Farmer Kim :0 )

I am going to work on an organic and sustainable farm tomorrow! Green Earth Institute is where I will be. If it works out well, I will volunteer every Tuesday. I have never ever been on a farm so it will all be very new to me. :0 )

On another note...I am working on two sculptures that will comment on GMO corn vs. organic corn. Hopefully I will get far enough with the first one and post an image of the progress by Friday.

Submission for a site-specific art installation

I found a call for a site-specific installation proposal. The space is about 6.5 by 10.5 feet. It is small which makes it perfect for Diversity of the Tomato. Below is an image of the piece I created in April which is intended to be installed in a room from corner to corner, covering the entire floor. It is just the beginning, above is what I really want this piece to become. It is a map of the room. If I were to be chosen I would sew an approximately 6.5x10.5 foot covering with at least 150 sculpted tomatoes that would sit upon it. The white space inside the image is a walkway to the center and would not be covered in fabric. It would be designed for one person at a time to view the space and take in the many colors, shapes, and sizes a tomato can be.

Here is the website. back room projects

Eggs are done and first week of CSA!

I have finished making my eggs. They caused me a lot of trouble but I finally figured out how to make them work. Their fabric no longer comes off...I even dropped some of them and they were still ok!

This is an example of what the piece would look like when viewed. I want it to hang over the viewers head...and the eggs would be attached to the jute making it harder to read the text. I also want the jute to be many different lengths...the shorter the length, the closer the egg will be to the text making it harder to read. The lengths of the jute would depend on where the piece is located...but I think I will get a photo of the piece put together next week. I am still not sure how the piece would be lit though...the obvious answer would be to place a light underneath it but that is where the viewer is to stand so I am not too sure. Any suggestions?

This is a view of the top. Once the letters were on the fabric I was able to slip the fabric onto the piece of wood. I placed a sheet of paper on top to mark where I would want to drill holes into the wood without going through the letters. Then I took the fabric off, and used the paper to mark the circles that would be drilled. I drilled 19 holes, and two for the eyebolts. Then wrapped the wood back up in fabric and sewed the ends shut. I was able to place the sheet of paper back on top to figure out where the holes where, cut the fabric a tiny bit on both sides and send a needle with jute through the hole and tied a washer to the end so the jute won't fall through. The two eyebolts will be what holds the piece from the ceiling with jute. Tada!

Also! I got my first CSA last Sunday. For those who do not know what a CSA is, it stands for Community-Supported Agriculture and I gave a set amount of money in April to a local farm and each Sunday they give me a bag of fresh produce until mid-October. It is a great way to support local farms and get yummy vegetables in return. The farm I get my CSA from is Midnight Sun Farm and the farmers are Nick and Becky. They are really kind people and I am really excited. And above is a Marigold and Johnny Jump Ups plant! We also received Bloomsdale Spinach, a salad mix of 12 types of lettuce, 1/2 dozen eggs, Sungold Cherry Tomato plant (my favorite, very very sweet), and a basil plant.

I was thinking about how much this CSA means to me and the farmers and I wanted to create work that promotes how wonderful they are. So for now I thought I could make a sort of collage of the items I get each week. So far I have made the Johnny Jump Ups and the Marigolds...but I better hurry up because I get more this Sunday. :0 )

o, thank you Kat for your response on how to keep my herbs alive!

Success!

After many ideas of how to make the eggs, I think I finally figured out one that works! I sculpted the egg with plaster/paper mache mixture and while it was wet placed pieces of fabric on it. I am going to seal it with wheat flour glue, hopefully that works just to make the fabric stay on for sure.

Beginning of the eggs project...

I have cut out all the letters and now I will sew them on with machine or by hand...I can't decide which would be best. I used two fabrics that are close in color to make it harder to read.

...and I potted some herbs! Here are my chives, parsley, and basil. I also potted oregano and rosemary. I would like to get cilantro, dill, thyme, and sage...and everything else! I hope they do alright. If you have any advice for how to keep them alive I would like to know. If they do well I will consider getting a plot at the Rogers Park, Schreiber Park community garden next year so I can have my own little garden. But I need to do some reading on gardening before I do that.

More About Eggs

I finished painting Kernals and Shallot. Now I need to cut it out and figure out how to put it on a wall with Jute. It is 20.5x16.75 inches

This is my new idea. The cubes originally were going to represent the eggs, but I think they will actually be sculpted eggs.

This will be the piece of wood I will drill holes into and wrap in fabric. It is 11.75x21.25 inches and very light.

These are an idea for the eggs. They are made of plaster and paper mache and painted with water color. I do not know if they will be the actual eggs I will use, they may end up wrapped in fabric instead.

Eggs!

Chicken eggs!

Duck eggs!

Goose egg! (with a penny to give an idea of size...it's huge!)

I went to the farmers market today to get these eggs. I know the farmers and I know their animals are being well taken care of so I feel I can eat their eggs. I am going to start drawing up some ideas for a new piece with my eggs. Duck eggs have a bigger yolk than chicken eggs...and I have yet to try the goose egg, that was a new find...but I read it is similar in weight to 4 chicken eggs.

Kernels and Shallot (Work in Progress)

I am painting a shallot among popcorn kernels. I think it is interesting that the three different colored kernels are the same three colors I use to paint the shallot.

Shallots

Here are some new paintings I just did.