The Old Girls Get Gussied Up

Three pieces were installed today at krisTEES in Astoria, NY for a month long run. The boutique is a great gem in the  area for all shoppers and fashionistas. The "girls" got a bit of a freshening up from shop owner, Kristie Foster-Chapman, when she added some fun accessories that are featured in the store.

L to R: Good Clean Education, NYTimes Magazine Dress and Cut Along the Dotted Lines

In her hands is a copy of the March issue BORO magazine article about my work (hitting stands next week)

new work

A new year deserves new work. It's taken me awhile to get back in the swing of things after the installation project at the Botanical Garden this past Fall. When the pieces were dismantled, all the natural materials went to the compost pile but the armatures came home with me. Three full sized bodies in addition to older pieces, the leftovers of the sculpting process and all my other stuff made the studio quite cramped. It was difficult to navigate from one side of the room to the other. Needless to say, a crammed space is not inspiration for creating more work!

January was a month spent sorting, tossing (something I hate doing) and lots of rearranging. In the end I reclaimed my work space and have enjoyed being in there again. What then ensued was a burst of creative plotting. Perhaps seeing the snow mounds finally begin to dwindle gave the extra boost to birth some new work. 

I have a few new projects in the works. A few will be stretched out over the course of the year and I will be inviting you to join me in the creation process... more to come on that. More immediately, I am working on a new series about skin. I've got the first piece finished with at least 3 more to come. You can see the process below. Stay tuned for additions to the series, an announcement about a new show coming up, some press in Boro Magazine and (with fingers crossed) the opening of an Etsy store. Whew. I have lots to do in the coming weeks. Let Spring be ushered in!

This piece, Skin: 025 , is formed on a wire torso armature and is made up of vertically woven yarn, jute, sisal and cotton string. In order to get the correct tension of the strings I had to have the piece suspended across the studio during the weaving process.

Here's a view from underneath the piece.

Adjusting the threads after removing the piece from my make-shift loom

Skin: 025, 2011

© Susan Springer Anderson 2011

The Day Arrives

I have completely lucked out with having clear weather every day I've been out at the Garden with a scheduled event. The opening last Sunday was no exception. It was a great day to see friends, project helpers and new garden goers as they interacted with the installed pieces. All three pieces are up and will be in the garden for at least the next month. Stop by and see them in the rose garden, bee garden and at the visitor center! A big thanks to the helpers and to Queens Botanical Garden for hosting the project!

Here are a few photos from the day:

Installing

 

I think making her hat was my favorite part of the project!

The bee keeper at the reception table before being installed

Susan Springer Anderson speaking with QBG Executive Director, Susan Lacerte

Opening of Exhibition and Artist Reception

Don't forget to come out to the Queens Botanical Garden this Sunday, October 17 from 3-5pm to see the finished sculptures, rain or shine. Refreshments will be served and we hope to be playing the short documentary about the project " the making" during the reception. Prints of the pieces will be on sale in the shop.

Here are a few shots of finished pieces to entice you to come!

Also, check out the article from Lisa Fraser in the Queens Chronicle about the project!

Last Community Work Day

Last night wrapped up the end of the community participation in the making of the sculptures. I had about twelve people stop at the tables and work with me for awhile. A few women earned the title of worker bees, making at least 6 patches each. Thanks for your help ladies! 


I'll be finishing up this piece and the last sculpture over the next week. Then they will be installed in the garden for about one month. Don't forget, the exhibit opening is on Sunday, October 17 from 3-5 pm at the Garden. Make sure to come by!

Sharing Opportunities to Create

Saturday was a great day to be at the garden. The morning was pretty chilly, so much so that by lunch my fingers were numb! But by the afternoon the sun warmed things up and made for a beautiful day.

 Although the weather was a delight the high points of the day were sharing the opportunity to create with a diverse crowd. In the morning two mom's stopped by and worked on patches for close to an hour. We had a lovely conversation and it turns out that one of the women had studied to be a scenic designer years ago, but went in a different direction career wise, and hasn't had much time since to spend creating and working with her hands. Then in the afternoon a daughter and her elderly mother came to the table to work for a bit. The daughter mentioned that her mom grew up in China and was from a generation that didn't participate in art-making. She said her mom was going to be talking about this opportunity and remembering it for a long time. Plus, today, Sunday is her 89th birthday- congratulations! It's those kinds of moments that make the long hours of preparation 100% worth it.


This Wednesday, October 6 from 3-5pm is my last community workshop. Come on out if you haven't already done so. And, just a reminder, Sunday October 17 from 3-5pm is the opening reception.

The second piece. She'll be sitting on this bench for the installation.

The dress is made from fir branches; another tree that was damaged in the recent storm.

Fox tail (the plant)  is added to the jacket to make it a faux fur coat.

A mom and daughter come by. Today, 10/3/10 is the mom's 89th birthday!

1 Done, 2 to Go

After a few solo hours at the garden I finished the first piece. The theme ended up changing along the way due to the materials available. What was first to be a Han dynasty inspired garment ended up closer to an Emilie Floge, Schwestern Floge, dress. You'll notice I also took the grass off the sleeves. It just wasn't working.

The final materials were willow branches and amaranth.

Day 2 at the Garden

We had a great day at the Garden on Sunday. Comfortable temperatures and clear skies made it good day to be outside. Here are a few shots from the day... more to come later.

QBG Project, Workshop 1

It was a beautiful day to be outside- a definite contrast to two days prior when a tornado ripped through Queens and left a great deal of destruction. The Botanical Garden took a beating that left 20 large trees strewn about the grounds with gaping holes from the trees that were uprooted. The wedding garden was a mess. A beautiful, large weeping willow was felled by the storm and the branches and parts of the trunk were all over the placed. Thus the wedding that was scheduled there for Saturday got moved to the terrace... right where my workshop was set up. Needless to say folks were intimidated to get too close lest they disturb the wedding and in turn left me with a lack of attendees. We're switching up some details for next weekend's workshop which should help with getting folks participating. Oh well, at least I got some good work in. Below are some shots from the day.

On the 7 train heading to the garden. I had more people talk to me on the train than I did at the garden!

Gathering materials from the compost pile.

Hauling branches from the wedding garden. I figured I might as well try and turn the destruction into something positive by using the debris for the project.

Stripping the leaves off the branches. The leaves get too brittle once they are dry to use for the sculpture.

The gathered materials.

Amaranth, prepped and ready to be added.

Attaching prairie grass to the sleeves. The bulk of the garment will be made from grass and willow branches. The amaranth will be added on the borders.

You can see the wedding going on behind me.

A good start.

Standing Room Only

The body is done, but she looks a little bare. Luckily my community workshops start this Saturday, September 18 at the Queens Botanical Garden and we will get her all decked out. This first piece will be wearing a garment based on a Chinese Han Dynasty design. A sketch of the design in the proposed location is below. Stop by from 1:00-4:00pm to help out.

The link below will take you to the  QBG website with more information on the workshops.

http://www.queensbotanical.org/programs/SusanSpringerAnderson