New York and Islip Art Museum

Well I installed my piece at the Islip Art Museum. I showed up expecting to work all night and all day until Sunday but I managed to finish in 3 days. I spent 57 hours on it total. It was quite an interesting experience working in complete solitude. I did get to think a lot about my work which was fun, but i think what is very important to my work is its social aspects as well as its intellectual ones. I always enjoy working around other artists on a group goal (show). Unfortunately I only met some of the other artists involved on the last day and really only got to talk to them for a half hour. Too bad. Oh well. This piece is entitled "Expansion". It is a kind of organism or growth that slowly expands and adapts to its environment. It is an evolved object born from the relationship that we have with the natural landscape. It is about 9ft. x 9ft. x 9ft. I'm sorry to all the people i missed in NYC. I only had a couple of hours.

Going to New York to install a sculpture at the Islip Art Museum in Long Island

I was invited to participate in an exhibition at the Islip Art Museum. I am flying out tomorrow to New York City. The museum does not have a lot of tools so I have to bring mine. Everything it is packed into one of my suit cases that I will check. I would love to see if they let me carry on my portable circular saw, drill, wood chisels, screw drivers, and hand saw. Lots of fun. I feel like I just condensed my entire studio into one bag. We'll see how it goes. Check back for more updates as I work. Hopefully I will have internet and will be able to post at the museum.

Exhibition at the Islip Art Museum in Long Island, NY

I finished up my residency at the end of September. The completed sculpture looks amazing. I'm very excited. When I returned to New York for a couple of days I was in contact with a gallery and they put me in contact with the Islip Museum of Art. They were looking for artists a show in December. They liked my work and invited me to participate in the show. I'll be building an installation at the museum. I'll be there from November 30 through December 6. Day to day updates will increase as the installation begins.

Lots of stuff.

So it looks like its been about a week since I last posted and a lot has happened. So the long process has been a grueling one with 2 days of working in the rain and mud, hauling heavy equipment out into the middle of nowhere up a single track trail and 3 days of tracking down welding equipment, supplies and steel. But it's finally done. Its quite nice I have to say. I've been enjoying it by just sitting by it. It makes me happy.

We've been having amazing dinners. On Saturday Boongyi made Korean and on Sunday Eizo and I made Japanese. Both were quite good. For our Japanese dinner, Pat built a chic Japanese dining area with a floor seating, and video projector playing an old Japanese movie on the table and playing Kaji Meiko for ambiance. It was very cool.

It is really amazing here and I look forward to doing many more of these in the future.

A review of the last couple of days

I've decided to add 3 more elements to my sculpture. Each one is between 15 and 20 feet long.  Still only 8 inches around. I spend most of today trying to get gas for the welding and 4 pieces of steel. It was ridiculous but interesting. It was a 20 min. drive to the welding shop and 2 1/2 hours of waiting and talking. I arrived when they were at lunch and they were closed. So I decided to explore the small town the shop was in. I found an interesting antique shop that was very reasonable. I bought and small pocket knife, an old school torch for brazing that works on alcohol and a smoking cabinet with pipes included. It's a neat piece of furniture and I think it will be my souvenir from CT. They like to talk here. I was talking to them for a really long time. Fortunately though they gave me welding tanks for free instead of having to rent them for 18 months for hundreds of dollars. They only charged my for gas, which I would have if I hadn't reminded them that I should probably pay before I left. It was funny.

When I got back to the residency i had to create a metal bender with only what I could find around the barn. I made it out of a tree stump, rebar, a vice grip and a nail. I bent everything by hand. It was insane. 

I was expecting to receive some steel rod today but was otherwise informed around 6 that I would not be able to get it until I went to get it myself from the welding shop, again. So I have to go the shop tomorrow to purchase my materials again. I hope it takes less time. I just want to work on my piece. I hate having to make runs for 3 hours everyday to get some tiny thing, especially when i was just there getting the same thing. Oh well. At least I know my way to the shop very well now. 

I-Park Residency - 9/4/09

I missed yesterday. So I will try and make it up. I'm finding I get up the latest of the group at 9:30. It's crazy.

So I got a welder yesterday but I had to go by parts for it at a local welding shop. I did not realize that dirt roads were still considered active county roads, so I took the scenic route (got lost) and what should have been a 20min drive turned out to be an hour and a half. It was nice to be able to explore a little. Once I got the part I drove back and we all had lunch together. It's really excellent to be able to have lunch with a group and talk, laugh, and inform each other about each other. After lunch I began welding. I've got 4 out of the 9 pieces welded together. I might need more which is a little unsettling but I'll make due. I'm looking forward to carrying out my work to the site as soon as I can.

I took a little break from all the smoke and noise and took a walk to the pond and paddled out onto the water and just drifted there in the center of the lake for a 1/2 hour. It was quite excellent.

My sculpture has been crated and shipped and I have arrived at I-Park in Connecticut

I finished crating my artwork on Monday and shipped it on Tuesday. I began the long journey to  Connecticut the same day as my artwork. 14 hours later I have arrived at the residency. It is beautiful, the food is great, the staff is wonderful and thoughtful, and my fellow artists are great people. I'm excited to start working and really getting a feel for the land. It is definitely out in the woods though but wireless internet still keeps me connected. Attached are some photos of the park, structures, and artwork that has been created in the past. I can't wait for my crate to arrive.

The preliminary stages before shipping are 90% complete

I just finished bending 6 out of the 9 sections of the piece. I also finished constructing one of the sections of the piece where it splits into two pieces. All I have to do now is bend 3 more pieces and and pack it and it is ready to go to Connecticut. This is very exciting.

This will be the first time since school that I will be working only on sculpture full time. I'm not sure what to do with myself. I am very intimidated by the process and those I will be surrounded by but also very eager to prove myself. We'll see what happens.

Finishing the blue print

So I just finished laying out the blue print for the sculpture that will be installed at I-Park for my residency. It's quite large and is going to present some interesting construction challenges. It's 13 ft. long x 8 ft. high x 8 ft. wide. Also It branches out into two directions so making a 2-dimensional blue print that reflects 3-dimensions is difficult. It will be a learning experience as it always is. Next I begin cutting metal and bending it. I leave for Connecticut on Tuesday night so I have to have it packed and ready to ship on Monday.

So it begins again...

I was awarded an artist in residency at I-Park in Connecticut. I am being given an artists stipend for 2 weeks to create a work that will be permanently installed at the sculpture park. I am building the steel structure of the piece in my studio and sending the pieces to the residency to assemble them on site and use the natural materials at the park to complete the piece. I will be posting regular updates and images logging the trials and tribulations of creating a large scale piece on the other side of the country.

These photos are of the beginning of the piece. I just completed bending and welding 19 pentagon rings for my piece. I will post sketches of the piece soon.

Stay tuned...

Most recent sculpture. Hayes Valley, San Francisco

This is my most recent sculpture. It took me almost 8 months to build. It's made from steel and recycled wood. It's located at Patricia's Green, Hayes Valley, San Francisco. It will be up for 6 months and is due to come down at the end of December. Go Check it out.

I will be traveling to Connecticut on September 2nd for an artist residency at I-Park Sculpture Park. I will be updating regularly to document the construction process my current sculpture and the experiences I have at the residency.