Bike Wheel Modifications

At the start of June I participated in June Art Fest in Yakima. My sales that day weren't especially good, but I had some interesting conversations. Several of them centered around my spinning bike wheel piece. 

"Bespoke Piece" started in 2013, finished in 2014

The oddest comments just made me wonder about people. Several people tried to pull the colored "pod" shapes off of the wheel. (They are epoxied in place.) One person asked if the "pods" were soap. (Do you know you are at an art fair?) But one person talked to me for a while and asked why I hadn't  slid the pods onto the spokes of the wheel, instead of epoxying them on top of the spokes.

pods for bespoke piece with impressions for attachment onto spokes

The answer is obvious, of course, it didn't occur to me that the spokes came off. I suppose that's silly, or naive, but I ask all you non-mechanic, non-cyclers out there to really think how much you know about bike wheels--or pottery wheels or whatever specialized knowledge you don't have in your own career.

pods for new bike wheel piece with holes for spokes

Anyway, the upshot from this conversation is that last week I threw some bulbs and poked some holes through them so that I can attach them in a less obtrusive way onto the wheel spokes. Next I just have to figure out how to detach the spokes. I'm sure there's some tool or something. Pliers didn't work. (Stop laughing.)

lawn sticks from my MFA installation

Another useful conversation was with my mom, who pointed out how much she liked the complex textures on my lawn sticks (and basically all my other work ever). I don't specifically remember why I left the pods on top of the bike wheel smooth last year, though it could have had something to do with running out of time. I got on a plane a few days after I threw the pieces and never even had a chance to finish the piece until after my sabbatical had ended. 

pods for new bike wheel piece with sprigged and impressed textures

Since you should always listen to your mom, I added sprigged and impressed textures to the bulbs for the next bike wheel piece.

new bike wheel base in progress with bike chain set in place

I had used a bike chain embedded in a thrown form for the base of the first bike wheel piece. I liked the look of the chain and the base was stable once I filled it with cement (otherwise the bike wheel makes the piece top heavy and it falls over). I left the surface of the base smooth (time crunch again), so this time I tried a little more texture. I lost or broke the tool I used to cut the "path" for the chain, so I had more trouble keeping the "path" even this time.

second new bike wheel base in progress

I am partway through building a second base with some larger additions. I found myself a replacement loop tool so I should be able to cut the path for the chain more evenly. Since that challenge is apparently taken care of, I decided to make the chain's path more complex. You'll see later if I get it finished. Tomorrow's a holiday, so I better get back to work this morning.

Studio Assistant Week One

Earlier this year I started thinking about hiring a studio assistant to help me in my home studio. As so often happens with this blog, writing about a problem or an issue helped me realize something important about that issue. This particular writing made me realize that I have actually reached the professional level and now is the time to hire an assistant.

The studio gets fairly messy during the academic year and I usually spend about a week cleaning it before I can get to work in the summer.

Of course the blog is also public, so as soon as I realized I was ready to hire an assistant, I had a volunteer . I wrote about the idea on a Saturday and had a student suggest herself for the job as soon as I walked into the school studio on a Monday.

my wooden shelves today--after putting them back together and putting work back on them

Last week was finals week, as well as the week before June Art Fest so I had a lot to do and little time to do it in. My new studio assistant came over on Friday morning and got right to work. Its funny, I wanted to hire someone to help do the cleaning so I could do other things. Somehow I didn't realize how very helpful this would be. Not only did she clean and help me pack for Art Fest for 3 hours, but by working hard herself, she kept me mostly on task. if I had set out to clean for 6 hours, I would have gotten bored and taken breaks and gotten distracted looking at shiny objects in the studio or making tough decisions about which stack of bubble wrap to use for packing. Instead, I felt like I had to stay busy because she was staying busy. I think I got more than 6 hours of work out of the two of us in just 3 hours.

tedious jobs like packing lawn sticks are perfect for me to assign to an assistant

I was also able to give her the more tedious tasks. I figured she was compensated for boredom--and since she hadn't done all of these things many many times before, she would get as bored as I would doing them. I had her clear my wooden shelves and take them apart so I could take them for my booth this weekend. Then I had her pack up the stray lawn sticks (scroll to bottom of linked page for image) so I could take them and so they'd be off the work surfaces. Finally she collected tools from around the studio and worked on recycling some random clay I had left over from who-knows-when. As I type it out, it doesn't sound like three hours worth of work, but it sure was.

my new shelf of sorted (and sorta clean) bike parts

Meanwhile I continued the long process of sorting bike parts. Most of the shelf in my lean-to storage area is now devoted to boxes of gears, chains, ball bearings, pedals and other parts. This project took me days of work. I completed it when the studio assistant was here.

bike and mechanical parts (and some hardware) in my lean-to storage area

The upshot of my assistant's first day was that I got my show stuff packed up and also got some work done for school that afternoon. I haven't gotten much work done in the studio since then, because I had family visiting and a couple of jobs for work (still--why am I not being paid for this?), but my new studio assistant will be here tomorrow, meaning I should be ready to start building for real next week.

Mike Hiler in our shared booth at June Art Fest

June Art Fest went ok. The weather was nice and people came, but I didn't sell much. I did get some good ideas for new work based on some discussions with folks who visited the booth.

June Art Fest Next Saturday

Have you been worrying about what to do next weekend? Unsure whether Yakima can offer you the sort of entertainment and culture you were hoping to experience this summer? Never fear, Rachel's got you covered. On Friday you will be attending the opening reception for the Member's Arts and Crafts Show at Larson Gallery. 

The show features work made by Larson Gallery Guild members. Since the show is open to all members, without a juror, the show sometimes has more experimental work than the Central Washington Artists' Exhibition in the fall. The Guild also features some of the most talented and well-known artists in the area as its members, so the work should be of high quality. (I had a sneak peek in the gallery last week when I dropped off my work and there's at least one work that I want in my house now--it's made of wood and you can probably guess which it is when you see the show.)

As my students know, I always encourage attendance with the promise of food; some of my favorite meatball and pastry cooks will have their creations on display at the food table during the reception, right next to works of art in paint, fiber, ceramic, wood, photo and mixed media. Did I mention we have wine? This is the Yakima Valley, after all.

The next day, Saturday, after you have recovered from the excitement of the Member's show, the thrills continue at June Art Fest, an all day event at Chalet Place Mall. All day you can see artwork by current and former YVCC art faculty, advanced level students and some of the best Yakima area artists and craftspeople. There will also be music, food concessions at Wray's and easy access to books and coffee. I think we've got all the basic needs covered in one location (basic needs, of course being art, books, food and caffeine).

I'll be at both events. Saturday I'll be there all day long at the booth I share with Mike Hiler. You can also see work by recently retired YVCC faculty Bob Fisher and his wife, Carol Hassen. My current and former students Jane Fassel and Mike Hiler and other big names include (but are not limited to) John Barany, Delma Tayer, Duane Heilman and Penn Shelton. 

Current and Upcoming Events

Student Exhibition at Larson Gallery

This week is your last chance to see the YVCC Department of Visual Arts Student and Faculty Exhibition at Larson Gallery. The show runs through May 31. The gallery is open this week through Friday 10-5pm and Saturday 1-5pm. Students can pick up their work starting on Saturday at Larson Gallery or Tuesday in the Art Department.

Members Arts and Crafts Exhibition at Larson Gallery

The next show at Larson Gallery will be the Members Arts and Crafts Exhibition, featuring a wide variety of work by current Larson Gallery Guild members. I'll have a piece in the show. I hope that my students will also consider putting something in this year. 

June Art Fest at Chalet Place

I will also have work at June Art Fest on June 14. June Art Fest is a one-day outdoor art fair featuring local artists. This is definitely an art show, rather than an arts and crafts show. Each artist, or pair of artists has a booth at the fair with his or her paintings, jewelry, sculpture, or functional work. 

Last year the music was live and very good most of the day. There will be potters, wood carvers, fiber  artists, painters, mixed media artists, printmakers and jewelry in metal and wood. Stop by to buy gifts or something for yourself, or just stop by to visit and keep the artists company. Hopefully this year won't be as windy and rainy as the show in 2012. 

Summer Workshops at Larson Gallery
Coming up later this summer, I will be hosting a clay workshop for kids and adults on June 29. Call or visit Larson Gallery to register for my workshop or others. Lucas Orthman, Natalie Dotzauer both are teaching at YVCC this year--I expect their workshops to be good. I have taken a Joan Cawley-Crane workshop and I know hers will be excellent, and I have heard good things about Larry Calkins' encaustic workshop. You might want to hurry to register before all the spots are taken.