Opening Reception for Chicago's Twelve at Garfield Park Conservatory!

Last nights opening reception for Chicago's Twelve at Garfield Park Conservatory was wonderful.  All the artwork blends beautifully with the plants.

Here I am standing with my piece, Monsanto's Genetically Modified Crops.  This is my first outdoor sculpture I have ever made and it was a real challenge to figure out, but it has withstood a pretty awful storm a few days ago and nothing has been damaged.  I look forward to creating more outside sculptures!  These piece has been an amazing learning experience.

My piece Heirloom Fruits and Vegetables.  This is also my first time making site-specific installations.  The Garfield Park Conservatory is a very warm, humid, and wet location so I and the other artists had many elements to consider when making our work.  This has been an awesome opportunity to grow as an artist!

In this photo is 8 of the 12 artists and Sergio Gomez, the curator of the show.  

We each had a chance to tell everyone a bit about our work.

Heirloom Fruits and Vegetables

Heirloom fruits and vegetables are plants that have been grown for about 50 to 100 years or more before large-scale agriculture began.  Heirloom plants are open-pollinated, meaning they have been naturally pollinated by insects, birds or wind.  The produce found in grocery stores are usually hybridized to make them more disease and pest resistant so they can be grown in mass quantities with less hassle.  These fruits and vegetables are also chosen for their longer shelf stability.  This way of picking and choosing leaves many varieties of fruits and vegetables unknown to us that are often richer in flavor and largely diverse.

Monsanto's Genetically Modified Crops

Inside these jars are the 8 genetically modified crops Monsanto produces and sells at an incredibly large scale.  This includes corn, wheat, soybeans, canola, cotton, sugarbeets, alfalfa and sorghum.  The seeds they sell to farmers have had their DNA manipulated to make the plant resistant to specific pests, diseases or environmental conditions.  This piece serves as a reminder to recognize the history and future of these 8 crops.

Chicago's Twelve will be at Garfield Park Conservatory until December 9th.  We will also be having an artist talk at the Garfield Park Conservatory on October 24 from 6 to 8pm for Chicago Artists Month.

Installing Heirloom Fruits and Vegetables at the Garfield Park Conservatory!

I went back today to finish installing Heirloom Fruits and Vegetables and they look wonderful hanging in the Sugar from the Sun room (this is where they have fruit trees like bananas, papayas, and oranges growing) at the Garfield Park Conservatory!  

I dug 9 pieces of rebar into the ground that my Dad and I bent at the top and tied the plushies from them.  The Make the Daughter-In-Law Potato was the first to be tied.

The Purple Cape Cauliflower.

The enormous Moon and Stars Watermelon was a tough one to hang since I am a tad bit short...

...so was the Jarrahdale Pumpkin!  

Come out to the Opening Reception for Chicago's Twelve at Garfield Park Conservatory this Wednesday, 6-8pm! 

Last Nights Opening Reception for Chicago's Twelve: 12 Artists Mobilizing the Earth

Last night was the opening reception at the Zhou B Art Center for Chicago's Twelve: 12 Artists Mobilizing the Earth.  It was an incredible turnout and nothing like anything I have ever been a part of before.  I had a wonderful time!  

Harvesting the Blue Potato is a calendar displaying when the blue potato is grown and harvested in the Midwest.  It is rare for producers and consumers to consider availability of fruits and vegetables.  To make vegetables and fruits available year round we transport them from hundreds to thousands of miles away; wasting energy, using excessive packaging and reducing the quality of the product.  This piece is a reminder that there is an appropriate time and place for the produce we consume.

I am talking to the amazing artist Cathi Schwalbe!  She is big inspiration and the reason I found out about the Wormfarm Institute residency I will be starting in May!  And I am standing in front of another piece of mine titled Farmer Joel's Duck Eggs.

Chicago's Twelve will be up till June 9th at the Zhou B Art Center!