Rocinante Press

Sustainability Issues in Artmaking

2012-01-30T23:30:00.001-05:00

Earlier this month I attended the College Book Art Association Conference (mentioned here). One of the panels - featuring my friends Mary Tasillo and Lara Durback - focused on sustainability issues in printmaking and book arts. The majority of information was presented by John Risseeuw. I've been meaning to write on it for a bit, but it's been a hectic month and I'm finally getting to it.

A primary point that John focused on is that most people, artists included, are not informed enough about what sustainability means. Assumptions in making studio practices more sustainable have ranged from "recycling more" to "using water-based materials." John was quick to point out that these do not necessarily meet sustainability standards, and in reference to "water-based materials," may not even be non-toxic, let alone sustainable.

Before I get bogged down in negativity, I think an important introduction to this topic to state the Five Pillars of Sustainability. They are, in no particular order: Ecological, Social, Economic, Cultural, Political, five interconnected and interdependent issues. The arts, of course, fall largely into the cultural, and John mentioned that when he approached a sustainability scientist about how such principles apply to artists, the scientist felt that they didn't, due to the cultural contributions.

Which probably led to the question he asked the audience during his presentation, "Is it fair to consider art in issues of sustainability?"

If so, John brought up issues that would have to be considered, such as:

What is the volume of ink (for art and regular computer printers) consumed worldwide? What are the annual percentages of pigments used in all paints/inks/dyes? What is the carbon footprint of art paper? What volume of polymer plates are consumed, and what are they made of exactly? What is the true environmental burden of digital culture? Can it be sustained? How?

One point John made regarded printmaking paper. If we are to consider such questions as those above, we must concern machine-mold paper that printmakers generally prefer, such as Fabriano. There are no machine-mould paper companies in the United States - all machine mold paper is made in Europe. However, paper companies import their cotton fiber from the United States. So the fiber is shipped across the ocean, transformed into paper, and shipped back, leaving an estimated large carbon footprint. A related issue that John did not touch on was that of bt cotton and its prevalence in the US cotton industry.

Local-made handmade paper might be a solution, if printmakers can keep papermakers in business and if everyone has a papermaker within a locality. And ideally, access to organic, non-GMO cotton (or some other material...flax, anyone?)

Polymer plates, for those who might not know, are a light-sensitive form of plastic plate that can be exposed to light and then rinsed out with water, leaving a relief image for printing. For clients of Boxcar Press,one purveyor of said plates, they can be shipped back and recycled, to an extent. However, when considered sustainability, John pointed out, plastic cannot be recycled more than twice. It is not an infinite cycle. He also added that the carbon footprint of shipping them back and forth would need to be considered.

John went on to discuss what exactly polymer plates are made of. He explained that the long-chain polymers for plates are a form of nylon. Nylon, which sounds innocuous enough, is made with benzene and other hazardous chemicals, and is a petroleum product with a large carbon footprint. When these plates are washed out, the chemicals are washed down the drain and into the water supply.

John often pointed out during this talk that we as humans just do not know enough about sustainability and long-term affects of chemicals both on ourselves and the environment. He didn't neglect to discuss issues of inks in his talk. Most people assume that if something is cleaned up with water, it's nontoxic. Acrylic paints, for example. Yet such paints contain formaldehyde, a known carcinogen, as a preservative.

Soy-based inks, which are often proposed an alternatives to oil-based, are not as sustainable as usually thought, as the rainforests of Brazil are being decimated to provide farmland to meet the need for soy. A final point concerning inks that John made, when considered volatile-organic compounds (VOCs), released into the air from oil-based inks and paints, that no ink will give off as much as driving a car to the studio will.

After his talk concluded, Mary pointed out that one resource that all artists have in relation to sustainability is time. "Slow down and prioritize," she advised. If artists can make time, heck, if all people can make time, sustainable solutions are feasible. I'm not going to argue that making time is an easy process, I as much as others always struggle for it. But it is something to consider, and probably fight for.

Sustainability is defined as, "Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to be meet their needs." A presentation like this one can cause someone to get bogged down in how complicated their artmaking choices can become. Or, they can see this knowledge as empowering, a launching pad for new ideas. It was clear that the information presented in this panel needs to shared and spread. The panel certainly made me feel like I understood my own impact much more clearly, and I am considering how it will affect my practice.

If I were to answer John's question, I think it is more than fair to consider the arts in relation to sustainability. The arts are part of and depend on community, both local and global, for support, encouragement, participation, and as audience. As part of that community, our artmaking decisions need to consider sustainability issues. Solutions might be tricky, difficult, expensive, or not always feasible, but they need to be considered.

To download an earlier version of John's talk, visit here.

Two New Prints (with details)!

2012-01-17T01:18:00.000-05:00

Finally got a few prints finished and documented! Above is what I will probably end up with the title Wyoming Triptych. Begun and mostly printed by hand at Jentel, with the final layer of sky printed in my home studio. It's a reduction block, though now that I think about it, a bit of an odd twist on the concept. Reduction printing involves printing the most general, background color first, and carving away more and more material from the same block and printing successive, more specific layers. Typically, the first layer is the background, negative space, or sky color. Any paper surface that does become part of the image is usually negative or white space.

However, I wanted my handmade paper to have a presence in the image, particularly since this paper is such a lovely, delicate blue. So the landscape is the paper itself, and the section of sky is reduced.

Today I was loaned a book called How to be Sick, A Buddhist Inspired Guide for the Chronically Ill and Their Caregivers. The loan has interesting timing; last night I watched a PBS documentary on the life of Prince Siddhartha, the man who became the Buddha. I haven't started reading it yet, but I was intrigued by one quote I came across while flipping through, "Let things take their natural course. Then your mind will become still in any surroundings, like a clear forest pool. All kinds of wonderful, rare animals will come to stare at the pool....You will see many strange and wonderful things come and go, but you will be still." (Ajahn Chah)Stillness...at least in mind. I'm trying to hold on to this image. While in Wyoming, I kept feeling that the landscape had restorative capabilities, which is why I placed Robert within it. After I finished this print I found myself thinking about how cows have taken over what was once the land of the buffalo, and how sacred and revered the buffalo were to the Native Americans.

This print is called Cows and Corn, though the corn is the fiber of which the paper is made. The cows were such lovely dark shapes in the blue landscape. My arrival in Wyoming coincided with a re-reading of The Omnivore's Dilemma. I was caught up in Michael Pollan's discussion of corn as the basis for our food system. It's fed to cows, chickens, pigs, even farmed fish, transformed into flakes, syrup, xanthan gum, flour, diapers, dextrose, maltodextrin, MSG, mono-glycerides,di-glycerides, ethanol, plastic substitutes, wallboard, adhesives, batteries, ink, paint, pharmaceuticals...I could go on. So this print is an abbreviated version of that - corn as the basis for our meat-based food system, corn fiber is the substrate for this print of cows.

Upcoming Class at Kala

2012-01-12T13:16:00.001-05:00

Monoprinting and Pop-Up Engineeringwith Michelle Wilsonat Kala Art Institute,Saturdays, February 4 & 11, 10am-4pm, Tuition $232.In this workshop, students will use learn to incorporate basic monoprinting and pop-up paper engineering techniques to create printed pop-up structures that can be the basis of paper sculptures or artist books. This class is ideal for artists who are interested in ways of taking their two-dimensional work into the third dimension, or teachers who are interested in learning ideas to incorporate into their classroom. No prerequisite required. To register for the class, please visit here. For information on class discounts, please visit here.Questions or to register over the phone, please contact Carrie Hott, Program Coordinator for Artist Residencies and Classes, at carrie@kala.org or call 510-549-2977 ext. 303

Paulus Berensohn: Why We Create

2012-01-11T20:06:00.000-05:00

I have great admiration for Paulus Berensohn.

Whirlwind

2012-01-09T23:37:00.000-05:00

As the title of this post suggests, the past few days have have been a bit crazy. It began last Wednesday, when I had the chance to take over the Autonomous Organization's space in Southern Exposure's Working Conditions exhibition.

I used the time to start carving a new block, continuing my exploration of my new caretaker identity, which I'm thinking of calling Waiting Room.

Thursday evening was the reception for Bibliotech at the San Francisco Public Library's Skylight Gallery. My book, Chacaltaya, was included.

The reception was also the opening event of the College Book Art Association Conference here in the Bay Area, so not only was there a great turnout, I was happy to see many people from the East Coast whom I miss terribly at the event.

Bibliotech is on view till March 11, 2012, open during regular library hours.

Friday was the first day of panels for the CBAA conference. My Book Bombs partner, Mary Tasillo, was on a panel about sustainable practices in printmaking and book art with another friend, Lara Durback, as well as the esteemed John Risseeauw, Susan Moore, and Cynthia Thompson. I found it to be one of the most stimulating panels during the entire conference, and plan to write an extended post reflecting on some of the issues, once I've had a chance to rest.

Friday evening was the opening for Get Lucky, the Culture of Chance, at SOMArts. I was surprised and thrilled at how much people interacted with the paper, stepping close to inspect the fibers of each sheet - one child ran up to one with his mouth open ready to rip out a bite with his teeth (his mother got to him just in time). My favorite thing to watch was people stepping in close to sniff the paper - though most did it so quickly I couldn't get a picture.

Dorothy Santos live blogged the event, if you follow that link you can see other works in the exhibition (and she writes a great Bay Area Arts blog, you should check out her posts regularly). And Kenneth Baker wrote this response to the show in the San Francisco Chronicle, focusing mostly on the musical sculptures/performances of the evening.

I owe a debt of thanks to curators Hanna Regev and Justin Hoover, for all their hard work putting the exhibition together.

Get Lucky is open till January 26, when there will be a panel discussion about John Cage and a closing reception from 6-9 PM.

Saturday was the final day of the CBAA conference, and papermaking was featured in not one, but two panels! Unfortunately, they happened simultaneously, grrrh, so I only made it to one. Since then I've gotten some rest and begun a new to-do list for January. Thanks to everyone who came out to either of my exhibitions, and I'm hoping that this week's good fortune is providential for the rest of the year!

New Year and a Jentel Wrap-Up

2012-01-03T02:32:00.001-05:00

My friend Steph has a family tradition of doing laundry on New Year's Day. I think the idea is to set a tone of accomplishment rather than procrastination for the year. I've been meaning to write up a conclusion to my Jentel posts, to form some sort of completion to its narrative on this blog. Today is January 2, not the first day of the year, but I'm finally getting to writing something, though I'm not sure I've figured any of it out yet.

While there, I started processing how I've become a caretaker to someone who is ill, and all the implications and changes that this is going to mean for my life. I also spent a great deal of time feeling alternately guilty, angry, or worried (I was so lucky to have good people around me at Jentel who helped me deal with these feelings). At the same time, I kept thinking about the ideas of healing within the landscape, which led me to piece above (detail below), placing me and Robert within it, hoping that by envisioning health it could come to us. (Also why I didn't post images of it before - wanted him to see it first)!

Though I have to admit, so far, no such luck. Last week, after puttering around cleaning up my studio (always puts me back in the groove), I finished the last triptych that I started there. During the last few days I had run out of blue ink, so it had to wait till I was home for the last layer. I'll post the full triptych soon, but here is one of the completed center print hot off the press:

Have to admit, I loved the intimacy of all the hand-printing I did at Jentel, but on a press it goes SO MUCH FASTER.

The suspicious part of my brain wanted to believe something like, if I finish this triptych (which also has Robert in it in another panel) maybe he will get better. And he did seem to be improving for a day or two last week. Still in pain, but more present. And then he took another bad turn and my hopes were dashed again.

In the past two days, I've been repeatedly asked if I'm depressed about my current situation. On the phone this evening with a friend, they said something about how I need to keep my hopes up. Thing is, I'm finding it more difficult to deal with my hopes being crushed repeatedly as we explore treatments that don't end up working, and I would rather just let them go. A few days ago I read something about making peace with uncertainty in regards to illness, and I think that's a good summery for where I am. I don't know if that's depression or not, but I feel better without the ups and downs.

At Jentel, I slowed down, I was not my constantly-rushing self. Part of my typical acceleration comes from ambition and planing planing planning for the future so much I'm never in the moment. I'm trying to hold on to this new unhurried demeanor, and allowing myself to proceed at a more measured pace through this uncertain time. Concentrating on just being in the now, and taking it day by day.

Sneak Peek: Installation at SOMArts

2011-12-20T14:45:00.001-05:00

I need to write a post concluding my experiences at Jentel, but the day after I arrived at home I had to install my piece for the exhibition Get Lucky, the Culture of Chance, at SOMArts. Just jumped back into my life, and I haven't had a chance to process my final Jentel days or photograph the work yet. I will soon.

This are some images during installation of my piece there, before lighting was adjusted. The show is responding to ideas of chance, particularly in reference to John Cage. Responding to Cage, I made a series of edible fiber papers. Despite being a native of Los Angeles, when Cage worked with Beverly Plummer to make his papers, they used fibers from the East Coast. I wanted to explore my new West Coast home. Above is a panel made from ice plant. Interestingly, ice plant, when cooked in soda ash, turns a rich purple. I suspect it would make a lovely dye, which I will have to investigate further.

Below, from left to right, zucchini, corn, mint, iceplant, sunchoke, artichoke, fennel.

Other than artichoke, I'd never worked with any of these fibers before. This experience has introduced me to many possibilities in the landscape of my new home. As for chance, it's made me consider the idea of greater chance in regards to weather, and harvests, and how that influences what grows and what survives.

The opening reception for Get Lucky is on Friday, January 6, from 6-9 PM, and the show will be up till January 26. SOMArts is located at 934 Brannon Street in San Francisco. Hope to see you there!

Wyoming Dispatch: The Petrified Forest and Reaction

2011-12-07T19:07:00.001-05:00

As our days at Jentel are nearing an end, we residents took a spontaneous trip to the Dry Creek Petrified Forest. It's one of numerous petrified forests in the state, but the only one I've gotten a chance to see. It's the remains of swamp trees - the high desert of Wyoming used to be a swamp - and before that, it was under a very large sea. In some ways, as you look across the undulating landscape, you can imagine it.

Most of the forest is underground and un-excavated, and what viewers see are the remains of stumps. Only one large piece of a megasequoia has been unearthed.

I kept thinking about these petrified trees as artifacts of time. Dan at one point joked that petrified trees don't burn, to which Jennifer countered that the exception to that was coal, reminding me of my own artist book on the subject.

After our visit to Devils Tower, I had been thinking about how, after the exposure to its grandeur (not to mention its cinematic history), I personally, couldn't make work about it. Most of my work involves constructing narratives that are implied onto the landscape, and I just didn't feel right doing that to such a sacred site to so many indigenous people. And it doesn't feel respectful to use their narratives (not really my style anyway, I'd prefer to have total authorship). Besides, anything I'd do would end up being seen as some Close Encounters reference anyway.

But I was drawn to these petrified trees. Jentel has some ornamental petrified wood chunks in the driveway.

I'm not sure where they're from, though I'm certain it's somewhere in Wyoming. Once we were home, I grabbed some of my paper and a box of oil pastels left by a previous artist (thank you whoever!) and went down and made some rubbings of their surfaces.

The paper I selected was some I'd actually had leftover from grad school, when I was still figuring out how to make quality watermarks. These are watermarked with the image of tree, tests for The Ghost Trees that I was never completely satisfied with.

I'm not sure how much of the watermark you can see above - that's the best I could do for backlighting currently. As I was making them, I couldn't help think of Melanie's projects, and hope that this isn't stepping on her toes. I'm not sure what I think of them right now, but I like the idea of the tree hidden in the stone, and interacting with transformed trees. As I was making them, I mentioned to Jennifer that I had to make these here, as I didn't access to large chunks of petrified wood back home, and then I remembered the Sonoma Petrified Forest. Have to make it up there soon. So maybe these are proofs, tests, or maybe they are complete. I have to think about it.

I'm really going to miss my fellow residents. As I write this, my studio door is open, and so is Dan's and I can hear him singing "Your Body is A Wonderland." Earlier he and Jennifer were singing along to Johnny Cash for their karaoke debut this weekend. When we all first got here, our studio doors were shut, we were even not sure about the rules of knocking and interrupting each other. Much has changed.

Wyoming Dispatch: Work in Progress

2011-12-05T18:46:00.001-05:00

I've begun my last week at Jentel, and I'm busily working to try and finish things I've started. As I was working, I couldn't help but think how interesting the image above is - it's a shot of the corner of my desk, but it really captures the tools I use - woodcarving tools, thread, electrical cords...all mixed up together. Below, the blocks from this print triptych have been reduced to print another layer of sky.

Below, the beginnings of another triptych. It's got more to come, but I really love the abstraction it creates just as it is. They remind me of the some pieces I saw by Nadia Myre with Marie a year or so ago at the Museum of the American Indian. I remember something in her statement, about how when a land is special or sacred to you, the horizon line becomes more meaningful than just a marker for where the sky meets the ground, it's a demarcation for where your home is, where your beliefs are, where the entire story of your being and your community is based.

I'm really enjoying working this way - my little sheets of paper aren't long enough to capture the panorama of this landscape, but I also love how working this way is opening me up to some new directions.

I've spent some time these past two days thinking about this article in the New York Times. On one hand, as an artist working in a craft tradition it's exciting to read of recognition of artists working in similar veins, ideas, and traditions. On the other, I have a lot of problems with it. First of all, the bias is towards Europe, particularly Paris, and as Jennifer pointed out, is completely ignorant of the fact DIY working methods have been thriving here in the States since the 90ies. She added that it makes no mention of its historic ties to the feminist movement, or Riot Grrls, (I would also add Asian traditions like mingei) and while touching on how artist often turn to these working methods as a refusal to participate in consumer-driven mass produced art, adds a simpering mention of how its "cheapter too!"

It is also ignorant of how craft practices have a long tradition of serving as forms of protest and activism, treating it more like some sort of fashion trend.

Beyond these ideas, it does not touch on the philosophy and reasoning that drives artists to a craft-based working methodology. As a hero of mine has said, Paulus Berensohn, has said, working with craft materials, materials made directly from nature, means that its final product directly invokes its origins in the natural world. Though it does mention how Jeanne Briand uses her breath to make her blown glass, it avoids further discussion of how craft processes involve the human body. Most craft techniques evoke the human hand. Judith Schaechter has commented that this is why craft programs are often being cut or reduced, as this tendency also reminds viewers of the inherent messiness of the body.

I would suggest that artists are drawn to working in craft traditions because they are drawn to using their hands and bodies. Working by hand creates an intimacy with materials, a use of the hands/body as a tool, a relationship with the entire experience that is making. Between this intimacy, relationship to the body, and an affinity with the natural world in my materials, there is a world of craft philosophy that demonstrates that artists who choose to work in craft traditions are doing so with a deep convictions.

Wyoming Dispatch: Devils Tower

2011-12-03T18:23:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, we Jentel residents decided to take a road trip to Devils Tower. It's a two-hour drive from here, perfect for a day trip. As we were leaving, the sun was shining, rays catching the ice that had covered the trees, blinding us with a glittering display.

Devils Tower really is a surreal formation. As shown above, it rises out of nowhere. Jentel, I believe, has a higher elevation, so we passed from its blue-gray landscape into one of straw colored grass and rock formations thickly striated with red.

We arrived at the base, ate a chilly picnic lunch, and started walking the trail that circles the base of the Tower. As we walked, I realized we were going counter-clockwise from east to west, a circumnabulation much like a walking mediation. A repeated theme to our conversations was comparing the Tower to a human body part: a toe, a penis, a nipple (those last two were Dan). Despite our humor at this, I couldn't help but think that that such discussions were reflective of how we could see ourselves in this formation. Maybe it's just some form of egotistical humancentrification, but maybe it was also a reflection of how humans can see reflections in nature, and the potential therein.

The picture above doesn't communicate how many colors were in the rock, yellows, oranges, greens, pinks, all completely unexpected. As we navigated the trail, we came first to its sunny side, which offered a vista through the remains of a previous forest fire.

Proceeding, we made our way to the shady, cooler side of the Tower, where winter seemed much more evident. If this was a walking meditation, I thought, then we had descended from sun/life to a contemplation of winter/death/slumber.

We emerged back at the beginning of the circular trail. I had been continuing my thoughts on finding healing in the landscape, and even noticed a quote in the visitors' center about how certain Native Americans find renewal and rehabilitation in the Black Hills, just east of the Tower. (The Tower is also a sacred site to many of the original inhabitants of this area, and as we walked we saw the remains of offerings tied to trees).

Our good weather ran out as we neared home; we were hit with fog and snow but managed to make it back to Jentel safely. All my thoughts on healing fled that evening as I called Robert and found out he had a pretty painful day, returning me to worry, shame and confusion, and all my conflictions about being here in Wyoming. There is little over a week till I return, and whatever that might bring.

Wyoming Dispatch: By Hand

2011-12-01T19:33:00.001-05:00

I've been steadily working on a print that is going to take the form of a triptych - three blocks printed on three separate pieces of paper, one continuous image. Below, Blanche calendars the paper.

Each block has selective inking, so that in one round of printing I am printing two colors. The image is inspired by the wintery landscape and its colors here - a minimal palette, only shades of gray, blue, black.

The block will be reduced for another layer of color. Below are the results of the first round of printing. The paper is a handmade rag paper (made from the leftover pulp from this piece). Normally, (white) paper is the negative space, the empty space of an image. Here I hoped the light blue of the fibers would activate the positive space of the image.

I printed it with a wooden spoon. Originally, I started to print them on Blanche, but she seemed inclined to rip the linoleum, and after all the carving I decided spoon prints were the way to go.

While I was spooning the backs of the prints, I found myself thinking of how this piece is the result of my hands in so many ways. With the exception of using Blanche to calendar the paper, I made the paper by hand from rags I cut up, by hand. I carved the blocks by hand. I inked them by hand. And I printed them with nothing more than a wooden spoon and the pressure applied by my arms, wrists, and hands. I even tried the old trick of rubbing the spoon on my cheek to get a small amount of oil to make rubbing smoother, but everything is so very dry here that I don't think my cheek could contribute.

Hand-printing on your own handmade paper is a rather intimate experience. Don't get me wrong, I love a press. But while hand printing I'm able to feel how the paper becomes burnished, the punch of the relief into the fibers, the suction of the ink, the entire romance of the process. I feel like this piece will have a dual narrative, that which is presented in the image (more on that to come!), and that of its creation with my hands, here in a Wyoming winter.

As I was working on the center print, we were hit with another snowstorm. The image above is looking from the residence to the studio buildings - the writers are the log cabin on the right, we visual artists are working in the one on the left.

In other news - today I learned that Book Bombs is part of the exhibition For Decoration and Agitation, An Exhibition of Stencil and Pochoir Books and Art, curated by our kickass friend Jared Ash, at the Newark Public Library! East Coast friends, I hope some of you get a chance to check it out.

Wyoming Dispatch: Gratitude and Healing

2011-11-27T17:50:00.001-05:00

For Thanksgiving, we Jentel residents were left to ourselves, so we decided to group-chef it up. Above, from left to right, are Jennifer, Zach, April and Dan in our amazing, spacious kitchen. Below is Mark with the turkey.

In some of the paperwork that I was sent before arrival, Jentel warns their kitchen has only the basics, and specialized cooking equipment would need to be brought by the residents. I'm not sure what they define by "basics," as our kitchen has everything from food processors to woks, an outdoor grill, as well as what I'd consider the "basics," such as bowls, knives, forks, saucepans, etc.

Just before dinner, some neighbors stopped by for a visit:

Just before we sat down for our meal, we were treated to one of the reasons - pictured above - why people come to the high desert country of Wyoming.

Since the holiday, I've been steadily carving, carving, carving blocks. While carving, I've been listening to a series of podcasts I downloaded from NPR's On Being series, which I highly recommend. Today I listened to an interview with Ernie Lapointe, who is Sitting Bull (Tatanka Iyotake)'s great-grandson.

I had spent a moment on Thanksgiving morning considering everything I was grateful for, but then found my thoughts drifting to the mythology of Thanksgiving. I am glad that in such a consumer-driven culture that is the United States, that we have a nonreligious day for reflection and and gratitude (I'll leave aside how this all goes out the window on the following Black Friday for now). In the mythology, it is about different peoples - the Pilgrim Colonists and the Wampanoag - coming together to give thanks and share a meal. When children re-enact the event, the Pilgrims wear their goofy hats and shoes with buckles, and the Indians - they are not usually taught which Indians - wear feathered headdresses and "war paint," despite not being the traditions of the Northeastern Native Americans. What is never addressed are the massacres and epidemics following said event that served to wipe out a large portion of the indigenous population.

Sitting in Wyoming, listening to Lapointe discuss his great-grandfather (who admittedly is from later in history and not New England), I found myself reflecting on my current proximity to history, bloodshed and disenfranchisement. The Bozeman trail ran right through this area. Fort Phil Kearney and the Fetterman massacre happened less than ten miles from here. Both Rock Springs - site of the Rock Springs massacre, and the Heart Mountain Relocation Center are about a day's drive. Sitting Bull himself was born north of here in what is now Montana.

The interview went on to share how the Lakota see Sitting Bull and some of their current activities, now that they are allowed to practice their traditions. It's from 2010, so it did not touch on current issues such as foster care and taking children away from the reservations. But it did go into how the Lakota see Sitting Bull as less a warrior than a healer. Following this, it went on to describe how the Lakota have been doing a ceremony for many years now, which involves some songs of Sitting Bull's, in which they incorporate descendants of George Custer and his troops, and through the ceremony, they become family. (If I am misunderstanding this, anyone is welcome to correct me in the comments. In fact, please do). This ceremony incorporates Sitting Bull's legacy of healing into the future of the Lakota and addressing the history of the region.

Listening to these words just after Thanksgiving in Wyoming, I couldn't help but feel humbled. But as I listened, my thoughts ranged over the high desert landscape, and I found myself reflecting on my walk through the 1000 Acres a few days ago. Is this legacy of healing imbued in the landscape itself? I'm finding this idea coming up in the prints I'm working on now, and wonder if its possible.

Still for Sale - Hurricane Irene print!

2011-11-25T13:17:00.001-05:00

Please excuse this post interruption in our regularly scheduled programing - I just wanted to remind readers today on Black Friday that might want to consider purchasing handmade items from artisans rather than big chains or corporations - I'm still offering this print for sale in my Etsy shop! Sales will help my in-laws who are still recovering from Hurricane Irene. And for the ecologically minded, this print is on handmade paper recycled from used clothing. A win-win-win situation!

This print has already been purchased by the Special Collections of the Newark Public Library and the Free Library of Philadelphia, as well as few good friends. To those who have already purchased one, thank you! And Happy Holidays everyone!

Wyoming Dispatch: A Day in Sheridan

2011-11-23T18:23:00.001-05:00

Today was our weekly trip to Sheridan for errands and groceries. To begin the day, we were in downtown Sheridan for any errands that might need to be run. I used the time to visit King's Saddlery, which has an incredible museum of western tack and tools in a building behind the store. It's also where they make rope and tool leather. When you first walk in, you encounter some of their collection of taxidermied animals, including the giraffe above.

King's also makes and sells their own rope. Apparently, cowfolk will practice roping on benches, chairs, probably the taxidermy, and maybe even sometimes people in the store while they are trying to find a rope they like, though I did not witness this.

Behind the ropes are the leather sewing machines:

My favorite part was the Don King (but not that Don King) Tool Collection upstairs. An amazing collection of tools for leather tooling and saddlery.

And of course, saddles galore!

They make their own rope in the basement on these machines. The fiber - in this case, nylon, is stretched as single strands on this machine which runs on a track. It spins the fiber first into three separate strands, and then spins those three into one rope.

There are piles of already-made ropes lying around, waiting to be waxed and stretched.

We returned to Jentel for a late lunch that's left me sleepy. I'm now in my studio, settling down to work, battling the urge to curl up on the bed (the studios have beds, not as nice as those in our bedrooms, but yes, we are spoiled) and nap the afternoon away.

Wyoming Dispatch: 1000 Acres

2011-11-22T18:20:00.001-05:00

Today the temperature climbed into the thirties, which is almost balmy by Wyoming winter standards. Since it looked like we have a chance of another storm at the end of this week, I took the opportunity to go for a long ramble in the 1000 Acres.

The 1000 Acres are a property that butts up against Jentel. Jentel does not have any ownership of the land, but Resident Artists have permission, as long as they do not cross any fence lines in the property, to wander about within it. I'd hiked the steep-hilled edge of it on my second day here with April and Dan, which had us laughing and talking as we went along. Today I wanted solitude, to fill myself with the silence and the panorama.

To enter the 1000 Acres, a person must climb over the contraption above. Having grown up in a rural area, I'd never seen the like of it, but I'm told they are common in places like Ireland. I can't help wondering if it is a solution to (possibly citified) people who forget to latch the gate after they go through it?

Looking past the contraption is the path up the hill. It will take a wanderer into a an exploration of a wide unpeopled, but non uninhabited, space.

My ramble turned into a three hour jaunt that left me breathless and exhilarated. One of the things I love about being here is I haven't needed my inhaler - the air is so clear, and I can breathe without any issues.

Before leaving, I'd spoken with Robert on the phone, and as always, ended our conversation a bit frustrated and worried (not with him) that his medical condition remains unchanged. This nagging worry stayed with me as I wandered, thinking about him in pain leaves me wishing I was with him, and always worried that something will happen and I won't be there. I know that I have friends who are there for him, but part of me will always worry about him until he's all better.

I couldn't help thinking how much Robert would love being here, seeing this. Somehow, as I walked, such thoughts led me to the idea of memories, and how wouldn't it be amazing if we could give them to each other? Right now, all I can share is the story, but I can't share the fullness of the silence, the feel of the air on my skin, the entire immensity of the landscape and how close the sky feels. Gifting a memory would be also gifting an experience, would that be as fulfilling as having the experience yourself?

Wyoming Dispatch: First Print

2011-11-20T21:28:00.001-05:00

It seems the roads are finally cleared, after three days of being snowed in. Last night, the temperature dropped to 8 below - c-c-c-cold!!! I'm so grateful that Jentel has such an amazing central heating system. We felt the cold, but not terribly. Of course, I was wearing two layers of long underwear under my regular clothes, so maybe that had something to do with it.

Yesterday I broke out my carving tools and carved the block above. It's based on some of my bovine neighbors here. The print is below.

It's simple, but I like to think that it is deceptively so. The cows are printed on abaca-cornhusk paper. Corn is the basis for our food system. Steer calves, like those my neighbors will drop in the spring, will be transported to a CAFO in someplace like Salinas, Kansas, where they will be fed corn until they bulk up enough for slaughter.

The corn they are fed has been fertilized heavily with petroleum-based chemicals. It may or may not have also been sprayed with pesticides, or it may have been Bt corn, or both. So through the combination of the paper and print, this piece abbreviates a food system structure that is contributing to global warming, our continued petroleum dependency, and human health issues (not to mention animal cruelty).

On an end note, two days ago, I found a little surprise in my desk drawer. Postcards from past residents of my studio! They contain advice such as,"Make friends with the bugs, the studios have a lot of them," and "Take a least one hike in the thousand acres, you might see a porcupine sitting in a tree," and "You won't leave here the same person - so I hope you weren't too attached to your old self," and "Pay attention - but not too much - and liquor is as important as food."

Wyoming Dispatch: Snowfall

2011-11-19T13:41:00.001-05:00

A few nights ago, the Jentel crew went for a night out in Buffalo, at the historic Occidental Hotel. It was their weekly bluegrass night. It was a good night to go, as early the following morning Wyoming was hit with another snowstorm, and we residents are now physically cut off from civilization.

The snow, stillness, and silence are a gift, not only in beautifying the landscape, but providing a setting that allows focus. I have begun carving some blocks today.

Right now, these are some of our only neighbors. Certainly the only clearly visible ones, we also have deer (both white-tailed and mule), elk, bald eagles, golden eagles, magpies, porcupines, cats, and others I'm sure.

Wyoming Dispatch: Arrival

2011-11-18T15:56:00.001-05:00

This week I arrived in Wyoming as an Artist-In-Residence at Jentel. The day before I landed, Wyoming had its first snowfall. Jentel is located just outside of Sheridan, near the Big Horn Mountains, which can be seen in the photo above. Below is the building that houses the artists' and writers' sleeping quarters. The studios buildings are behind it.

The residence was designed by the founder of Jentel specifically for this program. Cathedral ceilings, artwork, and only one right angle in the entire building give it a open, but rambling feel. Below is our living room and dining area.

The stairs from the living room lead up to the media center and library. I really like the odd shapes of the wood on the staircase.

Below, the front entry to the residence:

Our magnificent kitchen.

My bed! Very plush.

And my studio - here you can see Blanche, my studio mate.

And here is one of the property supervisors, with the slightly obvious name of "Gray Kitty." She makes the rounds and keeps everyone in line.

I'll post more again soon, but the internet connection here is extremely slow, so uploading photos takes a while. Check back soon!

November 2011 Update

2011-11-07T15:38:00.001-05:00

With November's arrival, I'm on the verge of leaving for Wyoming for a month at the Jentel Arts Residency Program. I'm still kind of in shock that it's really happening. I'm hoping to spend a month making prints, as it has been a while since I just made prints without them being part of some greater, more complicated project. Though I'm sure I'll find a way to make things more complicated when I get there.

In other news, I was recently invited to write a piece for Felt and Wire on my papermaking practice. I'm also looking forward to being part of two parallel exhibitions this winter after my return from Wyoming, one at SOMArts and one at the San Francisco Center for the Book, both curated by Hanna Regrev and focusing on artists responding to the work of John Cage.

Book Bombs has also released it's sixth zine, Horizontalidad, available in both print and PDF versions. This zine is a response to the Occupy movement, and the print version was printed at both the Crane Paper Factory and Melanie Mowinski's Press: Letterpress As A Public Art Project, both in Massachusetts. Out of all our zines so far, I'm proudest of this one. Not just because it's our most recent, but because I felt that we tied our concept into a larger, greater whole, speaking to the moment of now, but tying it to other movements and philosophies.

Finally, I'm still selling this piece on Etsy to raise funds for Robert's parents to rebuild their lives after Hurricane Irene. The print has been purchased by the Special Collections of the Newark Public Library and the Free Library of Philadelphia, as well as a few individuals, but there are still some left!

Hurricane Irene, Rancocas Creek, 2011

2011-10-17T20:55:00.000-04:00

Earlier this fall, Hurricane Irene slammed into the East Coast, causing New York City to shut down its subways, huge evacuations, and massive flooding. Robert's parents, my in-laws, evacuated to their daughter Nancy's house on higher ground, where everyone safely road out the storm.

However, after the rain dispersed, my East Coast family returned to Rancocas Creek to access the damage. To get to their home, they had to wade through about a half-mile of water, and found to their dismay that there was considerable damage to their house, and that all their belongings were destroyed.

In order to help them rebuild, I have created the print above, Hurricane Irene, Rancocas Creek, 2011, based on photographs of the flooding. It is a two-color linocut with variable pulp paint on handmade rag paper, in an edition of thirty. The print measures 11" x 8.5" with a deckle edge. Sales of this print will be used to help them rebuild their lives, and can be purchased through my Etsy store, or by contacting me at michelle (at) michellewilsonprojects (dot) com.

Getting It

2011-10-14T19:31:00.000-04:00

I had the fortune to be asked by the lovely Nancy Willis to be part of the exhibition Discrepancy, living between war and peace, at the Napa Valley Museum this year. For which, I created the installation above. Titled Power, it is a cast shadow (made from handcut denim paper) of an oil rig.

Nancy said the inspiration for this exhibition was the cognitive dissonance she felt while living in Napa, which if you've never been there, is a helluva GORGEOUS place, and the knowledge that wars and related atrocities were taking place in other parts of the world.

When asked to consider these ideas, I found I wanted to say something about what bridges the gap between American lifestyles and war - our love of fossil fuels, particularly petroleum. I decided that it should take the form of a cast shadow because its ubiquitous presence in everything I do, either in the forms of energy or plastics. It's there, but it so vast and overshadowing that we, as Americans, don't even see it anymore, yet our need for it is enough to send our nation to war in order to control petroleum-rich locations.

At the opening, several people came up to me and mentioned they liked my work, and then asked me what it was about. At least one person said as politely as she could that she didn't get it. On one hand, this says to me that I was spot-on in the omnipresence of petroleum - people can't even see it as an issue. On the other, the artist in me (who has similar conversations very frequently when she is expounding half-formed ideas to Robert), wants to shake them and say, "What's wrong with you?!?!? Don't you get it??!?!" More due to my vanity than any other reason.

I remember in graduate school having a discussion about how, if a viewer didn't understand a work of art, the artist has failed them for not making it clear enough. (I know this opinion differs from a part of the art world that makes work responding to art theory, and so creates pieces that have a certain inscrutability to a large portion of the population who hasn't read the same esoterica). However I couldn't help but wonder what this reaction meant in this situation. Did I fail? Or is my interpretation of the theme just cattywampus to the way most people seem to think? Or is that I was so very spot-on?

The answer probably lies somewhere in the middle. In addition, I should add that several people, including Nancy herself, told me that they were glad to see I addressed the issue of petroleum dependance. I'm told that a veteran on a private tour saw my piece, pointed, and said, "That's what it's all about." So it seems I didn't fail all viewers.

As I muddle over these reactions, I can't help wondering what the next incarnation of this piece should be. It seems like just the beginning of a larger exploration.

On a lighter side, I had a small brush with big celebrity during the opening reception. Robert Redford showed up (his wife is one of the artists in the exhibition). Here I am, blushing madly, with him and Kristie Sheppard, the director of the museum.

A Visit to SF Zine Fest

2011-09-12T16:40:00.001-04:00

I meant to get this post up before now, but alas, always so busy! I visited the SF Zine Fest during the first weekend in September, held in the County Fair Building in Golden Gate Park. It was an afternoon spent in the aesthetic of DIY. Above is my friend Jennie Hinchcliff of Red Letter Day.

As I was reading various review and posts of Zinefest, one in particular spoke to me. The Bay Guardian had a feature called No Zine is An Island, which reminded me that making zines is more than just paper and ideas, it's participating in a entire community and subculture.

Definitely got me thinking about next year. Hmmm....Book Bombs.....we'll see what happens!

Assignments in Curating

2011-08-22T13:54:00.000-04:00

Note: The post below was an article I submitted in 2010 to the blog Postcuratorial.com, before its author had to abandon it for other projects. Since it never saw the light of day, or more accurately, the backlight of a computer screen, I've decided to upload it here, with a few slight revisions.

A repetitive theme in exhibitions is something I have started to refer to as “assignments,” typically, a curator comes up with a very specific duty to be completed by artists as the basis for an exhibition. Assignments generally focus on a specific material, such as aprons, or actions in which artists are assigned the task of making work around this concept for an exhibition. Artists tend to respond in one of two manners – those eager to build their resumes, return to their studios to complete the project, others saunter home, to forget about their homework until the last minute, upon which they throw together something disappointing.

There is something enjoyable and stimulating about occasional participation in such an exhibition. As an artist, I’ve even participating in some (see above image). Given the right circumstances, there can be benefits to the artist. I have found the occasional assignment can provide a challenge that encourages experimentation or open up a new direction in my work. Interesting discussions may ensue when different artists confront the same project.

I was recently (in 2011) met the coordinator of an upcoming juried show that explored the idea of women looking at men, who encouraged me to enter. (I should note here, as someone who has organized exhibitions, there is often a fear that there will be lack of submissions, or a lack of good submissions, and so I understand where she was coming from). I replied that I felt that I could not, as the central concept didn't fit into my body of work. She gushed, "Oh, but this is an opportunity to make something new!" and went on to describe the project she was planning to enter, which sounded great. And I concede her point, but I find myself thinking, don't I have that opportunity every day I go into the studio?

From a curator’s point of view, I can also see the appeal: upon successful completion, a curator has a cohesive exhibition. For some artist-curators, such as Little Berlin’s Offerings it can be a fun experiment and easily promoted to the press. However, I believe this concept has been largely critically unexamined.

In traditional art school, professors require students to learn specific techniques (ie. plaster casting) through projects, for the purpose of building knowledge for later use in their emerging visual voice. Past art school, what is implied when curators feel they can give artists homework?

Often these exhibitions are a means of fundraising, though I cannot comment on their success rate. However I must wonder if it is beneficial for both collectors and artists to have artwork purchased that may be outside of the artist’s oeuvre? When boiled down, I believe the real question is, will artwork created for such a project stand on its own, outside of the assignment-exhibition?

As an artist, I want to make focused bodies of work. Personally, I only have so much time to do so, as everything takes longer than I ever think it will. When I was a younger artist, I was more willing and eager to take part in such assignments, but now I feel that for me, they are distractions from making the real work. If such an assignment fits into my overall focus, which means that I am working with a thoughtful curator, it is worth it. It also suggests to me that the final exhibition will be a considered set of ideas, rather than a hodge-podge of miscellany.

Why I Make Paper

2011-08-04T15:59:00.001-04:00

INTERBEING - by Thich Nhat Hanh
in his book, “Peace is Every Step”

    “If you are a poet, you will see clearly that there is a cloud floating in this sheet of paper. Without a cloud, there will be no rain; without rain, the trees cannot grow; and without trees, we cannot make paper. The cloud is essential for the paper to exist. If the cloud is not here, the sheet of paper cannot be here either. So we can say that the cloud and the paper inter-are. “Interbeing” is a word that is not in the dictionary yet, but if we combine the prefix “inter-“ with the verb “to be,” we have a new verb, inter-be.

    If we look into this sheet of paper even more deeply, we can see the sunshine in it. Without sunshine, the forest cannot grow. In fact, nothing can grow without sunshine. And so, we know that the sunshine is also in this sheet of paper. The paper and the sunshine inter-are. And if we continue to look, we can see the logger who cut the tree and brought it to the mill to be transformed into paper. And we see wheat. We know the logger cannot exist without his daily bread, and therefore the wheat that became his bread is also in this sheet of paper. The logger’s father and mother are in it too. When we look in this way, we see that without all of these things, this sheet of paper cannot exist.

    Looking even more deeply, we can see ourselves in this sheet of paper too. This is not difficult to see, because when we look at a sheet of paper, it is part of our perception. Your mind is in here and mine is also. So we can say that everything is in here with this sheet of paper. We cannot point out one thing that is not here – time, space, the earth, the rain, the minerals in the soil, the sunshine, the cloud, the river, the heat. Everything co-exists with this sheet of paper. That is why I think the word inter-be should be in the dictionary. “To be” is to inter-be. We cannot just be by ourselves alone. We have to inter-be with every other thing. This sheet of paper is, because everything else is.

    Suppose we try to return one of the elements to its source. Suppose we return the sunshine to the sun. Do you think that this sheet of paper will be possible? No, without sunshine nothing can be. And if we return the logger to his mother, then we have no sheet of paper either. The fact is that this sheet of paper is made up lonely of “non-paper” elements. And if we return these non-paper elements to their sources, then there can be no paper at all. Without non-paper elements, like mind, logger, sunshine and so on, there will be no paper. As thin as this sheet of paper is, it contains everything in the universe in it.”

Thoughts on travel

2011-07-28T15:44:00.000-04:00

Spent some time this morning reflecting on when I was an Artist-in-Residence in Costa Rica. The image above is a plate I made there, that I brought back to the US with me to print. The colony I was at did not have a press, so I had a hand-printing setup for some of my work, however, some of the collographs I made I realized needed the intense pressure that only a press can apply.

The print is called Los Amantes, Spanish for The Lovers. It's based on a pair of trees on the border of the property where I was staying, that had grown together over a fence of barbed wire. I have a feeling in reality the wire was woven through the narrow opening between the trees, but the imagery made me think of faery tales in which two lovers, who cannot be together for some reason, are transformed at the end of the tale into trees, or stars, or some other form that allows them to be united.

I realize now what I was doing was mythologizing the landscape. Which is something I rather enjoy doing, and find that it influences my studio practice quite a bit. Stories of place inform site-specific artwork, which is something I am very interested in. As I pursued this string of thought, it provides understanding of the importance of location for indigenous people - it is not only where their ancestors have lived, the landscape encompasses their metaphysic.

If you think about it, it's why religions such as Christianity, which are not site-specific, have been able to spread. Yes, they have a connection to physical places like Jerusalem, but I have a feeling a majority of people who call themselves Christians will never visit. And some of the settings, such as the Garden of Eden, have disputed physical locations, and are really considered more intangible places. But if your stories are connected to place, and you believe as the Ohlone that Mount Diablo was the point of creation, it's more than just a mountain to you.

As a newcomer to California, I wish I knew more of these stories of place. I'm slowly working on it with the help of my local library, however, it's much easier to find information about post-conquest California, and all of the accounts I have found are interpretations by early Californios and colonists. These stories are important to me because they open my eyes to the historic long arc of the land, beyond the colonial visions of Wild West, Gold Rush, Bear Republic, and so on. By living here, I share location with that history, and I can feel its presence, but must self-educate to understand. Knowledge of such history influences me as an artist, and hopefully I can give such history the respect it deserves.

Upcoming installation at the Napa Valley Museum

2011-07-23T14:36:00.000-04:00

A barely discernible lighting test for my upcoming installation at the Napa Valley Museum for the exhibition Discrepancy. See the suggestion of a shadow on the wall that Robert is facing? More to come...

Bookworks at the San Francisco Public Library

2011-07-13T12:18:00.000-04:00

Some images of my work in the Pacific Center for Book Arts exhibition in the Skylight Gallery of the San Francisco Public Library. As much as I'm tired of exhibitions of artist books given names like "Bookworks," I'm honored to be in the company of many amazing artists.

The piece I entered was one of my most recently finished artist books, Kasha Katuwe. I'm slowly developing a body of work exploring the intersection of papermaking, book craft and architecture, embroidery, and landscape.

Watermark Experiments!

2011-07-08T21:25:00.002-04:00

Some of my current experiments with watermarks and invasive plant species. Above, a freshly pulled wet sheet - a base of unbleached abaca with a top sheet of Andean pampas grass. Below, a detail of a wet watermark. For a larger view, click on the images.

Below, the pressed wet sheets being loaded into the drying box.

Above, not the best photo, but a dried sheet with its watermark! And a detail of the watermark itself below. In this series, the watermarked images are of extinct California animals, birds, and fish (more images to come soon!), in paper made from invasive California plants. I see these papers as beyond substrate, instead, they are embodying content. Or more correctly, embodying history - an abbreviated environmental history of the impact of globalization on California.

Sexuality and Ownership in Art and on the Street

2011-07-06T17:01:00.002-04:00

I dug back into my 'ole digital archives today to find these images. They're from a body of work I did years ago, that I thought of under the unsubtle title as the Egg series. They're from my early twenties, when I was exploring the multiplicity of emotions and ideas that come from being a sexual being. For some reason during that period of my life, eggs, with their hard shell and chaotic fluid inside, seemed to embody all the confusion and emotion I was experiencing.

As a woman, my sexuality and safety have always been linked. Rebecca Solnit said it best when she said that in order to be safe, women have to choose to limit their freedoms - what to wear, where to go, with whom, and when, and so forth. But lately I've been thinking about how sexuality and issues of power and powerlessness are also linked. This has come about from many discussions in the media currently, from the New York Post's headline that blamed Dominique Strauss-Kahn's victim for her rape, to Philaelphia's Dan Rottenberg in the Broad Street Review's article "Male Sex Abuse and Female Naviete," which he blames the way women such as Lara Logan dress for their rapes, to Jezebel's discussion of catcalls, to organizations like Hollaback and Slutwalk, to my own current experiences with street harassment.

The image above is a print I did called Armless, based on the faery tale of "The Armless Maiden." It wasn't part of the Egg series, but it was related in concept.I was thinking about my own powerlessness as a woman, and how sometimes my own sexuality could feel like a threat. I realize now I was blaming myself for not feeling safe in my own skin when on the street.

Part of me has been thinking about how so many efforts lately to end street harassment are reactionary, and wonders if is there a proactive solution? I also can't help wondering - who teaches men to catcall and bother strange women they don't know? Is that what the boys learned in fourth grade when we had to watch the video about our periods? Do fathers sit down with sons and have this discussion?

I'm currently teaching in a juvenile hall, with youth who are segregated by gender. For the boys, at least, it has created what feels like a hypersexualized environment, where I'm asked every week I go there about my personal relationships, and despite dressing rather conservatively, still find some youth not-so-subtly checking out my ass. I think at times it's meant as a compliment, other times because they haven't had the experience of relating to women in any other way. I should note here that I don't know if gender desegregation is the answer, and that it might also put some incarcerated young women at risk.

But I'm also starting to wonder how much of it is about power. By ogling me and other women, by making comments, how much is about asserting power over women, particular women who are perceived as sexually attractive. I'm proud of discussions lately about how women who own their sexuality, those who dress provocatively because it makes them feel good about themselves, rather than to attract a man. As I struggle with owning my own sexual identity, and every catcall chips away at my fragile ownership. It's a threat because its about claiming me, claiming women, still as property.

New artist book and musing on papercutting...

2011-06-19T18:50:00.002-04:00

A preview of my most recent work - which I finished editioning this weekend! Only an edition of five, but considering I made the paper, printed each sheet individually (twice!), bound the structure, hand-cut the pages, and built a clamshell for each book, I'd say that's still a fair amount of work.

The book is called Chacaltaya, and is about the Bolivian glacier that disappeared in 2009 (read more about it here.) It also contains a poem written in Spanish (with translation provided) about the idea of the loss of a glacier, and the loss of the water it represents.

I've been thinking a great deal about my interest in the human-nature interrelationship, and how it is explored in my work. As I've stated before, I see paper, particular plant-made paper, as representative of nature. Whatever I do to it - cutting, shaping, casting, printing, sewing - as the mark of the hand, and therefore the mark of the human. As I was cutting, I started thinking about some of my "human marks" involving piercing or cutting the paper in some way - a means of destroying or altering the paper to get my desired result.

I also started thinking about how piercing the paper, with its pretty obvious sexual connotations, is seen as essentially a "male" action. Which led me to think - is the mark of the human synonymous in our greater society with the mark of the man? If so, what is the mark of the woman? Or is woman the antithesis of this idea, and leaves no mark, therefore invisible? Could I make woman-marks in my work that do not evoke men at all? Or is this all hogwash, and my works are gender neutral? (According to the Battle of the Sexes tally, I was more male than female, so maybe not). Is the mark of the human gender neutral? We certainly are all, men and women, to blame for the damage we've done to the planet.

Life Voyages, my 2010 New Courtland Fellowship

2011-06-06T03:55:00.000-04:00

Last year, before my move to California, I was awarded a New Courtland Fellowship from the Center for Emerging Visual Artists in Philadelphia. This involved orchestrating a project with residents of New Courtland, Inc., and kids from a local school.

Boats are carriers of human beings as they transition from one point to another. Because of this, the boat—or vessels—becomes symbolic of the journey that is life itself. This project, Life Voyages, began with interviews of New Courtland residents by school-age children.

These interviews focused on ideas of movement, important objects thatmust be carried when on an excursion, and the concept of life as travel. Theseinterviews were the basis of stencils that were later applied with pulp paint towet sheets of handmade paper by both children and New Courtland residents.

Upon completion, the handmade paper was stretched over reedarmatures, to form a series of handmade paper boats. Through the processes ofhandmade paper and collaboration, the final result is a visual narrativeexploring the metaphor of life as a journey, installed here in the lobby space of New Courtland Education building.

Many of the New Courtland residents were dealing with challenges such as dementia or were recovering from strokes. Several had lost the ability to speak, and were now communicating through a series of grunts. What was surprising to me what how sophisticated these grunts could become, and how much, and on how many levels, they could convey information.

This display was only a temporary one, however, many residents and workers at New Courtland seemed to have fallen in love with it, and there was talk of moving it to a permanent location. Fingers crossed...

It was an amazing experience, and I want to thank the folks at New Courtland who made it possible, as well as Genevieve Coutroubis of CFEVA, for all her work and organization.

Battle of the Sexes at the Delaware Art Museum

2011-05-19T13:27:00.005-04:00

Three years ago, I wrote a proposal for the Delaware Art Museum, proposing an exhibition for the Philadelphia Women's Caucus for Art. It was an idea I'd had for a number of years, a participatory exhibition of women and men in which no names were displayed, and the public was asked to vote on whether or not they felt the works of art were created by men or by women.

And by a stroke of luck (of maybe it was just a good idea!) the proposal was accepted. So this past spring, the exhibition took place. I was fortunate enough to be back in Philly (more on that later) for the closing reception and big reveal.

As you can see below, only 42% of voters felt my work was made by a woman. Most of the artists participating wanted to make it a little difficult for the voting, case in point, several men who entered work featuring the color pink. Stereotypes clearly still exist, because the public decided that pink art had to be made by us ladies. Tech-based works and video were deemed male, and printmaking was pretty ambiguous.

While there, I was excited to see a museum guard encouraging viewers to check out the show. When I spoke to him, he asked me which piece was mine, and then told me that my piece really made him consider, but then he finally decided that I just had to be a guy. Hmmmmm.....

I have to give a shout-out here to Marie Elcin, who worked like crazy doing all the organization, museum liaising, and ballot counting (total ballots for the exhibition numbered over 5000, and Marie counted 'em all!). Thanks Marie!

As a final note, this exhibition garnered more press than the Philadelphia-WCA or the Delaware Art Museum expected. Check out some of these links for reviews and conversations started by this project:

In the Battle of the Sexes, Results Show We're Often Wrong
Delaware Art Museum Offers Battle of the Sexes And...We'll See
Battle of the Sexes Challenges Gender Preconceptions
Museums Experiment in Modern Art of Drawing Visitors
5 Things to Know About Delaware Art Museum's Battle of the Sexes
Women Artists Everywhere!
Identity Theft, Seeing or Not Seeing Gender in Art

Curriculum Exhibition Pictures

2011-04-12T16:28:00.004-04:00

My artist book Emerging Views was part of the exhibition Curriculum at Springside School in Philadelphia, along with other members of the Philadelphia Center for the Book. This is just a couple of images of that exhibition.

Kasha Katuwe-New Artist Book

2011-03-29T21:36:00.005-04:00

Kasha Katuwe is my newest artist book, and the first book I have editioned (outside of my Book Bombs' projects with Mary Tasillo) in a few years. For a larger image, click on the picture. The name is in Keresan, and means "White Cliffs," and is the indigenous name for Tent Rocks National Monument in New Mexico. The memory of its colors, textures, and formations was the inspiration for this book.

During this project, which has involved long quiet hours of embroidery (approximately four days of embroidery per book, in an edition of five), I've had plenty of time to think. I've always known I'm attracted to handmade paper because of it's material quality and how it can invoke nature. In the past year, I've become more and more interested in harvesting and processing plants directly, and this idea has become more and more prominent. What I realized during this project is I am most drawn to the contrast between handmade paper, representative of nature, and markmaking, evocative of the human presence. Particularly marks that can only be made by the hand of the human - drawing, hand carved woodblocks, embroidery.

I should give a shout-out here to Graham Watson of Leaf Song Studio, who is partially responsible for this book. I had challenged him to a book-off of sorts, in an edition of five, to be completed by the end of February. Neither of us quite made the deadline, but we did finish the challenge. I'll have a post about his book soon!

PCBA Printing

2011-03-24T15:13:00.011-04:00

In February, at the Codex fair, I had the fortune to be tabled right next to the amazing Peter and Donna Thomas. During that event, Peter invited me to collaborate with him and John Sullivan of Logos Graphics for a keepsake for the upcoming Makers' Issue of Ampersand, the journal of the Pacific Center for Book Arts. Logos Graphics is presided over by Binky, who is pictured above.

Over Skype and email, we came up with something using Peter's handmade paper and with an image by yours truly. I was a bit nervous to be part of a project by people for whom I have so much respect.

The piece was printed on John's beautiful Vandercook, pictured below.

It was also my first time using rubber ink. One of the things I appreciate most about John, besides being an amazing printer, is his ability to challenge my vocabulary. One word his introduced me to was thixotrohy. This is a word that describes how ink is thick until agitated or mixed, during which is becomes looser and easier to move. I was aware of this quality, but never the word to describe it!

Below is John placing the plate on the press bed.

John's press has a counter, which I'd never seen on a letterpress before - they are more common on offset presses. Here it is on print 199 . . .

. . . and 200! We printed more than that, but this was when I remembered to watch the numbers flip.

The prints are piling up. . .

. . . and a detail of the final result. Click on the image to see it larger.

I'm so grateful to both Peter and John for including me in this project. John mentioned that he was working on other projects for the Makers' Issue - I can't wait to see it!

Th Hare with Amber Eyes (2)

2011-03-19T12:39:00.006-04:00

"The vitrines exist so that you can see objects, but not touch them: they frame things, suspend things, tantalize through distance.

"This is what I realize I failed to understand about vitrines. I spent the first twenty years of my life as a potter earnestly trying to get objects out of glass cases. . .They die, I'd say, held in that airlock. Vitrines were a sort of coffin. . .

"But the vitrine -- as opposed to the museum case -- is for opening. And that opening glass door and the moment of looking, then choosing, and then reaching in and then picking up is a moment of seduction, an encounter between a hand and an object that is electric." (The Hare with Amber Eyes, Pages 65-66).

Edmund de Waal is again referring to his work as a ceramic artist and his collection of netsuke (see my previous post). However, to me as a book artist, the quote above brings to mind the ongoing issue of exhibiting artist books.

Most artist books, to be experienced fully, need to be handled. Or, as I prefer to say, activated. However, most curators and librarians fear this handling. They don't want to cause damage to the book -- an understandable concern.

Another fear is that when exhibiting outside of the glass case, even if touching is not permitted, that artist books will disappear. Most tend to be smaller in size and easily pocketed -- I once was in an exhibition where five of my zines were literally right next to a guard's desk, but sitting out unrestrained, and all of them disappeared.

But the quote above has made me reconsider the purpose of the case or vitrine. The experience de Waal describes is limited mostly to librarians and private collectors, but it is something to which I can relate. I have been the viewer pressed up against the glass, twisting and turning my body to peak at all angles of an artist book. This has been frustrating, but maybe this frustration is a good thing. It is how artist books beckon to viewers, through their words, hidden and revealed, their tactility, the feel of ink on paper, the paper itself.

In grad school, my friend and colleague Amanda D'Amico and I discussed how we felt collections that displayed artist books should have "handling times," a point during the exhibition of the artist books in which the curator or librarian would come out of their office and open a case, select a book, and present it to any viewers to happened to be there. I am now re-imagining this idea, picturing the hands of a curator slowly turning pages, the narrative seduction as each page is revealed, the sound of turning pages taking on a very different eloquence than it ever had before.

Perhaps we as book artists should consider these ideas. The case or vitrine is not to protect the book, it is instead, to tantalize the viewer.

The Hare with Amber Eyes (1)

2011-03-10T20:00:00.009-05:00

Recently, I was loaned a copy of The Hare with Amber Eyes, by Edmund de Waal. It is an account of a collection of netsuke the author inherits from his uncle, which leads him to research his family history and how the collection has traveled through his family's intersections with history. As an artist, I found it a thought provoking narrative.

In the prologue, the author introduces how he first encountered the netsuke while in Japan. However, I was most intrigued in this chapter by his mention of time spent at Nihon Mingeikan, the Japanese Folk Museum: "The museum is a reconstructed farmhouse in a suburb, which houses the collection of Japanese and Korean folk crafts of Yanagi Soetsu. Yanagi, a philosopher, art historian, and poet, had evolved a theory of why some objects -- pots, baskets, cloth made by unknown craftsmen -- were so beautiful. In his view, they expressed unconscious beauty because they had been made in such numbers that the craftsmen had been liberated from his ego." (Page 3).

This philosophy de Waal describes is called mingei. I had first come across this idea visiting the Mingei Museum in San Diego, where it was defined as "art of the people" or "folk craft." However, this description - the idea of its functionality, mass production, and anonymous origins, is something that I find beautifully poetic. It brings me back to my undergraduate wheelthrowing class with David Wright, watching him throw a pitcher with such practiced motions while he discussed something completely different, such as his pet rabbits.

Most descriptions of mingei do not mention papermaking, but with its history as a craft, I believe there could be philosophical correlations. Craft is many ways is a word for antiquated technology, and papermaking fits that definition perfectly. I think of the anonymous papermaking farmers of Japan, growing their crops during the summer, making paper over the winter months. Each region of Japan was known for its own special paper, some for printing money, some for covering windows, some for calligraphy, some even, I imagine, for toilet paper.

It is this anonymous legacy that I am contemplating. As an artist working in a craft tradition, my inheritance is not that of a medium like painting, where the names of significant painters for the past several centuries are known, written about, and included in the art history cannon. Instead, it is a history of hands, understanding the motions that have been made for centuries to shape plant matter in particular fashions. It is a history of water, how purities and impurities have colored and cleansed fibers in their processing. It is a history housed in libraries, in collections of incunabula, illuminated manuscripts and early printed books, in printed matter such as broadsides and pamphlets, in drawings of artists where it serves as a substrate. It is, in short, a history of the intersection of nature and technology.

2011 so far...

2011-01-22T16:17:00.005-05:00

The image above is a preview of one of my two newest artist books, Fossil Fuels. It is a unique artist book made up of relief prints, intaglios, collographs, digital prints, and hand embroidery. Fossil Fuels, and another artist book, Coal Burning, will be debuted at the Third Biennial Codex International Book Fair, at the Central Booking booth. I will also have an assortment of some of my older books.

In related news, I am currently part of The Book, A Contemporary View, at the Delaware Center for Contemporary Art in Wilmington, DE, and will be part of an upcoming exhibition, Battle of the Sexes, at the Delaware Art Museum, also in Wilmington.

The Book Bombs collaboration continues, with a recent print bombing of San Francisco. We are also currently part of the exhibition Social Commentaries at the Catich Gallery at Saint Ambroise University in Davenport, IO. In February, we will be releasing our newest zine, The Ethics of Wheatpaste, for the first time as both hard copy and a free, downloadable pdf, as part of the Refugee Reading Room project of Amze Emmons. More on this to come. . . .

So if you are in the Bay Area for Codex, please stop by the Central Booking booth and say hello! And if you haven't yet - check out my new website!

Burned Books, Book Bombs, and other less alliterative news

2010-11-17T23:05:00.005-05:00

This image is a preview of my next installation, Libros Perdidos, which will be part of the exhibition The Book, A Contemporary View, at the Delaware Center for Contemporary Art. The show runs from December 22, 2010 - April 17, 2011, later traveled from the DCCA in Wilmington, Delaware to Towson State University in Maryland.

The ongoing Book Bombs collaboration with Mary Tasillo has released Book Bombs Issue #2, We Walk Asking Questions. We will also be part of the upcoming exhibition Social Commentaries at the Catich Gallery at Saint Ambroise University, in Davenport, Iowa.

And finally, if you haven't checked it out yet - please visit my new website - michellewilsonprojects.com. To see images of my most recent completed installation, Reverse Archaeology, visit here. In addition to the work, you can catch a glimpse of the crazy-beautiful-unpredictable weather that we dealt with at the Life is Art Foundation in Santa Rose, CA. Thanks!

Reverse Archaeology and new website!

2010-10-18T16:41:00.004-04:00

These are some preview images of my upcoming installation Reverse Archaeology at the Life Is Art Foundation in Santa Maria, CA. To read the project statement, please visit here.

In other news, I have released an official website - michellwilsonprojects.com. Hope you will check it out!

Paper Pouring Mold

2010-10-07T23:23:00.008-04:00

This post is slightly off topic from what I usually announce here, but after a discussion on the Yahoo Papermaking group about pouring paper, I had a few queries off list about how I built my mold. So here is a brief explanation with some images that will hopefully make it clearer for others. Above and below this text you can see images of the front and back my prototype pouring mold - the one that is about 5 feet long by 2 feet wide. The door behind it below can help give you a sense of scale.

Above this is a image looking through the mold from the front (or top). The mold is designed to create slow drainage, and so is lined first with screen print mesh (220 screen), then window screening, then egg crate for support. Below is a detail looking from the back (bottom) to the front. You can kind of see the U-shaped hook I used to attach the egg crate.

Below are two details of how the wood support for the egg crate are screwed in. You can also see the U-shaped hook a little clearer.

Hope this helps some fellow papermakers out there! Feel free to pass this blog link along. For an image of the bigger mold in use, please take a look here. To see images of some of the poured paper I've done, visit here and here.

Thread Loves Paper

2010-10-04T13:33:00.005-04:00

Emily Marks, curator of the exhibition Thread Loves Paper, on view at the Sonoma County Public Library and featuring the work of yours truly, has made a YouTube video documenting the exhibition. It isn't the highest quality production, but for anyone interested in seeing some of the work, check it out below or visit the link here.

2010 New Courtland Fellowship

2010-09-15T13:59:00.009-04:00

This past summer I was awarded the New Courtland Fellowship from the Center for Emerging Visual Artists. I proposed a project in which kids and residents of New Courtland collaborated in handmade paper by creating designs using pulp-paint stencils based on a series of interviews conducted by the children of the residents.

The wet sheets were then stretched over armatures that had been made in the shape of boats. The overall result is a series of collaborative-collage-boat-sculptures.

The boats will be all gathered together and installed as part of an exhibition next spring at the Skybox called Art is Ageless. Right now, here a few of the boats (we made quite a few!), to check out.

White Mountain, New Artist Book

2010-08-31T13:32:00.008-04:00

My newest artist book, White Mountain, was inspired by the White Mountain, outside of Rock Springs, Wyoming. It is also the first piece I've made in my new home in California. The book is embroidery on handmade flax-abaca paper, with a flax-abaca cover dyed with walnut dye. It is currently on display at the Sonoma Public Library as part of the exhibition Thread Loves Paper curated by Emily Marks.

I'm busy unpacking, but have much news! More to come...stay tuned.

May Update

2010-05-11T12:18:00.006-04:00

Much to report! My collaboration with Mary Tasillo - Book Bombs - will be taking part in many upcoming exhibitions. The first of which is Axis Alley 2010 - our installation Fibrile is currently on view in the alley behind 2212 North Calvert Street in Baltimore, MD. Everyone is welcome to join the Axis Alley stroll on May 23 (rain date May 22) to see the installations and enjoy food and drink B-more style.

Also coming in up in Baltimore, Book Bombs will have work at the Whole Gallery as part of their upcoming exhibition Sign Language. And later this summer we will be part of the exhibition Paper at the Lost Coast Culture Machine in Fort Bragg, CA.

April Update

2010-04-22T12:12:00.003-04:00

My Book Bombs collaboration with Mary Tasillo continues to thrive - over the next few months we will be exhibition work from the project in Baltimore and in Fort Bragg, CA. We will also be part of the Axis Alley project, taking over the back of a house with wheatpasted demin paper. More to come....so stay tuned!

Book Bombs Zine Party

2010-03-21T12:00:00.002-04:00

Please join me at my fellow Book Bomber Mary Tasillo this Friday at Nexus Foundation for Today's Art for the release of Rooted Within, Book Bombs Issue #1. The first two hundred or so people will receive a free copy!

Nexus is located at 1400 North American Street in the Crane Arts Building. Our event will last from 6-9 PM, and will be part of a series of Philagrafika 2010 Independent Projects holding receptions that evening in the Crane. To see the list of other events, please visit here. It's free and open for everyone, I hope to see some of you there!

Images from "We and Stories"

2010-02-22T22:14:00.004-05:00

The exhibition We and Stories, curated by Asa Yoshie, is almost over. If you didn't get a chance to see it, check out some of the images here.

2010 News: Book Bombs and other exhibitions

2010-01-20T09:05:00.007-05:00

Due to a packed fall schedule, I'm a bit behind on this blog. A series of updates is due. Most excitingly is:

BOOK BOMBS

Book Bombs, my collaborative project with Mary Tasillo for Philagrafika 2010, has taken off. Our first bombing took place the first week of January, and another is coming up in the first week of February. To support this project, we have been awarded the Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts Project Stream Grant. We have also been mentioned on WHYY and the Philadelphia City Paper. And next week, we have been invited to take over Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery's Window on Broad, located at 333 South Broad Street in Center City Philadelphia. For images of this project, please visit our blog.

OTHER EXHIBITIONS

Currently, I am participating in a few other exhibitions. Zoe Cohen, Art Program Manager for the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, selected the Migratory Books Project for the juried exhibition Nest and Branch. The exhibition runs to April 2, and you can read about it here.

From February 1-March 12 my work can be seen on the west coast as part of the Page Show at Chapman University's Guggenheim Gallery. Thanks to Rachelle Woo Chuang for inviting me to be a part of it! For anyone on the west coast, please feel welcome to come to the opening reception on February 2 from 5:30-9 PM. The Guggenheim Gallery is located in Moulten Center on Chapman University Campus in Orange, California.

Also in February I will also be part of the exhibition We and Stories, curated by Asa Yoshie, in the new Printmaking Gallery at the University of the Arts. Check back here for information on this soon!

OTHER NEWS

And finally, Issue #26 of the Journal of Artist Books is out, featuring The Hybrid Book Experiment, an article I co-authored with Amanda D'Amico of Tiny Revolutionary Press. Also in the issue see Democratic Organization, by my Book Bombs partner Mary Tasillo. Also check out the most recent issue of Bound and Lettered, which has another version of Democratic Organization by Mary T. Both articles mention the Migratory Books Project. Thanks Mary!

Scapegoat Services and other Exhibition Updates

2009-09-15T00:07:00.005-04:00

This weekend, September 19, my performative installation MODERN DAY SCAPEGOAT SERVICES will take place at the X Initiative. It will take place from 3-6 PM. The X Initiative is located at 548 West 22nd Street in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York. MODERN DAY SCAPEGOAT SERVICES and the X Initiative are both free and open to the public.

In other news, BOOK BOMBS, the project I am collaborating on with Mary Tasillo, has been selected for the Welcome House Project. We will be inhabiting the space on October 9, where will be inviting passers-by to make paper and turn the inside of the House into a daylong community installation about Love Park.

I also will be participating in two upcoming exhibitions - Paperworks, in Art in City Hall, on display from October 1 - January 1, 2010, with an opening reception on October 8th from 5-7 PM, and Bodies in Motion, A Running Commentary, an exhibition of works and a fundraiser for the Girls Gotta Run Foundation at the Holy Family University Gallery, from October 1-30, with an opening reception on October 7 from 6-8 PM.

Wheatpasting in Chelsea

2009-09-08T11:54:00.007-04:00

Click on images to see them large (and read their text).

Modern Day Scapegoat Services

2009-09-02T14:38:00.000-04:00

August News: Book Bombs and Upcoming Exhibitions

2009-08-06T12:35:00.003-04:00

As part of the upcoming Philagrafika 2010 Festival, I will be collaborating with Mary Tasillo on a project called BOOK BOMBS. Our project is just in its infancy, please keep your eyes peeled as it develops.

Upcoming Exhibitions:

This fall the Migratory Books Project will be part of an exhibition at Visual Studies Workshop called The Democratic Multiple, curated by my Book Bombs collaborator, Mary Tasillo. I will also be exhibiting with the Philadelphia Women's Caucus for Art at the Holy Family University Gallery in a show called A Running Commentary: Bodies in Motion, a benefit exhibition for the Girls Gotta Run Foundation.

Finally, my solo exhibition, Las Montañas Secas, will be on display in the Kunst Vault Space at Pyramid Atlantic Art Center in November. More details to come....

The Hybrid Book Fair

2009-05-18T17:12:00.002-04:00

On Friday, June 5, and Saturday, June 6, from 1-6 PM, I will be offering handmade paper and my artists books for sale at the Hybrid Book Fair.

The Hybrid Book Fair will take place at the Gershman Y, located at 401 South Broad Street, on the corner of Spruce and South Broad, in Center City, Philadelphia. Visitors get in free!

I am just one of 100 vendors who are coming from all over the world to participate. Hope some of you can make it out.

Also on display during the fair is Art To Be Read, UArts MFA Book Arts/Printmaking Alumni Exhibition, which is open June 1-30, and will be open to the public during the Hybrid Book Fair. Please feel welcome to check it out.

Vueles in Artist Book News

2009-05-09T09:56:00.002-04:00

This past year, I received the Artist Book News Grant, which provided some partial funding for my book Vueles (Flights) to be featured in Artist Book News, both online and in print. To check out my page on their site, please visit here.

Reverse Archaeology

2009-04-10T14:54:00.001-04:00

The Brain Constructing the World

2009-04-08T10:29:00.002-04:00

The Bryn Mawr College Collective Serendip is collaborating with the Painted Bride Art Center in an online exhibit, The Brain Constructing the World, associated with the Synesthesia exhibition. To check out my profile, visit here. To see the rest of the online exhibition, please visit here.

Upcoming April Exhibitions

2009-03-18T14:54:00.003-04:00

In April, I will be having two exhibitions. The first is a solo installation titled Reverse Archaeology at The Moore Art Shop. The Moore Art Shop is located at Moore College of Art and Design, at 20th and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia. Stay tuned for future posts with details for opening reception.

I will also be part of the group exhibition Synesthesia, curated by Anabelle Rodriguez. This exhibition will be at the Painted Bride Art Center, and will run from April 3-May 16, with opening receptions on First Friday, April 3, and First Friday, May 1, both from 5-7 PM. The Painted Bride Art Center is located at 230 Vine Street in Old City Philadelphia. This show will feature my Shroud series, a group of photopolymer images printed on thermochromatic fabric. Viewers are invited to touch these pieces, in order to see how their hands transform their appearance.

Upcoming March Exhibitions and Events

2009-02-23T15:20:00.003-05:00

This March, I will have work in two exhibitions.

Locally, my work is part of PLASTIC AT THE PLASTIC, an exhibition of work by members of the Philadelphia Women's Caucus for Art taking place at the historic Plastic Club of Philadelphia. The Plastic Club is located at 247 South Camac Street in Philadelphia, and the show will run from March 1-29. The exhibition is open to the public on Tuesdays from 12-3, Wednesdays from 9:30-12:30 and 1-4, Thursdays from 10-3 and 6:30-9:30, Fridays from 6:30-9:30, and Sundays from 2-5. A opening reception will take place Sunday, March 1, from 2-5. There will also be a performance event, at which I will be reading from some of my artist books, on Sunday, March 15, from 2-4.

I am also part of the exhibition WOMEN AND ENVIRONMENT, taking place in the Florisant Valley Contemporary Art Gallery at Saint Louis Community College from March 2-31, in St Louis, MO. Gallery hours are Monday-Friday, 10-4, and Saturdays from 10-3. In April, the exhibition travels to the Riverside Gallery of Woody Groves, MO, for the month. Also featured in this exhibiion is Women Helping Women, Stitch by Stitch, the WCA and Rubia Collaborative Quilt.

I am also officially starting my residency at Vineland High School South through Appel Farm Arts and Music Center. In order to help document and promote the project and the discussions around it, I have launched The Paper Soldier Project, my newest blog.

It's a busy month for me, but I hope some of you can come out and see the shows and check out The Paper Soldier Project as it progresses!

Artist Book News Grant

2009-02-21T16:00:00.005-05:00

I am very excited to say that I was one of two artists selected by Artist Book News to receive their Artist Book News Grant for 2009.

The grant covers part of the cost of advertising my book Vueles in their Spring 2009 Newsletter. The story of Vueles is a pair intersecting narratives, the first focused on the migration of the endangered Red Knot, whose travels take it between where I live in the Delaware Bay Area and where my family lives in Argentina. The second story focuses on Argentina's Guerra Sucia and the genocides that were organized by the military regime at that time. At the crossroads of these two stories is where I stand. The book was printed with screen prints, lithographs, and letterpress, on handmade paper made from the clothing of my family members.

Recent Work by Alumni of the MFA Book Arts/Printmaking Program

2009-02-10T14:50:00.006-05:00

The first print of my newest series, Body Maps, has been selected for the exhibition Recent Work by Alumni of the MFA Book Arts/Printmaking Program, part of The Hybrid Book series of events taking place in June 2009. The first print, Body Maps (Triptych), a detail of which can be seen here, is also my first venture into fine digital printing, and will be printed by Silicon Gallery.

This series of prints are based on projections of maps from specific locations that were projected onto my own body. They are an exploration of how travel and place affect who we are, both physically and spiritually.

Stay tuned for more information about this exhibition and my participation in the Hybrid Book Fair in June 2009!

Michelle Wilson and Rocinante Press on NEXUS Radio

2009-01-18T16:36:00.003-05:00

On February 1, from 2-4 PM, I will be participating in a Zine Reading on Nexus Radio, the current project at Nexus Foundation for Today's Art. Organized by Katie Haegele of The Lala Theory, I will be reading from both the Spanish and English versions of the Migratory Books.

Other readers will be in attendance, including Bonnie MacAllister. Nexus Foundation for Today's Art is located at 1400 North American Street, on the first floor of the Crane Arts Building, in Philadelphia's Kensington neighborhood. Hope to see some of you there!

Aquifer - New Book for 2009

2009-01-13T12:29:00.003-05:00

As an exercise in bringing more spontaneity into my studio, my first book of the new year, Aquifer, is now complete. This unique accordion book is made from lithographs hand-painted with watercolor, gouache, acrylic, and carborundum. Text tip-ins are ink jet printed on handmade Japanese Gampi made by the artist in the nagashizuki method. More handmade paper, an abaca blend with subtle metallic pigment, has been used for the cover.

Upcoming Residency through Appel Farm

2009-01-12T14:21:00.002-05:00

This spring I have been invited to be the Artist-In-Residence at Vineland High School in Vineland, NJ, through the Appel Farm Artist-In-Residence Program. The students and I will be collaborating on an installation that will premier at the Vineland Public Library, and then tour to various other sites in New Jersey.

This residency will focus on students reactions to war both past and present. It will involve interviews with veterans from WWII and our current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Check back here for updates as this project progresses!

INFINITE THREAD - New Artist Book

2008-12-16T11:09:00.006-05:00

Over the past few years, I have frequently collaborated with the artist Marie Elcin. Our most recent collaboration is an artist book titled Infinite Thread (see images above, click on image for larger version). It consists of screen prints and letterpress on shaped-deckle handmade paper, made from a combination of cotton and silk.

This collaboration was an exploration of processes, unified by a shared interest in water as a source of inspiration. By allowing process to take over, the authorship of the work becomes a third entity besides Marie and myself in the work itself.

To purchase this book, or any other work from Rocinante Press, or to find out any other information, please email me at rocinantepress (at) gmail (dot) com. More of my work can be seen here on Inliquid.com.

Rocinante Press at Pyramid Atlantic Book Fair

2008-11-06T11:42:00.007-05:00

This weekend I will be participating in the Pyramid Atlantic Book Arts Fair, in Silver Spring, MD. The fair is open from 10 AM - 5 PM, both Saturday and Sunday this weekend. In addition, The Migratory Books Project will be featured in "Context Is King," a talk by Mary Tasillo.

At the fair, I will be offering both older and more recent editions for sale. New editions that will be released at the fair include Unearthed, pictured here, and Infinite Thread, a collaboration between myself and Marie Elcin.

To order these books, or find out any other information about Rocinante Press, please email me at rocinantepress (at) gmail (dot) com.

Women Helping Women off to Portland, OR

2008-10-14T16:34:00.003-04:00

The Women Helping Women, Stitch by Stitch collaborative project is off to Portland, Oregon and will be on display in Portland's City Hall during the month of November.

Upcoming 2009 venues include exhibitions in St. Louis and Washington DC. Stay tuned for more information.

SIX WOMEN, SIX PERSPECTIVES Exhibition at Holy Family University Gallery

2008-10-05T14:17:00.003-04:00

From October 5-29, 2008, I am part of the mixed media exhibition, SIX WOMEN, SIX PERSPECTIVES at the Holy Family University Gallery. The gallery is located in the lower level of the John M. Perzel Education Center, at 9801 Frankford Avenue in northeast Philadelphia. The opening reception is scheduled for 6-8 PM on October 13. All are invited and welcome to attend.

Also included in the exhibition are Jane Craven, Kathy Dobash, Bonnie Macallister, Meredith McDonald, and Sonia Sherrod. Thanks to Pamela Flynn for organizing this exhibition.

A brief write-up was listed in the Hazelton Standard Speaker. To read the write-up, please visit here.

Update on The Information is Not Knowledge Project

2008-09-20T17:49:00.003-04:00

The Bookverks 2008 Information is Not Knowledge Project, of which I am a participant, will be on view at the Grassroots Arts Facility (GRAF) from October 2-24, 2008. The GRAF is located at 143 Christopher Columbus Street in Jersey City. All are welcome to the opening, taking place on Thursday October 2, from 7-10 PM.

The exhibition will be on view during the Jersey City Studio Tours, October 4-5, 2008, from 12-6 PM.

Bookverks 2008 The Information is Not Knowledge Project

2008-08-24T15:01:00.003-04:00

Upcoming in October I am one of the artists invited to be part of the Bookverks 2008 Information is Not Knowledge Project, curated by Amanda Thackray and James Prez. For this project, a number of artists were each given one volume from a set of the Encyclopedia Britannica, and asked to do whatever they pleased to it.

My contribution, Earth Volume, made from Volume E, Earth-Everglades, began its tranformation by composting the text block. Two oak tree seedlings are now growing out of the former pages.

This project will be on view in the New Jersey City Canco building during the 18th Annual New Jersey City Studio Tour on the weekend of October 4-5, 2008. Other venues to follow, check back here future postings and more information!

LUOGHI DELL 'UTOPIA

2008-08-14T10:31:00.002-04:00

A video of showing of the Luoghi dell 'Utopia (Places of Utopia) exhibition, in Viareggio, Italy, has been posted to Youtube. This video includes some shots of the Biblioteca Utopica (Utopian Library) of which the Migratory Books Project is a part. To see the video, visit here.

THE UTOPIAN LIBRARY / LA BIBLIOTECA UTOPICA

2008-08-13T13:13:00.008-04:00

VIAREGGIO -- VILLA BORBONE -- 26 luglio-24 agosto 2008

The Migratory Books Project is currently part of the exhibition THE UTOPIAN LIBRARY/LA BIBLIOTECA UTOPICA, in Viareggio, Italy, through the 24 of August 2008. Read below for statements and information by Vittore Baroni, the coordinator of this project.

Dear friends,

in a few days the festival LUOGHI DELL'UTOPIA ("Places of Utopia") will start here in Viareggio with two rooms of the historical Villa Borbone devoted to the collective project The Utopian Library. I received artist's books from over 100 international artists, and 50 more books were selected from my E.O.N. archive. I want to thank you all for generously taking part in this project, and for the variety and relevance to the "Utopian" theme of the books that will be freely handled by the audience. If you happen to pass through Viareggio, on the West Coast of Italy, the exhibition that includes works and installations from 45 artists opens on Saturday July 26th at 7.30 PM with a series of short performances. Villa Borbone is at the middle of Viale dei Tigli, a street connecting Viareggio to Torre del Lago, and the show will be open till August 24th (hr. 6,00-11,00 PM, closed on Monday and Tuesday).

Best regards,

Vittore Baroni - Associazione Culturale BAU

Women Helping Women Project Travels to Florida

2008-08-03T16:39:00.003-04:00

The Women Helping Women, Stitch By Stitch collaborative project, of which I am a participant, has traveled to Florida for the following two exhibitions:

August 1 - August 26, 2008
Part of the exhibition "Pursuit of Happiness," new mixed media works by Betsy Bohrer
Arts on the Park Members Gallery
Upstairs Gallery
Lakeland, Florida

September 1 - September 30, 2008
Pamplin Gallery, Bartow Public Library
2150 South Broadway Ave.
Bartow, Florida

If you are interested in supporting the Rubia Foundation or purchasing any sustainable craft products to support the women of Darrai Noor, Afghanistan, please visit here.

Michelle Wilson at Paul Green's School of Rock

2008-07-13T13:51:00.002-04:00

For the next few weeks I am teaching a t-shirt screen printing workshop at Paul Green's School of Rock, in Bucks County, PA. Pictured at left are School of Rock instructor Lauren Pollock and a student printing their shirt for the band AI (photo by Michelle Wilson) Visit here to see when the students will be performing and wearing their art.

In August I will be teaching a children's workshop called "Nature Books," at the Woodmere Art Museum. It will focus on using the book form as a means of learning about nature and environmental awareness. To register a child for this class, visit here, or call the Woodmere Museum Education department at 215-247-0948.

2008 Puffin Foundation Grant

2008-06-15T12:05:00.003-04:00

I have been selected to receive a 2008 Grant from the Puffin Foundation Ltd. This funding will be going into my next artist book project, which has the working title of Future Tense. This work will examine parallels between an endangered bird, the Red Knot (Calidris canutus rufa), and the endangered languages at both ends of its migration, Inuktitut and Yámana. Through their intersecting narratives, I hope to reveal ideas about our dominant culture.

June Events and Exhibitions

2008-06-11T12:11:00.005-04:00

ART FOR THE CASH POOR

I will be selling artist books, prints, blank books, and handmade paper in a variety of colors at the Art for the Cash Poor 9 event at the Philadelphia Women's Caucus for Art table on Saturday, June 14, 2008, from 1-6 PM. AFTCP 9 will take place at the Crane Arts Building located at 1400 North American Street in the South Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia (map). Sharing the table with me will be Bonnie Macallister, Jane Craven, and Sonia Sherrod.

EXHIBITION NEWS

The Women Helping Women, Stitch by Stitch collaborative project is now on display in Merchantville, NJ, at the Art and Faith Space of Grace Episcopal Church.

In other news, I have just been informed that I have been selected for a solo show in the Kunst Vault Space at Pyramid Atlantic Art Center. More details to come.

And finally, the Migratory Books Project/Proyecto Libros Migratorios has received its first visual response. To view the images, post your own thoughts and responses, or read other responses from around the world, please visit The Migratory Books.

Images from SUBLIME CLIMATE

2008-05-20T12:33:00.004-04:00

The Thompson Gallery at the Cambridge School of Weston has uploaded images of their exhibition in three parts, Sublime Climate. To see images of the exhibitions, please visit here.To see images of my book, Emerging Views, which was part of the Projecting Global Change segment, please visit here. To read curator Todd Bartel's comments, please visit here.

Afghan News Center Feature

2008-05-18T16:36:00.002-04:00

The Artdaily.com feature on Women Helping Women, Stitch By Stitch, has been picked up by the Afghan News Center. To read the article, please visit here.

Artdaily.com Feature!

2008-05-10T13:43:00.005-04:00

The collaborative quilt project between Rubia and the Philadelphia-WCA,
Women Helping Women: Stitch by Stitch, of which I am a participant, was featured on Artdaily.com. To read the article, please visit here.

MAY 2008 Exhibitions

2008-04-28T18:08:00.006-04:00

May 2-31, 2008: I have work that is part of the show Environmental Distress, a show of work by members of the Philadelphia Women's Caucus for Art. Part of the exhibition features the project, Women Helping Women, Stitch by Stitch, a collaboration between the Philadelphia-WCA, the Rubia Foundation, and the women of Darrai Noor, Afghanistan.

In addition to the collaborative project and works by members of the Philadelphia-WCA, there will also be Rubia products for sale and examples of Uzbek Suzani on display.

The opening reception is from 5-8 PM on May 2, 2008 at the Louis Redding Gallery, in the City County Building, located at 800 North French Street in Wilmington, DE. There will be a live performances by the Sigma Alpha Iota Women’s Music Fraternity of Temple University Chapter.

GHOST TREES Interview

2008-04-16T12:45:00.002-04:00

I was interviewed by Marie Elcin about my piece, THE GHOST TREES, in the Window on Broad. To read the interview, please visit the Philadelphia Women's Caucus for Art

THE GHOST TREES

2008-04-09T11:57:00.003-04:00

For the month of April 2008, the Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery’s Window on Broad is proud to host Michelle Wilson’s site-specific installation THE GHOST TREES. The Window is located at 322 South Broad Street, on Philadelphia’s own Avenue of the Arts, and is viewable from the street twenty-four hours a day. During the day, subtle embossing can be seen on the large sheets of handmade paper, while after dark, the installation is a haunting, magical work of illuminated art.

Installed in downtown Center City, the heart of Philadelphia business district, THE GHOST TREES will remind the numerous downtown institutions of the amount of wasted paper in Philadelphia. By creating a haunting of paper itself, THE GHOST TREES reminds viewers of the unsustainable amount of deforestation caused by our nation’s demand for paper – 30 million forested acres are harvested a year, an area almost the size of the state of Pennsylvania. In Wilson’s own neighborhood of South Kensington, residents’ recycling has not been picked up for the past six months, despite her calls to City Hall.

In 2007, Michelle Wilson’s work was featured in AFTERMATH, a solo exhibition as part of the Powel House Museum’s Landmarks Contemporary Projects series, and was recently selected to be part of exhibition SUBLIME CLIMATE, at the newly founded Garthwaite Institute for Science and Art in Weston, Massachusetts. She has also been featured in exhibitions at the Phillips Museum, the National Constitution Center, the Nasu International Biennial of Contemporary Art in Japan, and the Second International Biennial for the Artists’ Book, in Alexandria, Egypt. Wilson’s imprint, Rocinante Press, is based in Philadelphia. For more information about Michelle Wilson, please visit her Artist Page on Inliquid.com.

April 2008 Exhibition

2008-04-03T17:40:00.004-04:00

The Migratory Books Project (Proyecto Libros Migratorios) is also featured this month as part of the exhibition Networked in the New Media Room at Gallery Aferro. Gallery Aferro is located at 73 Market Street in downtown Newark, NJ, 07102. There will be an opening reception on April 19 from 7-10 PM.

SUBLIME CLIMATE Review

2008-02-28T14:47:00.004-05:00

The exhibition I am participating in, SUBLIME CLIMATE, at the Thompson Family Gallery at the Garthwaithe Institute for Science and Art, was reviewed today in the Boston Globe. To read the review, click here.

Migratory Books

2008-02-06T16:10:00.000-05:00

The bilingual Migratory Book project has begun. Please visit Migratory Books (Libros Migratorios) to see how their journeys progress.

January 2008 Exhibitions

2008-01-02T12:06:00.002-05:00

This January, my work will be part of two exhibitions. The first to open will be, SUBLIME CLIMATE: ALARM, PROJECTING GLOBAL CHANGE, at the Thompson Gallery at the Cambridge School of Weston's Garthwaite Center for Science and Art. Part of their yearlong series of exhibitions addressing climate change, the Thompson Gallery is located at 45 Georgian Road, Weston, MA, 02493, and the opening reception will be on January 18, from 4-7 PM. Gallery hours are M-F 9 AM - 5 PM.

The second to open will be TENSION, at the Galleries at Moore College of Art and Design The opening reception for the exhibition is January 25, from 6-8 PM. Located at 20th and the Parkway in Philadelphia, 19106, gallery hours are M-F 9 AM - 5 PM.

AFTERMATH Review

2007-11-08T13:00:00.000-05:00

AFTERMATH has been reviewed by the Philly Book Artist - you can read it here.

AFTERMATH at Landmarks Contemporary Projects

2007-10-17T15:17:00.000-04:00

AFTERMATH
Michelle Wilson at the Powel House Museum
November 2-25, 2007

Landmarks Contemporary Projects
215.627.0364
lcp@philalandmarks.org

What if the liberty we believe we know is only a shadow of true freedom?

Landmarks Contemporary Projects is pleased to present Aftermath, an important new project by artist Michelle Wilson. Aftermath will be on view at the Powel House Museum in Philadelphia from November 2-25, 2007.

Behind the scenes of privileged power and middle-class comfort is a complex web of influence and deferred responsibility. Aftermath is a multi-media installation that will challenge viewers to consider the unseen consequences of the choices we make as a society, as well as the choices made for us by those in authority.

Inspired by the ideas of Plato's Cave, as well as alchemical theories of fire as a purifier, Wilson tries to find a way to see clearly in a world confounded by mass misinformation and misdirection. Aftermath exposes the ashes we have collectively brushed under the rug. Do you burn what you fear, or what you hate? Or are they the same thing?

Artist Michelle Wilson recently lived in the Powel House Museum for two years as Site Manager/Caretaker. Aftermath is heavily informed by her time there, which raised troubling questions about the relationship between social responsibility and the often unspoken existence and influence of an American aristocracy. She learned that upper-class society is frequently as disconnected from everyday life as it appears in movies and television. Unfortunately, the collateral damages from the actions of this aristocracy trickle down to the masses much more reliably than any tax breaks could.

While living at the Powel House, surrounded by an environment of historical restoration and fantasy, Wilson observed the world with new eyes. The Iraq war, the degradation of the environment, imprisonment without trial, genocide in the Sudan--she couldn't help but wonder how the American people could be s complacent. Through prints, installation, projections and sound, Wilson will attempt to break through this mask of comfort. The Powel House--as a center of the political and social milieu surrounding the birth of our Constitution--is an ideal, if sad site for this experiment.

In the Country of Last Refuge

2007-09-30T16:33:00.000-04:00

My installation, Las Cartas, will be on display in the following exhibition:

In The Country of Last Refuge
October 20-November 17, 2007
Opening Reception Saturday October 27, 6-9:30 PM
A Mashup curated by Emma Wilcox and Evonne M. Davis
Gallery Aferro, 73 Market Street Newark, N.J. 07102

The third annual In the Country of Last Things exhibition.
Themes in exploration this year are geography, communication and violence.
With illustrated color catalog.

ADEDOYIN Bami
ALBEE Becca
ANDRESEN Scott
AWG
BARONE Ryan
BRITTO Michael Paul
BROWN Lori
CONNER Alexander
DAHLMAN Patricia
FEIGENBAUM Peter
GANPAT Asha
HANMER Dana
HANMER Travis
ITKOFF Michael
JERINIC Katarina
KELLEHER Maureen
MATERS John
MCCANN Sarah
MCKENZIE Stephen
MOLLOY Traci
MONACO Lucas
MUNDY Owen + DIETRICK Joelle
OATES Leah
ORLOFF Deborah
PAMBOUKES Joan
PARE Mike
PERIOT Jean-Gabriel
PRITZKER Elisa
ROSS Sarah
SCHIFFER Anne
THOMPSON Calla
WAKS Joseph
WALLACE Barbara
WILSON Michelle