Sanchez 50|50 - Creating Tiny Worlds
Updated: Sep 2
This will be my third entry into the Sanchez 50|50 show in Pacifica, CA. Each time, I relearn that 50 is a very big number.
My theme for the show this year is close to my heart. If you read my other blog entries, you'll see what I mean.
For an ambitious project like this, I find that my work improves and refines while my studio descend into chaos. I get paint and glue all over my clothes and I ruin paint brushes and tools. This time, I managed to dump a whole tub of white paint all over myself while trying to organize something on the ground under my desk. I also found myself learning to enjoy peeling crazy glue off my fingers.
The 50|50 is like having a full time job for the summer. If you don't go to work every day and put in your hours, you fall behind quickly and the stress level gets too high. When I feel like that, I have days where I wake up way too early (4:00 AM) and throw myself into a massive catch up session. Then I feel better and can continue without that awful panicky feeling, which makes it impossible for me to be creative.
I have a large and unique collection of broken figurines and toys, collage papers and ephemera, old hardware, plastic pieces, little cars, eyeballs, and natural pieces like shells, seeds, and bones. I also have doll eyes, google eyes, millinery findings, and glass cabochons. My collection comes from years and years of hunting and scavenging. I have always loved tiny interesting things, especially things that I find (whether on the sidewalk at dumpster days, on the ground at the beach, or at the bottom of a box at an estate sale).
Assemblage art is a perfect form for me. It gives me a way to combine old and interesting objects with new ideas and sculptures to create hybrid worlds. I use various kinds of air drying clay, such as Apoxie Sculpt, for my sculptures
I hope the photos below share the chaos and fun found in my studio during a long creative journey. I've also included some concept sketches I drew before I started the process. To do these sketches, I took some found objects with me to my external studio (Visual Philosophy), scattered them across the table, and created sketches based on their potential.
