Monday, March 3, 2008

Show at the Contemporary Art Center of Peoria

I recently picked up my work from the Contemporary Art Center of Peoria. It was not a show that I did under the Necropolis Studios name, but I thought it might be worth mentioning, and they gave me a package of pictures from the show and extra post cards.
Here is a picture of the postcards:


I really recommend the venue for anyone that might have the opportunity to show there. William the executive director, pictured on the left, was very helpful, and provided hotel rooms for all of the artists. They also put on a really nice opening with live music and sushi. The opening was a bit terrifying, for me as I tend to be a bit socially awkward. When Stuart and I got up to the building there were about 400 crows circling around in the dark a bit like a scene out of Nightwatch. I chose to take this as a good sign. When we got in we met K.A. Letts the cubist who gave me some opening pointers. She noticed that I was mostly together when talking about technique but I was very shaky when people wanted to ask about the meaning of the work. It's not that the work doesn't have meaning, but I have a really hard time discussing it and not feeling like an idiot. She suggested before any opening I come up with a three sentence script about every piece.

The other artists Beth Bojarski and Mark Winter had a long conversation with me during set up. They both had lovely collections of work and it was kind of fascinating to watch them flip in and out of professional mode. Here is a shot of some of Mark's work at the show:




I had six pieces at the show, including a 5ft figure that does not fit in my car. The big figure titled "Perennial" was sort of a 200 hour learning experience. I may have to wait a while before I try one that size again. I unfortunately have not been able to get a hold of them, but there are some great shots my family took of people talking around the sculpture that look as though it is participating in the conversation. Here is a shot of it at the show:


Here is one of the other pieces at the show, titled "Uprooted She Creeps". This one also went to Gencon with us as well.
I will likely post some of the other pictures from this show, on the blog at a later date.