MFA Thesis Exhibition

MFA Thesis Exhibition

Well, I am officially done with school. I moved out of New Paltz last week and am recovering at my parents' house in DC for a few days before I start my cross-country move back to Seattle.

Here are a couple of images from my thesis show: Solipsistic Apparatus. 

This work explores systems, both man-made and within the human body. I am interested in the similarities, and the intersection between the two. I have been exploring these concepts through material investigations and the creation of wearable jewelry. There is a record of the passage of time visible in bodies and the built environment, through deterioration, repairs and additions to structures. These works endeavor to construct their own system, visually creating a link between the built and the bodily, as an attempt to symbolize our corporeal existence. Through wearing, the jewelry is activated, creating parallels with the body while also working incongruously with the body – encircling it but not intersecting it.

Photos of installation taken by Keith Ferris.

You can see more images on my website and flickr.

First Year Work

First Year Work

As I am getting work ready for my thesis exhibition, I was looking through work, that I made last year (2010-2011), in grad school, and decided to add some photos of that work to my website. When I came into grad school I was interested in blood cells. I was thinking a lot about how we are made up of blood, and about all we do to contain that blood in our bodies. I began thinking about bringing that blood to the outside as a visual element. The idea of blood cells spilling off of us. This was the last piece I made right before grad school.

Then when arriving at New Paltz we had 10 days to make 10 pieces, so continuing my thinking about blood cells, but moving into also thinking about the vascular system, I created this ring and this brooch. 

These explorations in my first year, later transitioned into a broader thinking about systems, which inspired my thesis work. You can see more of the pieces that I made last year on my website. 

Posters Are Up

Posters Are Up

And my name is on them, so it looks like I'll be graduating soon.

Persen: Place & Things – The Catalog

Persen: Place & Things – The Catalog

Previously I wrote about an installation of work that the MFA at New Paltz created in response to the Persen House in Kingston, NY. Well, the catalog of the installation is finally finished and available online for purchase. Hyun and myself did the all design work on the catalog, and I'm super happy to see all of our efforts finally completed.

You can preview/purchase the catalog at Lulu.com.

System R3529

System R3529

Here is the original image that I used for the front of my postcard.

 System R3529, Sterling Silver, Copper, Steel and Graphite, 2012

Show Cards

Show Cards

My cards came in today for the MFA thesis exhibition, and I'm pretty excited about them.

New Paltz Ring

New Paltz Ring

As I've mentioned before, all of the Metal graduate students are going to Munich in March for Schmuck 2012, and we have this fund raiser project, well, to raise funds for the trip. So, we have designed class rings of sorts. We are calling them "Memento Rings". Having never been a class ring wearing kind of person before, I am pretty excited about these.

The Morse Code Ring was designed by Sara Glaberson, then modeled in Rhino by myself, then 3D printed in stainless steel. I now have one of these rings and am super excited to wear it. You can order your own ring from our blog http://npmementoring.blogspot.com/ . Here are some pictures of it:

Work from the Fall

Work from the Fall

Here are a couple of images of work that I completed at the end of the fall semester. They are painted copper forms.

Schmuck 2012

Schmuck 2012

This year all of the New Paltz Metal graduate students as well as Myra and Jamie are planning on going to Schmuck exhibition in Munich – an international jewelry competition. Interestingly, I heard that they didn't accept any Americans this year.

A few of us (including myself) bought our tickets the other day and made lodging reservations. I've never been to Germany before unless you count a layover at the airport, so I'm pretty excited.

was zahlt/what counts at studio gabi green, gollierstrasse 17

Persen: Place & Things

Persen: Place & Things

This semester we had the unique opportunity to create work and have a one-day exhibition, called Persen: Place & Things, at the Matthewis Persen House in Kingston. The Persen house is a stone house that was built in phases from the 1660-1920's. The house has had many roles, from family home, to tavern, to government offices. Now it is a historic site that you can tour through.

It is an amazing site. The building was built in five phases. It was added onto and added onto for 200 years, and now they are peeling back the layers exposing the history of the building. The entry room has cases that contain artifacts that were discovered on the site. If you are near Kingston, NY, it is defiantly worth touring the house. An experience that photographs can't replicate.

The work that I created was in response to a chalk line marked, on one of the walls in the room, indicating a level line. I thought this was interesting since I'm pretty sure that that line is the only level thing in the house. For the exhibition I created three hollow formed plumb bobs, and placed several new and vintage levels in the room.

There are more photos of the house and the exhibition on my Flickr and in our Flickr group. We are also compiling a catalog of the exhibition. 

Below is a video of Ken Gray — Myra's husband and also the county archivist — talking about the exhibition. 

Gliding, Fruiting Bacteria

Gliding, Fruiting Bacteria

A new chain I'm working on inspired by gliding, fruiting bacteria.