ReConfigured at Gallery 301 in April

Becky will be welcoming visitors to the ReConfigured exhibit at Gallery 301 on Thursday, April 19th from 5 – 8 p.m.

The gallery will also be open on Saturday, April 21st and April 28th from 1-4 p.m.

Trick Rider at Gallery 301

Gallery 301

301 Puyallup Ave.

Tacoma, WA  98402

“The Collaboration is a Success!!”

 

“Longing”

"Trick Rider" detail

 

 

 

 

 

 

(The following description of our collaboration is posted at the gallery.)

Jane and Becky have been friends since their undergraduate art student days at Arizona State University in the 1970’s. Although they live in different regions of the country; Becky in Tacoma, Washington and Jane in Phoenix, Arizona, the two artists endeavored to bring their individual approaches to art making together for this exhibition.  Each artist brought different skills and sensibilities to the work as they challenged each other to explore new materials and possibilities for narrative content. Their initial ideas imagined a series of figurative pieces based on notions of reinventing beauty, the aging process, and what remains vital in middle age. Images evolved like spontaneous combustion as the two artists actually worked together on the same pieces in Becky’s studio in the summer of 2011.  They explored their fantasies and alter egos in pieces such as Longing (a Tang Dynasty courtesan and poet) and Trick Rider (the daring of a “Roman rider” astride two ponies in a rodeo.) Other personal influences include Jane’s domestic realm and Becky’s triplet nieces adopted from China. Seeking Center is a culmination of many thoughts about the tentative difference between order and chaos.

 

 

“Seeking Center” (post by Jane)

These two figures were originally planned to be part of an installation along with a large painting, two hanging birds, a girl on a chair a toy ironing board and a dancing bear on a chair (pictured in previous post today).  We were attempting to balance chaos and order (sounds like life doesn’t it?).  When we were installing the work, we decided to put them off to each side in favor of “order”.  I made the figures as you can see them in process from earlier posts.  Becky painted these cradled board canvases to serve both as a shelf for them to hang on the wall and as a floor and wall to give them a “place of their own”.

“Conversations” (post by Jane)

Here are three of the six ”Conversation” pieces from “ReConfigured”.  Becky and I selected a few of my clay sketches to incorporate into these little wooden boxes when she was in my studio in January.  She took them home to her studio and added these wonderful elements of collage, painting, drawing and found objects.

“ReConfigured” Is Up and Running!! (post by Jane)

Here are a few installation shots of the exhibition at Gallery 110 in Seattle.  Becky and I worked like crazy to complete the work.  It was exciting and exhausting!  You can see some more pieces on the gallery’s website gallery110.com.  Just click on the “preview” link.  We have a really cool brochure about the show at the printers.  We are expecting huge crowds for the show during the last week in March when the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) has their annual conference in Seattle.  5000 people are expected to attend the conference.

Spaghetti Sauce Anyone? (post by Jane)

Here is a portrait head I did of myself attached to an appropriated doll body.  I liked it better upside down so now she is standing on her head.  Yes, the tomatoe can is attached as the base.  There is brass tubing in the head and in the can which slides into each other so it is detachable – a plus for shipping.  I will pour plaster into the can to weight it and make it more stable.  Remember those jugglers who could twirl a huge stack of plates on the Ed Sullivan Show?  This is my version.  She’s part of our “Seeking Center” installation. 

And Now to Assemble (post by Jane)

Here are some of the various glazed and fired body parts I am assembling into figures for our domestic circus installation called “Seeking Center”.  I got my sewing machine out for the first time in several years.  After a frustrating start of trouble shooting a stitching problem, I finally was able to sew a cloth doll body using the pattern in the doll book Becky gave me.  It reminded me of when I used to sew Barbie doll clothes as a kid.  The armature for the clown is a wooden dowel pegged into a block of wood for the “spine” and brass tubing for the legs which will slide snuggly into brass tubing that will be glued into the base.

Triplets On Their Way to Tacoma (post by Jane)

I’ve assembled the Triplets, packed them up and they are on their way to Tacoma where Becky will attach them to their Tang horses.  She will gesso and paint the horse and rider figure first.  We have three matching rought iron sculpture stands for them to be displayed.  They came out soooo cute I hated to send them away! 

To attach the heads to the bodies, I ran a wooden dowel up through the head and down through the body with about 2 1/2″ protruding at the base.  This will slide into a plastic pipe inserted into the horse for display.  After inserting the dowel into the head and body, I glued the dowel to the ceramic neck and when dry, I stitched the shoulders closed.

January

Figures for a Cacophony installationBecky & Jane in Jane's StudioHere are some photos from the week we spent in Phoenix at Jane's studio. We made a lot of progrss on the pieces that needed to be carved from styrofoam; the "cowgirl" and the "courtesan". Becky returned to Tacoma and set to work on the Conversation Boxes while waiting for a shipment of parts and pieces to arrive from Jane's studio. Everything arrived A-OK and Becky's studio is abuzzzz with fabrications--a true "cacophony" of elements. Then, a major snowstorm swooped into Tacoma and Becky has been unable to get out of her driveway to get to the studio. Which means two days, so far , of sketchbook "thinking" and painting in her head. Tomorrow may be a snowshoe day!The Beauty's Shoes in Place

Carving a styrofoam body for a "Court Lady"

Repurposed dolls for the triplets' heads

Triplet Heads Created by Jane

ReConfigured progress in January

 

Conversation No. 6 in progressWe've been devising a series of visual "conversation" using a set of identical boxes. Each one has a fragment or study in clay by Jane to which Becky will respond with drawing, painting, and or collage.The series of 6 Conversations will be in the ReConfigured show in March. The Courtesan with Her HairHere we have The Courtesan with her hair made from an old paintbrush and assorted wire. She is developing with a body sculpted from styrofoam and coated with many layers of molding pastes. Becky applying gesso to cloth doll bodies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Three heads intened for "Chinese Relations" 1/2/12