Signs of the Times

Going back a little in time, David started us out on Monday with a very simple art installation. Our assignment was to take buckets with beads and spread them around campus around paths and other places where we could watch how others interacted with them and they could "return to nature". It was extremely difficult to actually start pouring beads on the ground Intentionally! I'm much more likely to see something cool and want to pick it up.


But once we started, it was a lot of fun (and I think all of us except maybe David did indeed pocket a few beads along the way). I started out by "feeding" a ceramic bird along this really cool wall, then drew designs at several crossroads. Several other students sprinkled beads along pathways, where the look like brightly colored confetti. And one placed a substantial pile of beads in the middle of the main path to the dining hall. By breakfast the next morning, someone had added a little wooden design to the now flattened pile. And by lunchtime, the circle had been surrounded by little standing stones. It's now starting to dissipate, as people continue to pick through it for the special beads. It's been a lot of fun to watch more and more people of both genders exclaiming over the dropped beads and collecting their favorites.


Back in the studio we have been working on a variety of samples. I'd never worked in right angle weave, which is David's preferred stitch, so I've been playing with it in its different aspects, working to understand all it can do. We spent the first day simply covering other beads. Of the three beaded beads in this picture, the front and back right one were class projects. The green square in the background was a real pain because it required precise counting to make all of the corners and edges come out right. I am NOT good at precise counting while doing art. I simply cannot seem to hold numbers in my head while I am in my artist mode. The oval bead at the front was much easier for me, even though others considered it more difficult because it included decreases.


This afternoon we were playing with fringe samples and Guthrie created a little sample that really reminded me of a fish. So I took what she had done and played with it some more and decided to see just how "fish-like" I could make it. Here's the result.

My new friend is about 2 inches long, to give a sense of scale. I finished him up about 9pm and decided to call it quits for the evening.