Decomposition: Colony III

This past week was a bit of a blur getting ready for my first gallery exhibition, but I am very honored to have been awarded Curator's Choice for my "Decomposition: Colony III" installation at Momentum: Art Doesn't Stand Still in Oklahoma City this year!  There were so many outstanding pieces and talented artists in the exhibition, and I feel very grateful to have shown my work alongside them.  I am even more overwhelmed, grateful, and encouraged to the curators for this event, PLUG Projects from Kansas City.  This has been a very humbling, inspiring and motivational experience, an opportunity that I owe Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition a lot for making possible as well.  While my drive to make art is still going strong because I simply enjoy what I do so much, it was encouraging to see the response to my work by peers and other artists.  I've made some great contacts and am seeing what a great, welcoming, art community is here in OKC.  Now I know for sure that I can't let my visions falter and go unrealized.

Aside from the enjoyment that came from nerding out over wood decay, moss, plants, and assembling all of my other materials, I think my favorite part of the exhibition was watching people observe my piece.  While I avoided hovering nearby because it made me nervous, it was fantastic to see people crouching down to look at the knitted mushroom caps up close, and further inspecting the other components of the installation - the exact response that I was hoping for.  I'm excited to continue on to the next phase (possibly two) of this series which will hopefully come to fruition in the next month or so (installation plans are already slated for April).

Thank you for all the support and kind comments.  I've checked off a major bucket list item here and can't wait to see what comes along next.

If you are unfamiliar with the Decomposition Series, you can see previous installations at the links below:

Decomposition: Colony I

Decomposition: Colony II

Decomposition: Stacks

Frost

I love the snowflake shapes that plaster themselves to car windows on mornings of frost.  There's something simply satisfying about it, or maybe even nostalgic.  It reminds me of cutting out snowflake shapes from white paper when I was a kid.  Now I can't help but lean in for a closer look, right before I scrape them away so I can be on time to work.

These are from a frosty morning a week or two ago.  The same frosty morning that I spotted these crazy patterns in the ice on my driveway, in fact.  Winter seems to be on its last leg, but man it sure keeps holding on.  It's weird how we can have so many mild days and then suddenly in the last month of the season it's snow, cold weather, sleet, cold weather, etc. etc.  I got out to take a walk yesterday for some 52 Forms of Fungi photos and was almost tempted to lie down and take a nap in the yard, it was so nice.

Check back on Wednesday for photos of my installation and an update about this weekend's Momentum OKC event!  I will be sharing images of my process in the near future too.

Momentum OKC Starts Tonight

 After several hours of assembly, my installation is complete and the exhibition begins this evening!  The photos in this post are some behind the scenes shots - they don't show the final product though, so I hope you can come and see it in person.  If not, I will post photos next week of the installation in full.  Thanks for the encouraging response to this news via this blog and Instagram; your support means a lot to me!

Geometric Ice

I came outside the other morning to walk the dog, and spotted this crazy pattern in the ice on my driveway.  I guess there really is something positive that can come out of having a driveway with extremely poor drainage?  What causes this, I have no idea... but I wish I could have had more time to just inspect and enjoy it while it was there.  I guess that's what a camera is good for, huh?  Now you get to enjoy it too.  :)

BIG THING #2 aka 52 Forms of Fungi || #4

You might recognize these little guys from my Decomposition series, Colony I and Colony II.  Well, they are making an appearance again because of the second big thing that I alluded to last week... a third installation will take place this next week at Momentum: Art Doesn't Stand Still in Oklahoma City.  This is the first time I have taken part in a juried exhibition, and I am very honored to have been selected for participation.  All of the Decomposition phases have thus far taken place in an existing natural setting, so another unique aspect of this installation is that I am recreating a natural environment to use for placement of the knitted fungi replicas.  It is challenging, but also exhilarating.  It incites the same response in myself that I seek to encourage in observers... attention to detail, awe at natural complexities, and an awareness that there is so much more going on around me than I could ever in my lifetime begin to fathom.

I learned how to use a sander today, which to my delight was actually pretty fun.  This made me happy because woodworking is a long term aspiration of mine... so at least now I know I don't hate one of the main components!  In any case, if you live around the Oklahoma City area I hope you can come out to the show, this Friday or Saturday from 8 to midnight, at 50 Penn Place (across the street from Penn Square Mall).

Moisture, Finally

We got some very much needed rain last week, finally.  When it rains my driveway doesn't really drain, which means we have some standing water for a couple of days afterward.  It was such a welcome sight to come home to this from work one day, after having a steady rain for several hours that morning.  I've missed it.  This drought scares me, let's be honest.  I read recently that all but one county in Oklahoma were declared disaster areas because the drought has gotten so bad.  This was mainly to offer assistance to farmers, but it's getting really extreme.  My fingers are crossed that it will break and maybe this summer won't be quite so hot for quite so long... but we'll see.

The red berries are from the American holly tree beside our front porch.  While they can be an annoyance sometimes (my car is nearly always covered in bird poop), they do serve for a nice moment of admiration a lot of the time too.

52 Forms of Fungi || #3

 52 Forms of Fungi #3!

This form of fungi is a polypore known as Ganoderma lucidum.  Presence of these conks around the base of a tree suggest internal decay, the extent of which should be investigated further to determine degree of risk for failure.  So while they are beautiful, they're not such a great sign... However, they have been shown to have healing properties and are produced for herbal supplements.

The fruiting bodies themselves vary greatly in color and shape.  For this piece I went with the more brightly colored variation, but you will likely see more variations throughout this project.  I've been working on multiple forms of Ganoderma over the past few months, tweaking the pattern and colorwork and trying to come up with a result that I'm happy with.  This one is getting there, but I still have some work to do.

By the way, if you ever see these conks in the woods you can break them off and bring them home for decor.  The tissue is very woody and will not get smooshy or oozy or anything like that - I've got two on my fireplace mantel that I've had since 2007!

View more posts about the 52 Forms of Fungi Project.

52 Forms of Fungi || #2

I had a question from Misti recently about whether I record the patterns for these pieces that I'm working on as I go.  The answer is YES, I write them down in case the result is something that I really like and want to duplicate.  For instance, I am already in the process of making more of the forms depicted in this post for a larger installation.  If any of the pieces have potential to be incorporated into the Decomposition series, I've gotta have some record of what I did!  In any case...

52 Forms of Fungi #2!

This polypore was inspired by some conks I saw out in a natural area recently.  The ones I looked at were white in color, but I was purchasing yarn recently and this shade of Knit Picks Palette, called "Pennyroyal", grasped my attention and I knew I had to do something with it.  A project idea came to mind and this is the first piece for that project.  I've been using the Palette yarn A LOT lately, and it's quickly becoming a favorite for these types of projects... so many great colors!

This is the first "fungi" that I've attached only temporarily to a living tree, so it was fun trying out a way to do that (which worked pretty well).  On that note, no trees were harmed during the installation of this fungi!  Although, there was a power-walker who kept circling the nearby trail and was giving me some really funny looks.  It made me giggle to myself a little bit... I can already tell that this project is going to be a lot of fun!  Are you ready for more?

View more posts about the 52 Forms of Fungi project.

Sometimes You've Just Gotta Get Out

The winter months are hard sometimes, because the days are short and the weather isn't always so pleasant - all I really want is for it still to be daylight by the time I get home from work and to have a comfortable body temperature when I'm wearing my coat outside (it's not always the case).  The past couple of weeks have been odd, because we've had weather in the 60's one day, 40's the next day, another few days of 50's, 60's, and tomorrow it's supposed to be in the 30's again.... then back up to the 50's.  Last weekend the warmth for once stuck around for our days off, so we got outside to appease the ongoing cabin fever.  And man... I feel so much better!  Is it just me, or is anyone else ready for spring?!

52 Forms of Fungi || #1

This first installment of the 52 Forms of Fungi project makes me realized that I should add one more parameter to the guidelines: the fungi may or may not be fictional.  I bought this silver embroidery thread quite a while ago with the intent of knitting some little mushrooms with it for another project that you'll see very soon.

Let's be honest, it's highly unlikely that metallic, silver fungi exists anywhere in nature other than maybe Rivendell (which is totally a real place..... totally..), but nonetheless, isn't it just so dang pretty?  These little pieces were the perfect start to this fun project, and I'm looking forward to sharing more!

View more posts on the 52 Forms of Fungi project.

52 Forms of Fungi || Intro

(photo: Stacks, from the Decomposition series)

It's no secret that I have an affinity for fungi, and that I am also a slightly obsessed knitter.  I've decided to challenge myself this year (because after all, what is the New Year for if not for challenges) to take my favorite combo (knitting and fungi) to the next level by knitting 52 different forms of fungi in 2013. That's one form of fungi per week, if you do the math, but for the sake of giving myself a little flexibility during the busy times we will just say that the "one per week" has a December 31st deadline.  The above photo is not my first week's fungi - if you've been following the blog for a few months you will recognize this as an image of my Stacks installation from the Decomposition series.  I do have a few parameters that I will follow for this initiative:

1. These will not be all out installations, but merely one or two pieces of varied types of fungi.  Some of them may turn into phases of the Decomposition series, but they don't HAVE to.

2. I may or may not identify the type of fungus - sometimes it's difficult to key out the species and while tree ID is my thing I'm a little new in my interest in mycology.  Some of the pieces may just be inspired by a mushroom/polypore I saw somewhere, whether in the wild or in a book or on the internet.

3. These do not have to be native to my locality.  Because really, who other than a fungi specialist will know the difference!?  I say this biting my tongue a little bit, because I myself am a stickler for making things look "realistic", if by realistic you mean calling out the discrepancies in rock climbing technique in movies like The Descent.  Yeah.  We won't go there, but the focus here is on the forms themselves, not the culture of them.

Those are my main rules, so let's see where this takes us, shall we?  I have a couple of other challenges that I may touch on later (I'm an ambitious one), but I'll save those updates for when I actually have something to update on.  I would like to post some minor goals each month rather than my big year long bucket list (which I did write), and then post again once I accomplish them.  Alas, more to come in the future.  You'll want to stick around.  Will I succeed?  Will I fail?  Will my husband cry out in frustration because we can't ever watch movies with subtitles?  You'll have to wait and find out...

View later posts about the 52 Forms of Fungi project.

Oklahoma Sunrise in December

Every morning, I walk my dog around the neighborhood before I go to work.  On occasion I am awakened and amazed by the incredible sunrises of Oklahoma.  As someone who loves to document experiences and inspiration, I often find myself thinking "Oh, I wish I had my camera!" so I can capture my viewpoint and share it with others.  I know it's important, though, to take a step back and just enjoy the moment - to take in as much as possible and just be grateful that you were there to see it... and then move on with your day.  This particular morning was exceptionally brilliant.  While I savored my morning walk, I also couldn't help grabbing my camera when we returned to the house since this view was lingering a little longer than usual.  One more sunrise picture never hurt anybody, right? :)

Already Frozen

 

I was scoping out photo backdrops for finished knitting projects on a recent Saturday morning and came across this ice coated red bud tree.  Normally, irresponsible lawn irrigation tends to get under my skin, but glimpsing the morning light through ice crystals and fall color on one of the first really cold days of the year just softened my heart a little bit and I had to get a closer look.  I still think people should pay more attention to their irrigation scheduling as it relates to the weather forecast, but I'm glad I got to witness something magically beautiful.

Decomposition: Stacks

Here is the final product from my installation of Stacks, the next phase of my Decomposition series.  For more information about this phase, or to watch the behind the scenes video, check out my sneak peek post.  You can also see previous phases of the series at Colony I and Colony II, and the Decomposition: Colony sneak peek post.

The Decomposition series is a study on the intricate textures of fungi and how they blend in to their natural environment. At a glance and from a distance, these knitted replicas meld in as a part of the magnificent cycle that transforms living plants to detritus and further into minerals that nourish other living plants as they draw these minerals up from the soil. For instance, when viewing the installation at a distance, the pieces appear natural and as though they are meant to exist there. However, on a closer encounter one sees that these are not fruiting bodies at all. The delicate knit stitch stands out and draws you in for closer inspection, much like the intricacies in the texture of fungi draw me in. These elements spur on a stream of questions that carry me meditatively in to a place of introspection. While this is a personal project, I hope that it excites the same way of thinking amongst its viewers, elevating to a greater level of awareness of one's surroundings.

Stacks was inspired by a common fungus found on young and thin barked trees, called split gill fungus.

Ooze

In the spirit of Halloween, here's some slimy tree ooze for your eyeballs to gaze upon.  This is either sap or some exudation resulting from disease, but it sure looks gross, doesn't it?  Have a spooky October 31st!

Hues || Wichita Wildlife Refuge

Little Wildlife

These are from the Wichita Wildlife Refuge.  We always see the obvious longhorn, bison, prairie dog and deer, but I like to look for the little guys too.  Sadly, I have yet to see a snake here after all the time I've spent in the refuge.  I know some people would count this as a blessing, and I will say I'm glad I've never stepped on one or came too close to one without knowing it was there first.  However, it would be great to see one from afar...and then take a wide route around it.

Little Cacti

 

Hiking is Good for the Soul

We drove down to the Wichita Wildlife Refuge this weekend, which is probably the closest area that has an abundance of hiking trails and gives one a feeling of solitude/remoteness.  The morning was cool, so there really weren't too many people out.  Aside from playing naturalist and observing minute details, my favorite thing about heading out of town like this is the silence.  No vehicles, no industrial sounds or people... all you can hear is the occasional tremble of the leaves... and that odd buzzing sound in your ears which is only apparent when either your hearing is stopped up or when you are away from the sounds of society.  It's funny how silence does, in fact, have a sound.  I drink it up like an elixir that hydrates and refreshes my tense mind.

Photos from Portland

There was one last location on our trip that I have yet to post photos from.  I didn't take quite as many in Portland as I did elsewhere, but I think there are still some that warrant sharing.  This is definitely my kind of town...  the nature shots are mostly from the Hoyt Arboretum.  We stayed at the Jupiter Hotel which is where the room photos came from, and the others are just some random things from around town.  The last photo isn't from Portland, but since I didn't write a post on the wedding we went to it got skipped over.  It's a great photo of Jason and I though and I wanted to share it (because that doesn't come along very often).