Things a Come'n

I am in the process of submitting a grant proposal for the summer of 2013.  I have 7 to 10 portraits that I have started doing research, interviews, figure studies, and sketches for.   *fingers crossed*  & more details soon!   I'll be sharing more about this series and in-progress sketches and works on this blog. 

But for now!  some better photos of older work I've done- my Dream Triptych from 2012. 

Rebeka and I have been accepted into the Indiana University Bloomington Women and Gender Studies Conference!  We will be showing a slide of the documentation of our pregnant nude sculpture.  The slide will show the construction and deconstruction, and we will be displaying the final sculptural element of the babies on the womb pillow.

This semester I have been taking an anatomy class and am excited to share some pieces that I've been working on for that course.   We have been studying the human body from skeleton and outward to muscle structure and skin.   I'm loving it!  I can feel myself becoming more comfortable with shading and organic lines.  

At home I've been experimenting with different media and stains in attempt to create more of a dimensional feel to my work.   I'm attempting to polish and expand on my previous experiments. 

Today Rebeka and I will be finishing up our 2nd collaborative piece, and I will add photos on here very soon!  Also we are jumping into our 3rd collaboration (my favorite concept by far!). 

Ben took over Traughber Scouts the other day and started working on a mini environment with the children.  I have a large wooden table that they will eventually take over and create a small world of their own.  He started by showing them how to make a log cabin.   Milo was truly focused, and Parker did wonderfully letting her brother take his turn.  

Ben then took them outside the following week, and they searched the neighborhood for fallen limbs.  They built their own fort in the backyard!  I have to get photos of it soon.  This spring/summer we are going to build them a clubhouse and let them take charge of the design and material.  

Goodness

Parker's girl scout troop went to Thinking Day where all the troops pick a country and present images, information, crafts, and food from their country.  Milo got to be an honorary girl scout again!  he had a lot of fun.

Pasta from "Italy"

Parker and Daddy making Japanese fans.

Then we took the kids to Falafel House.  We've been trying to do sneak in a family day once a week, which helps me trudge through the hectic schedule we have this semester.  It's like a fresh breath of air. 

Parker couldn't handle Moo hogging Daddy. 

"I want to be a spy when I'm bigger"

Me and my girl.

Our waitress had different parts of her hair shaved, so Parker begged and begged for us to shave hers.  We did some research on the internet together, and she put together a style that she wanted.  Also she wanted pink/magenta hair (which we're still working on).  The dyes work best when the hair is bleached first, and the cuticles therefore blown open... But I'm not ready to put bleach on her skin or hair.  

Moo wanted to get rid of his mohawk and start over.  He's pretty happy about it. 

New hair!

I started this really basic blanket as a way to wind down.  My friend is having a baby soon, and I want to surprise her.   Milo is using the same fabric to design his own blanket for nap time at preschool.  He's really obsessed with fabric.  

Rebeka and I started on another collaboration.  This one will be more interactive than our first.  We are also in the process of putting together our third collaboration.  Here's the 2nd about 20 min in to working out the basic shape.  Emily (right), our drawing instructor, stopped in and gave us some advice. 

The rug I'm braiding for the collaboration.

Peeves guards it oh so carefully!

Lo' got a new handmade name tag and her first Martingale collar!

She's so timid and sweet, then she'll flip and act like a sassy puppy!  Moo's been really attached to her lately.  He climbs and lays on her saying "MY doggy!", which starts a fight with Parker who claims he has to share Lola.   This dog sure isn't short on love. 

Impact

Milo's teachers take the kids out each day (weather permitting) to the Back Four, which is a nature reserve/trail on school property.   In warmer weather they make forts and collect nature samples.   It's been Milo's favorite part of the day.   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3R5zzxatNo4&feature=youtube_gdata_player
His teacher writes:

"This week brought yet another opportunity to explore the back four.  It seems like it’s a brand new place each time we go.  When we arrived, we discovered that all of the places that had become marshy puddles last week (and prevented us from going back there to play)  had frozen over and turned into mini ice skating rinks!  Some of us wanted to see what would happen if we broke up the ice by hitting it with sticks and some of us wanted to preserve the ice so we could skate on it.  This provided an excellent opportunity for our group to decide democratically how to proceed: some areas were labeled as “skating areas” and some were labeled as “hit the ice” areas.  We worked together, made a lot of observations, and helped each other up when we wiped out."

Fleeting.

I was working full-time hours and trying to take on 3 classes.   It just wasn't balancing.  Luckily I was able to take fewer hours, and today was my first full day off from school and work in WEEKS!

Parker has been designing her own jewelry from tearing up costume jewelry that I gave her.  She also redesigned a whimsical dress into a fairy skirt.  Today I took her to the fabric store, and we collaborated on another fairy skirt.

I have to make up for lost time both with the kids and school right now.   Things are going at such a fast pace.  I've never been so spread thin in my life.


I've found refreshment in my friends.   Rebeka and I are collaborating on our second sculpture.  I bought fabric for that today.  There was just a missing part to my soul w/o her.   We have such contrasting schedules this semester, and I hadn't gotten to really talk to her until the other day.   We talked for a few hours, but it is never enough :)   Really excited about this next project.

http://rebekaanastasiatrapp.blogspot.com/

*Rebeka started on a portrait of me!  I am so in love with the direction she's taking it.   You should check out her blog and see the other pieces she's working on this semester. 

Also got to squeeze in some lunch-dates with my friends, and I'm really enjoying getting-to-know the people I work with.   Plus Ben has surprised me day after day when I come home from work + school. I got orchids last week and the Tibetan Book of the Dead.   On top of that he's been cleaning, washing, and organizing the house so I don't have to worry about it.

I'm hoping the Tibetan  Book of the Dead helps with a new series I've started sketching and organizing notes/thoughts on.  I have all the paper and wood I need, just lacking the time.   Hopefully this summer will allow me to dive a bit further into it.   Right now my focus is on catching back up in my drawing/anatomy class and German II.  

We both looked down/over at the cat.   Taking photos for a nose study I was doing.

And here is poor Ben crashed from such a long day.  Lo' and Peeves are watching my fork/burrito ever so closely :) 

Birthkin

My other/only.

Taking some photos for a few pieces I'm working on.  I think there's about 10 pieces in total at this point.  My aim is to somehow complete them by the middle of summer. 

The Only Constant is Change

I've been trying not to rush this next set of pieces that I am planning.  Instead I have been surrounding myself with art and hobbies that I love.   Just letting myself wander freely.

I didn't have a New Year's resolution, but "Work hard, and relax well" might be my motto this year.  That and "live well".  Working at a health food store is fueling my interest in holistic health and food as medicine.  I have a far way to go, but I'm excited about gaining more knowledge this year.  That knowledge is going to help me stay well and feel well.  There will be a lot of changes for the kids this year, too. 

Ben and I rang in the New Year with friends playing music and making art.  I think it was the perfect first step into a new cycle. 

Peeves being too lazy to get too curious.

Jobless Lo' enjoying retirement to the extreme... Daily.

Our sculpture met and an unexpected environmental factor...  the berries from the tree above.   Milo thought it was blood.  

We recently uninstalled.  I'm excited about our next idea. 

We chose to leave the babies in the mother's pelvis intact and on the womb/pillow.  I took the wood base home to dry and to be prepped for a drawing. 

Rebeka was telling me a story about a passerby that called the museum concerned that one of the statues at the top of the building had fallen off.   The cracking of the sculpture made people think it split from a long fall.

Last check...  

The end. 

I also had my birthday recently.  Me and a handful of friends went to my favorite authentic Mexican restaurant.  The kids had a blast.   I think this was my favorite birthday so far.  Parker made me a "vision book" full of her drawings.  She told me to carry it with me at school when I am missing her.  Ben wrote and recorded a song about/for me.  I went to my favorite antique store with my mother and ate at one of my favorite restaurants and of course they had peppers and pasta and apricot tea as the specials.  Mom bought me this huge industrial strength shelving unit for my artwork and supplies.  My dad and his wife took me out to NABC Bank Street and sent me flowers to my work on Friday.  

My birthday gift to myself was a bible on reflexology.  Holly hand made a lavender salt scrub for me, and she bought me a bottle of champagne.  

School started and the classes seemed to jump in rather quickly.  I started on a drawing involving my biological parents and myself.  I'm using these vintage photos of them, both around the age I am now.  

I also started on a piece involving Parker, and another self-portrait. 

I was following Parker around for poses, and she was busy debating rather effectively against her nap time.   She's been a handful lately with her intensity and analytical questions. 

And of course Milo has been following her around like a lil tick.  Outside of being in different studios at school, they don't venture very far from one another. 

Narrative Continues

Rebeka's lovely sculptures are now emerging from the clay.   The snow and constant hot/cold weather have really cracked and dissolved right through the clay.   I'm really happy with the progression of this project.   I cannot wait until the whole figure of the babies are visible.  


Follow the rest of the progress and future installations at:  http://www.facebook.com/ex.pulvis