Waterlines installation at Works Gallery

I have a new installation up at Works Gallery in San Jose, as part of Eco Echo: Unnatural Selection. See the press release here. Here's a sneak peek! Click on the pictures for a larger view.

Paper in Nature

This past weekend I was part of the Art In Nature festival in Redwood Regional Park. Redwood Regional Park, which is about fifteen minutes away from where I live, is one of the places I go walking. Judy had mentioned something about being part of last year's festival and how much she enjoyed it, and so I applied and was accepted to make a piece, as a chance to honor a place that fulfills me so much. The work I exhibited was developed in the cast paper street art I did recently.

(For larger images, click on the pictures.)

The park is notable for Redwood Creek; its native rainbow trout have been cross-bred with other struggling trout populations throughout the US. Redwood Creek's trout are a genetically pure population that is under critical study in order to reveal new understandings about trout populations. With California's extreme drought the creek appears to be dried up completely; I'm not sure what this means for the population. This idea was the basis for this work I'm calling Upstream.

It was an insanely hot day, and yet they clocked around 5000 visitors to the event. For me, the best part was to sit (or lay) near my piece, and listen to the musicians play, and let their songs become a soundtrack of sorts. I didn't get to photograph many of the other works and performances, but here's a few!

Art Fairs!

May blew through my life like a tornado, and I'm still trying to catch my breath. It started with the Parking Lot Art Fair, a rogue art happening outside of artMRKT. Artists were invited to set up in parking spaces on the chilly Saturday morning of the fair.

Thinking of literatura del cordel (clothesline literature), I decided to show my work as grabados del cordel (clothesline prints). I was feeling a little nervous when I first got there, so I kept looking at the prints above. It's always nice to have some family and friends with you when you're anxious.

At one point during the event I was talking to a couple of Frenchmen who were there for main fairs, and they said it seemed like the Parking Lot Fair was the black market to artMRKT. I kind of liked that.

So many other cool artists were participating. My neighbor during the event, Mike Rothfeld:

Curator Jenny Sharaf knows how to get around at an event like this:

NIAD Art Gallery in a pickup truck:

Mary Button Durell:

After the Parking Lot Fair closed down midday (and the sun finally came out - I should have worn more layers!), I walked over to the stARTup Fair with Tracey and Sharaine.

Since the event was at a hotel, I was intrigued to see how artists incorporated hotel furniture. I forgot to note who this was, but it was a lovely use of the bedroom space.

I really wanted to see Mary and Tony's room as Quite Contrary Press. They turned their beds into tables!

Tony's work:

Mary's work:

Mary had also turned their closet space into an installation - I really liked it, and hope she gets more chances to do stuff like this:

It was an art-filled but exhausting day.

"Clarity" at Napa Art on First

Some photos from the opening for Napa's "Art on First" event this week. For the event, artists take over the empty storefronts in downtown Napa, and the installations will be up for the next year, barring any spaces getting rented.

These are shots of my installation, Clarity. The panels are made from Schoenoplectus californicus, better known as tule or California bulrush, harvested from the shores of Winery Lake.

(Click on images for enlargements).

To me, this is an example of how handmade paper art can transcend being just a an art object made in a craft tradition, to becoming site-specific and a form of Land Art. Clarity is made out of the land itself, and is being shown only a few miles from where the plants that it originated from grew.

As I said in my statement, I called the piece Clarity in reference to the "transparency and purity of the Napa River, but also [to suggest] the insight gained when we understand its value." Today, as I look at these photos, I can't help thinking about my conversation earlier this week with Jill about water usage in handmade paper, and how water will play out politics and survival in the future.

I love the Napa Art community, such wonderful, inspiring and amazing folks. Some very sweet friends from Napa told me that this piece was "poetry on paper, in this little context it is a huge continent."

Special thanks goes to the Arts Council of Napa Valley, particularly Christy Bors for all her organizing, and Cohan Sculley, for coordinating installation, general helpfulness, and above all, patience with me as installing dragged on and I kept saying I was almost done....thank you.

Interview on Manufactured Dissent

This week I was interviewed by Manufactured Dissent. Check it out here.

Together Again

I just learned yesterday that I will be in an exhibition with my friend and old studio-mate Sun Young Kang! We are going to be part of the exhibition Branching Together, curated by Melanie Mowinski, coming at at PRESS: A Letterpress Public Art Project in North Adams, MA. Unfortunately, I don't think we will physically be able to be there, but I'm sure our spirits will.

Above is Sunny's piece that will be on display, though I believe it will have a different configuration for PRESS, and I will be exhibiting my Ghost Trees. The exhibition will also feature Helen Hiebert's Mother Tree project. Its sure to be an amazing and paper-rific exhibition!

Whirlwind

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!

Sneak Peek: Installation at SOMArts

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!

Getting It

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.

Upcoming installation at the Napa Valley Museum

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...

Burned Books, Book Bombs, and other less alliterative news

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!