Ever since my husband built the "His" shed and I have the  a 100% "Hers" shed, I've been able to organize my materials and objects in such a manner that I can actually see all the items that I've collected over the past 2 decades (maybe longer?!). In fact, looking at some of these objects, I know that I have moved them to the East Coast and back at least once.  That's somewhat crazy, but when you find stuff, I suppose it's worth it (at least it is to me).

With a full time job, it's been challenging to get into the studio to focus on the creative process... but today was a very good day. This piece, titled "Strapped" is the first piece created in my 100% "Hers" shed. It includes some belts, some bits of my back fence, and some other random objects... a handle, a hinge and a single electrode neon tube.

I've been feeling somewhat strapped lately for time, so this piece came to me straight away as I glanced the belts hanging from a hook in the corner. While belts aren't typically considered inviting, I think the piece somehow manages to be warm and inviting but definitely illustrates the idea (at least to me) that things are pulled together.

In 2001, I did a series of pieces called "Raging Baby Hormones". My biological clock was ticking and I kept hitting snooze.  In hindsight, this was a mistake.  It wasn't until 2011, 10 years later (and about 6 years too late), that I was ready and found out that I was not able to conceive naturally because my tubes are malformed. It's true. I'm a freak of nature on the inside and I've grown to own this truth. Bottom line, abortion laws have no effect on me because I didn't get a choice... and to this very moment, this bothers me.

I was raised by parents who encouraged me to pursue my dreams, whatever they might be; that a woman can do everything a man can do and if you ask my mother, she might say we can do many things better. :) (I love you mom!) I am successful in business and manage and lead a team of 14 developers. I can weld - TIG, MIG and ARC. I work in a male dominated industry: technology, and I'm pretty good at it. So when I was told I can't have a baby it was a bit hard for me to stomach.

It's for this reason that I am pro-choice. Personally, I am pro-life but politically, I understand that life is 100% complicated. So in the wake of life's more stressful moments that usually consist of the unexpected and some degree of tragedy, I think a woman should have the right to make the choice that's best for HER unique circumstances.

So when I saw a Call For Entries for a juried exhibition of art in support of women’s reproductive rights in the United States in observance of the 40th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, I was inspired.

According to Guttmacher Institute 2012, "Reproductive health and rights was once again the subject of extensive debate in state capitols in 2012. Over the course of the year, 42 states and the District of Columbia enacted 122 provisions related to reproductive health and rights. One-third of these new provisions, 43 in 19 states, sought to restrict access to abortion services. Although this is a sharp decrease from the record-breaking 92 abortion restrictions enacted in 2011, it is the second highest annual number of new abortion restrictions."

It seems that women's reproductive rights will always be under siege and even though it won't impact my body and my life, I am passionate about this issue because it impacts my fellow women (and their daughters, or in some cases, granddaughters). Margaret Sanger said it best, “No woman can call herself free who does not control her own body.” So... consider this piece my contribution to the fight for freedom for women. I say "my" but it's really "our" contribution.  This piece will reflect the voice of the collective; voices from the MANY woman in my life who I respect greatly and know personally. These woman have contributed a piece of their soul. This piece is personal, just like the right of choice should always be.

As a result, I am creating a piece specifically in honor of this exhibition. It is a piece that will contain quotes from women about choices they have made in their lives, or quotes about what having a choice means to them. 

How would you complete any of these sentences?

"I chose to have children because... "
"I chose not to have children because... "
"I chose to have an abortion because... "
"I chose IVF because..."
"I chose a surrogate because..."
"I chose IUI because..."
"I chose adoption because..."
"I didn't have a choice..."

What does Choice mean to you?

Because I just blasted this request out to 50 of my friends (who are amazing women BTW) who have questions...

FAQ
How long should the quote be?
Try and keep your quote under 100 words. If it's over send it anyway!

When do you need this by?
The sooner the better but no later than Labor Day weekend.

Do I complete one of the sentences or do I respond with that Choice means to me?
Either one is fine by me as I understand that this is a touch topic.  I only ask that you use the word choice, choose, chose, somewhere in your quote and even still, if those words aren't in there send me your contributions.

Can I email this to you?
Yes, you can email it to me either through my email address or the Contact Form on this website, you can text it to me, Facebook it to me, snail mail it to me, pick up the phone and call me and I'll transcribe... whatever you prefer!

The threshold for how many string beans to put in a Tupperware and put in the fridge vs. "chucking it" varies from person to person.  This piece is one motivated by small pieces of phosphor coated tubes found in the "scrap bin" at The Crucible. 

Looking at these little colorful bits, I thought of welding them together to make two tubes similarly sized each with a red, yellow, green and blue length of glass.  I was in a bit of a hurry so didn't think much about the colors being in the same order (and so... they're not).  Years later I was looking to use these pieces in a sculpture.  I reminisced about how these tubes came to be and collected some items from my studio that were also "leftovers". Scraps of wood were pieced together with some all thread and a few bolts.  Handles that had been discarded from somewhere were affixed to the piece. "Putting The Pieces Together and Handling It" was born... and if it all falls apart, I've included a brush for someone to use to sweep up it's bits and throw it away; knowing somehow that I was responsible for delaying (potentially forever) these objects from occupying landfill. 

So it's been a decade since I've submitted for exhibition so it's been that long since I've had the pleasure of watching people walk up to my sculpture with a loved one while sharing their comments (loud enough for me to hear) regarding how my art makes them think.

Tonight was the "Fresh Art" Awards ceremony and it was packed.  They said they counted over 200 people there.  It was great. My piece was definitely the only illuminated sculpture. There were many other pieces that were very interesting.  The show was mostly painting/digital photography with a few sculptures here and there. 

Good times!

Checking email has become fun but I have to confess that I'm a little overwhelmed.

"Congratulations!!!! And welcome to the Expressions Gallery show: “Playful, Funny, Wild, and Wacky.” Attached you will find some things that you need to complete and return."

The show is called “Playful, Funny, Wild, and Wacky" and runs August 3, 2013 – October 18, 2013 at the Expressions Gallery in Berkeley, California. I'm not sure how many artists will be participating and I don't even know which piece(s) they are interested in showing but will get all the deets next week. :)

I love that my art is getting out there.  I wish that I had been submitting to more shows in the past years. It kind of seems like I missed some opportunities.  Life is complicated you know?

Neato! Three of my sculptures were selected for a show called "The Story of the Creative". This is a seven week exhibition that will celebrate and digitally display the works of artists around the world. This massive exhibition will run July 25th - September 10th at the See | Me Exhibition Space in New York City.

To read more about See|Me, go to their site.

More about See.me on Wikipedia: "See.me" (originally founded as 'Artists Wanted' in 2007) is a web-based arts organization located in Long Island City, Queens, New York City. The organization is dedicated to supporting artistic talent, harnessing online creative communities, and promoting artists' work.

After several rejections, I've been rewarded with an acceptance to exhibit in a group show called, "Fresh Art" which was juried by Rene de Guzman, the senior curator of the Oakland Museum of California.

The show was open to all California residents and I am completely honored to have been chosen to exhibit this piece, titled "Apothecary".

I've been submitting for exhibitions which is expensive and emotional.  So far, I haven't been selected - which as I recall from earlier years it was JUST as I was feeling defeated when I would get a letter of acceptance.  So... steady she goes. 

I've completed another piece called "Wheel In the Sky" and I just love it. I find myself looking at it all the time, it's made from our old broken fence and some old bicycle parts that were leftover from some bicycles that my husband was given about a year ago. 

We had been invited to a birthday party of a friend and saw 2 bikes that were leaning up against the fence, clearly no longer used and covered in spider webs with some rust and flat tires.  Dave asked about the bikes and they were owned by the deceased husband of one of the guests. Dave spoke to her about them and offered her some money and she gave them to him with the hope that he would make good use of them.  He made one functioning bike from the two bicycles and the leftover parts managed their way into this sculpture.  Hence the name, "Wheel in the Sky" in honor of her husband who is most certainly in heaven. I don't even know his name.

Yesterday my tube mounts, GTO wire and end caps arrived. Woot! If there are any neon artists out there that are looking to buy reasonable quantities of neon parts, I highly recommend West Coast Custom Designs. They are super nice and ship right away and offer really reasonable prices.

I brought my pieces in from the studio and have been "living with them".  Every morning I walk past the pieces and think (or rethink) the decisions I have made. In doing this, I think I know where I want to go with these two pieces and I look forward to this weekend. 

This weekend there will be distraction relating to the time I will be able to spend in the studio. Looking optimistically though, the time is WELL spent - we're expanding the studio!  The current space is used for both construction and assembly which creates some logistical challenges (like keep saw dust from getting onto things that are being stained/glued etc.)

So... we're (we: my husband) building a separate studio specifically for grinding, sawing, drilling, painting, etc. Yup... this will be a VERY good thing! My role in this construction effort will be determined by my husband. I suspect I will be called upon to hold this or that while he drills or screws or fastens etc. but I also suspect there will be time for me to 'run with' the ideas that have been percolating in my mind since last weekend.

Last weekend was an extremely productive weekend.  I have decades of "stuff" that I have collected that I end up cataloging in my mind.  On those nights that I lie in bed unable to sleep or in the hours I spend commuting to work each day, I sometimes think about my art and what I will make with all my "stuff".  In my head I juxtapose that object with this object and imagine how I can pull it all together and resolve 'hiding' all the electronic bits that I don't necessarily want people to see/focus on. Or maybe I do... ? Sometimes in my head I get stuck on how to connect this with that or how I'm going to make everything work from a logistical perspective due to the weight of the whole piece or because of the dimensions of one or many of the objects that I'm working with. In my head I'm experimenting with assembly - imagining how an idea might work with wire, or screws, or bolts, or nails or glue or whatever method I can think of.

Last weekend, two of the many sculptures I had created in my mind, began their lives in the 'real' world in my studio. I was able to get to the point with each of them where I needed to step away and spend more time thinking. Sometimes when I start to execute something I had imagined in my head, it evolves because I notice something in the studio that you could never imagine without touching the things themselves.

I also needed to order some additional parts... those will be here Thursday.

Needless to say, I'm really looking forward to this weekend. :)