A day's work

 


It took another day and night to finish the repeating patterns on both sides of the container....with a break for shopping for materials  in bewtween.  It is cool in the mornings and evenings here but around noon the sun gets REALLY intense, even for a Texas girl, and we have to stop. 

I knew shopping in Taiwan was going to be fabulous, since just about everything I own at home is made in China.  But I wasn't sure how I would go about getting construction materials and things like extension cords and specialty glues.  Nothing to worry about there---Kaohsiung has its own version of Home Depot called the B & Q!! 

Work, work, work.....

This was a tough day....up the ladder...down the ladder.....all day long. The rays of the star-wound on the back end of the container were extended to radiate their effect through out the body. And then, the first changes of domestication were registered: "Our body, our container, moves every day through a sea of visual imagery, sounds, voices, and emotional and physical stresses. As we grow, we develop repeating patterns of behavior based on the content of that sea. Those patterns form a protective covering that make it easier navigate the world." The vertical strips applied down both sides represent the monotony of repeating patterns that we learn early in life that construct our "day".

I am greatly indebted to Chih-Han, one of the museum's curatorial assistants, who is the "right arm" for 3 of the artists at the festival site.  She is our magic problem-solver and contact for the vendors who provide supplies and labor when needed.  Could not complete this project without her wonderful help!!

And the ever-present Jin and Lea who have made life here quite joyous!





A star is born

Today I got the first star-wound in place at the end of the container.  This is symbolically the birth of the project; the star represents the entry and exit point into the container, into the body,into our life on this planet. At this juncture, I realize that many of you may not be familiar with the artistic concept for the project, so as the design evolves, day by day, I will present the relevant ideas.

"Artbitat," the theme of the festival, signifies "art-as-home".  A quote from the beginning of my proposal explains: "Although we most often think of home as a place, fundamentally, our physical and spiritual home is our body.  We are born into this world in a naked and vulnerable container with an interior innocence of pure light.  Every person’s home is the same at the core.  However, with the progression of time, the container is forced to evolve."  Stay tuned for the evolution that will take place over the coming days......

And, by the way, we are having fun too!  Mmmm......authentic bubble tea.......

                               Chih-Han, Shelley and Jin

Art is not for wimps

When the container arrived at Pier 2, the art festival site, it turned out to be in fairly good shape but a surprising dark blue!  Aaaahhhh.....the color of dreams, the imagination, and the starry night of meditation....perfect!!  Blue it will remain, since an essential part of the artistic concept is to accept the container as it is "born" and to leave it "naked". 

We are working hard now on getting the container ready.  First a bubble bath and then a scrub down to get the rust off.  I couldn't have made it though the day without Jin and Lea's help!

First day in Kaohsiung

Ni Hao everyone!  Clink on the link to side of this page which will take you to a description of my sculpture project for the festival in Kaohsiung this month. 

Check out the awesome view from my hotel! I arrived in Kaohsiung today and was greeted at my hotel by two delightful univeristy students, Lea and Jin, who will be helping me gather materials and negotiate the Chinese language for a few days. 

Before I left, my forage for typical household objects for this project and a few "typical" San Antonio crafts to take as gifts led me an interesting quandry.  Every teddy bear, picture frame, broom, and Alamo tourist doo-dad I picked up had a sticker on it stating: "Made in China".  I was seriously hard-pressed to find something authentically made in San Antonio, much less in Texas for that matter.  The beautifully crafted objects I could find were: "Made in Mexico".  Does San Antonio have it's own authentic culture, it's own authentic craft industry.....something with a sticker on it stating: "Made in San Antonio"?  What do you think?