A Brief Journey Into Animation

I had forgotten, up till now, about my brief exploration in animation. I took an animation class for a semester in the fall, and this was my favorite piece:

8 Actions

The MassArt 21st Annual Benefit Art Auction

On Saturday night, I had the privilege of working at MassArts Annual Benefit Auction. With the exception of not being able to sit for 8 hours, I found the experience all around fascinating. I had never actually been to a real live auction, and while the drama was obviously no where near as intense as cheesy bidding scenes in movies it was still very interesting to watch bidding wars over particular pieces or how certain pieces could barely even sell.


The first part of the evening (after general gallery browsing) was the live auction. My job was to carry each piece out as it was being bid for. I got to handle some exquisite pieces, including:

Fred H.C. Liang
Western Lake
Paper Cut on Chinese Calligraphy
Tuanzhi Paper, 58" x 29.5"

I'm such a sucker for cut paper and this one is unbelievable.







This other piece up for auction I found was more interesting to actually experience than to view as a piece. Created by a collaborative effort called Triiibe, this photograph (taken by Cary Wolinksy) features the identical triplets Alicia, Kelly, Sara Casilio (might I add, ALL MassArt alums). Most of their work plays on their identical looks, as does their performance. The three showed up in the same clothes they are wearing in the photograph and unless you knew them personally there was no good way of telling them apart. When their lot was called up for live auction their assistants mimed carrying up a heavy invisible frame, where the triplets posed to match the photograph as the bidding took place.

"Alicia, Kelly, Sara, Cary" TRIIIBE ‘01
Paint by Number
Archival Inkjet Print, 35" x 26"





The silent auction also featured some great work:

Nick Brandt

Elephants and Egrets After Storm, Amboseli 2007
Archival Pigment Print, 14" x 30"

Resa Blatman ‘95
Mild Rapture 1
Acrylic on Panel, 11" x 14"

Love the detail, especially the circles.

Sandra Mueller-Dick
Still Life with Pear
Watercolor and Varnish, 8" x 8"

I know that pear isn't real, but I still wanna eat it.

Give a look here for the other amazing pieces.

While all of the art was wonderful to look at the most inspirational part of the evening came when midway through the auction the school asked the attendees to raise their paddles for scholarships. They first asked for pledges of $5,000 which showed only one or two paddles, even the pledges for $1,000 didn't do too well. But when they got to the $500's and the $100's the paddles were flying up across the room. I got to watch a room full of total strangers give money to people they didn't even know to give them a chance to go to college. The applause would swell, the announcer got louder and louder as he shouted out the paddle numbers of donators, and there wasn't a single person without a smile on their face.

Tile Painting

I recently started a project in porcelain painting for a class I'm taking and I am getting really into it. This tile is only a smaller study/sketch for a much larger platter, but that will get posted later.

It's just such an unusual medium (especially to be studying in an illustration major) but there is something so great about having a three dimensional object in the end.

'Under the Grass' Tunnel Book

The book in it's box.


The box.


The book outside it's box. Watercolor on bristol.

Kingfisher Book

Front cover

Inside - The end sheets are handmade marbleized paper.

Front cover detail - Acrylic on handmade linen book cloth.

And the back cover.

Some Artists Worth Looking At

Always a favorite of mine is Rob Ryan, a paper artist based out of London. His colorful paper cuts are rich in detail and works of poetry within themselves. Heartwarming and delicate, his work is just asking to be loved. My plans for the summer include traveling to London, and going to his store, Ryantown, is one of the parts of the trip I am looking forward to the most.

Check out his blog here:
http://rob-ryan.blogspot.com/

or his official website here:
http://www.misterrob.co.uk/






Another recent addition to my bookmark tab is artist Jeremy Holmes. While his talents range all over the board (including some very nice animations), his book "There Was An Old Lady" has been pulling in awards all over the world and it's very obvious why. His beautiful textures and oddball style is slightly creepy but at the same time entirely charming. I know as a kid I was always drawn to children's books with an excessive amount of detail, but lately I have seen a trend in these books to be more minimal, trading in spreads rich with detail for simpler illustrations. While there is a beauty in this simplicity, I prefer all the little bits, so I hope there are many more of his kind of children's books on the way.

Check out his website, Mutt Ink, here:
http://www.muttink.com/index.php

And then there is Sophie Blackall's blog "Missed Connections." While I am not very familiar with the rest of her work, this is a blog I make sure to check every week. Here Sophie illustrates those posts people make, looking for the one person they shared a moment with, no matter how brief. The oddness of this practice is expressed so well in her bizarre paintings. But while these pieces are so unusual they are at the same time so genuinely delightful. A few weeks ago, a friend of mine interviewed her over at AudreyMonroe and it was wonderful to see what she had to say about her own work.

Check out (and religiously follow) "Missed Connections" here:
http://missedconnectionsny.blogspot.com/

To The Circus ABC Book

A two page spread for what would be an alphabet book of acts seen at the circus:

Watercolor & Gouache on Arches Paper, hand lettered