Highlights from 2022

January 15, 2023

I’m not one for making resolutions but I’ve renewed my attention to this blog for the new year, considering it’s been almost an entire year since posting anything. I figured, it’s time to catch up before we move on.

The highlights of 2022 (in chronological order) are:

1. Finished the commssion for Moonrabbit Collective retail store.
2. Alaskan trip
3. Finished the Cheshire cat sculpture
4. New Orleans trip

Titled, “I believe we are getting somewhere,” the final dimensions are 72 inches high and 86.5 inches wide. Built on a framework of pallet material used for shipping jetskies and the frame of a boxspring, it incorporates collaged posters, printed canvas, antique newspaper, street signs, car parts, old maps, cast resin figures, and various wood, paper and paint and traditional oil painting. This piece has been one of the most significant milestones for the year partly just because of the sheer scale, but also allowed me to explore ideas and processes that I began using in 2005 and had been weaving in and out of different things over the years. It has guided me to pursue more work with combinations of objects, salvaged materials, collage, painting, etc., but not on such a large scale for now. I have multiple pieces in process now that apply this approach as well as a new commission from Moonrabbit to “do what I do” inside the two dressing rooms. I have begun to put together some elements and shoud be working in the store by the end of the month. Updates will follow.

If Alaska isn’t on your bucket list, maybe it should be. Here’s a small sample of photos from the trip. It’s a beautiful, overwhelming wilderness and awesome experience.

Without getting into a ridiculous amount of detail, the Cheshire cat saw it’s completion at the end of October and reached it’s final destination by the end of the year. Unofficially titled, “We’re all mad here,” and stands around six feet tall. The majority of the construction is a carved foam core with a coating of epoxy resin, specifically Smooth On Free Form Habitat Black. However, the face was first sculpted in oil based clay, molded in silicone, cast in Habitat Cast and Coat (another Smooth On product), then attached and blended in with Habitat Black. Primed with Rustoleum enamel and finished with enamel and oil paint then cleared with multiple coats of spar urethane satin finish. This is the second large scale outdoor sculpture that I’ve done, the caterpillar being the first. Side note: the caterpillar also got an extensive repair a repaint after randomly falling over onto our small patio area. There is a short list of larger sculpture ideas rolling around in my head, we’ll see if any manifest in the new year.

We had a long weekend visit in New Orleans with Phil, Rori’s younger son, so we had the priviledge seeing the town like locals. It was definitely a weekend of fine food and cocktails with a walk through the sculpture garden at NOMA, strolling Royal St. art galleries, and shops on Magazine St., where we shared a passing greeting with actor Giancarlo Esposito, aka Gus Fring/Breaking Bad. Also, the hotel had a restored Banksy in the lobby and we saw local music at a funky venue with an amazing crowd of individuals and had a blast. I’m looking forward to going back again. There’s something very endearing about New Orleans and the people that live there.