Sweet Pete!

The many faces of my adorable nephew peter. He has a lot of expressions, and they change within seconds! Some are easier to interpret... lets see...
"Aunt Laurie, I'm not so sure about you."
"I only have eyes for mom"
"Laurie...I'm warning you, I'm full of all kinds of dangerous gases, and I can use them."
"Oh, mom, you can do no wrong."
"Well, maybe Laurie isn't so bad... She's no mom, but eh, shes okay"

Contemporary Art Fix- May Edition, William Kentridge

I know, you were hoping I'd forget to post about an artist this month. Well too bad! I like it too much. William Kentridge is a really amazing artist from South Africa. He is best known for his video drawings, in which he starts with a very large charcoal drawing, and erases and changes it over and over to create a short film. I saw this film in Chicago last summer, and was really inspired. I knew of him, but in really seeing them was another story, these are just masterpieces. His work is about power struggles and features two main characters, Felix, and Soho, the rich and the poor, and shows their struggles.

SOLD!

I just found out my quilt sold! It is a very exciting milestone as an artist, to sell a major work. I have sold small things before but this is a very big step. As much as I love this piece, and I will be sad to say goodbye, I am glad someone will be able to enjoy it forever! It was purchased by a major art collector, who has some very serious pieces in his collection, including some DuBuffet and many famous contemporary artists, so I feel very privileged to be included in such an amazing collection. What a blessing!

How Does Your Garden Grow

The last few weeks have maybe been some of the most crazy of my recent memory! I have a chronic habit of overextending myself! I've been busy with my thesis exhibition, writing my thesis paper, printing my wedding invitations, planning my wedding, moving, painting my apartment, decorating and planting a garden! But it has been fun. I love gardens! Someday I will have enough land to plant to my hearts content, but for now, Our tiny backyard will do. My neighbor and good friend Kate and I decided to split up our gardens and share the produce. So we have a good variety of veggies and yummies. We've got peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, lettuce, arugula, cucumbers, squash, watermelon, and herbs galore. It will save us money in the long run, because I am constantly buying produce from the grocery store. My freezer is pretty much empty all the time because I just love eating fresh food. While I was planting my garden I was delighted to see that some of the "weeds" I was pulling were actually herbs that were already growing. Imagine the visual of me pulling weeds and then eating them to test if they were herbs! It was funny. Well 3/4 were herbs. So eating one weed wasn't too bad :) So we got a bonus of cilantro, chives and mint!
Now, I would like to introduce you to my neighbor, Felix. He is quite a cute and likable guy, he had just better stay away from my veggie babies! well, maybe I will share some with him, I do like the little guy a lot!

Also! Thanks Mom for coming out to my MFA thesis show! I had so much fun showing her Columbus, and eating some yummy food and of course looking at art! You are the best!!!

My MFA Reception

Last night was the reception for my thesis show. It was a lot of fun, and I got a lot of support from my ward members, bishop, friends and my darling finance. It is always fun to share your work with those you care about most. Especially since they have to say its the best work and beautiful and everything they ever wanted to see in a piece of art. I love it! Since it was a group exhibit, there was a few pieces from each of the 19 graduating masters students. Clint's roomate, and my friend Bryce gave me the best laugh of the night by saying, "No offense, but this test tube piece is the coolest thing here." Of course it was pretty awesome, but it wasn't mine, so it was just funny! It was fun to see what all my class mates have been working on the last two years too. I think the show overall was really successful and there was some very interesting art. Of course, i could have and should have taken more pictures...I just will never learn... but here are some I did take. Well Clint actually took most of them....

This first set is a collection of some of the hand made books I have been working on. They were displayed on this childs desk that I bought and refinished. There is also a drawing on the inside of the desk...look closely.


And these are of my tissue paper quilt



This was my main piece, I have been working on it since August. Its probably the biggest thing I have ever made! I always make tiny things. And, this piece is really a giant drawing made out of tiny drawings sewn together, so it still has that tiny element. Each square is a drawing of a mental map of the house I grew up in, and then the drawings are folded and sewn together to make this quilt. Here is a detail shot.

Mallory and Stacy were my first guests. They were in the singles ward, before they got married, but luckily they married 2 of Clints good friends, so we still get to see them. I was glad they came!

A few other pieces from my classmates

This is the piece that Bryce liked the best. it is made out of thousands of medical test tubes.