**update**

This studio transformation was recently featured on Design*Sponge. I wrote a follow-up post answering some of the questions that arose in the comments and also posted a few more images here.

With the help of Mark, I spent the entire last month in major house studio overhaul mode. I had five year’s worth of paperstuffs, random art supplies and countless odds and ends to sort and either discard or organize. It all started with my desire for a flat file, since all of my flatwork and papers were sloppily vertically stored against the wall behind a closet door.

The organization project evolved into ditching my drafting table and our old kitchen table I was using as a desk in favor of clean, white tables easily made out of doors and painted white. Mark built me wall shelves for storing small, framed work and we got them installed yesterday. Now the studio feels so much better, I want to be in here all the time. Just to show you how far it’s come, at one point, it had devolved into this:

Here are some overview shots of the new setup:

…and some detail shots:

Now to start making a mess again.

Net 1
ink, gouache, blue tape and collage on paper
18″ x 24″
2005 and 2011

Land Blindness (for R. Smithson)
ink, gouache, salt, gold leaf and correction tape on paper (not pictured: accompanying rock from the site of Spiral Jetty)
drawing 30″ x 22″, installation dimensions variable
2011

I was very affected by our sojourn to the Spiral Jetty on our recent southwest road trip. As much as I was taken with the life and death of Amelia Earhart, last year’s oil spill, the Icelandic volcanic eruption, and responded to these events in my recent  work, I am currently working on a drawing in that loosely engages Spiral Jetty and the life and untimely death of Robert Smithson. The book Mirror-Travels | Robert Smithson and History has been informative, imparting the significance of the building site of the monumental earth work: close to the site of the driving of the Golden Spike, where the continent was joined via railroad.  Also today’s Daily Serving article about the potential fate of the piece is quite timely, yet unsettling.

Here are some images of sketchbook collages I made on the trip from the vast amount of magazines we took with us for the long car rides.

So it is happily between the drawing and painting studio that I will spend the rest of the summer, amidst gardening, sun tea making, gathering with friends and planning a large international exhibition for the fall (this time with my curatorial hat on). As I see it, that’s a pretty good place to be.

With an eminent trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico to attend the wedding of friends Jason and Allison, Mark and I were prompted to embark upon a recent three-week road trip of the southwest U.S.  Along the way, we saw great friends, much art, amazing landscapes and visited cities we’d never before seen.  And there was food.  Lots of good food.  Here are some pictorial highlights from the trip.

Since school ended in April, I’ve been able to spend a lot of time in the studio. I have the help of a couple of students, one who made a big batch of stretchers for me, another who is doing all of the stretching and gessoing. It’s great to have so much help, which frees me up to work on some new paintings, all in progress. I’m working with images from Iceland and algae flows, and playing around with volcanic ash, mica and silver leaf.

Also I have the modest beginnings of a new web-based project: http://deltiophile.tumblr.com/
I’m using it as a place to post the postcards I collected while in Iceland, some collages, pages from my sketchbook and other visual sources for my work.

Map of the Becoming, archival inkjet print collage; reconfigurable, approximately 28″ x 11″, 2011

On Saturday night a group of area artists gathered at Gabe and Jennifer Hillebrand‘s home for a sort-of salon-style opening of a one-night show called Diverge, curated by Gabe.  The point was to submit something that is a divergence from our customary practice.

Thanks to Gabe and Jen for hosting!

Photo credit: Butter Projects

On March 20, Butter Projects hosted a panel discussion featuring the  four artists, moderated by Vince Carducci and renee c. hoogland.  The event was really stimulating, with great attendance and participation from the audience.  Thanks to the Butter Folk, the other artists and Vince and renee for making it a success.

See more photos of the exhibition here.

See more photos of the opening reception here.

See more photos and access a link to a video of the panel discussion here.

Non Native, a four-person show at Butter Projects, opened Saturday night, and despite a mess of freezing rain and snow, there was a great crowd. Here are some images from the opening and the show install.

Above: Katie Phillips

Above: Katie Phillips, Amy Sacksteder and Chido Johnson

Above: Katie Phillips,  Chido Johnson and Kyohei Abe

Above: Amy Sacksteder and Chido Johnson

Above: part of my Last Map series installed in new, custom-made frames.  Reclaimed oak frames by Matt O’Brien (with white finishing by me).  Framing done by Molly Nuzzo.

Thanks to Alison, Jacklyn, Kelly, and Elizabeth for a great opening!

Mark & I gave my website a pretty substantial face lift, courtesy of his amazing new artist website software, Schmolio. He needs beta testers (it’s free right now! and really cheap after that) so head on over there if you’re interested in switching or starting an artist’s (or musician’s) site.

In other news, I just finished installing work at Butter Projects for their upcoming four-person exhibition Non Native.  Details are below.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Feb 15, 2011
BUTTER PROJECTS
Alison Wong Kelly Frank Jacklyn Brickman Elizabeth Boyd Hartmann butter.projects@gmail.com www.butterprojects.info

WELCOME TO MICHIGAN, STAY A WHILE….
Royal Oak, Michigan.

BUTTER projects presents the first exhibition of our 2011 season titled NON-NATIVE. The exhibit runs from March 5 – April 1, 2011 with an opening reception on March 5, 2011 from 7-10pm. Free and open to the public.

NON-NATIVE brings together a group of four Non-Michiganders who are currently living and working in the Metro-Detroit area. The exhibition highlights the role community and sense of place plays in work that addresses varying cultures, techniques, traditions and methods. Featuring works in fiber, painting, photography and sculpture.

Participating artists include Kyohei Abe (Anjo-shi, Aichi, Japan/Ferndale), Chido Johnson (Mutare, Zimbabwe / Detroit), Katie Phillips (Louisville, KY / Bloomfield Hills) and Amy Sacksteder (Augusta, GA / Ypsilanti).

In conjunction with the exhibit, a panel discussion with the artists of NON-NATIVE will be held on March 20 at 2pm. Guest moderators Vince Carducci and renee c. hoogland will lead the discussion regarding the unique framework of Metro-Detroit; what draws artists here, where does our location fit in the contemporary art world and how it’s played a role in the panelists work.

About Butter Projects

BUTTER projects is a studio and exhibition space founded in October of 2009. Housed in a storefront built in 1915, the space was conceived to be flexible and open to a multitude of creative endeavors. Our mission is to engage with the community and participate in the promotion of the arts in the Metro-Detroit area by providing a place to make, discuss and exhibit artwork. Butter Projects is run and operated by Alison Wong, Kelly Frank, Jacklyn Brickman and Elizabeth Boyd Hartmann.

Butter is located at 814 West Eleven Mile Road, in Royal Oak, Michigan. Parking is available behind the building. For more information visit www.butterprojects.info or contact butter.projects@gmail.com
Hours are by appointment only with the exception of special events and receptions. ###