Crystal Waterfall!
For the Ramiken Crucible show I made a crystal waterfall — a solution with minerals dissolved in it was continuously running down the length of knotty rope, slowly depositing crystals. The idea was that over a long enough period of time the crystals would begin to take over the form, taking control away from me. I hope to install it again soon to keep the process going. You can see the sparkles and some stalactites forming in the photos below.
Barnacle ring
I’ve been continuing to enjoy the theme of natural growth, but the instances where it is slightly disturbing or gone wrong (parasitic, tumor-like, messed-up along the way). This is the first casting for a group of jewelry I’m working on:
I like the idea of the barnacles taking over the body, and being beautiful, but also slightly uncomfortable. The plan is to also develop neck pieces and earring crawling up the ears too.
So much ICFF with Lindsey
A few very busy weeks helping Lindsey Adelman Studio get ready for the International Contemporary Furniture Fair. And look at us in the New York Times!
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/21/garden/21lupton.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper
The two new products that the studio debuted that I’m most excited about are the Agnes Candelabra at Matter and the Knotty Bubbles at The Future Perfect (which I posted about here: http://blog.hitchcocksatterlee.com/2009/04/swamps-and-ropes/). Here are a couple photos, but to see the whole thing, I suggest going to www.lindseyadelman.com.
Photography: Joseph DeLeo — www.jdeleophoto.com
Swamps and Ropes
Lindsey Adelman, Kristin Barron, Michiko Sakano and I are collaborating on new Lindsey Adelman Studio pieces for The Future Perfect (opening to be in May), and they are going to be delicious. The most elegant weird swamp things. Process photos of dying rope.
Death by fungus
I’ve been incorporating crystals into the bug monsters. Here’s a snapshot of one, there will be more photos coming soon.
The growth of the crystals on the bugs reminds me of something I’ve seen before: fungal infections which kill insects. Apparently the fungal spores get into the insect’s brain and take control over their brains; the fungus causes them to stop everything to perform one last action — climb up a branch and take a bite to affix themselves, for instance. The fungus then begins to grow using the insect as a host. As morbid as this is, the results are really quite beautiful in some cases. What I also find fascinating is the symbiotic and species-specific relationship between a particular insect and fungus. This means the shape of the fungus is always informed by the same insect. Some photos below, stolen from the Neurophilosophy blog. Link to full post is below photos.
http://neurophilosophy.wordpress.com/2006/11/20/brainwashed-by-a-parasite/