Busy, busy Thursday and a Transparency Update!

 (Above:  Anonymous Ancestors, my solo show at USC Upstate's "Gallery on Main" during the third Thursday art walk and the Tri-State Sculptors Conference.  Click on any image to enlarge.)

The reception for my solo show, Anonymous Ancestors, was last month during Spartanburg's "Third Thursday" art walk, but I was invite back again this month ... to give a gallery talk!  The place was very, very crowded because nearby Converse College is hosting the Tri-State Sculptors Conference and the art walk (along with my gallery talk) was on the program!  It was quite an honor!

When Steve and I arrived, there were people already gathering ... enjoying the photos, albums, even sitting in the furniture.  It made me very happy to see the installation truly functioning as if a real sitting parlor!

My husband Steve took these photos while I talked to students, artists, and people who simply came for the art walk.  He didn't get any good images during the gallery talk because he was standing in the very back, next to the door ... where his only view was space between the Grid of Photos and its shadows on the wall.

I'm really pleased with the way this piece looks because part of my concept was to suggest that the hundreds of anonymous photos are fading away into history ... just like the traces of shadows behind them.

 (Above:  Wall of Ancestors, Polio is a Bitch.)

I don't think I'll ever tire of this installation.  I'm still making more work ... hoping for more opportunities to share it.  To get ready for my gallery talk, I made this one.  Steve suggested the words.  I couldn't improve upon them.  Polio really is a bitch.

(Above:  The filmmakers at the 2nd Act Film Festival 2017 ... including the filmmakers' choice award winner, Smith Austin.)

If I hadn't been in Spartanburg, I would have been at the 2nd Act Film Festival in Columbia.  Why?

 (Above:  2nd Act Film Festival Filmmakers' Choice Award.  Framed:  11 1/2" x 9 1/2".  Anonymous, vintage negative, three film slides from my travels in Europe during the 1970s, found Super-8 reel, collage of clipped letters, and a key tagged with the phrase:  Nothing Happens Without Light.)

Why?  Well, a couple months ago I was asked to create the award.  This is what I came up with.  Had I been in town, I would have really enjoyed seeing the films.  The festival provided filmmakers the first and third acts (one page each) of a script.  Each filmmaker wrote and created the SECOND ACT.  Many entered; ten finalists were selected by a professional panel for last night's event.  It would have been so much fun to have been there!

 (Above:  The Transparency Project, in progress.)

Some times, there are just too many things to do.  Perhaps that is why I've no longer receiving any more suggestions for The Transparency Project.  (CLICK HERE to see my initial blog post about this artwork.)  Thus, I am updating it's progress.

(Above:  The Transparency Project, in progress.)

I have used just under two-thirds of the little corked jars.  I need more ideas to fill them. Thank you to everyone who sent a phrase.  You can still send more!  Please leave a comment here or send you suggestions to me at mouse_house@prodigy.net.

So far, these are the phrases inside the jars:

Lied and got away with it
Hide candy in my desk drawer
Cheated on my first husband with whom I shared my work commute
Snaked from the grocery bulk bins
Fed my dog cheap dog food
Lied to my doctor about the amount of wine I drink
Didn't exercise
Claimed to be a virgin several times
Chose a candidate with "the right background" over qualifications
Billed an insurance company for a test not performed
Pretended I didn't get an e-mail
Pretended I didn't get a text message
Knowingly gave a guy the wrong phone number
Went twice for a free promotion
Smoked pot during a work break
The check is in the mail
Had a margarita as lunch
Left the bar when I spotted my blind date
Claimed to be 47 for several years
Called in sick when I wasn't
Cheated on a test
Love to gossip
Spread rumors I knew were untrue
Returned a damaged library video
Didn't stop after hitting a dog
Made a prank telephone call
Falsely exaggerated family stories
Complimented someone's art work that looked like crap
Cried real tears only for affect
Found a wallet and didn't return it
Checked my email while driving
Got drunk and kissed a stranger
Urinated on a tree in a public park
Shot a gun at a passing car
Have a crush on a married friend
Vegetarian ... but tried veal
Lied to get out of a meeting
Stole a library book
Ignored the item the grocery cashier didn't get scanned
Committed adultery in my heart
Ran a red light on purpose
"Forgot" to pay a bill
Didn't report my rape
Believe in angels
Don't shave my legs in the winter
Don't shower every day
Leave dirty dishes in the sink overnight
Bumped into a car and left the scene
Lied about my voting record
Hit my spouse
Falsely said "I love you" in order to have sex
Spent time in jail
How are you? I'm fine.
Egged a house
Drove drunk
Told a Polish joke
Belittled someone with special needs
Accepted a bribe
Didn't take NO for an answer
Didn't pay child support
Stalked an ex-wife
Stalked an ex-boyfriend
Peeked through the neighbors' windows
Used a fake ID
Sneaked into an R-rate moved when underage
Spanked my kids
Claimed a charitable deduction I never made
Let someone else take the blame
Stole liquor from my parents
Said "sorry" but held a grudge
Spray painted graffiti on a public wall
Bounced several checks
Jealous all the time
Flunked out of school
Littered at the beach
Blamed traffic for running late
Flipped someone "the bird"
Never repaid a debt