This week I unfortunately had the flu. It knocked me down hard and I was in bed all week. However I sketched in bed and tried to do what I could when I finally felt myself on Saturday.

Working with the movement of the hurricane form, illustrating statics of the intensifying storms and more experimentation with mark making on trees.

I did want to mention: Paula Winokur  https://vimeo.com/48971998     and

this week was focused on tests related to the exhibition. i built structures with flagpole stands and light stands to hold fabric up as a video projection screen.(image)

I tested one projection and also double projection. The two projectors are of different makes and resolutions so their projections did not line up. If i decided to go with two projector and a “panoramic” look i would need two projectors of the same make.

I thought it might be possible to build something inexpensive, but I fear a homemade look.
Here is another pre-fab stretched fabric frame option from Displays 2 Go
https://www.displays2go.com/P-27565/Nude-Frame-for-CNWLV1G
can work depending on the space in the gallery

i bought a new roll of cellophane and tested the aurora borealis effect and was disappointed to find that not all cellophane is created equal? my tests were a fail. the new cellophane did not create the dynamic effects the other piece did. How do I know what type of cellophane creates the prism effect when light is shown through it? Should I purchase some iridescent cellophane? Where do I find various types and brands of cellophane?? Party City?

the project creating islands/ volcanos/ icebergs began with silver pleather, moved into silver mylar, plastic sheeting and now adding clear cellophane. The question of how much we want to see the body, how much we want to know the body is there.

my mylar emergency blankets arrived on Wednesday. As special gift for ordering the extra large size emergency blankets i received a “free” one with gold and pink. I am thrilled to play with these two new colors. As it started to snow that morning I planned to take the pink one out in the snow but it quickly turned to freezing rain. In the studio I played with the idea of the pink being an upright figure running through the white landscape. This will be a separate piece from the silver mylar works and I will continue next time it snows. The weather report shows no snow in our region for the next few weeks so i may need to wither wait to work on this project or go find snow. Does anyone know if I go to a mountain that makes snow, how close can i get to the created snow without having to pay for the ski ticket??

http://www.nj.gov/agriculture/divisions/pi/prog/eabactionkit.html

http://www.treesintrouble.com/#resources

http://www.f2environmentaldesign.com/

Starting the EAB Catacombs. Using a door from a wood stove, that burned ash logs, I traced the arches for the EAB life cycle, leaving traces of ash ashes on each shape. Working towards 18 drawings 15” x 30” in charcoal and pastel as backdrop to the 3D arch.

I am interested in the use of natural elements or materials and objects that have acquired history over time.  Re-contextualizing them into new forms. My installation will give birth to  a new visual perception reclaiming those materials by creating an elongated, oval naturalistic form appearance with a distorted new shape.

I collected natural and artificial materials from the coastal shore area after Super Storm Sandy. Materials such as jute fiber rope and raffia often used in horticulture and fruticulture or in the production of crafts. I also collected plastic bags which are used daily to carry merchandize at stores like Home Depot, Shop Rite or Dollar stores to name a few. They all are important  elements to adapt while configuring a new organic form.

Plastic which is used to make bags for carrying objects reveals consumerism  and materialism. It represents our society and our way of living. Natural materials such as raffia and jute are loaded with historical and modern-day narratives and are manufactured by peasants and indigenous people that rely on this products to produce functional objects, similar to plastic production.

Carnegie Lake – D&R Canal Loop:

Last two images from NJ Coast-Keyport

Here are some more poses. I cleaned up the scanned model and I created a “mock skirt” around her waist in order to better visualize the project. The points on the skirt (on the final piece) will be based on climate data).

• I need to figure out how to map data points unto a mesh object to create the skirt which is harder than I thought—involves python :/ below you can see a sketch of the math involved with creating the skirt.
• I consulted with Elizabeth Yankovsky, a graduate student of Oceanic studies at Princeton University who pointed me to global temp data of the the earth. This makes more sense then sea level rising data because the temp affects the sea level rising and more accurately looks at climate change and pattern of normal temp fluctuations.
• I printed a 6″ replica of my favorite scanned pose. I can’t wait to see it with the skirt
• New working title: “La Tierra Tiene Fiebre” (Yemaya) – translates to “the earth has a fever”

Deborah Sperry                      The Ark –What do you want to save?

When I reflect on “Eye of the Storm” I see a large hole of relative calm. The storm swirls around the periphery dense, menacing and impenetrable. The eye is a pivot around which the storm gathers and destroys. When I was a child my family lived in South Asia. Every year there were hurricanes (typhoons) of various intensities that visited with little warning until they were almost on top of the land unlike today’s satellite imaging and warnings. During one category five storm with winds of 150 MPH the eye passed over the island. What had been artificially dark and insanely loud became calm and light. We peeked out of the door to see what was left. Every living thing had been stripped bare, broken and blown away, nothing seemed to be left.

To that point, we are at this moment in history at which most people would agree that climate change is happening, that it is mostly man made from industrialization and fossil fuel burning and something should be done. What we cannot seem to agree upon is who should do what and how much or when. The Paris Accord moved the needle in a positive direction but held only that nation states should do what they can. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has been studying and documenting the science of this change for over 3 decades. The IPCC has just published the 7^th Assessment of the science gathered worldwide by over 200 climate scientists and agencies. Let me interject here that there are deniers who do not believe the science or who simply believe that everything is just as it should be …I do not wish to engage in that conversation as it is a waste of time. The assessments are tough reading a decoder is needed to get through the language.

Climate change has been described as a problem with a huge “procrastination penalty” With each passing year of inaction, stabilizing the Earth’s climate becomes increasingly difficult. It is according to (Gardener 2011) the perfect moral storm with a generational deferment of consequences. If we choose not to act on this problem now, then the very best case scenario we must accept that our children and grandchildren will grow up in a world lacking some of the beauty and wonder of our world. They may come of age in a time where:

• Polar bears, pikas and numerous other creatures will be the stuff of myth
• There will be no Great Barrier Reef to explore
• Giraffes and elephants will no longer loom in the foreground of the majestic snows of Kilimanjaro
• Great coastal communities such as Amsterdam, Venice, Miami and New Orleans will disappear beneath the waves.

Of course, humankind might plausibly adapt to these sad changes.

In the worst case scenario, however, our grandchildren will grow up, as renowned climate scientist James Hansen has bluntly put it, on “a different planet” – a planet potentially resembling the dystopian world depicted in science fiction movies such as Soylent Green and The Island. Adaptation, in this case is unlikely to be viable for many of the world’s people and other living things. (Michael E 2016)

Which brings me to The Ark Project. What do you want to save? There must be things we can all agree on that have value. In this post-truth world there must be similarities of value that each person must have. If not the world itself, can it be kindness? Or should we try to save each other? I’m not sure of an answer and would very much like to know what other people think about this.

The Ark will be built of cast and shredded paper of the 1^st-7^th Assessments of the IPCC. It seems a perfect way to disassemble the scientific tome and use it for purposes of understanding.  The Ark will act as a facilitator to awareness; a reminder to think on what is most important to each person. As an interactive social agenda the viewer will enter the Ark and write on a piece of paper what they would like to save and then insert the folded or rolled message into a wall of grid-like openings. There will be an additional ongoing step during and following the exhibition that will be facilitated by activating a QR code that will direct a smart phone to a page on my website where future participants can fill in what is valuable to them. I will do a performative reading of the messages that will then be posted to social media websites. This action is something I can continue to do into the future.

In my research, I have found that the traditional methods of boat building will work very well for my project. It is additionally important that the ARK be light weight enough to be moved without heavy equipment or massive disassembly. Fabrics constructed of polymers and paper will complete the skin of the boat.

Works Cited

Gardener, Stephen M. A Perfect Moral Storm: The Ethical Tragedy of Climate Change. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011.

Michael E, Mann and Lee R. Kump. Dire Predictions. New York: Penguin Random House, 2016.

Add references here:

Gwen

Ana Teresa Fernandez  is a multimedia artist that I had not heard of, but am really moved by. Thought of you and using your body as the visual storyteller. I especially love the imagery of her and the horse in the cenote. I LOVE this quote by her:  ‘how come boys get to come of age by conquering some part of nature and women instead get killed in nature?’

and in case others are interested, here is the Theresa Ganz link http://smackmellon.org/files/6215/1553/1444/Theresa_Ganz_-_press_release.pdf

Tamara
-In my backyard/ NOT in my backyard
-emotional response to the Magnolia tree taken down.
-terrarium
-apply to Mark Dion’s residency program: Mildred’s Lane
–nature therapy
-probiotics made of soil are a popular and effective treatment for adding good “bugs to the system. Garden of Life was first company to sell them. I think the soil based is one of the best probiotics I have ever tried. Would you consider making your own filled capsules of soil? they would have to have toxic symbols?

artists to look at:

Mark Dion
amateur naturalist Matthew Wills https://www.humansandnature.org/matthew-wills

Nina Katchadourian

Carsten Höller: gave out empty pills “placebos” in his installation, Pill Clock (red and white pills),  with a mechanical drop mechanism at The Jewish Museum Take me I’m yours exhibition. I took one but i didn’t ingest it. I saw some people in the exhibition actually ingest it. I’m now obsessed with you making soil capsules.

Deborah
-new certificate in “home inspections”- curious how this overlaps with your art practice!
-4 basic elements: earth, water, air, fire.  the Chinese have five – they add metal
-desire to engage with the audience/ social experience

“The bible of Climate Change”

look at bamboo Mason Bee Houses
Audrey Hepburn’s characters in the movie Roman Holiday visits the “wall of wishes” in Rome which seems to take influence from small ex voto plagues nailed to outer walls of churches.

artist to look at:

-lionel cruet and his installation “entres nosotros” “between us” with video, a row boat and hammocks
-Pippoloti Rist, installations vs enclosures for individual experiences
scott chamberlain
-jeanne Jaffe
-Yoko Ono wish tree

Olga
focus on formal issues and materials
“looking at the transition of the container from natural material to industrial material”
“earth contains the natural disaster and transforms it”

-look at birds nests and Bower birds, males collect junk to make nests to attract mate

-“sausage pods” river remediation method of using buoy-like floaters: search floating oil containment booms barriers

-Eva Hesse ” Tori” 1969 fiberglass shapes

Time lapse of the bamboo gate install at the Met https://www.metmuseum.org/metmedia/video/collections/asian/japanese-bamboo-art-timelapse

Linda
water pipes- where is water coming rom? where is it going? symbolism of water.

if you need finding out ore about where the water flows in NJ contact the Montclair Environmental Coordinator or the Essex County Environmental center for a reference. They have been very helpful in the past when i call.

-Diego Rivera- worth taking another look at his murals, especially the Detroit murals. I could see your painting as a mural as well.
–Kay Walkingstick– currently on view at Montclair Art Museum, a must see for you and Olga

Wendell
D shapes insects make
curvy lines insects make in the bark

artists to look at:
Jennifer Angus
Cui Fei
Dr. Seuss
http://earth-emag.com/issue-9-botanical-issue/

Jessica

continuous painted line
burnt lines

artist to look at:

Elana Herzog http://www.elanaherzog.com/pages/panels/00panels.html
ula einstein   Deborah also would enjoy her work
lee borthwick 

Amanda
water, plastic

Collecting local water and garbage? locations?
how will the different local water effect the paper making and ink process?
using the river water vs the ocean water changes look of paper?
How is meaning different using river vs ocean water?
Leonardo Da Vinci supposedly said: “In rivers, the water that you touch is the last of what has passed and the first of that which comes; so with present time” I think versions of this idea precede him.

look at salt flats- grid format

Artist to look at:
rachel honnery  works with collecting marine plastics

jane ingram allen is using plant fibers sourced from specific locations, has a good description of her process and doing the papermaking with a minimal set up.  https://janeingramallen.wordpress.com/2015/09/21/more-about-jane-ingram-allens-artist-in-residency-at-fire-island-national-seashore/ http://www.paperslurry.com/tag/jane-ingram-allen/

Also look at Tessa Grundon

Sharon

Although we didnt get to talk to you in person, thank you for posting your images and thoughts.
i lok forward to hearing more about the progress.
Can you explain”Botanic aesthetic”? are you talking about the look of the painted santos sculptures or the look inside of the Botanica?
if waiting for the ceramic printer is too long, what is you make a 3d printed plastic one and then make a cast to make in ceramic or plaster? still wasteful, but faster.

artist to look at :
My immediate response for references is Fred Wilson: his cultural series using nefertiti scans and painting them, and his site-specific installation at Oberlin college Wild Are Test Pit. Im curious about you drawing from the poses of neoclassical marble sculpture. we now know that these sculptures were painted over, not just left white marble. contemporary Santos sculptures are always brightly painted ( i think they are plaster or ceramic?). What happens if they were not painted or painted one color? white washed? i don’t think I have ever seen an unpainted santo. its a different direction but the issue of color on the sculpture and race are there. The old santos sculptures were made of wood and look very different.

Jennifer Rubell and her 3-d scanned self portrait

Candles are an important part of the altar. Artist who have made their own votives of Obama, Selena, celebrities, and Ventiko’s local artists made into saints.

Our first WW11 meeting was very inspiring and left me with lots to think about… While generally positively received, my initial project idea raised very valid concerns about legal considerations and permission from the gallery space to bring in substances considered dangerous. (Since working with live plants requires time and advanced planning, I started rooting some spider plants anyway, just in case I still decide to go this route but am actively considering other physical iterations of this project idea.)

A number of Wonder Women expressed that what was compelling about my presentation was the personal story of how I came to know that the soil in my backyard is contaminated and suggested I might consider making a video. While I had considered creating a video at a later point, I didn’t think there would be enough time to create what I envisioned within the short time frame of the Wonder Woman residency.  With the groups encouragement, I’ll see if I can create perhaps a smaller fraction of the story as a video over the next few weeks.

This week I gathered exiting footage related to my backyard, including more recent family photos, footage of the magnolia tree being cut down, and various gardening experiments since then. While I’m not quite sure of the scope of what I would include in the video, I also feel it’s important to bring even a fragment of this soil and garden into the gallery space. As an alternate possibility to the free plants in contaminated soil, I am considering using a fish tank or constructing a plexiglass box in which I can transfer some of the soil and plants from my backyard to act as a sealed terrarium in the gallery space (exhibited along with the video).