Fisterra Studio | Jennifer Chenoweth, Artist

Four Gates, In Process

fisterra — Mon, 06 May 2013 02:22:55 +0000

Measurement for Four Gates, North Gate at 96″ diameter, CAD drawing by Dharmesh Patel

Four Gates plan view with brackets

My inspiration for the sculpture Four Gates is from Mark Helprin’s Winter’s Tale.

There is a short chapter at the end of the first third of the book, page 219, titled Four Gates. Here is an excerpt from the chapter:

“To enter a city intact it is necessary to pass through one of the new gates. They are far more difficult to find than their solid predecessors, for they are tests, mechanisms, devices, and implementations of justice. There once was a map, now long gone, one of the ancient charts upon which colorful animals sleep or rage. Those who saw it said that in its illuminations were figures and symbols of the gates. The east gate was that of acceptance of responsibility, the south gate that of the desire to explore, the west gate that of devotion to beauty, and the north gate that of selfless love. ”

I am combining my thoughts about Vitruvius’ man extended to the diameter of his reach, one diameter my size, or 78″, one 84″, one 90″ and one 96″. So I have imagined a sculpture for four people to interact with and create a gateway into a space of connection.

Scale model of Four Gates in the shop

Here are a few more working drawings and photographs.

The big rings in my yard

From the perspective of looking at the South Gate, which is 78″ diameter

Freedom and Connection

fisterra — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 02:10:51 +0000

I used to experience freedom only when alone. At first it was seeking refuge outdoors from my family. Then I found it in books. I found it in my studio. I found it driving fast in a car, riding my motorcycle, racing down a mountain on skis. Outdoors in nature, feeling solitude and safety; sitting in a tree watching; hiking unobserved. Swimming at UT’s giant swimming pool. I love those kinds of freedom, I still pursue those experiences. But I have had enough surprising experiences with others lately that I have begun to pick up a new scent to follow: the transcendent freedom that comes with openly and freely engaging someone in conversation, dance, touch, or play. I want to bring that intimacy into my studio practice and ask people who I trust to engage with me in making drawings with me. Drawings are a low investment of materials and time, so there is more freedom to let go in the process and see what happens without attachment to outcome. The work I will be showing at the “Sacred Space” show in June will hopefully document some of the pieces that I make in the next month that engage others. I have made a few already. I want the drawings to be records of the experiences that I have in trusting. I want to document the sacred space between you and me.

Allowing the Muse

fisterra — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 01:56:56 +0000

It is an interesting concept to externalize the Muse as a deity or person. As writers and artists have said over many years, put in the hours and do the work and sometimes the Muse shows up. The Muse bestows brilliance that transcends your limits. It is magic. It is connected, engaged freedom. Beauty surrounds us, we are made of love. I cannot chase it, demand it, or need it. I can only busy myself with my work and make myself vulnerable to the Muse. I cannot be sad when the Muse does not come back—begging and bargaining scares away the muse. I can only be humbled and grateful that the Muse ever came once, and if lucky, more than once. I will return to the studio and do my work, make the time and space, and allow the Muse to come, to be enjoyed. To make work that others can appreciate, enjoy, and be inspired to show up to do their own work. I will ask him, without expectation, to come.

I turned to my Greek reference shelf to do a little reading up about the Muse. Of course Homer, and many other Greeks, started their story-telling by beckoning the Muse. “Menin Aieda Thea…” which translates to “Wrath Sing Goddess”. The Greeks put the word with the most emphasis at the first place in the sentence. You will know when hearing the first word of the first sentence of the Iliad that the story coming will be about about Wrath.

Yes, this is an image of a sculpture of beautiful Apollo. What might my Muse look like? Will I get to immortalize him on in a drawing or shape? I hope he will visit me long enough to capture the essence on paper.

Sing Joy, Muse.

Sing Pleasure and Surprise.

Sing Trust. Sing Intimacy.

Muse: Sing Connection. Guide my hand.

Larry’s Polka

fisterra — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 01:49:56 +0000

Jennifer Chenoweth: Sacred Space: Solo Show, Julia C. Butridge Gallery

fisterra — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 19:06:33 +0000

Fisterra Studio is pleased to announce a solo show of Jennifer Chenoweth’s drawings, paintings and sculptures at the Julia C. Butridge Gallery at the Dougherty Art Center: Sacred Space.

Wednesday June 5 – Saturday June 29, 2013. The artist’s reception will be Tuesday June 11, 2013 from 6:00pm – 8:00 pm.

The Dead Music Capital Marching Band will perform at the opening.

Art-making is my primary spiritual action. Creating art allows me to express my unique manifestation as a body and as a conscious being. “Sacred Spaces” explores the interactive space of the human body through architectural sculpture and gestural mark-making.

Painting used to tell the stories of a culture on the surfaces of sacred spaces such as caves, temples and churches–photography and film have replace this function of visual art. What remains unique to visual art is the hand of the artist and the visceral relationship of the art object to both the maker and viewer of the art. The human body is represented in its indexical evidence in drawings and in geometric markers of ourselves. I create forms that unify these ideas, such as a dome that is the diameter of my reach. Using the indexical movement of my arm, I draw and paint on the surface in various media, from charcoal to a plasma-cutter. The finished artworks are both sculpture and painting.

So I may better understand how sacred space is created through geometry and form, I have studied the evolution of historical sacred architecture from Etruscan to Greek to Roman to Christian. The shapes incorporated into these structures evoke gendered symbolism–the curved dome represents a feminine, mother-figure, while Catholic cruciform shapes represent the masculine, with vertical space representing the trinity. Reiterating these symbols in my own work allows me to explore both the personal space of one body and the interactive relationships between several bodies at once. –Preview of WORK IN PROCESS–

Before construction, I create drawings and scale models to help me consider the sizes and proportions of the artworks as well as how to place the artwork in relationship to viewers. Family relationships and group dynamics are important themes of my work, but some artworks are simply the practice of making marks in space with my unique hand in a variety of materials.

My artwork is relational. The work isn’t complete until there is someone interacting with it. Once I have made these artworks, dialog with community about the art is very important to my process.

Gallery Hours: Monday – Thursday 10am – 9:30pm, Friday 10am – 5:30pm, Saturday 10am – 4pm

Gallery Address: 1110 Barton Springs Road, Austin, Texas 78704

Several pieces of art at the show will be GIVEN AWAY for FREE through the artist’s “whoever cares the most wins” application process, announced at the opening. Please attend the opening to find out more.

Sacred Space is funded and supported in part by the City of Austin through the Cultural Arts Division believing an investment in the Arts is an investment in Austin’s future. Visit Austin at NowPlayingAustin.com.

Umlauf Sculpture Garden Party Featured Artist

fisterra — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 18:50:11 +0000

Thursday April 25 @ 6:30-9:30pm @ The Umlauf Sculpture Garden

Join Event Chair Jordan Jeffus, Co-Chair Emily Pratte, Honorary Chairs Burke & Tricia Edwards, and Featured Artist Jennifer Chenoweth for our 15th Annual Garden Party fundraiser set for Thursday, April 25th, 2013, from 6:30-9:30pm.

Fine Food & Wine

More than twenty of Austin’s best restaurants serve delectable samplings of their cuisine, paired with complementing wines generously selected by Twin Liquors.

KUT Views and Brews

fisterra — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 18:39:41 +0000

March 26, 2013 Entrepreneurship and Austin Music @ 6:00pm @ the Cactus Cafe

Join photographer and author of “The Sound of Austin“, Mathew Sturtevant, along with Tamir Kalifa of the band Mother Falcon, Jennifer Chenoweth of Generous Art, and Scott Ward, owner of Strange Brew Coffee House to discuss art and innovation in Austin. We’ll talk about unique opportunities that artists, business owners and musicians are creating for themselves in the Austin area, and what’s still needed to make things easier for entrepreneurship in the arts. We hope to see you Tuesday at 6pm at the Cactus Cafe on the University of Texas at Austin campus.

More about KUT’s Views and Brews HERE.

Insights at Umlauf

fisterra — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 03:19:55 +0000

Thursday, March 26, 2013 @ 6:30 pm @ the Umlauf Sculpture Garden

For this installment of the popular INSIGHTS series,UMLAUF Garden Party featured artist Jennifer Chenoweth will speak to her artistic process and work with Generous Art. The INSIGHTS Series brings artists and curators to the UMLAUF to discuss their practices.

This event is Free and Open to the public but space is limited.
Please RSVP to programs@umlaufsculpture.org and reserve your spot now!
Beverage service begins one hours prior to the event.

More about the Umlauf Scultpture Garden Insights Series HERE.

Freedom and Safety

fisterra — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 17:41:17 +0000

Most the activities I enjoy, and experiences I seek out, play with my comfort level of acting freely in a safe context. Safety means different things to different people. I am more comfortable with risk because I have a depth of life experience that not everyone has. And I know myself well–I am a good friend to me. Certainly there are people with a much broader range than I have. I know what kinds of pain I really do not want, but often discomfort is a great part of pleasure.

Discomfort means I’m trying something new, and am not in control of the outcome. It requires openness and trust. It requires knowing what is at risk and how valuable, vulnerable, and mortal we are. As Hobbes discussed in the Leviathan, we are all equal in that we can all be killed.

I had “to give myself a little talking to” this weekend. I became obsessed with a motorcycle I want to buy. I love the freedom of solitude and riding fast, feeling the wind and the curve of the roads. I love trusting myself to make split second decisions. I don’t love the ratio of drunk drivers in Austin and the traffic on the roads here, unlike the quiet mountain roads of New Mexico I used to ride. I had to remind myself that I have two young boys who need me. Perhaps when Roland is 18, I can buy myself another motorcycle.

Too much prudence is sleeping death. I am joyous and passionate and want to feel everything. Though I know well how to heal, recover, and reconnect, for me there is no joy in drama or sadism. If I am anything, it is resilient.

Marino Marini

I had a great conversation with a friend last night where we talked about an artist I love, Marino Marini. (If you are ever in Florence, Italy…) His work was so joyous and vibrant. I wish we had spent more time in art school talking about what makes an artwork joyous rather than what makes an artwork important. I suppose it is that ambitious, famous artists were more interested in being important and remembered, than being joyous and happy. I make my best art when I am happy, and creativity is the best expression of life—creativity is life. I practice the process of taking risks in my studios and having a piece of art record that risk.

I am the most free when I am alone. I am not often surprised by myself and need the challenge of intimacy, dance, and conversation. It is similar to the freedom of being in nature, where there are the risks of the wild, but no risks of the heart, except the quiet to hear the heart’s own song. Living in the city, there are many human risks, and not much risk of the grizzly bear.

So how do we have human relationships that are both safe and free? How do we build trust? It seems so easy to compromise getting what we need of freedom to feel safe. I am learning to make split second decisions in the world of humans, like when I ride a motorcycle. “How about we…”, “not right now”, “ok!” “can you say more of what you mean?”, “aha!” and “surprise me” need to come out of my mouth much quicker. The magic eight-ball’s answer of “ask again later” may be my all time favorite. I think that is the magic secret, really. To keep asking myself, to keep asking others, and to keep asking life for more. I’ll ask again later if I can have a motorcycle.

Revive and Reach

fisterra — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 16:18:37 +0000