June 9, 2020

Large art installations are my game, and they take months – sometimes even years – to create. That means I am developing concepts and collecting objects for multiple projects years in advance to ensure I have pieces ready when spaces open up for installations.

Currently I’m working my glue gun to the point of melting all over itself to complete FLow, the 2,511 painted seashells that will hang in the gallery at Creative Pinellas later this year. FLow illustrates a statistic involving water quality in the state of Florida.

While I’m ridiculously excited for FLow to make its debut, my main motivation to finish the piece is actually to clear workspace in my studio for new installations. Two projects in particular have snuck up on me and are now competing for space in my brain as well as in my studio.

The first piece represents a rainforest deforestation statistic. I recently put out the call to everyone I know begging for chipboard. I’m in search of thousands (!) of boxes to alter with fabric, paint, and paper. The color palette for this installation is one of my favorites. It’s super bright, super saturated, and it would be right at home with unicorns – which makes it super fun to collect and piece together media for this project. I can’t freaking wait to pile all of my finds around my studio and start piecing everything together like a giant art puzzle! But first, those 2,511 seashells gotta move out.

The second piece I’m developing is designed around ocean acidity and currently requires lots of little science projects. I’ve been experimenting with pigments and dyes, light effects, and transfer techniques. Fortunately my experiments are small scale so I’ve been able to sneak them in around FLow. I’ve also been researching and collecting data for this piece over the last six months. When this one finally goes up, I can definitely say I did my homework.

Additionally, my sketchbook is home to at least four more installations in various stages. And you never know when inspiration will strike and a new piece will jump in line. However, for now, it’s back to FLow and my trusty glue gun… assuming it hasn’t melted.