Publication coming out

The fall has been very busy with other things but contains some interesting milestones. My work will be included in an upcoming book called "Hyperdrawing : Beyond the lines of contemporary art" edited by Phil Sawdon, Russell Marshall, and others at Loughborough University in the UK. The new book will look at aspects of drawing that go beyond current expectations of what drawing can be. Their first book, "Between the lines of contemporary art" focused on ways contemporary artists use relatively traditional materials associated with drawing and included work from 43 artists including Cornelia Parker, Tracey Emin and David Shrigley.

Meantime also, I'll have something published in TRACEY which is an online, peer reviewed journal at Loughborough University, run by a host of interesting academics including Sawdon and Marshall. I have been a fan of TRACEY for some time, and submitted an article in response to an open call on the topic of art and technology. After a radical rewrite - peer reviews are very useful - digging in to the meat of what I wanted to say, I managed to really clarify ideas that have been trying to come together over the last couple of years. I think it will be very fruitful for future work.

Here's a link to TRACEY
and a link to my article specifically here

Recent activity

I have fixed up with a venue to show in Artprize 2010 in Michigan this September. These images show little rough mock ups as I start to turn my proposal into reality, and the curator starts to plan the layout.

Proposal in brief is : to display an artwork in 2 parts showing shadows of furniture items from Grand Rapids (known for this industry) next to wall paintings derived from shadows of furniture.

The premise is that a shadow is insubstantial but actually created by a real object in the present. Painted images are more permanent but already record a moment in the past. Like shadows, the furniture products can be understood as concepts (figures on the quarterly index of manufacturing, numbers in a catalog etc) as well as real objects. It seems appropriate that these ideas become visibly part of the city's fabric during the festival.

I had originally thought for this to be outside at night and 50 feet long but it is inside and may be smaller. That's good, it can take many forms. Now it can be seen during the day and I've not sorted out weatherproofing of exterior light sources yet, so that may be something for later and more funding. I'm happy as the curator from the local art college is very contemporary, and the venue has a strong conceptual basis for the show.

Its great - the exercise of applying for this show produced a new idea for a site-specific installation, and the opportunity to bring it to life.

Light and shade

Teaching classes has occupied most of my spring. In between all that I went to Atlanta to take part in OBSCURA at Eyedrum, with a projection onto their gallery facade. Here I am doing experiments for that in the back yard... how dark does it have to be for a projection to show up?








































It worked out. Projection on Eyedrum facade, March 2010.

Installing at the Hunter College/Times Square Gallery

Drawing (elements), 2010, (in progress) granular rutile. (photo courtesy of Claudia Bueno's husband)

The rich red purple color of granular rutile sort of shows here, in contrast with the blackness of the ilmenite in the last post. Looks good on the grey floor. What struck me as I worked on this was the absolute sense of flatness, of a thin skin held down by gravity. And that's all that holds it... a few repairs have been necessary. Air from the heating vents, a scuff at the edges and a small boy walking into it for several feet. Phi said he'd had to fix it already. Part of the deal, its fragility so letting it go, having it be altered is a given.

At the opening people asked if it was spray paint, and whether it was a mandala. Amongst other things. Some likened it to a view into space because of the sparkles. I started to think of it as the surface of a lily pond that you could also slightly see beneath. The cooktop elements made me think of ripples from falling rain or something, the smaller shapes at the edges flotsam washed to shore. I wish I could make another 12 of them, all different! I'd use other rationales to construct its patterning if I was able to sweep it up and do it again.

New Work

Drawing (metal and plastic from the beach), 2010, granular ilmenite and acrylic medium on Arches paper, 22.5 x 22.5 inches.

New work for the show Smoke + Mirrors/Shadows + Fog at the Hunter College Times Square Gallery, February 18 - April 17, 2010.

(Getting better images at the photographer tomorrow). Its been interesting to make work in a short space of time - the usual frenzy of experiments, high points, dips, despair and determination ... leading to work that holds its own and takes me forward. The way that chance and intention work together is really interesting.

3 new works this size (framed to 36 x 36 inches) and 6 smaller works are heading up to NYC via UPS next week, along with the raw materials for a 10 foot floor drawing. Can't imagine explaining to Airport Security why I have 20 lbs of granular ilmenite along with assorted oven elements and plastic trash is in my hand luggage...!

Show at the Arts Council Gallery

Its been a busy Fall... teaching seemed to take a lot of time for some reason this semester. Mind you, 2 trips to NYC along with continual promotional work like updating artist registries, sending out submissions etc as well as putting on this show took up the slack!

This show at the Asheville Area Arts Council Gallery in downtown Asheville was a fabulous opportunity, as exhibiting at best always is, to move some ideas forward. The gallery has two basement rooms that are not really used for anything. I'd applied like a year ago, and been accepted for the upstairs gallery. Then during the year I happened to see the basement rooms... and knew I had to put my installations in there. Luckily Sarah Meyer at the gallery was keen, and let me have a free hand.

It took a little figuring out, but a couple of weeks saw me placing work, installing lights, building an 8.5 x 17 foot canvas on site and fixing it up as a partition (that was a trip with only two pairs of hands!). The rooms are unfinished, with ducting and all kinds of cabling and pipes exposed in the ceiling, the walls are tidy and white, but just whatever happens to be there - corrugated brick, the tracks of old staircases etc. The coolest feature was the water heater on its little pile of bricks... instead of covering it up it became part of the installation on the suggestion of my artist friend Nava Lubelski. A little shadow drawing all of its own. Nava also helped me with the large canvas, and with painting the ladder shadow - an idea that got its chance at the last minute and was not yet dry as wine began flowing on the opening night!





















So, the work that came together in January at Warren Wilson College looked very different in these more industrial surroundings, and was put in context with both new and older work. For a fuller view of the show, check out http://heatherlewis.carbonmade.com . (There's a link to that from my main website too, on the links page. Updating is an issue when your web designer knows php programming and you don't!)

AND the good news is, the promotional activity paid off! I have been invited to show work at Hunter College Times Square Gallery, CUNY in New York in February!