The sheet of aluminum was entirely cut down to parts that went into two piles, Hell, and Heaven, to have all the edges ground down and wire brushed.

Next I started cutting out the shapes with a plasma cutter from the curved sheet steel. It went a lot faster than sheet steel, so I got it all cut out in about 8 hours, which was good, because its 103* here in Austin.

This project would not be completed, because of my conflicting deadlines, without the help of my delightful studio intern Andrea Grimm, a fine arts undergraduate student at The University of Texas. She is bright, pleasant and industrious, and understands my abstract instructions quite well.

This is a picture of the 4′x8′ sheet of 1/8″ aluminum stenciled with the repeating shape. We made it a little bigger in scale than the paper plan, meaning the negative spaces for “Hell” will be in more sections. After Andrea spray painted the stencil onto the aluminum, it went to a shop to get run through a sheet metal bender and curved to a half circle with a 5’2″ diameter.

I spent two days of the July 4 weekend creating patterns out of the ink drawings, both in photoshop and with paper and tape.

I tried out arches, octagons, hexagons, pentagons and quads, finally settling on a finalist that I nicknamed “genie” as a hexagon positive for heaven. I liked its line quality and its dynamic shape as a single, a double, and a hexagon. And I liked the negative shapes it left on its remaining sheet. I tried several different arrangements of the drops to make a hexagon negative for hell.  I think I found one I’m interested in, and imagine it will change a bit once its made to scale. Part of the process is planning the best I can, and being open to change and improvements.

My fabulous helper Andrea Grimm helped by projecting and cutting out the stencil, and spray painting the stencil onto the sheet of aluminum full size. We made a few adjustments as she worked. It was really cool to get to explain my process to her and let her go at it. She’s smart. She also helped with the math: I’m good at geometry, she’s good at algebra. She left me this lovely simple note: C=16,  D=C/pi, C/pi=piD/pi  D=5.093, R=2.55, sweet!

Artist Virginia Fleck recommended Crippen Sheet Metal in Austin, who will roll the sheet into a half circle on Monday.

In the bottom photo, the shape on the left is the “heaven” piece, and the shape on the bottom right is the start of the “hell” piece. The dome is a finished piece of art called “Moon” that is a 5″ hemisphere that I used as a scale model of a 5′ dome.

Tomorrow I’ll post a picture of the stenciled, flat sheet metal, ready for bending into a half circle.

Today I started by making ink drawings for the piece. I am considering whether I want to incorporate the straight edges of the sheet metal. I made lots of 4″x8″ and 4″x4″ sheets of paper as 1″=1′ scale mockups for the art. As I drew I made simple variations of a theme, considering what makes a dynamic line — why some gestural drawings are more compelling than others. I also realized I could make faceted domes with mirrored arcs. So then I started fooling around in Photoshop to see which shapes could fit the size of sheet with enough cutouts, and made models out of card stock.

I have been asked by David Solomon to create and exhibit two works for a show in Santa Fe in August and September titled “Hell and Heaven”.

About the show: Santa Fe Community College’s School of Arts and Design Visual Arts Gallery presents “Hell and Heaven”, a two- part show curated by David Solomon. The exhibitions examine the artist’s internal ideas of Hell and Heaven in a time of political, social, and economic disruption. The exhibition is presented in two parts with Hell presented first to convey the progression from dark to light.

“Hell” runs from Aug. 25 through Sept. 9, 2011. The opening reception is on Thursday, Aug. 25 from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m.
“Heaven” runs from Sept. 15 through Sept. 29, 2011. The opening reception is on Thursday, Sept. 15 from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m.

I often journal about my work as I make it, so I have a record of my creative process. Since the pieces for this show are complex, I wanted to more publicly record (blog about) the process of making these works, so you can see how I get from point A to point Z.

It is odd proposing the work before you make something that has never existed before. But if I didn’t have a show and a deadline, I would make art that required fewer resources — time and money are tight. The statement about the work (with dimensions and media) is due to the gallery.  I know I want to create two “domes”; I know I have two sheets of 4′x8′ aluminum that I want to use for this piece.  Here is what I proposed:

*Project calligraphic shapes from artist’s drawings onto sheet metal,
*Cut out positive shapes using plasma cutter,
*Collect both positive and negative drops from cutting process,
*Bend them in sheet roller into perfect half circle arcs,
*Finding midpoint of arcs, attaching the shapes at midpoint,
*Fan out shapes so they create a hemisphere (dome),
*Hang dome and paint interior and exterior of dome with paint durable for interior or exterior,
*Paint will include unique color palette and marks, further creating the Positive and Negative concept of the two pieces for “Hell” and “Heaven”.

For these two domes, Hell and Heaven, I look at process and totality, considering the concept of opposites as two parts of a whole.

Recipe for large batch of  Northern New Mexican POSOLE BLANCO

In ONE giant tamale steaming pot (can hold about 4 gallons total), add:

5 giant (108 oz) cans of white hominy (posole blanco) (Bush’s or Juanitas)

4 13 oz containers of mild Bueno green chile  (or 2/3 hot/medium)

(In Austin, available at Fresh Plus, or order online from Bueno Foods)

6 bay leaves

6 cubes vegetable bullion or vegetable stock

6 cups (or more) cans water, rinsing out large posole cans of their hominy stock

Turn stove on medium high and begin heating. After this boils, reduce to simmer

In large cast iron pan, add:

1/2 cup olive oil

6 large crushed and chopped fresh garlic cloves

¼ cup chopped fresh rosemary

¼ cup tablespoons chopped fresh oregano

Sea salt and ground black pepper to taste

1 tablespoon crushed red pepper

3 finely chopped large white onions

1 large bunch chopped fresh parsley

1 large bunch chopped fresh cilantro

Allow this to simmer until onions are translucent, then add this to the large pot of stew & stir.  If creating a side batch of vegan posole for vegan/vegetarian guests, take out about 6 cups of stew and simmer in separate, smaller pot for equal time as chicken batch

Without cleaning cast iron pan, add to it:

5 lbs chopped all-natural chicken thighs, (about 1-1/2 to 2 lbs per big can posole).  My large cast iron pan will hold about 5 lbs, for the 5 can batch I use about 5 lbs of chicken thighs

1/4 cup olive oil

juice of one lime per big can posole

Cook chicken in lime juice, then add to big pot when done

Depending on how long you cook down the stew, you will stir and reconstitute with water every few hours. At minimum, plan to cook 4 hours before serving, at best, cook over a 24 hour period. Can be reheated and/or frozen

This is a big batch of food made for big parties. It is gluten free, and easily makes vegan and chicken batches, pleasing most guests. I serve with limes, tortillas, chips and salsa

Mon dieu, mais c’est les qualités spéciales qui créent la fixation d’erotique. Pour moi, et pour le désir de sensation de personne. Un pied de l’homme est très unique. La forme du pied, la force, l’usure des étapes du voyage, la preuve de soin ou le manque, et la finesse de détail. Le chemin que le pied a marché à moi, la vulnérabilité de ma langue sur lui. Merci, monsieur, je suis plu votre esprit est intrigué par mes idées. Est-cela un ordre? Oui monsieur. J’attends avec l’impatience pour être conforme à votre ordre. J’attends avec l’impatience pour toucher vos pieds. Je suis votre humble serviteur, mon roi. Faites attention pour flirter avec moi en français des pieds, mon cher l’un. Je suis une femme vulnérable. Et passionné. C’est vrai, je suis une lionne. Bon voyages !

What I need… to keep going? To hang on? To have hope? To be enthused? To be happy? To have my eyes pop open in the morning without dread? Something like that…  written only in the order that one leads to another, Not in order of priority. My children are my priority, and I am very clear about that.

(I wrote this first in 2008, and edited it for 2011. So much the same, so much has changed. In some ways very personal, but in other ways, universal. So that’s why I’m sharing it here.)

Uninterrupted time & physical space to MAKE ART: which, for me, gives me time to: feel freedom, meditate, attempt something transcendent, process my feelings, feel new feelings, dream, follow a train of thought where ever it goes, explore colors, connect my hands- eyes and mind, do something I am good at, invent, record and explore, think about my relationships with people, listen to music, and much more.

Recognition for my artwork: either by sales, shows, reviews, quality conversations with other art lovers about my work, or ?  Maybe to justify the resources I devote to the act of creating that I SO need.  But it is really satisfying to see all the artwork together, arranged correctly, with good lighting, in a big beautiful space, to see and hear people’s reactions. To meet someone who really connects with the work and wants to take it home. That’s like watching your child get married.

Family: to have healthy relationships with my sons, Wallace and Roland, and enjoy their company. To stay present with them on a daily basis so I can be kind and affectionate and not reactive. Adventure time, down time, one-on-one time, snuggle time, amidst the routines, the training and the hustle.  To create family through pets and the daily care of animals. To be the best mother I can be, I need everything else on this list so that I am whole.

Safety: to have reasonable expectations and boundaries with family so that I feel safe in the world. This means an absolute boundary with my family of origin, which means a self-imposed orphan state, which challenges the resources that my children need, but fortunately they have their wonderful father’s lovely family for that experience, sad they live so far away. That means I create family from my community of friends, and let them know that I really need their support, more than just as friends sometimes. I need to know that in an emergency, there are people who I can call and just say “help!” who immediately understand and respond.

Travel: to experience the wonder of our world. My immediate world is so lovely I forget to leave it.  Travel gives me things to look forward to in the year, and touchstones to look back upon when remembering a place or an adventure.

Health: to maintain good health. To have food I enjoy procuring, cooking and eating, and feel good about the source and safety of it. To feel comfortable in my skin. To balance different kinds of exercise to stay engaged and invigorated.  This means buying food from reliable sources, trips to farmers markets, having time to prepare food I’m inspired to cook, dancing, gym workouts, biking, yoga, walking. To get enough sleep to be sane and not cranky, which means improving my insomnia.

Connection: to interact with people I care about. To spend enough time with them to feel that I know them. To help them with life’s ups and downs, and feel connected to a set of people in the world. To share my excitements with my terrors with friends, and to feel comfortable doing so. To have relationships that I trust, so that if things get bumpy, the relationships will endure and hopefully we will grow closer from working through things. To have a sense of who my true friends are, to adore difficult people while not allowing them to abuse my generosity and tolerance, and to really enjoy my easy friends.  To keep contact with friends far away, even though I’m sad they are not here. To notice new people I meet who might be future friends.

Adventure: to experience new and amazing things in the world, from unexpected conversations to beauty in nature. I need to PLAY, to feel surprise and wonder at the natural and social world.  To feel the surprise of another person’s energy and the unique connection shared by only the two of us, through words, ideas, dance or touch. To see great art in museums, to notice a beautiful insect. To try new food.

Books: to read good books and have good books to look forward to reading. It is amazing how excited I get about a good novel, challenging myself with non-fiction, and having a stack of books to anticipate. Reading and studio time are my best ways to get the next thing on my list:

Solitude.

Security: the security that I have is hard-earned. I built an empire with my ex-husband, and now I am rebuilding. I am so grateful for my awesome house, life experience, and persistence. But I need some base level income to build from, either adjunct teaching, or new business income, so that art sales are a bonus. Working hard on that right now.

Clean and organized environment. Easy. I’m good at that.

Intimacy: Touch, love, affection, playfulness, and full sensual body experience. There’s only one thing I know of where I am fully in all my senses at once, sex.  Partner dancing is the next best thing.

Gratefulness: I’m sure there are lots of things I could add that I have, but because I have them and they are in no threat of drying up, I’m not noticing them right now. Part of how I spend time being thankful is to write.

I have a little tiny post-it on my desk that reads: Enjoy family, Enjoy friends, Make art, See wonderful things, Read books, Health, Security, Touch