much as it is the opposite of water. Many myths telling of the origin of man speak of man being hewn from rock or formed from sand. The Biblical story of Adam says that he was formed with the dust of the ground. Greek stories talk about Common Man being formed in clay. Modern society tends to reject dirt as primitive. While trends are bringing us back to nature, the idea of futuristic and ideal are often also sterile, spotless. Dirt is ancient, and I am drawn to its ageless existence. Sand preserves. In the Middle East, the birth place of humanity, the desert protects ancient archeological finds. In swamp lands, things are quickly broken down and eroded. Sand is dirty and water cleans. The conflict between these elements interests me.

Don't Stop

There's always opposition, it seems. There is no path of least resistance. There is simply finding what is worth fighting for. Every time I have tried to get to my studio, there are a thousand things trying to pull me away. I am stubborn though. I think I've gotten more stubborn with time. I like to think of it as tenacity. I don't give up easily. I completed my first piece in my new studio about two weeks ago:

I made it for my friend's birthday. It was kind of a quick piece, which is always a good way to get inspired. Nothing makes me want to create art more than making art. Each piece inspires the next, which is why I feel so strongly about not taking breaks. My mantra lately has been, "Can't stop, won't stop, don't stop." In other words, keep going. I remind myself of that constantly. Today, I was talking to some students who were admiring my work hung in Manchester. They were saying how it looked like I put a lot of work into my art. So many artists seem to be under the impression that art will just create itself, that if they wait long enough, something will magically happen. They will be "discovered" or something. I take my art too seriously for that. There are too many artists out there for me to think I can just drift around until the stars align and a masterpiece appears before me. With that said, off I go to the studio!

Sanctuary

I just began renting a studio space, and started moving in today. It feels so good, so right, to be moving forward. To have a space. It's on the third floor, in a kind of renovated attic space, which means it's secluded, cozy. There's a narrow stair going up to it which could potentially be a problem with larger art, but it's not a problem right now. As I was walking up the stairs (for the first time of many today), beautiful natural light came down the stair case, and I knew this was going to be my sanctuary, my place of peace. It's what I need to create art. It needs to be a place just for art. People kept trying to convince me to set up a place in my house or something. I know everyone just wants me to save money, but I need this. It's like a sanctuary. I told one of my managers about the news and he told me I have to make sure to get in there, to make time. I know I will. It's already torture to stay away. [gallery]

On Display

Well, it's official. I have graduated. It's a rather strange feeling, but I guess I accept it. The Annual Student Exhibition opens every year during this time at my school, and it highlights senior work in the galleries and studio spaces. I was honored with a very nice location in the French Gallery. Here are some pictures of the display! [gallery]

With some help, I made the shelves myself for this show and the whole effect was even better than I expected. It was great to see the work out of the studio and up in a gallery. If you have a chance, come see it! It will be up most of the summer at 148 Concord St, Manchester, NH. I swear it looks even better in person.

One of my jobs is working for the NHIA gallery, so the past three weeks, the entire gallery staff has been working incredibly hard to get everything up. It is an intense amount of work to organize and arrange everything. Every underclassman has the opportunity to show a piece, along with the 79 graduating seniors each hanging their work. We had the information for about 1200 labels (over 500 underclassmen and over 600 senior pieces). Some of the work was not shown, but it is still a significant show of abut 1000 pieces. Our gallery director had his birthday in the midst of it all, and we made him original, hand screen printed t-shirts.

The opening for the show was May 20th. On May 19th, there was a Preview Party, for which people purchased tickets to see the work ahead of time. The seniors are all there too and it is a kind of a celebration of our student career. It was great to see everyone in front of their work proudly hanging on the wall. A really special time.

Here We Go...

So, I did it. Created a website, or a blog, or whatever this is. Check that off my master "To  Do" list. Now I am official, because everything on the internet is legit. I have a feeling it will take some frustration to make this really work, but for now, I am pleased. To see some of my current work, check out my flickr account.

And stay tune for more things to appear right here. Peace out,

Kiera