Conduit to completion

Conduit is the answer, "Defense Mechanism:Phalanx" is the title.--- Several steps in the progression to completing Installation 3 occurred late last night/today. I did a very rough model using carpet and toothpicks and purchased conduit. The forward lengths of "spear" will be off the ground 3 feet, otherwise the seed of the idea is there. 5' lengths of conduit are perfect for this application--- I now will get buy in bulk and arrange and rearrange. Do I want the work at an angle and sacrifice some width? That viewpoint of the phalanx is most impressive to me, where the grid breaks down some.

I started researching aggression and war maps as they related to control and violence- which is something I just can't seem to wrap my head around. After the NIU shooting in Feb 2008- I stopped reading The Lucifer Effect mid-stream and decided to give myself some time to digest. I think I am ready to return to the form at least if not yet to the reading, since I have been musing on how the parts of house I don't like and destroy make me feel much more at home than my own things. Defense mechanisms in the form of maintenance (baking soda drawing in carpet- also a call to cleanliness and control), phalanx structure, and re:placing the wallpaper of my kitchen all seem to tie together. All related to coping mechanisms -our own weak defenses.

Installation Three

I've measured out Gallery Two's 5' by 15' feet in the working portion of my studio. The large glass front and door make this space ideal for a work I've been pondering for a few years now. I plan on combining natural materials- compost remnants or salvaged branches, most likely, into phalanx formation. The challenge will be fashioning bases to keep them in place and transporting the branches to IL from MO... Hmmm...

Re:Place Installation Progress

The first roll of wallpaper on fabric has been waiting around the studio for about a week now. This skin of previous paper looks like precious skin shedding... I finally have a use for pink gauzy fabric I snatched from a fabric warehouse (paradise) in North Carolina right across the Georgia border. My dear friend Erin took me on the adventure a few years back during my stay in Athens, GA for an installation. Fabric by the pound... I can see why Erin saw the abandoned buildings (who's owners allowed her to work in) and the stores in the South as such a boon for installation.

Fabric is one of the first materials I was planning on incorporating since I can roll it and unwind it. This means a great amount of surface coverage and the ability to drive it up to Crystal Lake in my own vehicle. My sewing lessons will come to good use.

Installation Two

Installation Two will consist of baking soda patterns on carpet... the pattern will take into account the pillar in the space. I've got to sit more on the pattern research to decide what it will derive from...

Work At Home and Out of Town

Things this past month have been busy- lots of out to town trips and piles of work to do to settle into the house. Here's a small sample of the goings on.


We drove back home a few weekends back to celebrate my best friend's little sister's wedding. It was great to see the family perform during the ceremony: singing, playing guitar, and belting it out on the organ.


I traveled to Chicago last week to complete a birdseed drawing as part of "Interactive" at Woman Made Gallery. This is a small detail before any audience interaction.



Bush pickles are looking good. Tasty too.


The Magnolia in front is in bloom. Most of the blooms are above head level so we are closely watching those closest to the ground.
I have finally finished up my sister's baby blanket. She's due in a few weeks, so I made it just under the wire. It is still en route, so I can't post images. That much time into a gift--- there needs to be a surprise element.

Blooming

Salsa garden is outside growing (with a bush pickle to make gazpacho and vinegar pickles)... peonies are pink and in full bloom, new white and purple irises are blooming in front (a surprise to me), and my knock-out rose has exploded. Wishing I was close enough to moms and grandma's to give a great bouquet from home. I am so happy to have some soil to tend to.

Wallpaper is off the wall- and drying in the studio. I'll assemble the room tomorrow depending if we are done removing the glue.

Lawn needs to be mowed, and I'm assembling the compost bin.

Old Floor vs. New Floor

While sanding down to match the front room to the hall and bedrooms, the quality of our wood floors was pointed out to us (I gasped when we came in to see the progress and the wood was exposed. It was beautifully grained). We decided to have the floors sanded down and the old finish removed on the whole first floor so there wasn't wax on part of the floors and not others. The color of the Red Oak from the Ozarks doesn't need stain and the rooms look brighter.



Before: Cloudy golden stain (original to house) in front room. The hallway changing from a golden yellow to dark walnut brown (irking us enough to want to change it now). The walnut brown of the master bedroom.


After: The same hallway area and the master bedroom. The color of the Red Oak from the Ozarks doesn't need stain and the rooms look brighter. Since I am going to focus my homemaking on simple, minimal and careworn or textures I love- having easy to maintain, bright floors was worth the expense of hiring professionals. The finish should last as long as our mortgage (yikes!).

We are loving the Tawny Mushroom in all areas where the wood floors are. It goes from taupe to sage to olive depending on the light and looks warm. The kitchen, adding an inch to put in smaller baseboards, the basement windows and perhaps the doors are the only paint amendments we are making.