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I give these hand stitched caps to people that help me make an impact and bring back the endangered wild bees.
Bombus Affinis, the Rusty Patch Bumble bee was listed as Endangered January 11, 2017.
A great resource for learning about native bees is below.
https://xerces.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/2017-009_B-affinis_IDGuide_web.pdf
Spruing up another from down under. Roots are an integral tool to regenerate soil.
Ready to be burned out
It takes a village to get behind an event to take to the next level. It was awesome to have Brandon and Christina shoot their top 5 in front of the silos last week.
Checkout their top 5, what an amazing art week in Texas.
🌟⭐️💥💫☄️⚡️✨ Wahoo
#1 Outta Space
#2 Chinati Weekend
https://glasstire.com/2019/10/10/top-five-october-10-2019/
1. Ottta Space
SITE Gallery Houston, The Silos at Sawyer Yards
October 11 – November 30
Opening Reception: October 12, 6- 9 PM
Thirty-four igloo-like art spaces in this defunct rice silo will provide a dramatic backdrop for the unique installations produced by 19 artists.
2. Chinati Weekend
Chinati Foundation, Marfa
October 11 – October 13
The calendar of events will include talks by Donna De Salvo, Deputy Director for International Initiatives and Senior Curator at the Whitney, and Linda Norden, curator, writer, and professor of art history, theory, and criticism. Free events include a concert from Nancy Whang and Gavin Rayna Russom of LCD Soundsystem, viewing of Chinati’s permanent collection, and the annual Made in Marfa event, featuring artist open studios.
3. Grand Opening of Ruby City
Ruby City, San Antonio
October 13 – January 5
Grand Opening: October 13, 9AM – 6PM
The Grand Opening of Ruby City.
4.a) Texas Contemporary Art Fair
George R. Brown Convention Center, Houston
October 10 – October 13
Texas Contemporary, Houston’s leading contemporary and modern art fair, brings top galleries to the area’s discerning collector base. Now going into its eighth edition, Texas Contemporary 2019 will feature 75 exhibitors and an innovative program of special projects and public installations.
4. b) stARTuP Art Fair
Hotel Icon, Houston
October 11 – October 13
The fair will transform the third and fourth floor of the hotel into an immersive, contemporary art experience through the exhibition of artwork by a diverse group of independent artists, local art nonprofits, artist performances, installations, and panel discussions. Walk into hotel rooms transformed into galleries by your favorite Houston-based artist alongside artists from all over the country.
5. DMA Reinstall of European Galleries
Dallas Museum of Art
August 23 and ongoing
The Dallas Museum of Art’s Second Floor European art galleries have reopened to the public after closing earlier this summer for a total reinstallation. It features restored works from the collection, and new presentations of Old Master paintings. There are also Impressionist and Modern masterworks on view, gifted by Margaret and Eugene McDermott.
It takes a village to get behind an event to take to the next level. It was awesome to have Brandon and Christina shoot their top 5 in front of the silos last week.
Checkout their top 5, what an amazing art week in Texas.
🌟⭐️💥💫☄️⚡️✨ Wahoo
#1 Outta Space
#2 Chinati Weekend
https://glasstire.com/2019/10/10/top-five-october-10-2019/
1. Ottta Space
SITE Gallery Houston, The Silos at Sawyer Yards
October 11 – November 30
Opening Reception: October 12, 6- 9 PM
Thirty-four igloo-like art spaces in this defunct rice silo will provide a dramatic backdrop for the unique installations produced by 19 artists.
2. Chinati Weekend
Chinati Foundation, Marfa
October 11 – October 13
The calendar of events will include talks by Donna De Salvo, Deputy Director for International Initiatives and Senior Curator at the Whitney, and Linda Norden, curator, writer, and professor of art history, theory, and criticism. Free events include a concert from Nancy Whang and Gavin Rayna Russom of LCD Soundsystem, viewing of Chinati’s permanent collection, and the annual Made in Marfa event, featuring artist open studios.
3. Grand Opening of Ruby City
Ruby City, San Antonio
October 13 – January 5
Grand Opening: October 13, 9AM – 6PM
The Grand Opening of Ruby City.
4.a) Texas Contemporary Art Fair
George R. Brown Convention Center, Houston
October 10 – October 13
Texas Contemporary, Houston’s leading contemporary and modern art fair, brings top galleries to the area’s discerning collector base. Now going into its eighth edition, Texas Contemporary 2019 will feature 75 exhibitors and an innovative program of special projects and public installations.
4. b) stARTuP Art Fair
Hotel Icon, Houston
October 11 – October 13
The fair will transform the third and fourth floor of the hotel into an immersive, contemporary art experience through the exhibition of artwork by a diverse group of independent artists, local art nonprofits, artist performances, installations, and panel discussions. Walk into hotel rooms transformed into galleries by your favorite Houston-based artist alongside artists from all over the country.
5. DMA Reinstall of European Galleries
Dallas Museum of Art
August 23 and ongoing
The Dallas Museum of Art’s Second Floor European art galleries have reopened to the public after closing earlier this summer for a total reinstallation. It features restored works from the collection, and new presentations of Old Master paintings. There are also Impressionist and Modern masterworks on view, gifted by Margaret and Eugene McDermott.
It takes a village to get behind an event to take to the next level. It was awesome to have Brandon and Christina shoot their top 5 in front of the silos last week.
Checkout their top 5, what an amazing art week in Texas.
🌟⭐️💥💫☄️⚡️✨ Wahoo
#1 Outta Space
#2 Chinati Weekend
https://glasstire.com/2019/10/10/top-five-october-10-2019/
1. Ottta Space
SITE Gallery Houston, The Silos at Sawyer Yards
October 11 – November 30
Opening Reception: October 12, 6- 9 PM
Thirty-four igloo-like art spaces in this defunct rice silo will provide a dramatic backdrop for the unique installations produced by 19 artists.
2. Chinati Weekend
Chinati Foundation, Marfa
October 11 – October 13
The calendar of events will include talks by Donna De Salvo, Deputy Director for International Initiatives and Senior Curator at the Whitney, and Linda Norden, curator, writer, and professor of art history, theory, and criticism. Free events include a concert from Nancy Whang and Gavin Rayna Russom of LCD Soundsystem, viewing of Chinati’s permanent collection, and the annual Made in Marfa event, featuring artist open studios.
3. Grand Opening of Ruby City
Ruby City, San Antonio
October 13 – January 5
Grand Opening: October 13, 9AM – 6PM
The Grand Opening of Ruby City.
4.a) Texas Contemporary Art Fair
George R. Brown Convention Center, Houston
October 10 – October 13
Texas Contemporary, Houston’s leading contemporary and modern art fair, brings top galleries to the area’s discerning collector base. Now going into its eighth edition, Texas Contemporary 2019 will feature 75 exhibitors and an innovative program of special projects and public installations.
4. b) stARTuP Art Fair
Hotel Icon, Houston
October 11 – October 13
The fair will transform the third and fourth floor of the hotel into an immersive, contemporary art experience through the exhibition of artwork by a diverse group of independent artists, local art nonprofits, artist performances, installations, and panel discussions. Walk into hotel rooms transformed into galleries by your favorite Houston-based artist alongside artists from all over the country.
5. DMA Reinstall of European Galleries
Dallas Museum of Art
August 23 and ongoing
The Dallas Museum of Art’s Second Floor European art galleries have reopened to the public after closing earlier this summer for a total reinstallation. It features restored works from the collection, and new presentations of Old Master paintings. There are also Impressionist and Modern masterworks on view, gifted by Margaret and Eugene McDermott.
Things are now going smoothly maybe too smoothly. All the work I did this summer is paying off.
ps. I now have the equivalent of another silo full of work in my studio………. bursting at the seems. Anyone need a keystone animal environmental installation?
This summer, I made 7 sections of kinetic sculptures, approximately 6’-10’ long X 36” in diameter, anticipating that I would not use all of them. Now that I am in the space and see what the light does on the convex wall, I think I will use 4 of my favorite sections and add 4 extra lines dropped for smaller pieces that will help integrate the 4 sections into one piece.
Experimenting with the placement of the light.
Experimenting with the shadows with the light in a convex wall.
The walls are not "museum pristine", they show their age, I am not bothered, it is a grain silo and I ❤️ It.
Close up of support system
The moment I got off the scissor lift and looked up at my support system, I realized I had made a big mistake. I should have painted them white. The black stood out too much on the white walls. I could not sleep that night trying to decide if I should repaint them... It was not easy, but I spent the next half day painting the system 19’ in the air white.
I think it was worth it, the support system is much less intrusive.
I hung from the support system 8 fishing tackle swivels with 25 lb filament attached to each swivel. Four of the swivels are 36” apart 18” from the wall. At these distances the pieces will not touch each other or the wall. Everything should move independently. These are for the big pieces. The other swivels are for smaller pieces and are spaced randomly. I am guesstimating where I want these. Tomorrow I will start hanging work.
Each small element bagged separately making bouquet of bee cocoons
Making my own wardrobe style boxes.
My pieces hang from the top of the boxes. I needed something to support the top of the box. Southland hardware yard sticks were the cheapest thing I could find. I think they will work.
My sculpture wardrobe boxes have doors.
The pieces in bags make awesome amnion shadows
7 boxes ready to go.
My safety engineer and the most supportive husband anyone could ask for. He is affectionately known as Mr.Safety. 🤗
The view of my silo workspace from the scissor lift.
Detail of grid system.
View from inside looking out.
Looking north through another entrance.
The blank walls and openings
Can you imagine how many tons of rice dropped through this funnel? The gallery lighting is attached to the mouth. It is right in the center of the space. I am not sure I like the central placement.
Day two - view from the silo to the east.
Day 2- the scaffold and installers arrived, but the safety pins did not. Unfortunately, the funnel, or shoot hanging down in the middle of the space, is very awkward
Day 3- scaffold-
After sleeping on it, I am going to return the scaffold and rent a scissor lift. An awkward 3 level scaffold is just not safe enough for me.
Lighting- I was able to play with the lighting that is installed; it is too central for my piece. Luckily I bought a clamp on fixture with a twenty-five foot cord and ran it around the space to a place I think I like. I won’t know until some work is up. It does look hopeful.
Awkward scaffold and grain shoot
Lighting from the side.
The lighting in the center was not my preference. Lucky for me I happen to have a clamp light fixture which is consistent with the gallery lighting. My fixture has a 25’ cord and there is a place to clamp it right where I think I will like it. I have temporarily wired it in place. I can test it once I get my work delivered.
Behind and attached to the Silos at Sawyer Yards
The lobby of the SITE Gallery Houston with the mechanicals of the grain silo in place. Just the coolest
Green marks the spot
In May I started seeking a space to exhibit new environmental, 4D kinetic sculptures. I hoped to use this new work as a start to an art installation inspiring conversations about topics I am very passionate about; the unexpected consequences of forcing natural processes into an industrial model and the complex relationships between humans, plants, and animals.
The stars aligned in July when Sculpture Month Houston’s founder and curator, Volker Eisele, invited me to be one of the 19 artists asked to create a site-specific sculpture in the historic Success Rice Grain Silos behind the Sawyer yard’s artist studios. In the 50th anniversary year of man landing on the moon, this year’s exhibit title is Outta Space from the 2012 Van Halen album A Different Kind of Truth. Outta Space will combine two curatorial themes: one features work focused on environmental degradation issues and the other focuses on interpretations and explorations of Alternative Worlds as envisioned in the fantasies of the artists.
I have passionately committed myself to this installation every day since July. My passion comes from spending my early years on a farm in west Texas, from my concerns regarding industrialized food and its effect on our health, from my love for historic buildings and, most importantly, from my desire to make an impact on the return of our most important keystone species.
As a site specific installation artist my aspiration is to create a piece that is unique to the silo’s space and true to my work. My silo is a circular space constructed from cinder blocks, 18’ in diameter and spans 20’ in height. It has, in the center of the space a 10’ tall funnel suspended from the ceiling. There are a few old, large light fixtures, conduit runs vertical and perpendicular on the walls and there are three entrances to the space. I have three weeks to install the work that I have assembled to date. My mantra as an artist is “if I am not nervous to take on a new project then I am not stretching myself”. I am slightly anxious, yet happy to embrace the butterflies and honored to have my name listed among this year’s SMH artists.
In celebration of the opening there will be food trucks, a bar and music provided by Chapel In The Sky with projections by Michael Walrond - SHDWSOFDUST.
Public Opening for the Exhibition
SITE Gallery Houston,
1502 Sawyer St. Houston, TX 77007,
(The multi-story building behind the artist studios facility).
https://glasstire.com/2016/11/04/the-problems-and-rewards-of-houstons-silos/
https://glasstire.com/2017/10/30/a-conversation-about-art-and-the-silos-on-sawyer/
Without bees we would not have cucumbers or watermelons
Today harvest at the farmers market.
7 days left to rip and wrangle rusted wire cloth, then delicately stitch the wire fragments into biospheres of frail and vulnerable abstract wild bees and organic shapes. Then coat hydro stone and cast shadows, to kinetically unveil the unintended consequences of forcing natural processes into an industrial model. Then pack, transport, unpack, install for 21 days, and open........ find more locations to install......... rinse and repeat.
7 days left to rip and wrangle rusted wire cloth, then delicately stitch the wire fragments into biospheres of frail and vulnerable abstract wild bees and organic shapes. Then coat hydro stone and cast shadows, to kinetically unveil the unintended consequences of forcing natural processes into an industrial model. Then pack, transport, unpack, install for 21 days, and open........ find more locations to install......... rinse and repeat.
Work clothes, ladder, shoes and broom neatly organized and ready to be used.
Hydro stone station ✅
My favorite corner to rip, wrangle, and stitch wire cloth into kinetic sculptures.
One of the joys of parenthood is enjoying nature through your kids at any age. Last night, Griffin sent us this image of a monarch caterpillar that he found in Minnesota this weekend. A few years back on Thanksgiving, we went to see the monarchs. It is a site to behold and a lovely outing. They really liked Sage. Respectfully enjoying the beauty of nature has long been a great joy for our family.
Sage provides fb a resting Place for a monarch
Griffin sharing a caterpillar with us from Minneapolis.
Sage providing a resting place for a monarch
Griffin respectfully watching a caterpillar in Minneapolis
On my morning walk I saw all these giant bees humming around the grass near a tree. I was so pumped I stopped and squatted at the base of the tree and just watched them. I immediately realized they were not bees. They were really cool. I tried to video them but they were too fast.
On my way home I found a beautiful cicada wing and then a gorgeous dead cicada and a lovely root.
Did I witness a cicada emergence?. The whole idea is so poetic. I feel like I should cook a special organic meal or I don’t know do something to acknowledge such a special creature.
I don’t know much about cicadas other than if you are obsessed with protecting wild bees and always keeping your eye out for them you might see a cicada. So I googled cicadas and found out how special they are.
Check them out in the link below. They are important not only as a source of protein, they prune tree and provide nutrients to tree roots, they have inspired many a song and have microscopic structures on their wings that destroy bacteria. This discovery is being used to advance medicine in the area of antibacterial cornea replacements. Who new? There is so much to learn from nature once we learn to live with it.
https://www.cicadamania.com/cicadas/what-is-the-purpose-of-cicadas/
i really want to learn learn more about their antibacterial qualities, microflora and their impact/relationship with roots and healthy soil.
