musings from a contemporary existence

Time Lapse

2011-06-19T16:54:00.004-05:00

I am pretty positive that I do not have a blog following, but in case there were any concerns regarding my one year (almost exactly) time lapse from Blogging here is the haps.
This past year has been a whirlwind schedule of full of all my part time jobs. My husband started his stint in grad school as soon as I was finished. As the official, head of household, I took on several new occupations!
As my facebook page with tell you...
my occupation is: master metalsmith/jeweler extraordinaire, educator, and caretaker at The School of Life

I teach at the Lawrence Arts Center.
I apprentice/production & design at Shellie Bender Studios
I substitute at Eudora Elementary & Middle Schools
I am a caretaker for pair of siblings (3 & 9)

All is well, my first year being out of the academic realm has been full of new experiences and people. Teaching without grading or attendance policies is fresh! Participating in the Art and Craft show circuit has been eye opening. Care taking and subbing are both doing their part to prep me for motherhood.

I have had my very first break from school and immersed myself in the "real world"...now, I am ready to get back in action, focusing on my own body of work and the future!

THE POST BELOW CONTAINS IMAGES OF WHAT I HAVE BEEN UP TO AT MY BENCH RECENTLY

This ANIMAL MENAGERIE...

2011-06-19T16:40:00.003-05:00

started out as my sawing demo for last sessions Beginning Metalsmithing class at the Lawrence Arts Center. That night I brought animal crackers to share, which inspired one of my regular students, Kellie to call out "make the world's tiniest giraffe" when I took requests for what shape I should cut out for the demo. The next class I used the negative relief as my riveting demo (that's the little tree in a square scene). This session I posted on facebook asking people what to cut out for my demo and received a huge list of requests. I have been making about one animal a night since then and have really been enjoying it. I think I might need to make them two by two though. For an Ark, of course!

I cut these animals out of copper using my hand saw and my minds image of each animal...it is free hand sawing...no drawing on the outline first or looking at an image while in process. Which, might explain my six legged octopus! I have also run into a scale problem because I started with the tallest animal, so making them to scale is a problem. Notice that the strange frog is the size of a letter on your keyboard.

Hope you enjoy!

Do you have any animal requests?

all done...

2010-06-01T03:38:00.004-05:00

A Handful Of Growth

Home Is Where The Heart Is

this tower of my heart w/o its bracelet...2nd in my STACKABLE WEARABLE SERIES

Love, Lace and Fences - brooch on Cut Grass - base

Heart At Home - ring

up close & personal w/ Everything Is Roses - cuff bracelet

detail of hand-pierced, silver lace bottom of bracelet

Images of work from Ardent Notions

2010-05-20T10:04:00.004-05:00

A Letter to my Future Children

Pierced Nest with Stylized Ovum & Silver Birth Control Pills with Golden Wings

Envisioning Our Future Nest

A Heart Well Tethered (Human Heart Locket)

Keys to My Identity (detail shot)

Grad updates and Sean Rosner's article in reVIEW

2010-05-20T09:56:00.002-05:00

It was hectic right up until the end, but last Friday I finally walked across the stage and was hooded by my committee chair, Lin Stanionis. Thankfully, I am allowed to stay in my studio on the KU campus until mid-July. After years of pursuing fine art academia, a sense of accomplishment is beginning to sink in.

Next up: reality

The career hunt begins. What is my next adventure to be?

I am currently working on the latest piece in my Stackable Wearable series. It is my most ambitious work to date. I am constructing a Dream Home...complete with elaborate fencing, towers and turrets! In progress images coming soon.

& now...many thanks to Sean Rosner for writing an article about my work that I truly enjoyed.

http://ereview.org/2010/04/30/traveling-light/

lovely press! thanks steve brisendine.

2010-04-19T00:42:00.006-05:00

http://ereview.org/2010/04/01/e-pluribus-even-more-pluribus-mollie-rice-blackburn/

Thanks to the article Steve wrote covering my thesis exhibition on his website artkc365.com. I have been contacted by the kindly staff of Review (Mid-America's Visual Arts Publication) for an interview and article about my work.
It is exciting to come off of finishing my show and be given the opportunity to speak about my work and share images with the community. I will keep you (whoever you may be. For surely, I have never had a single comment, but I have faith that silence does not mean absence) updated on publication!

http://ereview.org/

New friends: nice to make your acquaintance.

preview photos of thesis exhibition: Ardent Notions

2010-04-10T23:27:00.003-05:00

Beware these photos probably need a lot of editing due to my rush job of documentation.

Only 3 wks remain until I take my bow

2010-03-03T17:42:00.002-06:00

Est. One Month until Installation Begins

2010-02-23T09:32:00.003-06:00

I am caught up in a chaotic whirl of to-d lists and art making. I nixed the domes long ago...some of you will be glad to hear. The show will keep evolving until I run out of time and have to call it done! Here are some fun photos of the new tools I have been learning to use!

Working It Out

2010-01-09T23:09:00.002-06:00

It is officially crunch time. My thesis exhibition is installed in less than 80 days. Closing reception to be held April 1, 2010! Below are images of the fence/wall necklace that will surround my dream home piece and of various other projects in progress. My favorite image is a detail of the chasing on my heart box. Enjoy.

updates from a slightly frazzled grad student

2009-12-16T23:02:00.003-06:00

Click on the images to see a larger view!

The Above Images:
Ink and Watercolor sketches for Stackable Starter Home
[working titles here people]
This weekend I plan to focus on the fence choker pictured on the watercolor board.
Several views into my studio showing my tabletop of works in progress, custom pedestals evolving, the closet door full of calendars...counting the emaining days until my exodus from studentdom [new word?]!

Six months until commencement/graduation ceremonies: May 16th
One month of that is Winter Break: Spring 2010 Semester starts January 14th
Three months until Thesis Exhibition Installation begins: March 27th

Soon I will know the exact date of the show and will be sending out show cards/invitations! As always, keeping you posted.

Garden Cuff Completed

2009-11-27T22:58:00.002-06:00

Below are a few more photos of the garden cuff bracelet and some studio shots. The bracelet started out to be an iris garden, but the flora finished out in more of a rose form. I have decided not to take my final photos until it gets closer to my thesis exhibition date. Keep checking in!
I am looking forward to seeing all of the pieces come together in one cohesive show. The end of this semester draws very near...three to four months until thesis exhibition 2010...six months until graduate school completion. For my last semester I will be teaching my first advanced metalsmithing and jewelry course: Casting!

custom pedestals coming up

2009-11-27T22:45:00.001-06:00

progression

2009-11-27T22:26:00.002-06:00

I have been taking thesis on, one step at a time. Deciding on themes, titles, and display.
Once I finalized my overall concept it was time to start making the pieces come together. Here are a few photos of how things are progressing. Right when I was starting to think I would have to learn the art of turning wood, a Saturday afternoon hunt brought success at the Re-Store!
These banister railings coupled with my iron garden edging and topped with glass domes is just the beginning of my miniature victorian-esque garden world coming together!
Pictures should begin to appear rapidly. With the help of the amazing Cotter the railings will be transformed. If I had not left my camera in the studio you would be able to see his "rough draft" with craved legs and table toppers attached.
Sometime this week I will find out the exact date of my thesis show and be able to update with specifics.

Home Is Where The Heart Is

2009-10-19T00:59:00.003-05:00

A quick post to illustrate my progress on this piece. Some of the parts have been colored, but there is still work to be done before I can call it finished!

Additional Images

2009-10-10T22:47:00.003-05:00

The post below contains images of my current piece in progress to show detail of it's hollow construction, etched brick wall and hand cut, silver lace bottom It will become an iris garden cuff bracelet that is one part of my 2nd stackable wearables: Home Is Where The Heart Is
This post contains images of Home Is Where The Heart Is still in pieces and in it's natural copper state. I will shoot more professional photos when the piece is completed.
1st in my stackable wearables: Tower Of Joy
shown stacked and apart to illustrate bracelet, brooch and ring

Failure to Update

2009-10-10T22:29:00.002-05:00

I wish there was a way to say this without having flashbacks to my 6th grade attempts to keep a diary. Though, please note that I always made it a point to refer to it as my journal. I have never known who to address my entries to and I always, always fail to update on a consistent basis.
My apologies to anyone out there who is disconcerted by the nine month time lapse between entries; life and university have kept me in constant motion lately.
I am working through my last year in the MFA program at KU. Which means, that I have been completely focused on my thesis work and teaching Intro to Jewelry & Metals for the fourth time.
I continue to love introducing new concepts and techniques to my students in the studio.
I am glad to report that my work has taken some exciting new directions lately! For now, I will leave explanations up to the images.

pre-semester brainstorming

2009-01-13T10:22:00.003-06:00

Here are a few snapshots of what I am doing on the wall in my studio and in my sketchbook. This wall is ever changing and helps me to work through ideas.
I continue to examine ideas about the garden, home & myself.

cameo continued

2009-01-12T19:11:00.002-06:00

This is a preliminary image of the latest piece in my cameo series.

After silhouettes became a part of my design palatte, my research lead me to discover the great and moving work of Kara Walker (look her up!).
I also took a History of Photography class, taught by KU professor John Pultz, where I learned much about how mankind's desire to capture the exact, physical lines of their loved ones lead to the invention of silhouette machines.

Prof. Pultz was kind enough to let the graduate students do extra projects in place of the exams. For my replacement project I made a brooch series inspired by the photograph's history.
In the series I used a photo that was taken of my paternal grandmother, Anna Maye when she was teaching grade school in Austin, TX.
First as a silhouette.
Second in color with facial details. (ink & watercolor on mylar)
Thirdly in a photomontage with part of the original photo and a photo of the live oak in her front lawn.
All of the brooches are made of silver, copper, & plastic

promised images

2009-01-12T18:53:00.004-06:00

new beginnings

2009-01-07T21:12:00.007-06:00

“Nothing is more the child of art than a garden”

Sir Walter Scott

In my most recent work, I am fabricating wearable pieces that utilize garden imagery as metaphor for the connection between human beings and the natural world. The garden references place and the inclusion of garden walls imply that these are safe locations, set apart from the overwhelming chaos of the world. It is an environ of peace that nurtures the life inside of its walls; a haven where one can retreat to observe the cyclical nature of life.

Literary critic Robert Haas once stated, “The first fact of the world is that it repeats itself.” I believe in the interconnectedness of all life and to translate this fact through the medium of jewelry, I employ repetition in form and visual elements. Although my work utilizes repetition in formal aspects each piece remains one of a kind, just as we human beings do. Circular constructions are fabricated to se as framing devices for central imagery and are representational of both the earth’s spherical shape and of eternity.

I am bringing the garden to the body by creating wearable forms. I intend the pieces to serve as a reminder to the wearer of the beauty to be found in life and bring a sense of peace and interconnectedness to their everyday lives. In my research I found that Joseph Bueys had an artistic philosophy that stated: Art can have a positive and healing impact on society. This is my belief too.

It is hard to believe that the dawn of the new year has already arrived. It is 2009. Now, I am not one for resolutions, but seeing my new, adorable yet empty planner does evoke visions of new beginnings.
The spring semester officially begins in just eight days, but my first day back to teaching is not until Wednesday the 21st. This will be my third time teaching Intro to Jewelry/Metalsmithing and it seems that all of the desks are already spoken for.
I kept very busy last semester, making quite a bit of work in order to ensure that I remain in the programs good graces. I am excited about where this new body of work is heading and I hope that you enjoy glimpses of it as well.
Above is my latest artist statement and more images of my most recent work will soon follow.

slow start

2008-10-10T00:44:00.005-05:00

So much for leaping off the ledge. I made one post and then nothing for weeks, not that anyone seems to be reading this yet.
Teaching and grad school have been keeping me too bogged down in reality-land, so there hasn't been any time for consistent blogging in technology-land.
However, I did have the opportunity to take new images of my more recent work, which I will post here for your enjoyment.
I've been exploring concepts dealing with the home and personal narrative.

"Displacement"
copper, faux foliage, resin, found plastic objects
2008

"I Do..."
silver, copper, rice, resin
2008

"Decorative Silhouette"
anodized aluminum & plexi glass
[work in progress]

"1st Anniversary Cameo"
copper, anodized aluminum, plexi glass, faux foliage
2008

leaping off the ledge of privacy

2008-09-14T19:44:00.002-05:00

Greetings Humanity...
Mollie Kathleen at your service and taking a minute to fully accept that I officially just became a blogger. I will be using this blog as a forum to post images of my artistic process and commentary on my daily existence.