Re-EMERGENCE @ the Morris Graves Museum of Art. 2021.
16 artists were selected from an applicant pool to recieve a grant and build work for an exhibition about our (first) year in quarantine. Ironically the day I delivered my work everything shut down again due to the Delta spikes. The museum cancelled any public celebration but the work was displayed for 3 months with regular museum hours of operation.
Outer -Roominations was an experiment in how to revive the idea of an outdoor arts festival in the time of COVID. I was onboarded in the early stages to create a site specific work for an outdoor room on 13 acres of hillside trails at Table Bluff in Humboldt County California in May 2021. It was weird and wonderful.
The 100 houses project was my solution to the objective.
It was important to me to use waste materials, left-overs from previous projects and used items that I have found, purchased and harvested second hand – many parts have had many lives and uses before this moment.
We are all living with the reality of houses and houselessness all around us. We experience it differently and have many ideas on the subject. Forms are pushed in triplicate, funds are funneled and diverted on this issue. Meanwhile so many people are still on the streets. Seems like more every day. I talk to some, fear a few, try to help but feel helpless most days.
I imagine what some people would want in an ideal home and think about what that means, non-traditional housing from non-traditional materials has been of interest but out of my reach, how then can we make that attainable. Talk amongst yourselves about this. It is not simple- but it is possible
by reqest a piece origina;;y designed for an indoor setting was located onto the lawn area for the event, we utilized a lawn tractor to get it to location. Aquatic Inclinations… in the meadow on the bluff. originally built in 2019, reimagined for 2021
Tiny Galleries, In July of 2020 I was invited to make a seed piece for the opening of the Downtown Santa Rosa Tiny Gallery. artists were selected to fill the space for the premier then others may make their own tiny art and replace it with one from the gallery. Very fun concept, learn more at tinygalleries.org.
It’s Okay if you Feel Sad or Angry. cedar, stain, aluminum wire, paint, paint markers. 2020. Claimed July 2020.
Ocean Currents Mural In July of 2021 I realized a project funded by the city of Eureka to beautify a blighted wall at the foot of the Samoa Bridge/HWY 255 with a Neighborhood Beautification Project fund as a volunteer and invited neighbors and community members from all over to join in and help. As of this date no tags have defaced it.
Public utility Box Art Program, City of Eureka, Oyster Box on the 101 N noth side of town. Completed in March 2019.
A second utility box was proposed and completed later that year please enjoy the first concept sketch below and have patience as we dig for the final product photos.
Non-Partisan, Artist in Residence Project
The artist lying on the floor mat made from woven campaign signs - the intended way to see the work was from the vantage point of the floor.
Artist in Residence @ SCRAP Humboldt
For 8 weeks in late 2018 I was one of two artists chosen for the pilot program AIR at Scrap Humboldt, a creative re-use center. I was given a small workspace in the store, a modest stipend for materials and a venue for a solo exhibition of the work created while in residence. I was contractually obligated to use no less than 70% post consumer materials for this project. The timing was appropriate to work with campaign signs, 336 # of them were collected & used as the main media in my work for this project.
During her 8 weeks as Artist in Resident at SCRAP Humboldt, BV has collected 336 pounds of campaign signs from (mostly) Eureka candidates to use as her main building material The material transcends its’ original purpose & becomes something else, color & shape is a consideration in how they are reworked into a sense of place. The timeliness and intensities of the local campaigns allowed for an easy choice in materials for the artist. Re-use is the principle tenet of Scrap & the AIR was required to focus on that with intention. Contractually 70% re-use was required, BV went 98% for this work & the build on the installation is designed for yet another re-use for future works.
In total this work used approximately 180 pounds of campaign signs, all the accessory parts were from the SCRAP store in Arcata with the exception of a few pieces of hardware & some glue that were purchased.
Many thanks and much appreciation to the candidates & community members that donated or helped collect the materials as well as SCRAP for hosting the artist with a studio & a store credit to make the work.
Using the most unlikely & challenging materials I have built you a sense of place, lie down (it’s cushioned flooring) & look up at the trees, rest, study shapes & forget the original use of the material & think about how to grow & maintain a forest of community.
Several workshops were also offered during the AIR on creating utilitarian objects with the materials I designed and built briefcases, storage boxes, birdhouses and outdoor furniture with campaign signs. Commissions available, please inquire from my contact page.
