class warfare

(maid's uniform, petticoat, red felt, wire, hanger)

When I posted my event on facebook, I never imagined in a million years Dominique Strauss-Kahn would show up. That man can really put away the brie I tell ya. And when it came to charades, now there's a man who can pantomime! I just wish he'd leave the help alone. I don't pay them all that money just to flirt with the guests..

Yes, i realize this is in poor taste. That is, in fact, why I made this.

(coming up from the basement. the washing machine lives down there)

(the doorway to the left is the bathroom)

bath time

the walls are a most unflattering skinned-cat color- not peach, not tan, not even taupe..just an unspecified shade of sickness (though skinned cat is pretty darn specific?). the light is atrocious. the fan makes an incessant whirring. the toilet seat cover is soft, but not inflatable. the sink is dirty, low, and installed at a slant.

 (welcome to the bathroom.)

cosmetic pads in formation. red felt drops in deformation.

next up: SHOWER SCENE!

alien ribcage- white plastic tree branches with assorted mixed media (including red tasseled rope and tissue carnations)

below hanging form, a hollow structure like a well or another nest..more cosmetic pads stacked about a foot tall.

continued..to be continued

the curtains are tied to the legs of a small table which has dragged an area rug in its wake. the top ruffle from the curtain is fanned-out in a pile on top of which rests another splayed female form. this piece, titled "butterfly (n/vt)" is made from 2 hinged latex casts from my body and has had many configurations in its day. in this version, i have added a few back tattoos made from the same crewel embroidery work as is in the nest which has ravaged the curtain it rests upon.

(second view)

 

 

 coming full circle, this is the window to the right of all of this (which would be to your right upon entry).

 another ball of fabric bobbles, this one with protruding pink-tipped swabs. little tongue-type forms poke through the net.

 

(night time!)

incoming: part 2

hanging in the middle of the two side windows: an absurd nest form made from loveseat springs, fractured lathed furniture legs and upholstery fabrics. a familiar tassled golden rope tugs between the window's downed-curtain and a nearby table leg.

splintered wood impales the balled-up mass of covered springs. as orange inards squish through the seams, floral crewel stitchery motifs cascade from the wounds. exposed springs are lined with red ribbon trim, out of which yellow tendrils (color-matched to the rope; with tan and light blue polyps and cream colored buds running along) are sprouting. sewn bobbles of various toothy blue, orange and tan fabric ascend to the top of the window's ledge.

the window ledges and the floor beneath are littered with fallen bobbles (made from an on-line ornament pattern i found that involves sewing six circles together at certain points to make a 3-d ball), fabric scraps, unused circles, and cut-out flowers from one of the textiles i used.

incoming! : parasites

in the far corner, atop a round table which is awkwardly wearing a dress with its hoop skirt exposed, sits an over-sized ornament/ fruit/ alien pod form. it is upholstered in shiny cream satin with ribbon trim and small pearl accents. the quadrants could lace together, but are fixed in a compromised, splayed position as if in an offering.

 

these were the materials available to me and not because i was meaning to make any conceptual leaps about genetically-linked dress-up-in-silly-costumes time, it just so happens that the table is the one piece of furniture i acquired from my maternal grandmother's home on cape cod after she died (my grandfather made it?- it's really pretty lovely..lots of small inlaid pieces of wood in a circular pattern ..but that's beside the point), the hoop skirt was given to me by my aunt (my mother's older sister), the blue dress was my mother's homecoming dress (which she is wearing in one of 2 pictures i have of my parents together), and the form that sits on top of it all is lined with my prom dress (olive drab green sequins...like M*A*S*H meets absolutely fabulous)

 (hey! it's night again!)

the inside is lined with a series of membrane pockets (made from sewn off-white sheer stockings), some holding cantaloupe colored satin seeds which are embroidered in a generic "asian" cherry blossom-type motif (with red beads). the very center is a grapefruit sized recess lined with dark fur; from the same beast that lay on the floor in the top shot..but in this case, mussed-up with mussy stuff. out of this cavity comes some sort of worm- lined with rhinestones (prom dress collar).

thanks to angela zamarelli for posting a really nice l'il review on her blog. check out her stuff too, she's flippin awesome:http://little-lungs.blogspot.com/

mood lighting.

night.

not night.

continued..and to be continued

from the far side of the room looking back at where we've been

from the area we were looking back at, now looking forward

hanging in the fireplace. baked and burned fabric and batter nest form, hollow..lined with soot and wax.. holds a small pile of pyrite.

upholstered chair with a small, rather beat-up table balanced on its seat, holding a pried-open shell form made from a mold of my torso and some old curtains. it is lined with burgundy velvet and salt spray. the outside is treated with cheap cosmetics (eyeshadows, foundation and nailpolish). on the floor: a scrap from a fur collar and clay seeds (also painted with nailpolish)

see: below

i got back from another awesome 2 weeks spent at the vermont studio center a few weeks back. wanting to keep the juices flowing and to resolve some older works, i decided it was time to start living out one of my fantasies- that of having free range (well..within limits) to work within the context of a domestic interior space. i'll ease you slowly through the process room by room, day by day.

this being "day one", welcome:

 after entering through glass-paned doors covered with a white lace curtain, this is hanging in the middle of the wall to your left. it's the latest incarnation of an on-going piece titled "harvest". over time, and in several locations, i've collected my fallen hair from my living quarters and clothing. the hair is crudely twisted into a twine with pomade and is then crocheted. the netting is shown draped on a heavily rusted farming tool, crowned with 3 rosettes made of wire, twisted hair and gnarly, thorny, fingernail clippings. the train is splayed open, pinned back at the sides, giving a billow to the form, similar to that of an orchid petal, as it is drawn up with a plumb-weight (made from a kitchen whisk covered wrapped in hair with fingernail thorns protruding and a handle covered in lace and wolf fur)

a view from across the room, looking back:

which takes us here:

this folksy macabre number is a collapsed network of telephone handset cords, neutral tones attaching to a sternum of red, orange and blue tangled with upholstery fabric organs, floral pattern cut-outs, lacy polyps and assorted fringes.