Constant Reaching

There it is, all strung up. And it's final title is Constant Reaching. I like the overall shape, rather like an ice cream cone, the rounded looping top tapering down to a narrow and flat bottom. The ring is made from the foil wrapper of a Dove Chocolate Square. I re-read the call for entry again and it's All Day Snacking and not Constant Snacking. Memory is funny sometimes, I could've sworn!

I still have to solder the loops closed, but otherwise, it's finished. Here's a close-up of a cookie.

Sometimes Plan B is just better

Inspired by what Shumei said about k. d. lang's song Constant Craving, the hand is now covered in texts that say 'Constant Reaching', 'Constant Desire', 'Constant Snacking', & 'Constant Craving'. The palm is similarly covered. I tried using a few of the test strips right on the finger tips, and also just 1 strip on 1 finger, but in the end, decided I like it like this the best.

The ring is made from the foil wrapper of a Dove Square.

I started to hang the cookies up on the wires from takeout boxes, but I think those are just too short to have much swing, and I really want the movement to make it seem like the hand is reaching. So now I'm trying regular wires. I'll need to get more crimping beads before I can finish hanging and see how it works.

But I'm also really liking how it looks on the drying rack...

Good enough to eat

Check out these 'cookies'!

The hand, however, will require Plan B. Plan A was simply to glue the test strips on the hand. Not only did the gel medium not hold well, it was difficult to do it without making a big mess on the strips' surfaces. It dawned on me while I was out shopping for wires that I should use the wires from takeout boxes as hangers.

Made a few small changes on what I've already done for the shadow book, but no real progress. The exciting news today was Laura's new gallery on Sandy, to feature photography and artist's books, opening in April!

The First Emperor

The bulk of the day was taken up with Chinese breakfast with 60 people and then attending The First Emperor simulcast with hundreds! The Met opera got a scathing review in both the NYT and The New Yorker, but it seems like everyone at the theater audience enjoyed it. I certainly liked it quite a bit. Domingo really didn't have that big of a role, considering how Tan Dun was making a big deal out of writing an opera for him.

On Constant Snacking -- the molding paste was not yet dry on the hand so I couldn't do the other side. I did do the 7 cookies and they should dry over night.

On the magnolia drawing -- I added a bird (Sally, your observer!).



And I think I'll crop it down a bit. I'll sleep on it. This is starting to feel like stumbling upon an abandoned home site that has been taken over by plants and wild life.

It's gonna be a mobile!

It's a hand constantly reaching for the chocolate chip cookies! Right now they're are just museum boards cut and glued together to form a slightly 3D substrate. I'll build them up with molding paste and paint them with some appropriate base colors. The hand will still be covered with the test strips, and the cookies will be collaged with pictures of chocolate chip cookies printed on Nepal light. I really like the mobile idea, I should make a book mobile.

Spent a whole lot of time shopping for a stack cutter today. I've wanted one for a long time, and the shadow book will absolutely need one, so I finally did the deed today. Here's the one I'm buying, except it will be gray instead. Well, I've bid on it at least. I think I'll get it, they all seem to have just gone for the base price.

Studio visit day

Visited Sarah and Diane's studio to pick out work for the March show. I definitely have a favorite piece for putting in the window so I hope Roberta and Barbara will agree. Got home in the middle of the afternoon and tried to go out for a walk, but it was cold and the roads were slick. I came back after 15 minutes and took a nap instead! Really, the walk was no competition.

Played with some ideas for the Constant Snacking piece:



Those are test strips and lancets for the blood sugar meter. I save them. Why do you ask? The blue things are unused lancets. Used lancets go into the hazardous materials container and I can't get them out again.

From left to right -- a hand built from test strips (I'm thinking a hand reaching for a cookie on a white plate), a clock built with a dinner plate (I actually do need a clock anyhow) and test strips, and just something geometric. The geometric one looks pretty boring. I'm liking the hand reaching for a cookie idea, I'll have to figure out how to make a cookie with femo or something. The clock would be very practical. Or maybe the cookie can be a drawing, with the hand built up a little bit with the molding paste, and it would be on paper rather than a plate.

Constant Snacking

Between the monthly dimsum lunch and the library, I squeezed in a visit to the museum to see the Mahaffey show. Parked in the parking garage and discovered that they charged outrageous prices after 4 hours, but luckily, I finished at the library in time. Decided to skip Froelick and Augen, and the book artists meet tonight and came home instead. It was just too much running around.

Picked up some molding paste and Golden Retardant, both for the 'Constant Snacking' call for submission and also to try with the Gel Medium and see if I can print the gel medium with the gocco. The movie tonight was Dream Girls, sweet movie but I would've been disappointed had I not already read that the music wasn't so reminiscent of Motown.