Lots Going On!

(Above: Photo from Birmingham Royal Ballet's website of Romeo and Juliet. Mathis is dancing the role of Mercutio....the one on the left in the mask! We'll be seeing it next week in Plymouth, England! Click on image to enlarge.)

I haven't posted in a week but a lot of things are going on! First, my solo show "Personal Grounds" just closed at The City Gallery at Waterfront in Charleston. Steve and I took a Penske rental truck and broke it down. It's sure easier and takes less time to remove artwork rather than to mount it! The Decision Portraits are now "in storage"...which means they are stacked against a long wall here at Mouse House, our business.


(Above: Over one hundred framed Decision Portraits stacked at Mouse House, our business...waiting for another chance to be seen! I'm in the process of sending exhibition proposals. If you know of a location, email me! Click on image to enlarge.)


(Above: More tagged keys....including five "Thank You" keys for the staff at City Gallery in Charleston. Please notice the little "miniature" book too. Click on image to enlarge.)

Last week I worked on more "tagged keys"....including five for the staff at The City Gallery. These simply say "Thank You!". I've been working on these keys on-and-off all month. The last time I posted a photo is HERE. Absolutely none of the tagged keys above were in that photo! The keys in this new photo used to be in the clear plastic container....and, as you can see, there's STILL MORE keys waiting to be tagged! There are now hundreds and hundreds of tagged keys. They are all supposed to be part of an installation opening on November 4 in the storefront display window at a former department store on Main Street here in Columbia. I'll be hanging keys from the ceiling, from the window treatments, from the background walls....everywhere! I can't wait to start!


(Above: Miniature. Artist Book. Click on any image to enlarge.)

Since I have had all my clipped "letters", matte medium, and papers out for the keys, I thought about making a little artist book.....in fact, it is called Miniature. The text is simply the definition of the word taken from several different sources.....all snipped letters from various 19th century publications glued to paper in "ransom note style". There's even a "table of content" listing the chapters as "A Noun", "An Adjective", and "Synonym". The cover measures 3" x 2 1/4". Below are several images. All photos can be clicked on for enlargement.









I guess I've been thinking about "miniature" because there's an upcoming juried exhibition at the Florence Museum in Florence, South Carolina. I made the book even though I knew I couldn't enter it into the show. Only 2D work is accepted. I just really wanted to make the book. Yet, I also made another "miniature".


(Above: Greater Love Hath No Man, Miniature art quilt in a flag inspired frame. Unframed: 3 1/2" x 4 3/4". Framed: 9" X 11". Tattered US Flag pieces from a cemetery dumpster, navy blue felt, previously painted WonderUnder, silver metallic foiling, a chiffon scarf overlay, and stitching. Click on image to enlarge.)


(Above: Greater Love Hath No Man, miniature art quilt. Click on image to enlarge.)

I guess I really just wanted to make this little piece too! It used a few tattered pieces of US flags that I rescued from cemetery dumpsters while collecting artificial flowers for my "Last Words" installation. I know there are lots of people who think my Grave Rubbing Art Quilts and the artificial flowers are somehow sacrilegious or disrespectful because I am actually touching the graves and raiding the trash. I am, however, not the one THROWING AWAY THE FLAG! I have a two gallon plastic zip-lock bag full of US flags that I found in the dumpsters, washed, and am looking for a way to use in my work...respectfully....even though I know to do so is technically against the official "flag code".

As much as I like this miniature flag, I don't really think it is a great "competition" piece. So....I have nothing to enter in the Florence miniature show. It's a special exhibit for me. In 2000 I entered the show. It was the very first time I ever entered anything! No one, other than my husband Steve, even knew I was interested in "making fiber art" or "art" in general. I told no one about entering and was dumbfounded when one of my two pieces actually won an honorable mention. Although I haven't entered every year, I've entered frequently enough to have also won second place, Best of Show, and another honorable mention since then. I've also had several pieces rejected too! I was planning on "starting something new" until late last week. I got an email from the Florence Museum curator inviting me to be this year's juror! I am SO HONORED!


(Above: Mathias' as Mercutio in Birmingham Royal Ballet's Romeo and Juliet. Below: Mathias' as Mercutio, dead in Romeo's arms! Click on images to enlarge.)


Finally, Steve and I are preparing for a week in Plymouth, England where we'll see Birmingham Royal Ballet's triple bill (Slaughter on Tenth Avenue, In the Upper Room, and Concerto) earlier in the week and Romeo and Juliet during the later part of the week. Mathias and his girlfriend Laura-Jane have several roles in all these productions....but we are most excited to see Mathias sword fight to the death as Mercutio!