craft

Crochet sculpture of woman in armchair by Neta Amir. Flickr set shows the construction process!

I am fascinated by three dimensional crochet.  I appreciate the skill in creating complicated sculpural pieces but am always puzzled by the choice of medium.  Why crochet over knitting? Why not use other textiles?  Sure, some artists are consciosuly reclaiming an old fashioned, undervalued craft medium.  It is not the medium for me because I just can't get past the unrelentingly nubby texture. Maybe I was scarred for life by having to wear a crocheted poncho of orange variegated yarn that made me me look a pumpkin on acid.

I want to tell you about the papel picado work of Kai Margarida-Ramirez de Arellano.  Some of her earlier work was a series of jazz artists (a fundraiser for the Outpost Performance Space). Cool stuff.  She has shown her work here and will have a piece in an upcoming show in NYC. 

This piece addresses the killings in Juarez.  It is a dark and ugly topic.  I think this piece confronts the topic (a bit of gore) but also keeps it real and is not gratuitous.  Stay tuned for updates and more art from Kai!

A stuffed toy horse head was sent in the mail to New Jersey State Sen. Stephen Sweeney.  No note was included. This prompted staff to contact the bomb squad which disposed of the horse head.  The investigation led to the arrest of a 61 year old man. The arrest was made at the home he shares with his parents.  He will undergo psychiatric evaluation. 

You may know that we have bikes and ride them around and stuff  Anyway, the biking interests and the soft sculptures collided! Check out the soft sculpture of Mashanda Scott. You can tell it is not a steel frame but still hard to imagine sewing and constructing that of vinyl, acrylic, faux leather and all.