the eye and the gaze » Ypsi

studio vignette

amy — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 22:39:02 +0000

I am reinstalled in my Ypsi studio for the time being until August when I head to Philly for another residency. After working small in Iceland, it feels great to be working large again! I love having the sea glass and ceramic in the studio and keep arranging it in different ways. Now to keep from melting…

obviously

amy — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 00:58:29 +0000

…I’m on a bit of a blogging hiatus brought to you by

1) the beautiful spring weather

2) my new friend running (See why? This is the glory I see on my epic runs!)

3) the end of the school year (check out my independent study student Julie‘s excellent projects from her solo exhibition!)

4) gardening (look at our tomato plantses!) and planting/repotting and

5) A wee bit of traveling (isn’t Chicago pretty? We also got to hug our friends’ new babies and see my folks)

5) other blogging I’m doing over at Irreverent Vegan. Why don’t you stop over there and see what we’ve been up to? Here’s a hint:

I’ll be sure to resume blogging in June when I arrive in Iceland in June for residency #1 for the summer (please think positive restful volcano thoughts). That will be followed by residency #2 in August at the Philadelphia Art Hotel. Then, I will be in the studio all fall working on a solo show to take place in Chicago in October.

I am fortunate to have been granted a Faculty Research Fellowship for the fall semester, which means I don’t have to teach or advise so that I can concentrate on my current body of work. I will be at school periodically for committee meetings, but the majority of the fall is dedicated to preparing for that exhibition and applying for tenure. Wish me luck!

Spring 2010 Collection at Gallery Project

amy — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 20:53:49 +0000

Come on out to the opening on Friday if you can! It should be a lot of fun! Email or message me if you want a shirt to wear to the exhibition. The info below is from Gallery Project’s website. Visit the site for hours and directions. Hope to see you there!

Spring 2010 Collection

December 9 to January 11

Opening Reception: Friday, December 11, from 6-9pm.

Gallery Project presents the Spring 2010 Collection, a fashion exhibit showcasing artists as designers and social commentators. The annual fundraising exhibit opens at noon on Wednesday, December 9 and runs to 4pm on Sunday, January 11. The reception is on Friday, December 11, from 6-9pm.

The 27 local, regional and national artists have created their own collection line or individual pieces specifically for the exhibition, and have made work that will be modeled on the catwalk show during the opening reception. Artists explore the myriad influences and contexts of fashion, investigating issues such as identity and values, innovation and retrogression, trends and fads, materialism and consumption, high and low fashion, globalism and regionalism, thrift, reusing, recycling and reclaiming.

Artists and art collectives include basement6 (Jon Humphrey and Robin Coe), Jillian Brown, Betsy Brunner, Dorota Coy, Steve Coy, Bianca DePietro, Melissa Dettloff, Reed Esslinger, Jennifer Locke, Lana McKinnon, Modati (Bilal Ghalib, Sarms Jabra, Alexander Lee), Ryan Molloy, Barbara Neri, Amy Sacksteder, Gary Setzer, Bethany Shorb, Alexander Sobolev, Brooks Harris Stevens, Jim Stevens, Britten Stringwell, Jenn Stucker, Talking Squid (Taryn Boyd), Scott Tallenger and Andrew Thompson.

The exhibit is designed as a fun, interactive event. Visitors are encouraged to come out in their finery to join the debutants, fashionistas, and designers. A Catwalk Show starting at 7pm will highlight the opening reception. Paparazzi will be flashing their cameras, with images available for purchase. Visitors will be able to purchase Photo Passes so that they can photograph themselves, as they model garments and participate in interactive work. Gallery goers are also invited to make DIY projects throughout the exhibition.

This exhibition is curated by artists Jennifer Locke, assistant professor of art at Eastern Michigan University, Steve Coy, art lecturer at The University of Michigan School of Art and Design, and Alexander Lee, a founding member of Modati, a local silk screening company.

Gallery Project is a fine art collaborative. Its mission is to provide a venue for contemporary art that is culturally aware, individualistic, courageous, and thought provoking. Gallery Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. It is located at 215 South Fourth Avenue in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Fall/Winter gallery hours: Tuesday through Thursday, noon-6; Friday and Saturday, noon-9; and Sunday, noon-4. The gallery is closed on Mondays. For more information, please call 734-997-7012 or contact us through our website: www.thegalleryproject.com

remember yourself

amy — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 18:34:33 +0000

School has been very stressful lately. S-T-R-E-S-S-F-U-L. When all of my time seems dictated by meetings, appointments, grading, committee work, etc. I often forget to take care of myself. Unless Mark puts a sandwich in front of me, I forget to eat. I make my tea for the day in the morning and forget in on the shelf at home. Yoga, studio, reading books, all of the things I love to do that define my happiness, fall to the wayside. I am trying to remember, amidst all of the stress, to live with more intentionality, to summon the energy to do these things instead of functioning on autopilot. Yesterday was great for that. I got my grading done during the day, and thus was able to spend my afternoon and evening cleaning up the house from a week’s worth of neglect, and was able to draw and listen to music for the whole night. Man, it rocked. You know it’s a good studio experience you find yourself drawing in silence with headphones still in your ears, long after the music has stopped, and you didn’t even notice. This morning, I jumped out of bed and ran straight into house studio to check on last night’s work. I love that feeling!

unicorn girl drawing in progress for The Beautiful Ones series

"the fates" drawing in progress for Afterlife series

I’d love to hear the things you do to “remember yourself.”

of late

amy — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:48:16 +0000

I have a show coming up at Gallery Project in Ann Arbor curated by three other artists, one of whom is my good friend and colleague at EMU, Jennifer Locke. The show is called The Spring 2010 Collection (aka Fashion Show), and thus all of the work is about issues surrounding fashion, from a more cynical look at consumer culture, to a positive look at DIY and preloved movements. The work in my series The Beautiful Ones, falls somewhere in between these two areas. In 2007, I made a painting that had t-shirts that people could purchase and wear–something affordable to take away from the gallery-going experience–which was akin to being able to purchase band merch at a rock show. In short, my painting could have groupies. The goal was to allow people to be in a sort of performative dialog with the work. The painting is “about” this sort of indie hipster culture, and also propagates it as well. So, I had originally conceived of making two paintings and up until recently, just had the one. This show was the perfect opportunity to realize the other. They are both based on small drawings I did in France in 2007. Below are some images of the piece in progress. Progress continues.

Here are two images of the t-shirt designs (printed by VGKids), one or both of which will be sewn into the surface of the painting. They are printed on American Apparel Classic Girl and Standard American styles in the color natural and made from organic cotton. I have sizes ranging from small to XL in both unisex and women’s shirts. If you’re interested in a shirt, just email me with your size, style, and design preference. They cost $15, but there’s a free shirt for anyone who is willing to come to the opening sporting the shirt and who stays for at least a half hour. Let me know (by commenting on this post) if you want to participate, so that I can get you a shirt before the show. I have already hired a bunch of my students, so it should be a lot of fun!

Here’s the info for the show.

What: The 2010 Collection (Fashion Show)

Where: Gallery Project, 215 South Fourth Avenue, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104

When: Opening Friday December 11, 2009, 6-9 p.m. Show runs from Dec 9 – Jan 11.

Gallery hours are:

Fall/Winter hours:

Tue -Thu, noon-6

Fri -Saturday, noon-9

Sun, noon to 4

new art = new set-up

amy — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 01:12:25 +0000

Mark and I were inspired by our friends Abigail and Stevens‘ decor, specifically, the way they display their art collection. We even found out where they get their pieces framed and promptly followed suit. The day I picked up the framed pieces, I was on my way out to pick up Mark for our date I wrote about in my last post. When we got home, I got to show him all of the pieces all framed up. Opening each one from it’s brown paper was a little bit like Christmas morning, and it prompted us to do our semiannual Purge and Rearrange of the house. It definitely deserves to be capitalized. Now this occurred on a Friday night. Let’s just say that by the end of the evening Saturday, our entire living room had been rearranged to make way for the new art. Also by the end of the weekend, we had dumped a van full of recycling and stuff off at their respective locations (Re-Use Ann Arbor for the furniture and household stuff)…and rearranged the entire living area in the basement. Which included Mark’s music studio. We felt like industrious squirrels getting all of the odds and ends in order for winter. Whew! I’m tired just writing about it! Behold.

Here’s one of the pieces that spurred the change. All pieces framed in white are part of the art makeover. This particular piece made the greatest transformation. Formerly, it’s glass was old and dusty and it was in a thrift store frame. Now this vintage butterfly mosaic is much happier. Here are a bunch of images of the new living room set-up with art in place. We’re fixin’ to paint the walls gray and the trim white. What do you think?

Here’s the Mike McFalls sculpture installed in its new home in the dining room. For the the time being, this is where it lives.

So in short, buy or trade for some new art. Or invest in some frames for your art. Your collection needn’t be extensive or expensive to spruce up and I think you’ll like the way it makes your space feel!

because I can

amy — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 22:41:47 +0000

If I’ve been remiss in blogging, it’s only because I’ve been blogging. I’ve been helping Mark with Irreverent Vegan a lot lately. There’s so much food-related stuff to do this time of year, what with putting the gardens to bed, buying up boatloads of tomatoes at the farmer’s market for canning, making pesto from end-of-season basil, etc. Mark made swoon-worthy pesto and tomato pasta and baked green tomatoes last night. Check out our action on that blog and let us know what you think.

So, some stuff has been happening on the art front as well. Mark and I stretched this monster last week:

Though sadly it was a rainy day when we stretched it and the humidity affected it. It was tight as a drum when I left the studio last Thursday. When I returned to the studio, it was as wrinkly and saggy as all get-out. Great sadness ensued. For me. Then after about ten minutes of moping, (and since I have a painting due for a show in December) I got my stuff together and started painting on a different canvas. I altered my Photoshop mock-up to be suited for a vertical rather than a horizontal format and shazam! I’m back in business. This painting involves big circles, for which I fashioned a very high-tech compass out of a brooch, some string and a sponge brush. Macgyver, eat your heart out.

I also co-curated an exhibition at EMU called Contemporary Painting, which I’m really happy with. More on that later.

And, because our cats have been so dang photogenic lately, a bunch of cat photos. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

peace out

amy — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 21:27:20 +0000

With the hectic beginning of the school year, I am finding that I need certain elements in my life to keep me sane. These are constants, but somehow I always forget about them in the chaos of life and keep discovering them when I need them most. I need quiet time, space to think, space to make, and to remember that there’s a big beautiful world out there beyond the little ruts I dig in the ground on my daily routine.

Today, we had the pleasure of hosting good friends for brunch (tofu Mark-muffins, potato pancakes with cashew creme and apple sauce and peaches), then headed out to some hiking trails with them. This time of year is blissful. Before the hike, we found a strange and amazing house out in the middle of nowhere that happened to be for sale. We walked around the grounds and checked out the old musty outbuilding:

We hiked at Cherry Hill Nature Preserve that Mark and Chad found on a recent bike ride.

Studio time, reading, hot baths, tea and yoga have all been very restorative to me lately. During the summer months, we can use the three-season room as a yoga studio. It’s nice because it has tall ceilings, a skylight that looks up into our black locust tree and the cats like to be out there with us.

But with the coming of the Michigan Winter (which deserves to be capitalized), I recently reclaimed the guest room as a space for us. After all, guests are only here 3% of the time, so why have a room that is completely dedicated to people who don’t live here? I have been inspired for awhile by the yoga room created by the author of the blog Beauty That Moves:

So I decided to fold up the old futon (only to be unfolded when guests visit) and make the space into the winter yoga studio.

I don’t know what’s going on lately, but I am really drawn to sleek, white household items and natural accents. So, the new studio reflects that. There are plenty of candles, an old laptop that doesn’t work for much, but still plays music and videos, blankets, room for yoga books, dvds and blocks. And it turns out that the folded up futon is actually a great place to relax with a book or take a nap. I just need a lampshade and it will be complete!

i’m just doing this thing…

amy — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 01:03:09 +0000

…to borrow a phrase from my friends Ryan and Vals’ blog, who in turn, borrowed it from our friend Jen’s mischievous nephew who uses the phrase to evade getting in trouble. So, I am just doing this thing. I kinda know what it is. I know it has to do with art and that it’s due at the end of the month (yikes!). I also know that this thing brought me to Home Depot, Michael’s, and the same hobby shop three times today, where each time, I had lovely chats about the hows and whatfors of model train building with some of the considerate and attentive members of the Ann Arbor Model Railroad Club. Art causes me to wind up in the swellest of unexpected situations…

So, here is an image of “this thing” so far. (And yes, I am being purposefully enigmatic to hopefully build suspense. Of course if “this thing” flops, then I will feel a bit like a sheep, but c’est la vie, right?)

guested

amy — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 13:41:19 +0000

I was fortunate to guest blog about none other than… rings (of course!) on my friend Lauren’s blog Dear Golden. She also has a top notch etsy shop by the same name through which she proffers vintage wares, and I am guilty of taking home a lot of the bounty. I suppose I could have composed the same post for this blog, but I haven’t really written about fashion much here, and since her blog is geared toward it, specifically vintage fashion from all eras, we thought the guest blog would be a fun idea.

Lauren and I like a lot of the same kinds of vintage clothing, though her scope is much larger than mine. Her tastes never fail to inspire me.

We have been thrifting buddies for awhile now. I think the reason I like thifting so much is getting so much for so little. Thifting allows one to find seemingly unique items, often in very good or excellent condition, for a low price. I really like purchasing previously owned pieces that have a history, and in doing so, I am not encouraging the manufacture of new goods, or so I tell myself. I know I am not alone in this practice (which, if you’re not careful can border on obsession). And it’s not just clothing that I find in this way, but also house stuff. We have a thoroughly thrifted house. What isn’t thrifted is often from craigslist, garage sales, or antique stores.

Of course, buying from Dear Golden means that I am buying thrifted items, but it’s even better because I am getting hand-selected, often carefully mended clothing, about which Lauren knows the historical context. And I’m supporting a friend too. I model for her from time-to-time and am happy when she sends me home with “payment” in an especially cool skirt I modeled that day, or a pair of shoes.