Saturday, March 21, 2015

Time Marches On

 (Above:  Back room at Mouse House ... my "home studio" for 3D found object assemblages!  Click on any image in this blog post to enlarge.)

The other day I worked on the storage room upstairs at Mouse House.  It used to be a bedroom.  Now it contains shipping cartons, installation art in giant boxes, vintage household linens, and lots of other things used for making art.  I felt accomplished but not finished.  I knew that the downstairs back room was in far worse shape.  Back in October 2011 I claimed this room as my "home studio" for 3D found object assemblages.  I made lots of objects throughout 2012 and into 2013.  Then my focus shifted. Piles of cool vintage things from Bill Mishoe's auction grew ... haphazardly ... until getting into the room was a problem.

 

I didn't take a "before" photo; it would have been embarrassing ... especially since my Dad reads my blog and taught me how to keep tools and screws and materials in order.  (His workshop is comparatively neat and tidy.)  It took all day Friday and most of Saturday to sort, pitch, organize, vacuum, and basically reclaim my studio space. 


One of the best fixtures in the room is this antique butterfly collection cabinet.  The drawers were once covered in glass and/or wire mesh insect drying racks.  I've since removed these parts. The original door was gone before I got this piece.  We used to store antique prints inside. Those were sold over a year ago ... through an auction house in Virginia.


Now the drawers are filled with interesting "small things" ...


... and tiny clock parts and gears ...


... and miscellaneous jacks and clothespins, and tiddliwinks ...


... and locks and latches and a few keys (most of my obsession with keys is stored elsewhere) ...


... and washers, brads, nuts, and other hardware (though most of these things are actually on the nearby shelves ...


... and rusty nails (though the ones I used for rusting vintage fabrics are stored in three cast iron kettles ... also nearby.)



In the process of cleaning, I found a few items that had been started but never finished.  I poured epoxy over the key, buttons, clock spring, and coin in October 2012.  It was high time to finish this piece!  It was in pieces but all sitting together in a little box. 

 

 I collaged the phrase "Time Marches On" on the inside of the formerly reverse painted glass.  I filled the space behind the glass with unraveled thread.  Assorted screws and nails reattached the wooden frame around the glass. More thread went behind the epoxy.  I sanded, stained, and buffed the piece.  The clock key went on the top.  It felt good to work in my "home studio" again.  The two days of cleaning and sorting got my mind swimming with ideas for more work.

 

I stopped cleaning the room at 5:00 on Friday night.  Why?  Well, my mentor Stephen Chesley was giving a lecture for the opening of his solo show at the Sumter campus of the University of South Carolina.  This is the same room in which a curated selection of my Decision Portraits were show in October 2013.


Stephen talked about our planet's precious water resources, his love of the ocean, the master painters he most admires, his symbolism, and media.  (Most were oil paintings but there is at least one watercolor and one pastel in this exhibition called Near the Ocean, which runs through April 30th.)  He gave good advise on living an artistic life, the joy of painting, and the will to live free.






1 comment:

Wanda said...

You did a great job on cleaning, sorting and digging through your stuff! Everything looks so nice! I envy your storage areas and, of course, your stash! You have inspired me to go through my own small work space!