two years.

Photo by my friend, Hannah | Editing by me

Sunday was Chels & the City's two year anniversary. I just want to thank those of you who have followed along from the beginning and those of you who have just started to follow too. All of you make this space worth coming back to and worth all the extra time and effort that a blog takes. I am very proud of this little space and am very happy that two years ago I decided to get back into blog world. I know that this isn't the same blog that it started out to be, but I like the content covered as a whole and I like where this blog is headed. 

I hope you guys will continue you follow along.

Seek Love: Wine Cork Art

I think that the original pin for this project was one of the first pins I ever saw on Pinterest, but just recently did I realize that the link led to nothing. So to right that wrong and use up some wine corks that I've been hoarding, here's a DIY of making art out of some simple materials! Feel free to pin this one, so you actually have the steps for later!

First things first, you need to get all of your materials. Except for the wine corks (obviously) I got all of my materials from WalMart, but I'm sure that they are readily available at any craft store as well. Also, you'll have to save up corks, there are places online that sell them as "supplies" but where's the fun in that? What you'll need: corks, paint, brushes, water cup, pater towels, newspaper, pencil, piece of wood, glue, stencil letters, and something to mix your paints in that you don't mind ruining. I also encourage you to put on your favorite Pandora station because this project does take a while. I highly discourage you allowing your curious kitten to "help" with this, though.

The first step is to paint your board. I originally thought I'd just use a canvas but, didn't think it'd be sturdy enough to hold up - use your discretion on that one. Also, if your board doesn't have a hook on the back, this is the prime time to add that on as well. Let this fully dry before going to the next step. During this time, I went out for dinner, but that's certainly not required.

Step two: Lay out the letters you want on your painted board and paint them in. Or just freehand this - I never trust myself fully to freehand everything, so I outlined my letters. Step three: you'll want to arrange the corks in the shape you'd like. I went with a heart because of the phrase that I put on it and because, Valentine's day is coming up and sometimes I pretend to like that frilly holiday haha

Once you know where you want your corks to go, either mark their places on the painted board, or leave them and work on this step as you go along. Paint just the top of the cork and glue the opposite end to the painted board. For this I used Krazy Glue because it works really well and dries fast. I also painted my heart in an ombre effect to give it some interest.

To finish off your piece of art, make any touch ups that you want and let everything dry overnight before hanging it up. If you'd like, you could also coat your whole piece in a sealer, I personally didn't want to because I don't mind getting an aged look over time.

Check out what other fabulous bloggers are pinning and doing with the H&K Style Journey link-up! 

And don't forget about the giveaway currently going on, hosted by writtenforyou!

Painting With A Twist: In Pittsburgh!

Around Halloween, I won a Twitter contest for two free tickets to an upcoming class at Painting With A Twist in Robinson. Just hearing this made me jump out of my skin with excitement because I have seen pictures on Facebook of friends who have gone to similar studios or this one in particular, and because my mother did not pass on her painting skills to me, I always thought that this would be more my speed, since they teach you as you go along. And of course because it's BYOB.

I unfortunately was unable to use the Halloween tickets because of work conflicts but the fabulous owners, Jamie and Nicole Orlando, allowed me to pick another class to join them. I, of course, choose the Smithfield Street bridge class, as I'm sure I've mentioned before, it's my favorite bridge in Pittsburgh. No, I don't think it's weird to have a favorite bridge, we have 446 to choose from after all! And of course, being that he lives near the location and he's one of my favorite humans, I took along MJ. I thought, what better way to celebrate our 4 year anniversary then to paint some pretty pictures and have dinner afterwards. MJ was not too thrilled at first, considering he doesn't have artist genes either, but that quickly changed when we got there.

After checking in and finding our awesome, and perfectly appropriate for us aprons, we settled in by snacking and meeting some new friends, and then the class started, and MJ began to feel right at home. Our awesome teacher/artist, Amie, was going through routine things, like how the class would go and such, then she came to naming the brushes we'd be using, so we would know which one she wanted us to use and when. So, there's this big brush that she named Big Daddy. She also decided to call MJ, Big Daddy, and being the natural people-person (aka flirt) that he is, by the end of the class, everyone there was calling him Big Daddy, and needless to say, we had the greatest time ever.

I highly suggest that you attend a class. There are locations all around the US (for those of you reading from somewhere that isn't Pittsburgh). Though I can only comment on how fabulous everyone is at this particular location, I'm sure you'll have a good time at any other Painting With A Twist as well.   I honestly, have never believed in Art Therapy until going to this class. (Sorry to my friends who majored in AT in college, but I do believe you now!) And although we still do not have painting skills, MJ and I did have a great night following along to an artist who is obviously very talented, but who could very easily teach and help everyone when needed. Thanks for your patience, Amie! Also, in other news, MJ won the November Tag & Brag that PWAT has on their Facebook each month, so we're very excited to be able to go to another class soon....you should join us!

40-Foot Ducky, You're The One....

If you're from around Pittsburgh, then you know the crazy amounts of buzz surrounding The Rubber Duck Project. If you're not, to sum it up for you, about three weeks ago, a giant duck came floating down the Allegheny River and into the heart of downtown, and the hearts of Pittsburghers. How about that for a sappy line.

While I did not get a chance to see this guy up close, just another reason why I'm sad about moving out of downtown, I did get to see him while driving through multiple parts of the city. Here are some of my favorite pictures of him, captured by some of my favorite Pittsburghers. Enjoy!

Photo provided by Tina Richey.

Photo provided by Laura Greenawalt

Photo provided by Lindsay Nicholson

More than likely my favorite picture with the duck, fabulous job, Katie! Photo provided by Katie Funaki

Thanks to The Cultural Trust, this cutie has been in the city and gathering thousands of visitors for about a month, which all started with a huge kickoff party on the Clemente Bridge on September 27th to welcome him. He is part of an art installation by Dutch artist, Florentijn Hofman, and was created "to bring joy to the world and connect people." And I'm pretty certain he's done that here in Pittsburgh.

As of Sunday night, the duck has left The Point, but I'm sure the tons of people who visited him or even heard about him will not forget the joy of that experience. Pittsburgh, the fabulous city that it is, was the first in the United States to host this big guy and I'm sure will miss him the most. After all, he was here with us to celebrate the first Pittsburgh Pirates playoff experience in two decades. 

25 before 25

I've seen this on a few other blogs and I like the idea of making goals for the next year of life. Tomorrow I turn 24 so here's a list of what I want to do before I turn 25. We'll see how it goes!

1. Run in something. (I don't care if it's a 5K or a marathon, I'm doing something)

2. Start a career - for real. 

3. Save moo-luh! (Seriously)

4. Live totally solo! (As in no parents, no roommates)

5. Convince MJ to put a ring on it. (If he had his way, we'd be engaged now, so this shouldn't be too hard.)

6. Find & perform at a slam poetry event.

7. Love more deeply.

8. See the Pens play at Consol. (I haven't been to a Pens game since they built  Consol! What kind of Pittsburgher am I!?)

9. Drop some lbs.

10. Grow Chels & the City (In whatever way that goes best.)

11. Attend a zumba class. (Everyone says this is such a great workout that I have yet to try.)

12. Buy more (semi-sensible) heels. (Most of my heels are just fashionable, not work-appropriate.)

13. Learn to make awesome drinks & drink them with friends. (I have bartended a bit in the last two years and I really like it, but want to learn more and why not share with friends?)

14. Use my sewing machine to make something for me. (Since I got my sewing machine, it's been a lot of repairing other peoples clothing, I want to make something for me.)

15. Teach something to someone. (Whatever that means, I felt the need to put it down.)

16. Record some songs with my brother, Eric.

17. Get more ink! (I'm craving another tattoo like a crazy person.)

18. Network! (This is oddly hard for me. So I have to work on it to be a fabulous, young professional.)

19. Mail birthday cards to friends/family. (I did pretty good with this, this year but I'd like to send more.)

20. Speaking of cards, start the greeting card line. (I love greeting cards, but usually spend too much time in the card aisle because nothing is just right, so I want to start making all my own. Might as well sell them too!)

21. Read more. (I was good about this too, but can always improve.)

22. Throw an awesome party! (Why not?)

23. Travel! (Again, why not?)

24. Buy a decent camera. (Because really, I neeeeed one.)

25. Sponsor a blog. (This will go with #10.)

Rain, Rain Go Away - We Wanna Go To Arts Fest!

As I mentioned in my last post, the Three Rivers Arts Festival, hosted by Dollar Bank and the Cultural Trust, is a go! With the big opening night on Friday filled with the new Point State Park fountain and headlining band, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, I'm thinking this year will be the best yet.

Although when Eric and I were down there on Friday we were not able to make it in time to be able to walk around to explore the art booths (I had us on a strict schedule of fountain, food, music) we do plan to go back on Wednesday for our mama's birthday. She's never been to the Arts Fest and is an avid fair goer and visual artist herself, so we're taking her and letting her pick her own present. She's stoked. :)

If you are unfamiliar with the Arts Fest, let me help you. I talked about it briefly last year but basically it is ten straight days of music, food and various kinds of art from mostly local artists. You can check out their daily schedules to help you plan your day, but to be honest, unless you see a specific performer, musician or artist at a certain time then the best you can do is just go down and soak it all in at once. Seriously, this is certainly the kind of thing you can just show up to without any kind of plan and have a fantastic time. See the map below for an idea of where everything is set up.

How could you go wrong with strolling through Point State Park and the Gateway Center grounds looking at (and possibly buying) art, making some art of your own in the Giant Eagle Creativity Zone, listing and watching performances on the three stages and/or eating some fair food? Sound like a great time to me, and judging by the popularity of this event, year after year, the rest of Pittsburgh too! Check it out, especially if you haven't before and be sure to walk to the very end of the Park to see the newly renovated fountain as well. Enjoy!

The main stage - Dollar Bank Stage - at the far end of the first lawn in Point State Park.

Hey guys - I finallllllllly saw Donora!!!!!! If you remember me wishing for this in a previous post.

Alex and Jade of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, this year's headlining band.

They invited this lucky kid, Nelson, up on stage with them for a song during Friday's show.

What I think of first when I think of Arts Fest - street performers everywhere!

Map from the Arts Fest website so you know where everything is located :)

Meeting Andy Warhol

Wall along the entrance to the museum.

If you've been around this blog for a while, then you know that I have a (possibly larger than) minor obsession with Andy Warhol. You probably know him, or at least have heard of him as the king of pop art. He was quite possibly one of the most keen observers of the world around us and knew how to make everyday objects into art, and he was from a suburb of Pittsburgh. He's one of my favorite artists because what he calls "pop" I call designing, or advertising, which you also probably know, I love.

Andy once said, "I don't want to get involved, I just want to watch." Which is what I did in his museum yesterday. Because of International Museum Day, The Warhol was free to visitors, and although it is always free for Point Park students, I had the day off and this finally gave me the push to go. I made my way from top to bottom (well 6th floor to 1st since the 7th and 2nd were being prepped for new exhibits) and took my time, though I could have stayed much longer. The 6th floor, filled with Andy's films, the 5th and 4th with the pop art that everyone is probably most familiar with, the 3rd with his "Time Capsules" and Interview Magazine covers and the 1st with the timeline of his life, August 6, 1928 - February 22, 1987.

I loved being his observer. Going alone also allowed me to take the time I wanted to, although I made note that I should have gone there earlier so I wasn't worried about the fact that the museum closes at 5pm, but that just gives me all the more reason to go back, like I plan to. But now, even after I have studied Warhol in college, read books about him and saw a play about him, I now feel like I know him. At least know him better. The museum is a fantastic way to see inside the mind of the unbelievable Warhol, his actual works and works inspired by him and I encourage you to visit. Especially because you aren't allowed to take photos of the exhibits, so you won't see any more visuals here, meaning you have to go see it all and experience it for yourself! Enjoy!

Welcome 2013

Wishing you a happy new year and hoping 

2013 brings you peace, joy and love.

Holy Care Bears, Batman!

So the nicest thing about living downtown Pittsburgh is being able to pop in to businesses, restaurants and galleries without taking up so much time that you worry about having "enough" time to enjoy things you want to see. Today after working a student matinee at the Pittsburgh Public Theater, my lovely friend Kait and I decided to go on a little day-date, or adventure if you will.

The front of ToonSeum - Picture from The Pittsburgh Tote Bag Project

This is just to talk about part one of our adventure and either later tonight or tomorrow you can read about part two! Which involves food and was super fabulous...and new! Anyway, for part one, Kait and I ventured to ToonSeum, "a museum with character." Now I must admit, I always look past this place because I thought it was just for kids. So I have been a little skeptical about going in, until I saw that they were showing a Care Bears and a Batman exhibit. Score! So I had planned to make it over there at some point and was glad to have the company.

The sign said 'Hug Me' - I was just following the rules!

I have to admit, I was wrong about this cute little museum and I am sure I will be returning at least to check out more of the gift shop! I loved the space though, very bright and animated, for lack of a better term, but also interactive and welcoming. The staff also seemed very engaging and knowledgeable about the exhibits. Like I said, the two exhibits featured today were "Care Bears: 30 Years of Caring & Hugs" and "Pittsburgh as Gotham." Both made me feel very nostalgic. The Care Bears exhibit was in the Main Gallery and reminded me of little loves from my childhood. Various Care Bear merchandise was on display as well as many, many, many different art pieces and drawings along the walls, this room just instantly made me happy.

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's uniform from the Dark Knight Rises.

As for Pittsburgh as Gotham, this gallery reminded me of when I first moved in to my current apartment downtown a little over a year ago. As many of you know, the most recent Batman movie, The Dark Night Rises, was shot in Pittsburgh during the summer and fall of 2011. It was great to see the city turn into the backdrop for such a major film, during the same time that I was moving in, so I especially loved seeing the ToonSeum bring this time to life again through this exhibit. This exhibit, brought many different elements of Batman and his history to the same space in the Lou Shiemer Gallery in ToonSeum. The very detailed drawings and the more cartooned pictures were all great pieces and I loved all the memorbilia from the movie. I especially loved seeing the pictures from the set and during filming, even though I saw a lot of the action first hand, you could only get so many little glimpses of what was going on, so it was great to see those spaces in detail.

So, I was wrong, this is not just for the kiddos, though I'm sure they would enjoy it! However, unlike most of the other galleries downtown, ToonSeum does charge, but for five dollars, it was great to be able to look around for as long as we pleased. I would recommend checking out what this gallery has to offer and not think that it is just a place for the kids. Also stay tuned for part two of our adventure today in a later post...I promise it is mouth watering!

So Many Arts!

Well for the past week, downtown has been invaded by people coming to and from the Three Rivers Arts Festival. The festival, which boasts of being one of the biggest of it's kind started on June 1st and will wrap up tomorrow night.

The festival sponsored by Dollar Bank.

All of Point State Park and the Hertz Gateway Center have been taken over by vendors for food and art booths and a great creativity zone for the kids, all while tours are being given of the entire Cultural District. To say the least - this event has entirely taken over my main stomping grounds and is showing the greatest side to downtown.

Ashley Hodder working on "The Catch of the Day." Photo by CityPaper.

The festival which is "Celebrating creativity and promoting environmental responsibility," is doing a great job of keeping people entertained and well fed, all while making sure that everyone in attendance is making conscience efforts to be "green." All throughout the festival, there are trash and recycling containers that are greatly decorated and show how things can be reused, called the 3R's: Reuse, Recycle and Repurpose. As well as a tent dedicated to collecting ideas about how to better Pittsburgh and polling to see how people got to the festival via "The Green Machine" hoping it will all make people more aware of how to be more green! My favorite art was actually not for sale and was a giant fish made out of a bunch of trash that was found in the rivers. It was super cool, but kind of annoying to see the kinds of things people throw in the river without thinking of how it could effect the environment.

Since it's opening, I have been to the festival about three times. The first time was solely to eat, while on Tuesday afternoon it was to see my friends Caleb and Shawn play on the Dollar Bank Stage, which was an awesome experience for them and a great entertainment session for everyone stopping by and then on Thursday to actually take in the whole festival with Eric, who found an awesome digital art print of one of his music idols, Johnny Cash. Although I probably won't be heading down anymore this weekend - if you have yet to head down or just need a bit more family fun in your week, tonight and tomorrow are you last chances to experience it all. Have fun!

Explosive Art Exhibit

The title of this exhibit alone got me excited to go see it, Girls 'N' Guns, by Rachel Nieborg and Ine Mulder is going on until June 10th at 709 Penn Avenue and to say the least, it is explosive. Go see it now.

Last week, after working at the Public Theater, I was able to take the block walk to 709 with Isaac to see the exhibit. I mostly wanted to see it because I didn't know what to expect, whether the art would just be exciting with a fun title, or if real guns would be involved. And both would be the correct answer.

Explosive photography by Rachel Nieborg and Ine Mulder now at 709 Penn Ave.

While the walls of the gallery were all painted bright red, the photographs were the ones that made bold statements. Each piece had a different arrangement of items, usually involving fish and mice, as well as things that could be found in the average kitchen, displayed on a table. Not too exciting so far, except that in each piece the action of something in the scene was shot, which made each one interesting to browse. Though most of the objects were everyday, some of them needed a closer look and Isaac didn't really appreciate the ones with mice, but I guess it's all just art in this space. On a postcard of the event that I picked up on the way out, it says that the exhibit is of "stop-action photographs" which is a great depiction of what this exhibit is.

I'd suggest that if you're in the area between now and mid-June that you go into 709 Penn to see this exhibit, it's one that really cannot be accurately described and really just must be seen in person so you can make your own assumptions about it and how artistic you think it is or isn't. Personally, I think it's great art because of the reaction Isaac and I had to each piece. Even if you're not into art, you might still want to check it out because you like to see stuff get blown up. Whatever your reason, it's worth seeing!

As one closes, another opens...

Well, this is a bit long overdue considering I went to both of these galleries on Friday but, sometimes life happens and you have to deal with the more important things first. But, better late than never.

On Friday, I went to two galleries to check out the work - I was very excited to see both of these exhibits because both were said to be featuring forms of travel, which I would love to do more of. The first, was at 709 Penn Gallery and had new work by Melissa Kuntz the exhibit called Caravan, showcased paintings that were mainly of RVs. I loved every piece. I loved that the canvases still looked wet from the paint, each of them shinny and new. I loved the solid and bold painting style. I loved how Melissa's point of view seemed to come in at an atypical angle, not just straight on and boring. I just loved each piece. Friday (April 13th) was the closing of this exhibit and I'm sorry that I did not go to see it sooner and comment on it, because if you didn't see it, you really missed out on some quality art. And who would have thought I can be that passionate about a bunch of paintings of trailer homes?

The other exhibit I went to was going on at Future Tenant and was actually the opening reception. This was actually the first opening or closing art reception that I have gone to where I did not know the artist, so I kind of felt that that girl that was crashing the party. I'm also one of those people who likes to go about an exhibit by myself so I can make my own observations and take my time looking at certain pieces. (Yes, I am lame.) I might have to go back to this one to get that full effect and to actually appreciate it more. But I also loved this exhibit. This work was right up my alley...or runway rather, since a lot of the pieces here featured airplanes.

"Your Life is an Accident" by Johnathan Chamberlain

At Future Tenant, the exhibit is currently running through May 5th and features artwork by Arthur Mohagen III, Johnathan Chamberlain and John Phillip Abbott is called Broken Slogan. I really liked this exhibit as well because of the focus on travel, but also because there was a quite a bit of text used in each work and if I was an artist, I would put text on everything. I also liked that the guys did more than just paintings, but drawings, sketches and some objects as well. My favorite piece though was done by Johnathan Chamberlain, who is also a Pittsburgh native, called "Your Life is an Accident." I thought the emotion in the work was real and I also liked his use of vertical lines, which to me created a disconnect between the two main figures in the work.

I would suggest checking out Broken Slogan while it's here in Pittsburgh, I can easily say that you will not be disappointed in the technique each artist obviously has and the fresh look on what is art, is not only evident, but poetic throughout each piece represented.  You can do so either on your own during their hours, or there is also a Gallery Crawl on Friday, April 27th from 5:30pm until 9pm, where you'll be able to access every gallery downtown, you might see me out and about there!

Lost in memories and transit

Although I was continuing on with my February Gallery Fest as planned, maybe I just wasn't in the artsy mood today, or didn't really feel welcomed at either of the places I visited, but whatever it was...the art I saw today didn't really click with me. Though I did love one piece that was at SPACE, the gallery as a whole didn't really impress me and Wood Street Galleries was a little far-fetched to my eye. But in art, everyone's a critic and I know that my opinion certainly doesn't stand for everyone's which is why I encourage everyone to check out these galleries for themselves. Only take my opinion at face value.

HC Gilje: in transit
This is the exhibit going on until April at Wood Street Galleries, which must have been having an elevator problem today because I had to go all over the place to get to the actual gallery and since it was split between floors, I actually only got to see the second floor. So that in itself makes my opinion biased I guess, but let's be real, this kind of stuff should just work if you expect people to enjoy their experience.

Anyway, in a little pamphlet I picked up about a week ago that is about this exhibit has an explanation by HC Gilje's work and it says, "I often work with projection as an advanced light source which can be masked to the shape of different surfaces of a room or an object, affectingly modulating the light and sound I project into it...Being able to control what is visible and when it is visible gives me the opportunity to influence both perception of time and space." Well. That's all well and good and I'm sure it took great effort to figure out each idea of what would be projected and how, but let's just say it wasn't my cup of tea. This exhibit would probably lead to a great discussion of whether or not it is really art because it is basically just manipulation of a projector. But, I guess the art would be in the way this everyday object is manipulated.


Overlapping Memories
This exhibit, currently at SPACE is "exploring memory and introspection through contemporary uses of collage in digital media" and has various artists featured from Spain and the US. I was more open to this exhibit because I like the gallery better in general and it had more pieces that I could actually want to get into, though most I must admit I was turned off to because there were a lot of digital pieces and I, frankly, didn't want to watch them all. Wow. I should probably revisit both of these when I'm in an artsy mood, gosh I sound so mean!

part of Elementary Excursions by Andrew Ellis Johnson

Detail of Elem. Excursion

Now of course, because I'm a stupid American, my favorite piece was one by fellow land-of-the-braver, Andrew Ellis Johnson, with his piece, Elementary Excursions. This work made me so happy. Simple lines of paint on the walls with little baseball card sized pictures of animals thumb-tacked to each line. This piece reminded me of my bedroom at my parents house, because I have vertical stripes that take up an entire wall and then poster-sized frames with regular 4x6 pictures in the middle of them in each stripe- so I must admit that that familiarity of this piece to my own "art" in my bedroom is what initially drew me in. But I also loved the uniqueness of each of the little pictures - it all reminded me of an elementary field trip to the zoo, which is just a quality feel good piece of art. It was a great ending to a kinda bummed-out start in the art world.

A Man's Internal Reflection & A Few Paper Thin Hearts

As promised, today was the second step in my February Gallery Fest and I'm pleased to report the art is getting better and better (in my opinion at least). Today, I went to 707 Penn Ave. and 709 Penn Ave., which are located about five feet away from each other. Both exhibits were fabulous.


707 - Steve Emmett: Internal Reflections

Man's Best Friend

In this gallery you will find a number of paintings that focus on "his motif of the solitary male figure," done by the late Steve Emmett, who was a professor at Edinboro University, as well as an artist. Now I must admit, these paintings were quite manly in the sense that I could imagine all of them being done in real life, by men and only men. A lot of them made me feel like I accidentally walked in on a man just living his life on a typical Saturday afternoon. Boxers, mess and beer is an easy way to sum up the gallery as a whole. And while I found it a bit off to have the paintings hanging in a perfectly clean gallery, maybe that was the intent. I love when artists let you walk in on real life, each of Steve's paintings were very rich in color and raw in emotion. It's not everyday that you see art that's beautifully messy, usually, from what I've seen, artists tend to pick one or the other. I admire when artists break out of the "norms"...I believe that's really what art is supposed to do anyway.

My favorite piece from this collection was called Man's Best Friend, which was done in 2005 and is being sold for $1,900...in case anyone is interested. Again, the emotion on the man's face in this painting is so real and the scene is striking but yet, depicting something so common. Whatever is going on in this man's mind must be agonizing, but at least his faithful little companion is there to support him.


709 - Kathryn Carr: Paper Thin Theater

Mother Earth

I absolutely adored this exhibit! I seriously could not get over it; the detail, the humor and wit, the innovation and interaction, the technique...all flawless. (I'm pretty sure I became her number one fan today.) On a sheet of paper, as you make your way into the gallery is an explanation of the art. Kathryn Carr does paper cut art, which focuses on storytelling, mostly children's tales, puppetry and opera, which are presented in a silhouette form. The paper also said that she began this kind of art in 2008 and that it has remained her only medium because she loves the bold effects of the silhouette and straightforwardness of the creative process. Seriously, Kathryn must have been that one kid in the second grade who was making these bomb paper snowflakes while everyone else was just trying not to cut their fingers off. This exhibit was amazing! Not only was I filled with so much joy going through and actually remembering some of the fables, but it was so cool to see something so unique. Maybe this is a huge medium somewhere, but I've never seen something this beautiful and as simple paper cut-outs. And of course, since the gallery was selling prints of some pieces and cards with some other pieces on them, I had to buy something! And if you know me, you know that I spend far too much time being in love with stationary and the card aisle of every store...even if I don't actually need to buy a card for someone, so I bought a few the cards. Probably the best purchase of the year and it's only February.

Staged Identity

Since I loved Kathryn's exhibit so much, I'll just let her pieces speak for themselves. I'm currently using Mother Earth as the background on my phone and really had to pull myself away from buying it. But the cards are so beautiful as well. I'm not posting them, because I want the people who I plan on sending them to, to be surprised, but I will say that two are very "teacher-like" and two are about love and Pittsburgh. In other news: both of the exhibits mentioned are going on until Sunday the 19th, so if you're in the area, be sure to check them out! You cannot get the full experience simply through reading my blog - get out there and support the artists, Pittsburgh! You'll be glad you did!

dis·til·late (noun)

As part of my February Gallery Fest, I started today at Future Tenant with their exhibit Distillate. Although all of the pieces were beautiful in their own right, three of them really took my attention. Rachel Debuque with Tiffany Lee's mixed media piece, Ruby Jane Jones, Morgan Cann's video The Rock and Ashley Andrews' digital photography pieces. Overall, this was a great exhibit to start on - although it ends tomorrow, if you're able to, you should really try to get into Future Tenant to check it out!

First, let's talk about The Rock. This video was weird but beyond interesting. I watched it about three times, the girl at the desk probably thought I was crazy. Anyway, it was for the most part silent except for a few little sounds of movement that you can barely hear since the TV it's playing on is so quiet. But from what I got out of it, it was about this little creature that goes on this journey through the wilderness (probably someone's backyard) and it finds different things but isn't satisfied until it finds a perfectly round rock. For the next couple of minutes the creature is obsessed with this damn rock and eventually takes it back home to a huge (compared to the creature) pile of rocks and then goes back out on the hunt. My interpretation (though probably missing the artist's intent) was that we all become obsessed with certain things and we become so routine in our lives that it's hard for us to even appreciate other things in the world.....we should probably stop doing that. The video also had sparklers in it, which is always an automatic win in my book.

Ashley Andrews' digital photography pieces were almost completely missed because of the little nook of the space they are in, but on my way out I saw them and was blown away. There are six or seven photos, each depicting a different event from June 12, 2011 until November 15, 2011. Which kinda threw me off at first because those dates are the birthday's of my mom and brother, respectively. (I can never remove myself from art.) Each picture showed an event in the time line of a relationship, I'm assuming between the artist and a lover. Although each one was a simple photo of one person, dressed to represent the event and doing what was going on that day, I could not look away from these pictures. Beyond the fact that they are so well developed, styled and designed, each of their titles is a date accompanied with a short description of what happened that day. Ashley Andrews' voice in the descriptions spoke as loudly and beautifully as her pictures. I was floored. And although there is only one more day for this exhibit, you either need to go in and check them out for yourself or track this work down somehow. Those pictures with their descriptions were the most heartbreakingly beautiful pictures I have ever seen. (Yes, I did just make up the word heartbreakingly.)

Finally, my favorite piece of all was a mixed media piece titled Ruby Jane Jones. I'm always won over by mixed media. This piece is a chair with different elements added to it to create it's character. One of it's most beautiful parts is the face, which is represented by a video of a girl who makes a variety of different facial expressions and displays quite a lot of moods very typical to the average woman. (I laughed to myself at a few of them, knowing I give people some of the same expressions.) I could go on about how and why this is one of my favorite pieces, but let's hear from you...what do you love and hate about this piece? How does it make you feel? Why was it made? Is it art? Let me know your thoughts....

Full view of Ruby Jane Jones by Rachel Debuque & Tiffany Lee at Future Tenant's Distillate

I wish I could have gotten a better view of the face but these were taken with my camera phone.

Nails and a cig.

 

Those cigarettes aren't even fully finished!

Baby plant and the Pall Mall's.

 

Ruby Jane Jones by Rachel Debuque and Tiffany Lee.