His Room As He Left It

C3 interview

2011-06-12T04:22:00.003-11:00

Jackie Dougherty from northampton's Creative Community Collective (C3) invited me to be an interviewee on their new blog. Thanks Jackie! you can find the interview here.

materials

2011-04-27T06:07:00.003-11:00

Sometimes folks ask me about materials.
Originally, I wanted things to actually work: the pencils, the matches, the slingshot, the shotgun, the bass guitar, but this is beyond my skill (and not too safe). the slingshot is made of stretchable material (nylon and poly-vinyl acetate) but I doubt you could throw a pebble very far with it! I made the pencils early on, and stuck real graphite and real erasers in there so they'd "work", and it satisfied me at the time. A few months ago I replaced one eraser with bubble gum. thanks to Steve L and Demetri K for the idea, and to Brian B for his comments. I'm glad i did it, it's more consistent with how the project is now.

But I don't need everything to be what it isn't. I don't want to hinder the process by strictly avoiding "things that aren't what they are". If I do that I will never finish, and it won't be fun. Ultimately they're just props in a story.
For instance, the beer can is aluminum, but it's cut from flashing, then painted and rolled and glued. the envelope is paper, but it's an envelope shape cut from a larger sheet of paper and then painted and folded and glued. the "toilet paper tube" in the Trophy is cardboard, but it's cut, painted and rolled bristol board embellished with blotter paper.

next pencil I make will likely have burnt wood for a tip and, yes, bubble gum for an eraser, but the crown will still be aluminum, just like in a real pencil, because it's fun to shape and emboss and affix, and because it's such a beautiful material. I try to find a satisfactory balance with each piece.

traveling scholars show is up

2011-04-03T03:38:00.026-11:00

Here are links to excerpts from Drey's diary and from Brian's movie project. also excerpts from the Sparkleton Crier: Erasers arrive in Error, Yo-yo Found in Woods, Wooly's on Fire for Several Minutes, and an interview with a resident of the Sparklehampton Rest Home.

The bed, rug, diary, hunting cap, slingshot and cake balls are in progress. when finished, the bed will have the same "faux" appearance as the other furniture. the rug, which is painted newspaper, will be larger.

for this show, my sketches for things to make and things already made are on the outside walls, along with ideas for drey's bird comic, squirly mag, taxidermy, etc. All the written excerpts (the computer printouts) will eventually be incorporated into the diary, newspaper and screenplay by hand-lettering.

traveling scholars opening

2011-04-02T07:30:00.024-11:00

many thanks to Joanna Soltan, David Powers, Ross Normandin, Asher, Amelia, the rest of the exhibitions staff, and to David, Kate and Nathan. many thanks also to my friends and family who were kind enough to pose for blurry pix.

black framed pix by eve or bart

traveling scholars show

2011-03-11T07:59:00.004-11:00

...is coming up!

david d'agostino
kate sinnott
nathan boyer
and me

march 30-april 30
opening reception wednesday march 30th
5-7pm
school of the museum of fine arts
230 the fenway
boston MA
02115

http://www.smfa.edu/traveling-scholars

thanks to the exhibitions folks who constructed this fabulous space for the room and special thanks to Ross Normandin

wired glass shard

2011-01-08T07:41:00.003-11:00

trying to get this right. these are shrinky-dinks with painted dental floss or string. Just seeing how it looks.

more model in progress

2010-12-27T06:29:00.002-11:00

12_27

it's also gonna have a chair and walls.

knife

2010-12-16T13:32:00.003-11:00

12-16-10
just seeing how this looks, may add gilt to middle.

knife, model in progress

2010-12-16T06:24:00.003-11:00

working on things.

knife is paper clay, air-dry clay and wood putty over a popsicle stick and wire armature.

model is bristol board.

grouse hunt

2010-12-12T14:15:00.004-11:00

Hunted yesterday with John. No grouse but we saw these other things:
1, josie with coyote paw (dead coyote lying at edge of field)
2, trapper's discarded skulls
3, warbler nest

...and I learned a lot.

A Trophy

2010-12-02T04:52:00.005-11:00

dec 1

from Drey's diary:
I'm so exited- I never got a trophy before, for anything. Alexandra decided we should have Taxidermist Of The Year. So she made me Taxidermist Of The Year....

polymer clay, wire, cardboard, paper, ink, paint pen, cotton, cut and rolled and dyed bristol with blotter paper

erie PA

2010-11-20T07:37:00.009-11:00

20 nov 2010
I went to erie last week. My aim was to find words for Drey to use in a certain part of his story, and I needed to see the lake from a particular place on Route 19 (it's at the horizon in those road pix). My attempts were foiled over and over due to bad timing, bad camera, bad weather, etc but then the last 20 minutes of the trip proved very fruitful. I was seeing the lake from different view (Interstate 90/greyhound bus), but managed to find the words I wanted. Thanks to the Traveling Scholarship and my friends David Luke D'Agostino and Victoria Cessna who drove from PGH to help out. While in Pittsburgh I finally got to see Yayoi Kusama's Infinity Dots Mirrored Room which, when I was able to peek into quickly in NYC years ago, reinforced my idea of where I wanted to go with my own project: I wanna envelop. Also at the Mattress Factory was Greer Lankton's It's All About ME, Not You, which I have so much to say about, I can't find the words.

old yo-yo

2010-11-08T13:02:00.004-11:00

Acrylic inks on clay and paper clay over armature, woven thread

from the Sparkleton Crier:

Yo-yo found in woods
Everyone knows the yo-yo was a popular hunting instrument way back when. For small birds, you really couldn't beat the old out-and-back. This leaves you with your tool rather than rooting around for pebbles after the kill. However, working with a yo-yo can bring trouble. Ryan Camp recalls the time he wrapped his around a tree... with a paper nest in it! Ryan shared his story from the next booth over. "As you know, a paper nest is all chewed-up leaves. They put their slobber on a leaf and chew it up and then they build a house with it." "A house full of stingers!" piped Warren Flavey. "That's right!" said Ryan, revealing his chapped elbow, which still held several scars.
This week, our boys Henry Bline and Brian Muntis stumbled upon an old yo-yo off Noname Rd. We had word from them at Wooly's Dinor, where they were each enjoying a serving of meatloaf and milk. "Gus, 'stumble' is the right word" said Brian when this reporter asked. "Ha! I still have string around my ankle. Thing put me face down in moss!" added Henry Bline. At least it was moss. The yo-yo had engraved in it the name "Cassie" We can only guess it belonged to Cass Roder, who in her time was a celebrated yo-yoer. Henry Bline had a quip about this: "Then how come she lost it!" Brian offered, "Let's give it to Drey. He's visiting [the Rest Home] this afternoon. He'll find out." Whether Drey Fank will speak audibly when he tells us is another question...
In closing Henry insists on including this quip: "Okay, so, guess what I have around my ankle, guess what I have... a frayed not! Get it? Afraid not!"

hangman

2010-11-06T06:59:00.007-11:00

ink and pencil on embossed paper.

from Drey's Diary:
..... We were at the Caliper Lounge. Julie and Joanna took me there for my birthday but Beam kids were there. I think they only come because it has a dirt floor and they think that is funny ..... when we came in the girls told everyone it was my birthday and Frank said, "It's on the house" and they sang happy birthday to me. It was nice, but then we were uneasy. We played darts and Frank let me help him and Russ deep fry legs because tomorrow is Leg Nite. But the Beam kids whispered and looked over and made us nervous. So we sat down again and played hangman, and Julie was going to hang me because all I had was
_u_ _e_ _i_ m_u_e
and I couldn't get it, and now I get it and it's too late anyway.
So here is when one of the Beam kids came over and hit me on my head. He said "Happy Birthday, Flank!" which kids used to call me in high school, so I was used to it but Julie said "no" that it wasn't meant nicely ..... then he went over to Pop Corbin and pointed at his overalls. He said, "Are you in the sack race?" and "It's like a baby's bib" and "Is there a flap in the back" and Pop said, "It's not what you're saying, it's how you're saying it". And they looked at each other real quiet. Then Pop breathed in and said "and don't you hit the boy". The Beam kid laughed but Pop breathed in again and then punched him square in the face! I've known Pop all my life and I never, ever seen him punch anyone, except that dog that came around once who had rabies. The kid fell backwards and his friends stood up from their table all at once, and Julie and Joanna stood up, and I stood up after them, and then everyone stood up, and suddenly there were chairs flying and tables knocking over, kids were throwing cups and ashtrays and elbowing the grown-ups.
The girls were in the middle, pushing over tables so the kids couldn't get at us, and Pop and Russ were chasing them around the room towards the door, there were wings and batter on the floor, and I thought I should do something but all I could think of was to put on another song, and my hands were shaking, and I put on Crazy Train, and when I turned around the whole room looked like an ant war and it made me laugh but that's all I remember from inside the bar because then a cup hit my head......

2B

2010-10-20T08:09:00.003-11:00

20 oct

old pencil box from the old pencil factory

gouache, pencil, ink and paper on cut, folded & glued bristol

cards and notes

2010-10-18T08:36:00.006-11:00

Brian is Drey's friend who wants to go to movie school. He's lent his script of Life in Sparkleton to Drey.

Tammy is Drey's friend who is in the Demo derby.

Alma runs the rooming house.

pencil, colored pencil and ink on cut paper

flywheel october

2010-09-29T09:00:00.011-11:00

hi all, and come on down to the Flywheel during the month of October to see many music shows, and also items from His Room as He left It up on the walls in the foyer.

The artwork is up from Oct 9 to Nov 6
opening for the Easthampton Arts Walk
Saturday
Oct 9
5-8pm
thanks!

***
10/10/10
many thanks to friends near and far, it was incredibly nice to see you
and special thanks to Bunwinkies!!

pix by ZK

9/18

2010-09-18T09:27:00.008-11:00

The Flywheel show was a lovely evening.
huge thanks to Lei and Beverly for the invite and for desk-driving.

Here is the changed name for Drey's diary (have been meaning to re-do it for awhile, finally got to it), cake ball progress, and a few more sketches for bird comic

flywheel

2010-09-12T04:50:00.006-11:00

Come on down to the Flywheel September 16th for

poetry readings by:
Beverly Ketch, Shannon Ketch, Elaine Kahn, Emma N. Young, Byron Coley

and music by:
Manners, Crystalline Roses

and art installation by:
me, consisting of several items from the project.

7pm
$5
seeya there

10/10/2010 edit*****some pix from Mike Medeiros, willowsun (at) aol (dot) com
thanks, Mike!

name for slingshot

2010-08-17T07:23:00.004-11:00

can't decide.

8/19 update.. thanks to the folks who gave me 2¢ on this. "smite" seems to be the more intuitive choice.

mosspocket spittle tabs

2010-08-07T11:08:00.005-11:00

...good for you.

polymer clay, acrylic ink, paint, pencil, paper, plaster

block

2010-08-01T03:13:00.002-11:00

8_1_10
clay, pencil

form

2010-07-06T06:49:00.006-11:00

july 6
modeling clay Drey uses for interiors of stuffed birds.
Bristol board, colored pencil, ink, paper, glassine, smooshed erasers

stuffed chickadee

2010-06-30T08:52:00.006-11:00

6/30/10

bird: polymer clay, wax, wire, vellum, pencil, ink, frayed dental floss, pink styrofoam

base: air-dry clay, acrylic ink, shrinky dinks, glitter

poem

2010-06-18T06:47:00.005-11:00

6/18
poem from elementary school
ink and pencil on dyed paper

(based on "space is deep" by hawkwind)

paperwork

2010-06-06T15:46:00.004-11:00

pencil, paper, ink

Triple Tongue

2010-06-06T13:08:00.007-11:00

Triple Tongue is the band that Drey plays bass in. They play shows at the Motorhouse, which is an old garage at the back of the Junkyard. Lots of other bands play too, mostly composed of some combination of the same 7 or 8 kids. Drey only plays in TT. Here is a setlist, with lyrics, of one of their shows. At this show, Henry surprises Drey with a song about him which renders Drey beet red.

MAIL ORDER MOTOR OIL
mail order motor oil
mail order motor oil
made my cardboard boxes spoil

they get greasy
It's not easy
but I don't mind
they're paper lined

mail order motor oil
mail order motor oil
mail order motor oil
mail order motor oil

RAVINE
the ravine
is our scene
dirt and twigs
beer and cigs

we ride our bikes
we take hikes

the ravine
is our scene
down below
we like to go

the ravine
is our scene

CHICKADEES N CHEESE
chickadees n cheese
give em to me please
shake that tree
and give em to me
add some cheese
they're sure to please

chickadees n cheese
chickadees n cheese
chickadees n cheese

every day
every night
little birds
black and white
chew and bite
chew and bite

chickadees n cheese
chickadees n cheese
chickadees n cheese
for me!

PENNAPENAND
Pennnapenand
across the land
we made pencils
to hold in your hand

Pennnapenand
Pennnapenand
Pennnapenand
Pennnapenand

PP and P
old factory
now it's gone
from Sparkleton

Pennnapenand
Pennnapenand
Pennnapenand
Pennnapenand

all the pens
all the pencils
now you'll have to use a stencil

FLYING SAUCER
flying saucer
came to town
long ago
now it's down

now it's rock
with some trees
we like to walk
with Roy and Knees

we hang out there
with smokes and beer
enjoy the night
it's only right

all the kids
all the folks
enjoy the beer
enjoy the smokes

who were they
you might say
they came from space
to this place

we don't mind
they arrived
and they were kind

flying saucer
came to town
long ago
now it's down

NUDER PARK
Nuder Park
after dark
fireflies
across our eyes
wet grass
below my ass
friends around
not a sound
quiet night
it's allright

NEW SUPERMARKET
new supermarket
new supermarket
new supermarket

got a car?
have to park it
why did they
do it this way?

lots of things
you'd never think
they even have
the kitchen sink

we have enough
right here in town
why'd they have to bring us down?

It's kind of scary
I'm kind of wary
I work there though
so I don't care-y

cake and dairy!

they'll never come
to Sparkleton.
close to Beam
is not our scene

new supermarket
new supermarket
new supermarket

MY FRIEND DREY
my friend Drey
he's OK
shy as a mouse
never shot a grouse

my best friend
'till the end
now let's hush
and watch him blush

Drey M Fank
your heart has sank
this is a prank
Drey M Fank

you didn't know
how this would go
you thought we were along
on another song

but I wrote this for you
cause I like to tease
don't be blue
forgive me please

MAKE THE CIRCLE
make the circle
round the room
you know how
make it soon

make the circle
all join hands
skip around
to the bands

make the circle
it's so fun
we like it here
in Sparkleton

make the circle
skip around
make the circle
here in town

you can probably guess they're all under 2 minutes long.
"Knees" is Knees Geeler, who lost his legs and now uses prosthetics. The accident was at Pennsylvania Pen and Pencil, abbreviated by locals to Pennapenand.

map

2010-06-06T12:22:00.009-11:00

this is my working sketch of Sparkleton so I know what's what. The Ravine runs all the way through town, first between Patotts Rd and Worth St, behind the rooming house where Drey lives and Wooly's Dinor. It skirts the junkyard, just across the Ravine from Wooly's. It then winds down through to Nuder Park and under Lorna Rd on its way out of town. The Flats were added to accommodate increase in population when the Flying Saucer landed. Brian lives on Daneway Rd, Henry lives on Frothpan, The Groveski sisters are on Repair and Nina lives on Limpus Lane. Tropine Taxidermy is on a Street I haven't named yet, but Alexandra lives at the edge of town on Lorna Rd. Turn-a-mot Taxi is right downtown on E Neskie, and the Timber Pot family restaurant is kitty-corner from Wooly's on Bundt St. Take West Wider to Sparklehampton Manor, the Rest Home, on Sparklehampton Ct.
If you follow No-Name road for about 40 minutes you will arrive at the Flying Saucer site. Cruss St leads northwest to 918 which leads to Rte 27 if you need to take the bus to the New Supermarket. If you keep going in this general direction eventually you will reach Beam.

this reminds me that about 65% of the story is in notebooks and sketches and not represented here. So it may be confusing but it should be more cohesive when this thing is finished.

working on chickadee

2010-06-06T09:54:00.002-11:00

june 6

flat coin

2010-04-24T04:57:00.007-11:00

...that Henry put on tracks near Beam long ago. The train frightened Drey so he hid the nickel.
Painted clay.

Desk

2010-04-22T03:59:00.003-11:00

is finished.

cardboard, glue, paint, pen, blood, sweat, tears

handles: painted clay with wire, wood and glue
gum: painted glue

car shard

2010-04-04T12:28:00.003-11:00

Drey finds car shard on ground in Beam.
colored and glued shrinky-dinks

4/4/10

update

2010-03-23T11:13:00.000-11:00

3_23

paintbrush

2010-03-11T10:39:00.007-11:00

march 11

2_28

2010-02-28T10:32:00.003-11:00

tumbler plans

2010-01-16T09:39:00.003-11:00

plans for tumbler, using small pieces of Shrinky Dinks

Desking along

2010-01-15T11:37:00.003-11:00

Jan 15, 2010
probably going to use micron pen to add wood grain effect over the yellow. (that red is primer)

progress

2009-11-27T13:19:00.003-11:00

Nov 27
making 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

2009-10-26T10:11:00.037-11:00

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

2009-09-12T13:53:00.013-11:00

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.

storefront ART

2009-08-21T02:34:00.005-11:00

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!

spool of thread

2009-08-16T16:00:00.009-11:00

August 16th
paper clay, acrylic ink, colored pencil, ink, paper, Fur.

Fur courtesy of Cody P. Parker.

calipers

2009-08-10T09:58:00.004-11:00

aug 10

Drey has a pair of calipers sitting around. Polymer clay with epoxy over armature, colored pencil, ink.

Q-tip

2009-06-09T09:46:00.003-11:00

paper clay over wire, gouache, paper napkin, amber resin

Doorknob, Article, Scholarship

2009-06-02T13:04:00.009-11:00

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!

Desk

2009-04-19T05:57:00.006-11:00

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.

Please Return The Nail

2008-12-09T09:49:00.008-11:00

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

2008-11-11T12:04:00.005-11:00

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.

show

2008-10-23T07:46:00.012-11:00

oct 23
MZ and I are having a show! please come.

www.molliezanoni.com
www.nohoarts.org

a few things

2008-09-15T12:39:00.009-11:00

Sept 15th
these are all Air-Dry Clay.
I will paint them when I get back to my studio next week.

Pants (almost)

2008-09-04T09:14:00.011-11:00

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).

dawn

2008-08-13T09:15:00.006-11:00

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"

Brian's screenplay

2008-08-06T14:19:00.005-11:00

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.

dead birds, diary, Crier

2008-08-02T14:56:00.011-11:00

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

things

2008-08-01T02:03:00.008-11:00

august 1st
haven't been able to do much work yet this summer so here is a picture of some older things (for Ceece!)

Bread tie

2008-06-15T06:17:00.004-11:00

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

3's

2008-06-10T08:13:00.015-11:00

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!

Defibrillator sticker

2008-05-17T10:02:00.009-11:00

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

Show

2008-04-28T07:29:00.006-11:00

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 !

ptown

2008-04-21T15:43:00.003-11:00

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. ;)

Bookshelf

2008-04-21T15:01:00.008-11:00

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.

Sneaker #2

2008-03-04T13:32:00.007-11:00

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.

Oak Smokes

2007-12-06T11:09:00.002-11:00

6 December 2007
Colored pencil, ink, acrylic ink, paper, handmade paper, aluminum leaf, oak leaves, cellophane, silverpoint

thanks especially to TL, SS and VC!

Coming soon...

2007-10-19T08:58:00.001-11:00

Pair of pants

Rabbit's foot

2007-10-13T06:54:00.001-11:00

13 October 07

Wire, Shape-lock (malleable plastic), ink, binder's tape, Sculpey, Air-dry clay, aluminum leaf, milkweed.

Jar Lid

2007-10-07T13:49:00.001-11:00

...for chickadees with cheese sauce.
Cut, shaped & embossed aluminum, paper, pencil, acrylic ink.

Little vine

2007-10-07T04:23:00.001-11:00

7 October 07

Paper Clay, pigments

Fingerjoint Box

2007-10-04T10:37:00.002-11:00

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.

Teeth

2007-09-08T07:15:00.001-11:00

8 Sept 07

A pair of wisdom teeth.
Air-dry clay, acrylic ink, pencil

Acorn

2007-08-11T03:28:00.003-11:00

11 August

Paper maché, paper clay, paper, gouache and other paints.

Latent Thread Row show

2007-07-03T12:12:00.001-11:00

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

Very happy.

2007-06-20T08:59:00.001-11:00

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

New cover for the Diary

2007-05-24T05:09:00.003-11:00

24 May 07

Inked-in pencil drawing on cardboard.

draft of article for the Sparkleton Crier

2007-04-26T02:33:00.001-11:00

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.

Sneaker

2007-03-09T06:24:00.002-11:00

9 March 07

Almost done with the first of two sneakers. Cut, sewn & glued canvas, paper, ink, acrylic, foam, Foamies, rubber, Sculpey, sewn string.

wobbly nib

2007-03-01T14:27:00.002-11:00

1 March 07

The wobblynib has been added: ink, sculpted hot glue

2007-02-15T17:32:00.000-11:00

Coffee cup

2007-02-15T17:20:00.002-11:00

15 February 07
ink, gouache, acrylic and wax on cut and glued paper

Clotheshook

2007-01-06T07:27:00.003-11:00

6 Jan 2007

painted clay, wire

Band-aid

2006-12-31T11:40:00.002-11:00

31 December 2006

painted plastic, fabric, holes, paper

some sketches

2006-12-26T15:49:00.007-11:00

Oak Smokes Cigarettes Logo sketch and Git Up N Go Defibrillator Co. Label sketch

Corner of room (working drawing)

2006-12-15T15:57:00.001-11:00

18x24, pencil on paper

Tufted titmouse (maquette in progress)

2006-12-03T10:58:00.001-11:00

wire, polyfill, nylon, silk, electrical tape, thread, glass beads

Fur-Tide rabbit soda bottle cap

2006-12-03T08:33:00.003-11:00

painted aluminum with hot glue

Nail

2006-11-30T06:33:00.001-11:00

painted clay, paper, wire
(it's magnetic)

Toothbrush (in progress)

2006-11-30T06:18:00.001-11:00

painted Sculpey, hair

Old dead yellowjacket

2006-11-18T10:06:00.002-11:00

18 Nov 2006

Sculpey, wire, acrylic, glue, ink, plastic

Button, Squirly Mag sketch

2006-11-18T09:25:00.002-11:00

Button: cut, drilled and painted wood

Squirly mag cover sketch: pencil on paper

Maple Leaf, Sweater Tag

2006-11-13T13:03:00.002-11:00

Maple leaf: painted paper, wire

Sweater tag: sewn fabric

Beer

2006-11-13T12:50:00.003-11:00

Beer ad: colored pencil on paper

Beer can: painted, contsructed aluminum

Hunting cap (in progress)

2006-11-13T12:48:00.001-11:00

sewn fabric

Diary Entry

2006-11-13T12:36:00.000-11:00

"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

Old toy car

2006-11-13T12:29:00.003-11:00

painted sculpey, pins, rubber

Sheet of paper, White pine wisp

2006-11-13T12:10:00.005-11:00

Sheet of notebook paper: colored pencil, holes on paper

White pine: painted paper, wire, nylon, thread

Postcard

2006-11-13T12:10:00.003-11:00

ink on paper and cardboard

Box of paper clips

2006-11-13T12:08:00.000-11:00

painted, cut, folded and glued cardboard, folded and filed wire

Twisty-tie, Whiffle Ball

2006-11-13T11:57:00.005-11:00

Twisty-tie: painted paper, wire, glue
Whiffle ball: paper mache, acrylic

Matchbook

2006-11-13T11:50:00.000-11:00

ink on carboard, sandpaper, ash, pigment, wire

Keys, Tufted Titmouse. (in progress)

2006-11-12T17:13:00.000-11:00

painted clay

in progress

Security envelope

2006-11-12T17:05:00.000-11:00

ink on cut, folded and glued paper