Sunday, June 28, 2009

the Stimulus Project!

Liz and I went up to the Berkshires this weekend to go to the Stimulus show at the Sienna gallery. What a great show! All of the work was displayed in Craftsmen tool boxes (something near and dear to my heart). Everything in the show was under $500! There were so many pieces we were drooling over. Liz and I had to buy something. I bought a great brooch/plate by Gésine Hackenberg and Liz bought an incredible set of earrings by Susie Ganch. It was quite a whirlwind of a show. If you get a chance it is really worth a trip up here. We stayed over night in Stockbridge at the the Red Lion Inn which was absolutely incredible. It is about five miles from the gallery. For breakfast, the chef smoked his own sausage from his own farm raised pigs, all organic I might add. Holy crap, for those of you that know me and my passion for smoked meats or breakfast meats know that this made my day. I am such a fatty. The Inn had a crazy old time elevator that was all handmade or at least mostly handmade. After the opening we went to the Mission, a tapas bar in Pittsfield with, Sienna, Doug Bucci, Anthony Tommarow, John Rais and Kristi Sword. and afterward had beers at the pub downstairs from the Inn. What a good time. Good food, good people. I am including a whole bunch of photos of the opening and then a separate set of our time at the Inn. Liz and Doug took a whole bunch of photos that I am sure will surface on facebook or Liz's Flickr

IMG_0838
IMG_0839




Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Thanks guys!!

The lecture was a smash hit! Thanks guys!

nervous

Monday, June 22, 2009

Nervous system



Just a quick heads up. The Nervous system is paying my class a visit or really a digital visit. My summer class at New Paltz (Digital Fabrication in Studio Arts) is doing a video conference call/presentation/Q and A. Whew. I am sooooo excited. To see what they are all about click here





Thursday, June 18, 2009

STIMULUS

everyone check out some of the work from Stimulus on Sienna gallery's facebook page

Become a fan and learn all about her openings.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

STIMULUS!!!




1

80 Artists, one of a kind works under $500
Begins June 26, Available online July 1.. Opening Party, June 27, 6-9pm
Thank you to Howard for modeling Rebecca Strzelec's Two Pump Brooch, above.

not everyone participating is pictured

Efharis Alepedis Jon Anzalone Suzanne Beautyman Jamie Bennett Harriet Estelle Berman Thyra Bessette Danika Bevirt Melanie Bilenker Kristin Bolhuis Allyson Bone Melissa Borrell Jana Brevick Lola Brooks Doug Bucci Raissa Bump Sarah Kate Burgess Tzu-Ju Chen Sharon Church Petra Class Alexia Cohen Erin Daily Leslie Dickerson Noam Elyashiv Ashley Ernest Pat Flynn Steven Ford David Forlano Susie Ganch Erin Gardner Grace Gerfen Caroline Gore Rebecca Hannon Arthur Hash Amy Haskins Anna Hinkes Reiko Ishiyama Dan Jocz Yevgeniya Kaganovich Lauren Kalman Anya Kivarkis Shoko Kozu Seung-Hea Lee Anna Lorich Sharon Massey Paul McClure Bruce Metcalf Myra Mimlitsch-Gray Seth Papac Joan Parcher Mary Pearse Hilary Pfeifer maria phillips Natalya Pinchuk Robin Quigley Tina Rath Alexandra Rivera Shella Robinson Vera Rust Biba Schutz Barbara Seidenath Sondra Sherman Leslie Shershow Sakurako Shimizu Marjorie Simon Kiff Slemmons Barbara Smith Tracy Steepy Rebecca Strzelec Kristin Sword Hisano Takei Islay Taylor Amelia Toelke Jenn Trask Sarah Troper Julia Turner Johan Van Aswegen Veleta Vancza Jonathan Wahl Stacey Webber Brian Weissman Heather White Joe Wood Sayumi Yokouchi

more video

I am soooooooo taking a break...... not really. I just don't have much to show/write about at the moment. It might be because of my 7 hour a day summer class. Its really hard to come home from work and pack or work or write or do anything. Buuuuuuut, things are happening. I did finally finish a neck piece that I had been working on for about four years! See photos below. Also I know everyone has seen this but there is a teaser video for Banksy and! a great Art school student thing here

chain necklace
chain necklace
chain necklace

Friday, June 12, 2009

officially blown away

WARNING! Super tech nerd type stuff to follow.

At anytime you can go to my flickr stream to see the rest of the photos.


Sooooo. Earlier this week I got an email from an online acquaintance Susan Lomuto. Susan runs the infamous Daily Art Muse web site. Susan informed me that a friend of hers recently acquired a large LCD research center/factory where he was moving his solar panel company. From what I understand he bought the place with everything inside. The whole package. Apparently the equipment needed to make solar panels is pretty close to the equipment needed to make LCD screens. Susan knows that I have been doing the upcycling/recycling workshop thing. Well, put the two together: he had to get rid of a lot of odds and ends and I needed some odds and ends. The following pictures were taken while I was getting the grand tour of the facilities. It was very much a nerd in a nerd store. Also even better all of the dismantled machines are being recycled and or re-appropriated. What a great thing.


So first off this place is about two miles from my house. I was told that it was where the first LCD was designed and made in the US. The place is HUGE. 96,000 square feet or something. Anyway. They had some really cool things Like a 1000 watt laser cutter! Just to put it into perspective the laser cutters that I have been using to make my work have been 30-40 watts. Anyhoo Prism Solar Technologies have been developing (and I know I am going to get this wrong) "designer holographic films" that when laid on top of solar cells redirect the suns rays more efficiently to get more power out of the cells. This in combination with a specific arrangement dramatically increases the amount of energy generated from a normal panel or solar array.

Moving on.


So here is where they cut the glass for the panels with CNC cutters (the glass is paper thin so it is super fragile and very flexible
Prism Solar Technologies

Here is the 1000 watt laser cutter. It is currently being used to cut solar cells into strips in order to make unique and more efficient arrays. Notice the yellow bars on the opening. If anything passes beyond those bars the machine shuts down. So no giving your self a fancy haircut.
Prism Solar Technologies

This is one of the "clean" rooms. Note the tiles that look like vents. They are vents. This whole room circulated clean air and created a vacuum so there was no dust. This is where they almost made me put on little booties. Since they are reconstructing everything I don't think they cared so much. This room housed CNC controled microscopes that inspect the solar panels (or LCD screens) for errors (or dead pixels). This room also houses a vertical laser cutter that fused the circuits if there was a problem (All super precise CNC stuff down to microns)
Prism Solar Technologies

CNC inspector
Prism Solar Technologies

Vertical laser cutter
Prism Solar Technologies

CNC microscope. This machine was on a huge slab of granite (AKA machinist's stone)
Prism Solar Technologies
Prism Solar Technologies

They also on top of all that had a TOOL and DIE room with two CNC mills a CNC router and a bunch of other dream tools!!!
Prism Solar Technologies
Prism Solar Technologies
Prism Solar Technologies
Prism Solar Technologies
Prism Solar Technologies

Friday, June 5, 2009

another video

Quimby The Mouse from This American Life on Vimeo.

WOW

Kent State!

I wanted to blog about the Kent Blossom Art workshop I just did. I had a great time. It was really nice to see Corey Ackelmire and Nathan Dube, who I had not seen since SNAG Memphis. I also stayed at Katheen Browne's house. I got a sneak peek into Kathleen's studio. What a place. Steve and Katheen live in a great old house. It makes me miss the property that we own in Virginia. Her studio has cathedral ceilings with hardwood floors. Totally jealous.

I think the workshop was a success. I had made kits from materials that were salvaged from a a recycling center (test tubes, shrink tubing, stainless findings, mirrored plexi, etc etc etc). The assignment was that everything in the "kit" had to be used.

Some materials were more challenging then others. If they were unhappy with something they could alter it (there was a powder coating demo by one of the grads and I did an impromptu mini lathe demo, tool dip, vacuum former etc etc). I wish I could have stayed to see the final product. I can't wait for photos! It was great to meet all the Grads and to see Kristen Beeler. I had a great time. It was very much a whirlwind of things to do and people to meet. What a great facility. I am really jealous of all of the technological research being done on campus using Liquid Crystal Display technology and the GIGANTIC enameling Kiln.

I also have to plug Corey's cookies. Holy Crap!

See Photos below.