alicia.renadette

class warfare

2012-01-30T15:05:00.000-08:00

(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)

class warfare

2012-01-30T14:15:00.000-08:00

(housekeeper's uniform, petticoat, red felt, wire, hanger.)

Dominque Strauss-Kahn brought a mystery date to the party.

This isn't funny. I know that. In fact I very much agree it isn't.

Which is, after all, why I made it.

This is hanging in the hallway next to the bathroom.

bath time

2012-01-21T06:23:00.000-08:00

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

2012-01-17T06:33:00.000-08:00

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

2012-01-12T14:05:00.000-08:00

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

2012-01-11T17:18:00.000-08:00

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.

2012-01-10T06:25:00.000-08:00

night.

not night.

continued..and to be continued

2012-01-09T06:00:00.000-08:00

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

2012-01-08T11:30:00.000-08:00

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.

stewing in my juices. juicing my stew.

2011-12-19T06:31:00.000-08:00

studio shots from my recent 2 week residency at VSC.

sometimes toes are like fingers. (upholstery form with lace and embroidery)

visiting artist, chuck webster, called this thing "retarded". i'm sure he meant the good kind of retarded. (stool with tu-tu, drapery, lace)

happy holidays (plastic christmas tree with cosmetic pads and felt)

pink collar patriot.(dress with felt and tissues)

Meanwhile, across town..

(studio shots from the back wall)

fowl.

going rogue

2011-11-30T15:57:00.001-08:00


mixed media with child's veil

this is my studio junk drawer, more or less. if stuff gets in my way, if parts of things aren't working still somehow have merit.. they go here to rest awhile.


small collage with machine stitching

works in progress

2011-11-28T08:11:00.001-08:00

(felt and pins)

listening to the news while chewing my dinner may have left me with some partially undigestable ideas about the theater of war.

(bandage, wire, lace and felt)

books...

2011-11-17T12:36:00.001-08:00

i'm making my first books ever... the images are from some of the sketches i was working on as i was making the chair come out of my brain. (above are some of the first drafts as they were on the wall of my studio)

the cover (it's sideways..but that's the thing about books- you can totally flip them around.)

The pages are color copies backed with interfacing and bordered with shiny dark purple fabric. They're further layered with machine stitching with lavender and red thread.

accidental thread line drawings between the pages.

*i'm making 7 of these as "prizes" from my kickstarter page, but i'll be making more for purchase. please email to contact me for specifics.

some assembly required

2011-11-11T07:50:00.001-08:00

So, I just returned from 2 lovely weeks at Vermont Studio Center. I met some really awesome talented artists and writers, took some walks in fallow fields where I collected corn husks, roots and berries, smelled some horses..but mostly kept my nose to the grind trying to figure out some logistics for the chair. I wanted to make it more stream-lined for purposes of practical storage and set-up, but also I wanted to make the lines of the piece more complimentary to the lines of Rebecca's dance. I decided I needed to reinvestigate the form itself. It had become to grounded, too much pasted -on carnage. My goal was to make it more fertile; a plant/ animal hybrid, an altar for a pagan tranformation ritual, a womb, a shelter with a spine...

I started by reworking the seat.

It's cleaner with less chance of snagging the dancer's fabric (or the viewer's eye). The outer petal/rind forms lace-on to the underneath and can come off for storage.

I also reworked the outside of the petals, bringing in more fleshy filmy stuff, adding green veins and layering more textures. They also now have center ribs that extend and can be used as a latch/ hook over the lap at the beginning of the dance.

(yes, those are my dancing shoes)

The top-most part is completely detachable. It is installed with a hand-made pin and swivel so that it may be kicked down with the sweep of a leg. (forgive my unwillingness/ complete inability to photographically demonstrate this---)

But it really does work:

(see?!)

better photos coming soon to ye olde website and some mailboxes near you.

things to do on a rainy day..

2011-10-01T18:26:00.000-07:00

dare i say it? sewing seeds.

interminal variety.

also: collaborative collages with dangreenwood. from our on-going project that takes place at night in an old ralph lauren wallpaper book.

also: update on the loveseat's baby steps.

progress report

2011-09-19T05:06:00.000-07:00

I'm psyched to have just gotten these more-better photos of the chair/set i'm working on for Rebecca Rabideau's dance "Things Left Behind". Documenting such a frenzy is a pretty daunting task for me, so I'd like to thank Nate Pallace for his eye and camera skills...

I'll be working to get the other elements for the set up and ready and in full-blast while I attend the Vermont Studio Center residency program in late October.

loveseat implosion

2011-09-12T16:30:00.000-07:00

i think of
a family heirloom as a tumbleweed. nostalgia as a disease of the memory.

understudy

2011-06-21T18:52:00.001-07:00

images from the underside of embroidery (some with hair)

it's the little things

2011-06-19T05:43:00.000-07:00

pulling thread through thread that has been pulled through thread. making marks. enshrining fragments and cast-offs. disecting anatomy. bisecting tradition. focussing in. are my concerns really so small?

closing in on it

2011-06-18T09:18:00.000-07:00

just a few nit-picky minor adjustments and details to go before it gets its senior picture taken and is handed off for a test-drive.

progress report

2011-06-15T12:29:00.000-07:00

getting it ready for the hand-off. very excited to see how a dancer would interact with/ activate this. its purse, pod, carrying case..is detached and therefore not show. i'm in the process of adding some spots and ruffles influenced by some hybrid lillies a professor at springfield tech. community college was kind enough to show me while i had a show there recently.

don't just burn your bras (continued)

2011-06-15T12:17:00.000-07:00

in the loose spirit of summer and the timeless need for recycling:
bra with lining, beads, and fish skin

bra with lining, beads, hair and fabric scraps

fragments

2011-06-15T11:49:00.000-07:00

constantly reconfiguring. these are some of the latest exercises. hair and nails. embroidery thread. crocheted border. wood stain. nail polish. beads. misc. found fiber.

not a scratching post.

2011-05-09T16:48:00.000-07:00

here's the progress report for the inner-workings of the chair. the wedges on the floor are the outer-most layer (not yet attached).

cat not included.

back and forth..and back again

2011-05-03T17:21:00.000-07:00

angela zamarelli gave me a multi-colored stream of consciousness tangle of knitted yarn.
i made some minor ammendments.

here's how i got it back. (note the addition of small blue plastic apple?)

and ...now this is happening.

progress report

2011-05-02T18:21:00.000-07:00

building from the outside- in. always to the contrary.

i should mention that the seat is actually surprisingly comfortable.
(very cush.)

have a seat.

2011-04-29T17:40:00.000-07:00

(in progress)
working against the archetypal symmetry of the chair. beginning work for collaborative project with dancer, Rebecca Rabideau.

take some comfort in peeling back scabs and licking your wounds. the fruit is the sweetest you will ever taste.

the process of becoming and unbecoming can be beautifully gruesome.

i'm more interested in the verb.

2011-03-05T14:27:00.000-08:00

because (sigh )it's what's inside that matters

something new.

2011-03-05T14:21:00.000-08:00

infiltration of the nest.

resolve

2011-03-05T13:10:00.000-08:00

you should find a nice girl to settle down with.

i feel like my work is imitating a therapy session. not in the confessional,lay my shame and
trauma at the foot of some overstuffed alter sort of way- but in the way that i've finally admitted to myself that i have issues. and i need to resolve them. so, i've undertaken the task of looking at my work as an outsider..taking in the big picture from all angles and trying to assess the situation. i'm trying to be a better parent so that my sculptures won't rise up and forever fault me for their nagging feelings of inferiority, body dismporphia or general contempt.

this piece is lined with the sequined chainmail that once was my prom dress. the table now sports a hoop-skirt (belonging to my mom's sister) and my mother's powder blue homecoming dress. now, this wasn't a conceptual decision..but a pretty fantastic coincidence

in with the worms!(and beetles! both made from undergarments)

parasitic valentine

2011-02-12T17:10:00.000-08:00

heartworms and hemoglobin.
splicing infinitely.
sutures mimick nonsense caligraphy.
every stitch means i love you more than you can stomach.

and now this is happening

2011-01-25T19:52:00.001-08:00

sore wrists and needle stabs.
hanging my nerves out to dry.

what i did on my winter vacation.

2010-12-28T14:36:00.000-08:00

so far: this stuff!
during a blizzard, it's good to stay inside and paint on the walls of a house you don't own, look at microscopic images if pollen, cut out lots of little fabric shapes, take everything apart..put it back together, make fresh grapefruit juice, cut your bangs, reacquaint yourself with the caffeine roller coaster...

and on the western wall..

2010-12-12T05:18:00.000-08:00

there is a woman who rides her bike completely shrouded in white plastic and packaging tape. everywhere she travels to, she amasses more and more plastic bags. she hangs out in the middle of the road by beacon field for hours just waiting for one to blow by. i wonder how she decorates her room.

co-llage

2010-12-12T05:14:00.000-08:00

2010-12-12T05:00:00.000-08:00

i've been working on the texture of the base- layering tracing paper snowflakes on fabric using wood glue, shellac, chalk, beet juice, graphite, wood stain and irradescent nail polish.

parasitic alien. i wouldn't go so far as to say this is how i feel about my uterus. but i wouldn't not say it either.

what's in your belly toy horse? stay tuned..

my first widget..

2010-11-23T17:42:00.000-08:00

i've gotten an incredible response so far and am "deeply touched" by this show of support from friends, family and complete strangers! if you'd like to contribute, please click on the link and follow the prompts in the little green boxes. every bit helps and..i'm SO close!

i spent most of yesterday cutting snowflakes out of tracing paper and gluing them onto the forms in a nod to the frosty situation out yonder. i dragged my tenacled plant back out and gave it a shell to live in.

co-llaborate

2010-10-25T17:06:00.000-07:00

this is the beginning of a "set"/installation that i am making for a piece my friend rebecca rabideau has choreographed. a tangled harvest of forms that are simultaneously animal (internally and externally referenced)and vegetable (being fall, i'm thinking of heartier varieties of root veggies and perhaps an appearance by an artichoke?)

co-llage

2010-10-25T17:04:00.000-07:00

collaborate collages with dangreenwood.

sampler

2010-10-25T16:54:00.000-07:00

i keep going back to this embroidery scratching post thinking someday it will be "done". i like the back side as much as the front side. i like seeing through it and getting the texture of the hair and stitches as much as i like the shimmer of the nail polish spots on the peacock -like pattern (which is ..of course..not all that visible when back-lit).

stitching on silk, crocheted hair, nail-clippings,unraveled scarf, cut-up crocheted gloves, white pencil, beads, wood stain, nail polish..

you don't listen. ever.

2010-07-31T17:58:00.000-07:00

this is what has become of (some of) the remnants of my stint in plastic bag crocheting.

the embroidery is of a diagram of the inner ear. i was hoping the plastic i stitched it into would resemble skin a bit more than it does.

potato update. (i'll have another shirley temple)

2010-07-31T17:50:00.000-07:00

she's a nice gal. we get along swell. unraveled twine (unraveled, only to be coiled..), stuffing, stockings, copper wire. embroidery. pot-holder. festive bow.

it lives!!

don't just burn your bra.

2010-07-31T17:40:00.000-07:00

a retired brassiere. fabric scraps. beads. stockings. giant mushroom. those things that go on the end of christmas tree ornaments..

another shot bra. felt scraps. unraveled fabric. pieces of the bag that the telephone book came in.

whatever.

2010-07-24T16:10:00.000-07:00

instead of doing my "between jobs" victory lap/rain dance, i'm indoors with the AC and a sudafed buzz going. i found these things in my studio and i'm guessing i made them seeing as there are no wires attached.
look here- i added some seashells (from the seashore)

and here: it's a mossy stick. with stuff. like plastic. and beads. and an albino-pickle appendage.

and this thing. it sits on a giant mushroom. well, really..it sits on a pot-holder which is on top of a giant mushroom.

goodnight.

a curious thing

2010-07-11T14:41:00.000-07:00

a bouquet:
yam. dried fish skins. plastic fork wrappers. victoria's secret catalogue. plastic six-pack can-holster.

potatoes dressed up in crocheted plastic (notice the fashion colors) sprout eyes.

it's important to accessorize

2010-04-26T09:20:00.000-07:00

sceptor: whisk, hair, fingernails, wolf-fur. very regal. very you.

beginnings of neck-piece. reworking the veil's tiara.

harvest

2010-04-11T08:28:00.000-07:00

new addition: florette pin-backs.

possible new solution for veil project. opens thing up a bit. less heavy and literal. more ghostly or pelt-like. a friend even described it as "neptunish", which makes me laugh. the older format of this piece did not make me laugh. ever.

there's a great future in plastics. will you think about it?

2010-04-11T08:23:00.000-07:00

less stalactite. more fungus.

assume the position

2010-03-12T12:46:00.001-08:00

the form was made with a canvas and a batter. it was baked, cooled, hollowed..then it had a fire built inside of it. empty but for pyrite and soot.
a one-night art show in the vacant apartment downstairs..

marching home..

co-llage

2010-01-31T14:44:00.000-08:00

it's been awhile, old friend charcoal.

please recycle

2010-01-31T14:32:00.000-08:00

more recent with cut-up six-pack holders added.

i've been

cutting plastic bags into strips and crochetting them. in the past, i have been sort of anti- hanging for most of my work. i don't believe in the hocus-pocus of free-floating suspension. working more toward mimicking spanish-moss, stalactites,etc. to further the tension between material and form.

the visitor

2010-01-31T14:27:00.001-08:00

the visitor:
work in progress...
could take some time to color in all
of the cracks and crevices to achive the desired bruised effect on the outer-skin of the case.

bringing the outdoors underground

2009-11-25T08:12:00.000-08:00

during my basement stay (which will be coming to an end next week!?#*!), i've been working on

creating these landscapes/organisms/objects of questionable purpose. they're made from a hodge-podge of fabricated and organic materials- stuff i've been collecting, stuff i never finished, stuff other people "think i should have" (and it turns out they're usually right), and some gigantic mushrooms a very special friend brought home from nearby mount toby. the work will be shown in a storefront in downtown northampton during the month of december (though which storefront is to be determined in the days to come).

basement dwelling

2009-09-23T16:45:00.000-07:00

it's dark down here in basement-land. fortunately, i'm not grounded and i'm only able to work part time at present. which means: lots of outdoor playing for me! it couldn't possibly be more beautiful here. the air is crisp with pre-decay (oh, decay...my favorite!). bike rides call for a combination of short sleeves and knee socks (oh knee socks..my second favorites!)

cell phone reception is a no-go and i'm trying to limit internet piracy, so contact with my friends and enemies is minimal these days.
happy fall, wherever you are.

revamped tabletop

2009-09-23T16:37:00.000-07:00

the piece itself is not new...

but the tabletop's been redone with a combination of chisel-work, paint, woodstain, shellac and sea salt.

where am i? indeed...

2009-09-06T08:23:00.000-07:00

we're mid-move now. packing up the truck on thursday and heading out west. or just western mass.

suckle (in progress)

2009-08-20T16:35:00.000-07:00

started out as the original ball of udders. grew tentacles and a mouth that would snatch at and devour what biology intended for baby. its mouth filled up with too many tongues. then its milk dried up.

starving and dumb, it would need to grow a brain where its fat belly once was. now it can finally appreciate the allure of the feminine mystique. it will now teach itself the art of seduction and manipulation. soon the food will come to it. it will always have room for dessert.

a suitable past-time

2009-08-18T09:53:00.000-07:00

engaging with my inner Victorian forensic recluse hobbyist; using old doilies made from hair I had once grown and shed, fingernails I had clipped, necklaces I had ingratefully yanked, silken scarves shredded,..a pair of my deceased grandmother's gloves my mother had mysteriously mailed to me, that spring-form pan that never spurred the passion for cheesecake makery i thought it might.. nailpolish, shoe-polish..woodstain. distain. sea salt.

milk maid

2009-05-09T09:08:00.000-07:00

udder ball with a core of latex gloves squirts blood and pearls.

fingernails, salt, hair..

2009-05-09T09:03:00.000-07:00

some semi-recent stuff. using odds and ends i never quite knew how to resolve.