hey come on down and see Jane Lund's Animal Show
11 Dec 5-8pm at Northampton Center for the Arts.
The show will be up till the end of the year.
I made a Lambscape.
"Animals in Art"
hey come on down and see Jane Lund's Animal Show
11 Dec 5-8pm at Northampton Center for the Arts.
The show will be up till the end of the year.
I made a Lambscape.
progress
Nov 27making slow but sure progress on the Desk. Last time I put up a picture of it, it was just cardboard pieces leaning on eachother. Now it's all glued together with facing and I just need to figure out how to put the drawer in. then I will paint it and of course make some fake chewing gum wads for the underside.
Thanks to ZK, Bob, and Samantha for Glue Power. Thanks to my uncle Charlie for the first go-round of desk-making.
October
Twice now I have been to New Hampshire for hunting. The incomparable John Asseng has taken me along while he and Josie hunt for Ruffed Grouse and American Woodcock. I am still dazed by the experience, so I won't say much... I held the Heart of a bird in my hand. It's hard for me to type that and hard for me to continue typing after saying such a thing. The memory will stay with me a long time.
So... Anyway... Here is Josie singing an aria because there are too many other hunters at the Cover we wanted to hunt.
Abandoned building along Rte 12 in New Hampshire.
What? Does that say FANK? yes.
I stayed at the Surrey House where they had this Lithophane above the mantel
Field apples, shotgun shell, chainsaw oil can
I met these guys at breakfast. It was harrowing taking salt and pepper from them. It comes right out of holes in their chests. It immediately called to mind watching Life leave the birds in the woods. I have always found this strange, the way we... the way we... well I can't articulate this right now, it's for the Project to do anyway.
A few days ago I learned that someone nominated me to submit for the ICA Boston's James and Audrey Foster Prize. What a nice surprise that was! Thank you. turns out I am not eligible because it is only open to Boston area artists. Sure was nice to hear that, though.
I now have a fabulous student intern from the high school, Samantha Sarvet, who mostly does painting and photography. She is helping with the task of lining paper with Prismacolor 936 Slate Grey for the diary. She's also helping me get the desk together. The desk is partway finished, structure-wise. I am posting from it now.
In the background you can see the wonderful chicken-of-the-woods we found while hunting.
I have a lot to do, and these trips have given me so much more to do it with.
starting with... a Chickadee on a chicken-of-the-woods diet
Penna
sept 13
I had a good trip to Pennsylvania. Thanks to all the folks there who spent time with me, especially the Drakes and everyone at the Shadyside Hotel, Tom Erickson, Scott Wolfkiel, Rich Blaine, Greg Orr, John Sampson and of course my friends the Cessnas. Thanks to the SMFA for the opportunity to travel there. I will be taking another trip before next year. I am still looking for people to take me hunting, here or down in Pennsylvania.
here are a few things that I found interesting: hands toilet paper holder, FLYING SQUIRREL, side of building, Lake Erie rushing at the shore, Union City Chair Co. which is an inspiration for the Pencil Factory in my story, Rexall Defender hot water bottle from a yard sale in Union City, playground in Caflisch Park, UC, and postcard of Niagara Falls
Also, here is a link to Laura Holland's article from June's Preview magazine, which is now online.
I had a good trip to Pennsylvania. Thanks to all the folks there who spent time with me, especially the Drakes and everyone at the Shadyside Hotel, Tom Erickson, Scott Wolfkiel, Rich Blaine, Greg Orr, John Sampson and of course my friends the Cessnas. Thanks to the SMFA for the opportunity to travel there. I will be taking another trip before next year. I am still looking for people to take me hunting, here or down in Pennsylvania.
here are a few things that I found interesting: hands toilet paper holder, FLYING SQUIRREL, side of building, Lake Erie rushing at the shore, Union City Chair Co. which is an inspiration for the Pencil Factory in my story, Rexall Defender hot water bottle from a yard sale in Union City, playground in Caflisch Park, UC, and postcard of Niagara Falls
Also, here is a link to Laura Holland's article from June's Preview magazine, which is now online.
storefront ART
august 21st
Thanks to Julia Handschuh, Joe Blumenthal and Commonwealth Center for Change, objects from the Room are on display for a few weeks in the old Ritz Camera storefront at 219 Main Street, Northampton.
Stop on by!
Thanks to Julia Handschuh, Joe Blumenthal and Commonwealth Center for Change, objects from the Room are on display for a few weeks in the old Ritz Camera storefront at 219 Main Street, Northampton.
Stop on by!
spool of thread
August 16th
paper clay, acrylic ink, colored pencil, ink, paper, Fur.
Fur courtesy of Cody P. Parker.
paper clay, acrylic ink, colored pencil, ink, paper, Fur.
Fur courtesy of Cody P. Parker.
calipers
aug 10
Drey has a pair of calipers sitting around. Polymer clay with epoxy over armature, colored pencil, ink.
Drey has a pair of calipers sitting around. Polymer clay with epoxy over armature, colored pencil, ink.
Doorknob, Article, Scholarship
June 2
thanks to everyone who follows the blog even when I am under the weather.
I found a nice old ceramic doorknob at a tag sale and made one for the Room:
Sculpey, metal armature
Keep an eye out for Laura Holland's article on my project in the June issue of Preview magazine. I love her photograph of the Oak Smokes in action.
And! I am thrilled to be one of the Alumni recipients of the 2010 Traveling Scholarship from SMFA
This means sometime in the next year I'll be revisiting Pennsylvania to accompany hunters and taxidermists and use what I experience towards the project.
And! Huge congrats to my friend David who won both alumni and fifth year awards for Arthur Knight Hammer: King of the Bears.
thanks!
thanks to everyone who follows the blog even when I am under the weather.
I found a nice old ceramic doorknob at a tag sale and made one for the Room:
Sculpey, metal armature
Keep an eye out for Laura Holland's article on my project in the June issue of Preview magazine. I love her photograph of the Oak Smokes in action.
And! I am thrilled to be one of the Alumni recipients of the 2010 Traveling Scholarship from SMFA
This means sometime in the next year I'll be revisiting Pennsylvania to accompany hunters and taxidermists and use what I experience towards the project.
And! Huge congrats to my friend David who won both alumni and fifth year awards for Arthur Knight Hammer: King of the Bears.
thanks!
Desk
19 april 09
Here are some pix of the Desk in progress. It's that same industrial cardboard as the Bookshelf. It's going to have a working drawer and will be painted with a made-up wood grain pattern.
I did this work in November while our show was up, but never posted. I hope to get back to work on this soon.
Here are some pix of the Desk in progress. It's that same industrial cardboard as the Bookshelf. It's going to have a working drawer and will be painted with a made-up wood grain pattern.
I did this work in November while our show was up, but never posted. I hope to get back to work on this soon.
book boxes
14 dec 08
Here is my etsy shop, where you'll find handmade things unrelated to the work I'm doing here, and pretty soon also some related things.
thanks and have a peaceful new year.
http://elko.etsy.com/
Please Return The Nail
To the person who removed my Nail from the exhibit, please return the Nail.
mail to:
Ariel Kotker
c/o
Northampton Center for the Arts
17 New South Street
Northampton MA, 01060
Thanks
it was a fine evening
Nov 11th
Thanks to everyone who came to the opening! it was really nice to see you.
thanks especially to Kieran and Eli for the musical accompaniment. also to everyone at NCFA, Scott Kravitz, Steve Shavel, Brooke Schnabel and Bob Marstall for pre-show help, Michael Ehlers for after-show help, ZK for always helping. also, extra thanks to Lisa and Kirk, who came from afar with small dogs.
the show is up till Nov 28, gallery hours Tues-Fri from 11-4pm.
Thanks to everyone who came to the opening! it was really nice to see you.
thanks especially to Kieran and Eli for the musical accompaniment. also to everyone at NCFA, Scott Kravitz, Steve Shavel, Brooke Schnabel and Bob Marstall for pre-show help, Michael Ehlers for after-show help, ZK for always helping. also, extra thanks to Lisa and Kirk, who came from afar with small dogs.
the show is up till Nov 28, gallery hours Tues-Fri from 11-4pm.
a few things
Sept 15th
these are all Air-Dry Clay.
I will paint them when I get back to my studio next week.
these are all Air-Dry Clay.
I will paint them when I get back to my studio next week.
Pants (almost)
4 Sept
The pants are almost done, only the placket left to go.
thanks to the Pants Model, JT!
Yarn glued on cut and sewn fabric (seen below in-progress).
The pants are almost done, only the placket left to go.
thanks to the Pants Model, JT!
Yarn glued on cut and sewn fabric (seen below in-progress).
dawn
13 aug
I still need to change several things, but this is a final sketch for one of the stories in Drey's bird comic book. It's done with Prismacolors using little speaker grilles for that "printed" look.. I enjoy doing things this way, and it is part of the point, but more and more I find myself thinking, " no wonder they made machines"
I still need to change several things, but this is a final sketch for one of the stories in Drey's bird comic book. It's done with Prismacolors using little speaker grilles for that "printed" look.. I enjoy doing things this way, and it is part of the point, but more and more I find myself thinking, " no wonder they made machines"
Brian's screenplay
Drey's friend Brian Muntis is working on a screenplay about Sparkleton. He's going to try to apply to movie school with it. He's lent it to Drey to read and that is why it's in the room. This is going to be drawn text, like the diary and newspaper, but on 8 1/2 x 11 (or satisfyingly slightly larger) white paper. Here is an excerpt, 1st draft.
(I may not have mentioned here.. Beam is a nearby town, and is fictional but not unreal the way Sparkleton is. Beam is just like any real town and the Bundt County Bus Service runs between the two)
_______________________________
Bundt County Bus Service. Return trip from Beam. Sparkleton passengers are on the way back from errands or the New Supermarket. Everyone is bundled in winter coats, most of them wool and plaid. DREY FANK has visited the Beam Library and borrowed several do-it-yourself taxidermy books, because he still struggles with asking questions of other people. As the bus turns onto Route 918, DANA GRINT and ELISE FRAINE are in conversation about various acquaintances in Beam.
CUE MUSIC - Beach Boys I KNOW THERE'S AN ANSWER As the passengers sing through the song.
DANA
I know so many people there who think they can do it alone
ELISE
Yes. They isolate their heads and stay in their safety zones.
DANA considers this, and then leans forward and asks Elise:
DANA
Now what can you tell them? And what can you say that won't make them defensive?
Here WARREN FLAVEY, with a knowing look at his fellow passengers, chimes in.
WARREN
I know there's an answer, I know now, but I had to find it by myself!
The passengers nod their heads in agreement. RAY MINER is moved to stand as he sings.
RAY
They come on like they're peaceful, but inside they're so uptight!
As RAY delivers this line, the bus jolts forward and RAY tumbles into the arms of his fellow passengers, who have held them out in order to catch him. Everyone smiles.
ELISE (shaking her head)
They trip through their day and waste all their thoughts at night.
The bus has turned down Wider Road and is about to take a left onto Sparklehampton Court. DREY FANK gets up from his seat where he has been watching, wordless. He steadies himself and when the bus pulls up in front of SPARKLEHAMPTON MANOR, he descends into the snow, turning back to see the passengers continue singing.
RAY
Now how can I come on, and tell them the way that they live could be better?
WARREN (nodding and smiling)
I know there's an answer. I know now but I had to find it by myself.
The bus door has closed and DREY watches the bus roll away, swaying with the passengers on the chorus. He shrugs his shoulders and enters the rest home for his bi-weekly volunteer visit.
(I may not have mentioned here.. Beam is a nearby town, and is fictional but not unreal the way Sparkleton is. Beam is just like any real town and the Bundt County Bus Service runs between the two)
_______________________________
Bundt County Bus Service. Return trip from Beam. Sparkleton passengers are on the way back from errands or the New Supermarket. Everyone is bundled in winter coats, most of them wool and plaid. DREY FANK has visited the Beam Library and borrowed several do-it-yourself taxidermy books, because he still struggles with asking questions of other people. As the bus turns onto Route 918, DANA GRINT and ELISE FRAINE are in conversation about various acquaintances in Beam.
CUE MUSIC - Beach Boys I KNOW THERE'S AN ANSWER As the passengers sing through the song.
DANA
I know so many people there who think they can do it alone
ELISE
Yes. They isolate their heads and stay in their safety zones.
DANA considers this, and then leans forward and asks Elise:
DANA
Now what can you tell them? And what can you say that won't make them defensive?
Here WARREN FLAVEY, with a knowing look at his fellow passengers, chimes in.
WARREN
I know there's an answer, I know now, but I had to find it by myself!
The passengers nod their heads in agreement. RAY MINER is moved to stand as he sings.
RAY
They come on like they're peaceful, but inside they're so uptight!
As RAY delivers this line, the bus jolts forward and RAY tumbles into the arms of his fellow passengers, who have held them out in order to catch him. Everyone smiles.
ELISE (shaking her head)
They trip through their day and waste all their thoughts at night.
The bus has turned down Wider Road and is about to take a left onto Sparklehampton Court. DREY FANK gets up from his seat where he has been watching, wordless. He steadies himself and when the bus pulls up in front of SPARKLEHAMPTON MANOR, he descends into the snow, turning back to see the passengers continue singing.
RAY
Now how can I come on, and tell them the way that they live could be better?
WARREN (nodding and smiling)
I know there's an answer. I know now but I had to find it by myself.
The bus door has closed and DREY watches the bus roll away, swaying with the passengers on the chorus. He shrugs his shoulders and enters the rest home for his bi-weekly volunteer visit.
dead birds, diary, Crier
Aug2
Some sketches of dead birds for Drey's taxidermy
sketch/excerpt from diary. the content is a rough draft but this is how the whole diary will appear.
Ink and pencil on paper that is lined with colored pencil.
maquette of Crier
pencil, newsprint
Some sketches of dead birds for Drey's taxidermy
sketch/excerpt from diary. the content is a rough draft but this is how the whole diary will appear.
Ink and pencil on paper that is lined with colored pencil.
maquette of Crier
pencil, newsprint
things
august 1st
haven't been able to do much work yet this summer so here is a picture of some older things (for Ceece!)
haven't been able to do much work yet this summer so here is a picture of some older things (for Ceece!)
Bread tie
June 15 2008
Drey's lucky bread tie he sometimes carries around in his pocket because it has his birthdate on it. Henry took it for him from a loaf of bread at the New Supermarket off Rte 27.
Colored pencil and ink on cut plastic
Drey's lucky bread tie he sometimes carries around in his pocket because it has his birthdate on it. Henry took it for him from a loaf of bread at the New Supermarket off Rte 27.
Colored pencil and ink on cut plastic
3's
June 10, 2008
I feel really good about all the feedback I got at the show on Friday. It was the first time I've felt like the essence of the project was getting across by itself, i.e., without me explaining anything. I guess it helps to have it out of the studio and up on the wall, and to have in-progress stuff along with the finished. I still have a long way to go, but how nice that some of my goals are being realized! People said they were laughing, getting lost in it, that they felt moved, and also that small-town America was coming through. Thanks so much, to anyone who finds it funny.. I want to make you laugh.
So thanks everyone for your comments and questions and for being there, or sending wishes from afar.. special thanks to all my friends and family and to Demetri Kasperson, Tim Hennigan, Julia Shepley, Kelly Bennett, Murray Dewart, Alan, Nick, Peggy and Matt, and to the BSG for having us. It was a whirlwind of people and I was really glad to see everyone.
Also many thanks to Joann Kobin, who nominated me and my project for a St Botolph Club Foundation Emerging Artist Award.. and to St Botolph for the award itself!
The third piece of good news this week is that Mollie Zanoni and I will be having a two-person show at the Northampton Center for the Arts in November. Please come see further progress of the Room along with Mollie's excellent sculpture and hopefully some of her fine drawings as well.
PS, check out the MCC's blog, Artsake. Lots of cool stuff.
and, totally unrelated: big fat rabbit!
I feel really good about all the feedback I got at the show on Friday. It was the first time I've felt like the essence of the project was getting across by itself, i.e., without me explaining anything. I guess it helps to have it out of the studio and up on the wall, and to have in-progress stuff along with the finished. I still have a long way to go, but how nice that some of my goals are being realized! People said they were laughing, getting lost in it, that they felt moved, and also that small-town America was coming through. Thanks so much, to anyone who finds it funny.. I want to make you laugh.
So thanks everyone for your comments and questions and for being there, or sending wishes from afar.. special thanks to all my friends and family and to Demetri Kasperson, Tim Hennigan, Julia Shepley, Kelly Bennett, Murray Dewart, Alan, Nick, Peggy and Matt, and to the BSG for having us. It was a whirlwind of people and I was really glad to see everyone.
Also many thanks to Joann Kobin, who nominated me and my project for a St Botolph Club Foundation Emerging Artist Award.. and to St Botolph for the award itself!
The third piece of good news this week is that Mollie Zanoni and I will be having a two-person show at the Northampton Center for the Arts in November. Please come see further progress of the Room along with Mollie's excellent sculpture and hopefully some of her fine drawings as well.
PS, check out the MCC's blog, Artsake. Lots of cool stuff.
and, totally unrelated: big fat rabbit!
Defibrillator sticker
17 May 08
Git Up N' Go Defibrillator Co.
A sticker Drey finds on a box at the Rest Home one day. He peels it off, takes it home and puts it on his bass guitar. He thinks it's a band sticker for the metal band from Beam called "Luvstrikken".
Acrylic inks on origami paper with added adhesive
Git Up N' Go Defibrillator Co.
A sticker Drey finds on a box at the Rest Home one day. He peels it off, takes it home and puts it on his bass guitar. He thinks it's a band sticker for the metal band from Beam called "Luvstrikken".
Acrylic inks on origami paper with added adhesive
Show
28 April
well, I didn't win a Winter Fellowship..
But in better news:
The Boston Sculptors Gallery is where the MCC Sculpture Grant Recipients Show will be. It runs from May 21 to June 22. Five of us are showing, and the shindig is Friday June 6th.
See you there ! Neat art !
free food !
well, I didn't win a Winter Fellowship..
But in better news:
The Boston Sculptors Gallery is where the MCC Sculpture Grant Recipients Show will be. It runs from May 21 to June 22. Five of us are showing, and the shindig is Friday June 6th.
See you there ! Neat art !
free food !
ptown
21 April
This weekend I went to Provincetown MA for the final jury for the Fine Arts Work Center Winter Fellowship 2008. 55 Artists were chosen out of 300-something to install for the weekend and compete for 10 spots. The fellowship is 7 months of studio time in the middle of snow-laden nowhere. I hope I get in. Thanks Toni Lee, for helping me get there. We had a proper road trip! Hope they didn't look under the car. ;)
This weekend I went to Provincetown MA for the final jury for the Fine Arts Work Center Winter Fellowship 2008. 55 Artists were chosen out of 300-something to install for the weekend and compete for 10 spots. The fellowship is 7 months of studio time in the middle of snow-laden nowhere. I hope I get in. Thanks Toni Lee, for helping me get there. We had a proper road trip! Hope they didn't look under the car. ;)
Bookshelf
21 April
A layer of triple-ply on a layer of double-ply heavy-duty cardboard. Not sure what color it's going to be, this is primer. THANKS especially to Bob, Josh and Mary-Clare, Gerry Hoag, Zane-imal and Mol.
A layer of triple-ply on a layer of double-ply heavy-duty cardboard. Not sure what color it's going to be, this is primer. THANKS especially to Bob, Josh and Mary-Clare, Gerry Hoag, Zane-imal and Mol.
Sneaker #2
4 March 08
well, here at hrahli HQ we are back up and running after tending to our health for several months. First up is the 2nd sneaker. Pants coming soon.
Cut, sewn & glued canvas, paper, ink, acrylic, foam, Foamies, rubber, Sculpey, sewn string.
well, here at hrahli HQ we are back up and running after tending to our health for several months. First up is the 2nd sneaker. Pants coming soon.
Cut, sewn & glued canvas, paper, ink, acrylic, foam, Foamies, rubber, Sculpey, sewn string.
Oak Smokes
6 December 2007
Colored pencil, ink, acrylic ink, paper, handmade paper, aluminum leaf, oak leaves, cellophane, silverpoint
thanks especially to TL, SS and VC!
Colored pencil, ink, acrylic ink, paper, handmade paper, aluminum leaf, oak leaves, cellophane, silverpoint
thanks especially to TL, SS and VC!
Rabbit's foot
13 October 07
Wire, Shape-lock (malleable plastic), ink, binder's tape, Sculpey, Air-dry clay, aluminum leaf, milkweed.
Wire, Shape-lock (malleable plastic), ink, binder's tape, Sculpey, Air-dry clay, aluminum leaf, milkweed.
Jar Lid
...for chickadees with cheese sauce.
Cut, shaped & embossed aluminum, paper, pencil, acrylic ink.
Cut, shaped & embossed aluminum, paper, pencil, acrylic ink.
Fingerjoint Box
4 October 07
about 9"x6"x7", modeled after one from the antique store.
Binder's board, pencil, paper, hot glue, ink, Shrinky Dinks (thanks B.B.!)
And thanks, Feodor Rojankovsky.
about 9"x6"x7", modeled after one from the antique store.
Binder's board, pencil, paper, hot glue, ink, Shrinky Dinks (thanks B.B.!)
And thanks, Feodor Rojankovsky.
Latent Thread Row show
3 July 2007
Thanks to Demetri and Monika for the opportunity to show my work at their Sevengaits Gallery. It was an honor to show alongside the splendid dresswear of Eddi Phillips and the extraordinary paintings of Noelle Nevolo. The space is beautiful, the building is great, and the opening was a blast.
http://www.sevengaits.com/
http://www.sevengaits.com/exhibits/latentthreadrow.html
Thanks to Demetri and Monika for the opportunity to show my work at their Sevengaits Gallery. It was an honor to show alongside the splendid dresswear of Eddi Phillips and the extraordinary paintings of Noelle Nevolo. The space is beautiful, the building is great, and the opening was a blast.
http://www.sevengaits.com/
http://www.sevengaits.com/exhibits/latentthreadrow.html
Very happy.
20 June
I got a grant!
from the Mass Cultural Council.
http://www.massculturalcouncil.org/
http://www.massculturalcouncil.org/gallery/artistDetail.asp?App=20071947
I'm so happy. Thanks everybody!
thanks especially to Steve Shavel, Dan Oxenberg, Bob Marstall, Mollie Zanoni & my super Mom ZK
I got a grant!
from the Mass Cultural Council.
http://www.massculturalcouncil.org/
http://www.massculturalcouncil.org/gallery/artistDetail.asp?App=20071947
I'm so happy. Thanks everybody!
thanks especially to Steve Shavel, Dan Oxenberg, Bob Marstall, Mollie Zanoni & my super Mom ZK
draft of article for the Sparkleton Crier
26 April
Erasers Arrive In Error
A truckload of insertible erasers arrived last week at the grounds of PP & P only to be turned away by lack of pencils to put them in.
It seems news of the factory's closing never reached the Rubbit Co., which manufactures the small, pink insertible erasers. Pennsylvania Pen and Pencil's role in pencil production was mainly the manufacture of the wooden barrel and the lead encased within it. The pressed tin crown that grips the eraser was also made at the factory, but the erasers themselves had to be brought in to Bundt County from elsewhere. In 72 years of operation, PP&P drew upon only two companies for this: Erie Eraser, which folded in 1982, and Rubbit Co., which supplies the erasers to several pencil factories in the Northeast.
...............[diagram]
Marcus LaPonte, rig driver for Rubbit Co., attempted to deposit the load of erasers at PP&P yesterday around 11 am, but found himself alone at the deserted loading dock. There was no-one to receive his order or sign his papers or offer him a cup of coffee. So he turned his truck around, went out onto Rte 918 and followed the sign for Sparkleton, where he pulled over on Bundt Street and made his way to Wooly's Dinor. The large, parked Rubbit Truck attracted many curious folks over to the dinor, including this reporter, and Mr. LaPonte's story was heard:
"I'm a new driver, I've only been driving for a year now. This route was Gary's before, and I don't know nothing about it, just following the protocol. What he (Supervisor) told me was, 'Take these erasers and bring them down to PP & P'. So I did but now you tell me it's closed for long as it has and I tell you I'm flummoxed because I know this was Gary's route before and he never did mention about it getting closed."
Mr. LaPonte then asked to use the telephone to call his supervisor at Rubbit Co. for some clarification. The supervisor, a Mr. Greig, was out to lunch. When the crowd at Wooly's heard this news, Ryan Camp piped up with "Well, if you can't beat em, join em!" and shuttled Mr. LaPonte over to the counter for some meatloaf and milk. As you know, the Wednesday special was titmouse, and our visitor took many guesses before he could identify the mystery meat. Seems he had never had it before.
Erasers Arrive In Error
A truckload of insertible erasers arrived last week at the grounds of PP & P only to be turned away by lack of pencils to put them in.
It seems news of the factory's closing never reached the Rubbit Co., which manufactures the small, pink insertible erasers. Pennsylvania Pen and Pencil's role in pencil production was mainly the manufacture of the wooden barrel and the lead encased within it. The pressed tin crown that grips the eraser was also made at the factory, but the erasers themselves had to be brought in to Bundt County from elsewhere. In 72 years of operation, PP&P drew upon only two companies for this: Erie Eraser, which folded in 1982, and Rubbit Co., which supplies the erasers to several pencil factories in the Northeast.
...............[diagram]
Marcus LaPonte, rig driver for Rubbit Co., attempted to deposit the load of erasers at PP&P yesterday around 11 am, but found himself alone at the deserted loading dock. There was no-one to receive his order or sign his papers or offer him a cup of coffee. So he turned his truck around, went out onto Rte 918 and followed the sign for Sparkleton, where he pulled over on Bundt Street and made his way to Wooly's Dinor. The large, parked Rubbit Truck attracted many curious folks over to the dinor, including this reporter, and Mr. LaPonte's story was heard:
"I'm a new driver, I've only been driving for a year now. This route was Gary's before, and I don't know nothing about it, just following the protocol. What he (Supervisor) told me was, 'Take these erasers and bring them down to PP & P'. So I did but now you tell me it's closed for long as it has and I tell you I'm flummoxed because I know this was Gary's route before and he never did mention about it getting closed."
Mr. LaPonte then asked to use the telephone to call his supervisor at Rubbit Co. for some clarification. The supervisor, a Mr. Greig, was out to lunch. When the crowd at Wooly's heard this news, Ryan Camp piped up with "Well, if you can't beat em, join em!" and shuttled Mr. LaPonte over to the counter for some meatloaf and milk. As you know, the Wednesday special was titmouse, and our visitor took many guesses before he could identify the mystery meat. Seems he had never had it before.
Sneaker
9 March 07
Almost done with the first of two sneakers. Cut, sewn & glued canvas, paper, ink, acrylic, foam, Foamies, rubber, Sculpey, sewn string.
Almost done with the first of two sneakers. Cut, sewn & glued canvas, paper, ink, acrylic, foam, Foamies, rubber, Sculpey, sewn string.
Tufted titmouse (maquette in progress)
wire, polyfill, nylon, silk, electrical tape, thread, glass beads
Button, Squirly Mag sketch
Button: cut, drilled and painted wood
Squirly mag cover sketch: pencil on paper
Diary Entry
"My birthday is coming up and Henry thinks we should have a girl jump out of a cake. I always liked that idea until I grew up and realized how hard it must be for the girl. I mean, either she gets too hot, or the cake doesn't get hot enough, and what's the point if you have to sacrifice one or the other. I just don't think it's fair for the girl, but to keep her o.k. you would have to have mushy, undercooked cake. And who wants that? It's a birthday, you need to have cake.
So I said this to Henry and I think he is probably still laughing. I said, "How do they survive the heat?" and he said "How does WHO survive the heat?" and I said "The girls in the cakes" and at first he said "They're insulated" in this way that was totally serious and made me think maybe it was o.k. after all to have a girl in a cake. But he kept staring at me and then I knew he was just being Henry at me. I had my bass on and so I started back up with the bassline I was practicing (for "MAIL ORDER MOTOR OIL", which is NOT easy!) and tried to concentrate on that. But right at the part where it goes: baunp bnaup baun-baun he made a Henry explosion of laughing and yelling and pushed me over on the bed and the neck of my bass hit my real neck and it hurt, which he was sorry for. But then he was going on and on about how I thought it was a real girl inside a real cake inside a real oven when really it was just one of those things: a real girl. And the cake was cardboard. And you don't cook it. Which then is like, "WHY"?
Oh, how could I know these things when I have never had a girl in a cake. Maybe I would know if it happened to me. But, it's just another thing I have heard about."
from Drey Fank's diary
So I said this to Henry and I think he is probably still laughing. I said, "How do they survive the heat?" and he said "How does WHO survive the heat?" and I said "The girls in the cakes" and at first he said "They're insulated" in this way that was totally serious and made me think maybe it was o.k. after all to have a girl in a cake. But he kept staring at me and then I knew he was just being Henry at me. I had my bass on and so I started back up with the bassline I was practicing (for "MAIL ORDER MOTOR OIL", which is NOT easy!) and tried to concentrate on that. But right at the part where it goes: baunp bnaup baun-baun he made a Henry explosion of laughing and yelling and pushed me over on the bed and the neck of my bass hit my real neck and it hurt, which he was sorry for. But then he was going on and on about how I thought it was a real girl inside a real cake inside a real oven when really it was just one of those things: a real girl. And the cake was cardboard. And you don't cook it. Which then is like, "WHY"?
Oh, how could I know these things when I have never had a girl in a cake. Maybe I would know if it happened to me. But, it's just another thing I have heard about."
from Drey Fank's diary
Sheet of paper, White pine wisp
Sheet of notebook paper: colored pencil, holes on paper
White pine: painted paper, wire, nylon, thread
Soundtrack
Of course there's a soundtrack! You can listen to it in the room, in the form of mix tapes made for Drey by his few friends. I intend to record my own versions of some of these songs, as well as songs by Triple Tongue (the band that Drey plays bass in), and have them playable in a tape deck (a mixed media sculpture of a tape deck with cassette mechanism inside). Others will be incorporated in the various texts and concept. All these songs have lyrics that make me go "yeah, that's about my character and/or his town", at least according to my interpretation regarding the story. The whole plot exists in the music. It's a tentative, partial list in chronological order.
click for lyrics.
David Bowie_Starman
Neil Young_After The Gold Rush
Charles Wright_90-Day Cycle People
The Cramps_Mystery Plane
Carole King_Avenue P
The Kinks_Mindless Child of Motherhood
The Kinks_Wonderboy
Big Star_Thirteen
John Cougar_Jack And Diane
Jonathan Richman and The Modern Lovers_That Summer Feeling
Pink Floyd_Remember A Day
Jimi Hendrix_May this be love (Waterfall) (Drey has Niagara Falls wallpaper)
Pink Floyd_Scarecrow
Neil Young_Sugar Mountain
The Kinks_This Is Where I belong
Led Zeppelin_Misty Mountain Hop
Velvet Underground_Rock and Roll
Ozzy Osbourne_Crazy train (in the bar fight scene)
Argent _Hold Your Head Up
Iggy and The Stooges_Raw Power (obligatory.hmm.. may leave it out in the end)
The Damned_Ignite
Television_Marquee Moon
Pink Floyd_The Gnome
Velvet Underground_I’m Set Free
The Beach Boys_I Know There’s An Answer
Johnny Cash_Get Rhythm
Big Star_Watch The Sunrise
The Kinks_Big Sky
Louis Armstrong_What A Wonderful World
Laurie Anderson_Big Science
Rush_Fly By Night
Styx_Come Sail Away
Iggy Pop_Brick By Brick
Roky Erickson_I Have Always Been Here Before
ARTIST'S STATEMENT
I am writing a novel in 3-D. It’s the coming-of-age story of Drey Fank, a boy of 21 from the imaginary small town of Sparkleton, Pennsylvania.
My finished piece will be a roomful of sculptures, each replicating an item belonging to Drey, and arranged as in his bedroom for the viewer to examine. On the desk will be his diary, from which the viewer may read.
Every object- the diary, desk, bed, beer cans, bass guitar, birding gun, taxidermy, toiletries, knick-knacks, newspapers, clothes, photos, pinecones, the room itself, etc.- will be handmade by me.
The viewer will be invited to peruse the room and gently handle the objects to piece together the details of Drey's life: He wanders the abandoned pencil factory looking for leftover pencils and hangs out at the petrified crash-landed flying saucer off Route 918. He and his fellow locals hunt songbirds for sustenance, and in simple honesty he stuffs and mounts them exactly as he found them in death. He smokes Oak Smokes cigarettes, drinks six-packs of Chevaline, and eats Rabbit Rinds chips. His favorite dish is chickadees with cheese. His "girly" magazines feature squirrels with acorn caps over all eight of their nipples. His few mix tapes supply a soundtrack- each song speaks to Drey's circumstances. He is experiencing an awakening in himself. From the diary:
"Why do trees have to smell so good? My walks are getting longer and longer cause I have to stop every few feet to sniff bark."
He is shy and naive, and he kills time with his friends until a series of events- beginning with the diner grease fire- spark a lust for life, whereupon he leaves home for Erie and the Unknown.
The contents of the room relate life in his world, which is between ours and another. The passengers of the stranded UFO have long since bred with the locals. Everyone gets along. These and other absurdities express my ideas: Perfection is functionality, not flawlessness; utopia is subjective and cannot exist; paradox is inherent. Atrophy is inevitable. Live before you die. Animals R Us.
Like so many before me, I like to glorify ordinary objects by making fakes, but I've no interest in "fooling" anyone. My main aim is to use these things to tell a story. The diary accompanies the several hundred sculptures, but is not a necessary read for comprehension of the piece, just as snooping through someone’s room is fascinating, moving, and very informative even if you don’t hit the jackpot. The newspaper, various notes and letters, and a screenplay written by Drey's friend Brian also provide different perspectives of life in Sparkleton.
I hope that people will comprehend my piece as they would someone’s real existence. It’s not so much a piece of artwork as it is a reflection of a life.
All images copyright 2003-2008 Ariel Kotker
Northampton, Mass
contact: hrahli (AT) gmail (DOT) com
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