Daydream
Material explorations of embellishment, camp fabrication, and glitter gather in the crevices of my studio. I have a habit of indulging in meditative, meticulous making. I’ve embraced Daydreaming as a pedagogy that merges the marginalia and theoretical framework of academia with impulsive fabrication. A daydream is a fantastical musing that pulls attention from the anxiety of producing NEW WORK. In welcoming the distraction and space to muse, I’ve found that daydreaming creates works that intuitively integrate academic research with surface and compositional elements of the final forms.
Surrounded by a collection of found objects, joyful accumulations of fabrics, and adored accents, works created from these material flirtations are part of an ongoing series of sculptures.
"Daydream in Green" | Wrought Iron Garden Fixture, Hand-stitched Organza and Glass | 50in x 60in x 2in
"Daydream in Green" | Detail
"Love Letter to Vermont" | Handwoven Tapestry, Cyanotype, Found Flora | 40in x 32in x 0.125in
"Daydream in Orange" | Handwoven Tapestry, Tulle, Organza, Costume Fabric | 36in x 24in x 2in
"Covet" | Velvet, Tulle, Satin, Hand-beaded Fringe, Glass Beads and Sequins | 1.5ft x 3.5ft x 0.5in
"Covet" | Detail
"Daydream in Pink" | Tulle, Satin, Childhood Beads, Daydreams, Nylon Cord | 70in x 50in x 2in
"Daydream in Pink" | Detail
I brush my hands against denim while surveying the studio. A glimmer of glitter catches my eye as it shimmers away to elsewhere. Squatting down, I find all the pink of my practice at rest in the concrete floor’s fissures. Little hexagons of pink micro-plastic are caught in sheer shreds of pastel pink tulle.
If this is what’s left on the floor, how much have I accidentally ingested?
Am I an ecosystem of microplastics?
Kitsch can be craft-centric, vernacular, “other”, cheaply made, inherited, or all of the above. This is art of happiness merges with ticky-tacky: the feel good optimistic high after an indulgence in a curio object. Ticky-tacky describes the materiality of kitsch and its residue of accumulation over a lifetime. Why carry the weight of ecodread on our plastic-clad shoulders when we can embrace a landfill of commodities designed to fail us made from materials meant to outlast this and future lifetimes?
The world of glitter is an atmosphere of bedazzlement - a chance substance materializing intent. If the future is kitsch, then it’s going to be an apocaglitz futurity of sharp-edge hexagons, aluminum coated ferocity. A smattering of sequins stuck to a sweat slicked palm.