iosartlist

Place and Non-Place

2011-12-08T21:43:00.000-08:00

Above image: Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam, Netherlands

The french anthropologist Marc Augé, coined the term non-place: a place that is considered a transient point, where people are only passing through, of little significance in route to somewhere else. Airports are a perfect example of this non-place.

As my global journeys expand, I recognize that these non-place spaces are in fact significant points of reference, a necessary catalyst. An obvious example is an airport; a vehicle enabling travel from one point to another. But a less obvious example would be non-places that act as a solice in dealing with the hardships in life. The last six days of my fathers life were spent in a small hospice in Phoenix, Arizona. I stayed with him for these last days and weathered the sadness I experienced. The blandness of Non-place, Arizona offered a needed reprise from the intensity of hospice. The sameness of Target was an emotional salve. The generically regulated familiarity of TGIFridays was reliable, I knew what to expect. These ideas don't apply when dealing with the mysterious form of death.

So I offer this up, what of the non-place? What interests lie in , around and through the non-place? I am curious how these sites impact our lives not only on a physical, literal level but on a more significant human level.

The Cobble Stone Paths We Take

2011-06-16T00:04:00.000-07:00

Above Image: William Palmer, Wood Sculpture

Perhaps it is due to my fathers recent death, but I have found myself feverishly tracing my steps; my history. The condensed story: my mother and father moved to Greece in 1964 and decided to settle on the small island of Hydra. Once there, they lived for several years in the home owned by playwright Roger Maybank and painter Marios Loizides. It was in this small house, that overlooked the magnificent Mediterranean sea that I was born. While Marios Loizides died in 1988, Roger Maybank relocated back to Canada and, from what I understand, continues to be a prolific writer.

Students, friends, colleagues, what is your history and more importantly how does it connect to the larger global family ? How can we draw from our history to speak both to the personal and the global?

Hairballs In The House

2011-02-20T19:31:00.000-08:00

Seeing Combs and Hairballs installed in a new arena pushes me to consider how meaning of an artwork is changed and/or influenced by space.

How do we breath " new life into our work." And can this act be linked to challenging our steady and consistent studio practice?

Image: Geoffrey Ashley, Los Angeles, California

The Beautiful Magnificent Hands of a Carver

2011-01-24T11:07:00.000-08:00

Above image: William Palmer, artwork done within the last ten years

When my father lived in Greece, he found old wood and marble and began to carve large, abstract forms that fit together like perfectly balanced statues.Up until last summer he continued to carve wood sculptures in his make shift studio in Phoenix, AZ. When he no longer had the strength to carve, he spent most of his time in his room, surrounded by his papers, books, pencils and paints and drew the pieces he could no longer carve. Once he became too weak to work at his drafting table, he taped his drawings onto his bedpost in order to study them and find their meaning. My father now lies in his hospice bed, quiet and small but with the beautiful, magnificent hands of a carver.

My parents raised me to believe, to know, that art is not a frivolous pursuit but rather a life affirming endeavor. How does space dictate the work we create? Do our surroundings encourage or discourage growth or change within our creative pursuits? No matter where my father was, he always made, always created as if he did not have a choice, he had to create. Art was his life affirming endeavor.

The Seriousness of Playing

2010-10-12T01:27:00.000-07:00

"The seriousness of playing... in the looseness of trying different things images and ideas emerge."
This comment by artist William Kentridge beautifully sums up the delicate and nuanced balance artists often need to navigate the creative life. Creating art is a serious and enjoyable endeavor and one to cultivate and move with.

The Object and History

2010-09-12T11:40:00.000-07:00

As an artist, I use or make objects that reference aspects of society. But what happens when the very object that is used to inform society is seen as a superficial object offering only aesthetic seduction ? What happens when a viewer is interested in the objects surface but does not see the underlying deeper meaning of it?

In what ways are we stopped or limited in our creative practices? What do we rely on within our work? How are objects freeing and/or weighted with history?

Above Images: Marilyn Levine, Brown Satchel, Ceramic, 1976 and Io Palmer, Knapsacks, Ceramic, 2010

My Summer of Dyeing Blue

2010-08-29T11:31:00.000-07:00

This has been the summer of dyeing blue. The dye is under my finger nails, on the counter tops and on my toes when it splashed out of the bucket. Dyeing has reconnected me to my roots as I am the product of two bohemians who left the United States in the early sixties to live a simpler life in Greece. Childhood fashions consisted of small cotton tee shirts and dresses my mother, Myra, dyed for me.

Thirty five years later, my interest in blue dye led me to research how this color has been used throughout the world. When a friend introduced me to the music of Tinariwen, a group made up of the Tuareg people of northern Africa, I became interested in the blue used to dye their traditional turbans. The dye colors aided in my inspiration and understanding of some of the ways in which blue denotes a range of social customs, and class structures.

Above images: Dying Blue, Io Palmer, 2010, image by Frans Lemmens, image by Garrondo (Tuareg man)

The Spiral, At Last

2010-07-11T19:45:00.000-07:00

One item from my long and ambitious creative list can finally be crossed out.
Robert Smithson's The Spiral Jetty, 1970
Great Salt Lake, Utah

My travel companion and I drove a long way, past cows grazing along the roads, past several wrong turns, miles down a dirt road then finally hiking several miles to see the great Spiral Jetty.

For many people the jetty may be a pilgrimage. Slowly walking down the jetty as it jutted straight out then curled inward I was reminded of meditation, turning consciousness inward in order to know thy self.

The Power of the Painter

2009-10-18T10:13:00.000-07:00

We recently invited painter Craig Cully to visit WSU as part of our Artist Lecture Series. His exhibition, Mingle, was a grouping of psychologically laden figures all highly glossed with layers of oil paint. The exhibition was well received and many students appreciated his honest and humorous lecture. It has been a week since he left and students continue to talk about his visit; the feedback they received and the conversations they had with him. Craig spoke of the tedious way he paints layer after layer of glaze over wood panels, the small brushes and the magnifying glasses he wears while painting. His technique underscores the obsessive conceptual spaces he depicts in the work. I appreciate an artist's use of fine craft and technique to depict concept . And in my classroom I strive to maintain a balance between teaching technique and encouraging conceptual investigation.

Above Image: Defacing the Hairdresser’s Husband, oil and ballpoint pen on panel

By Invite Not by Payment

2009-08-28T14:21:00.000-07:00

So happy to read Benjamin Genocchio's article posted in the New York Times today. Mr. Genocchio writes of a printmaking exhibition that is in fact by invite not by payment.
As some of my students know, I rarely apply to exhibitions that have a dollar amount. And looking back on my own resume, the most impressive exhibitions I have been included in, for the most part, are by invitation. Which further strengthens my belief that to succeed as an artist, meet people, ask questions, genuinely be interested in others and work like you have everything to say and not enough time to say it.

The Space of creativity

2009-08-24T20:34:00.000-07:00

In a recent NPR interview musician Ronnie Milsap spoke about his new release. When asked how this particular cd came together he stated " [If you have enough] love around you, your not afraid to find your own voice." I have thought about these words every day since I heard this interview. What really encourages us to " find our own voice" and allow the creative energies to flow ?
For me, when I am in my studio, I have to take a leap and trust that the decisions I make are the correct ones. What helps you be honest and critical in your creative space?

Explore Create Explore

2009-08-02T15:24:00.000-07:00

This has been an extraordinary summer and one that has had a transformative effect on my life. As an educator, I am fortunate to have the freedom to travel during the summer months. I take this time to develop work with new materials and processes. The varied experiences and temperatures I witnessed merged into new creative energy and thought.
Like any solid relationship, being an artist takes work, dedication and patience. Being a creative thinker is a process- a journey. I relate my journey across the United States to the journey of understanding my relationship with creativity.

Process

Questioning

Inquiry

Listening

Practice Sessions

2009-07-07T09:36:00.000-07:00

I am interested in understanding how musicians, artists and writers practice their craft and how does this creative practice then relate to athletic practice? How does private practice become public performance or exhibition ?
While at SFAI I collaborated with artist and friend Chandra Lear. I asked her to practice while I recorded and observed. What resulted was a series of three to six minute recordings of her ephemeral, organic and responsive voice work. The linen costume I then made for her particular practice session was inspired by her creative work and physical attributes.

Come Fall In Love

2009-05-23T12:16:00.000-07:00

What does chocolate have to do with generating good creative energy? Everything ! Once again, I am such a fortunate girl, to be here in Santa Fe and to be living down the street from one of the finest chocolate shops in the country. The Chocolate Smith has a huge and elaborate collection of gourmet chocs. My favorite though is the rock salted carmel dipped in dark chocolate !! After I ate one of these yesterday, I went into the studio and created like never before.
We all know what the best thing to fall in love with is, but the second best...delicious, divine chocolate.

Alternatives In Life

2009-05-23T11:32:00.000-07:00

Inspired by my own students at Washington State University, this blog is meant to document one artists journey, my own, through the various meanderings that help create an artist. Inspiration comes in many forms, and I think the trick is to stay open and critical.
As part of the Aritst in Residence program at the Santa Fe Art Institute, I am able to spend this month of May working and experimenting in a cultured and beautiful setting. As part of the Lannan Foundation's Readings and Conversations series, the poet Marge Piercy visited Santa Fe. I felt so fortunate to of gone to her reading. She is a sharp witty and hilarious woman. After her reading she was in conversation with Martin Espada and at one point Piercy stated" If you cant see alternatives in your life then your stuck." I thought about this in relationship to our current economic state. In some ways, I think we can, as a nation redifine and rearticulate what we strive for in life. There are, in fact, many alternatives. And how does this influence the creation of my own work? I have started to redifine and challenge my own vision with my work. I have started to ask questions that will, hopefully lead to a more expanded and committed creative relationship with myself and others.

Montreal Finally

2009-05-14T22:03:00.000-07:00

January, 2009
I thought my 3.5 year stay in Minneapolis would of prepared me for the bitter cold that awaited me in Montreal in January. Nothing could of prepared me for the bone chilling, dry, crunch cold. Alas, I loved my stay in Montreal - the art, the food and the people were all well worth the cold winds.
Currated by the artist team Susannah Wesley and Meredith Carruthers for Leisure Projects ,Hair Follies was an exhibition that represented several visual artists all working with the multi-faceted theme of hair.

Travels Through China-A Residency

2009-04-19T22:12:00.000-07:00

June, 2008

I would hope that every artist has a friend that is an artist, or at least artist-friendly that also travels well with others. I was fortunate to of traveled to China with a dear friend and great photographer Priscilla Briggs. While in Beijing, Priscilla and I were resident artists at Art Channel Artist Residency. During this open, self-directed artist residency, we met artist from all over the world who worked in a variety of media and materials. I was able to work informally with performance artist Magumi Shimizu. Together, we collaborated to make paper sculptures and performative happenings. (see image above)
This particular residency was self-funded and affordable. For approximately $200.00 Priscilla and I were given a large room with space for a studio in which to work in. There was a gallery space attached to Art Channel along with many other artist centers, residencies and eateries around where we were. This was a good way to see Beijing and have a base to stay during the two weeks we were in this city.