Bucio<->Palermo

Hello Everyone,

My dear friend and former studio-mate, Astrid Bucio, and myself have been collaborating on and off for some time now. She and I decided to follow in the footsteps of our friends, here, and start an art exchange blog. It will work by one of us posting a piece and the other reacting to it to create a response and so on in a cyclical progression. You can find the blog here. I am very excited to be a part of it and can't wait to see what comes of it. I hope you all enjoy it too.

santa isn't coming this year...

Happy Holidays from little me to you.

Normal posts will resume soon.

december: 23

This semester is just about over. I'm finishing up papers as I type this. I cleaned out my paper making/book arts flat file and locker yesterday. Brought home a lot of great stuff to work with. I don't have much in the way of finished pieces to show, but here is a pulp painting I found buried in that flat file. I also finished a found object book made from an old telephone from the 50s. I unfortunately don't have pictures to show due to the fact that my teacher took it to put in a display cabinet. Eventually...



Also, I have been looking at a lot of Native American blankets for inspiration lately. Here is one of my favorites.



Navajo Rug
Bear and Yei Dancer
Circa 1920
Wool, Natural Dyes
48" H x 70" W

allora

I have regained my health for the most part. I am pressing on. Here are some images from a book I am working on now. It isn't bound yet. I am trying to decide how to do so.





I have been thinking a lot about what I can make in terms of a found object book. I have a lot of ideas. I want it to have a lot of textures and colors. Photos of first attempts soon to come.

Lastly, I leave you with this special video to melt your soul.

archetype

Below is my most recently completed book. The inside content is representative of, what feels like, my rotting insides. On both sides, there are accordion folded pages that pull out. The imagery gets progressively lighter and more colorful towards the outside, symbolic for my hopeful return to health. The binding is a double accordion piano hinge variation. I couldn't get any good images of the spine to show you the neat piano hinge method. You can get an idea of how it works below. The second image is a section of one of the accordion pages when it is laid flat. The general imagery is all a result of experimenting with various hand printmaking methods on a large sheet of paper. And yes, those are old paintbrushes I used as dowels.





I was told by my bf that it is the best thing I have ever made. Though I appreciated the compliment, I would like to think the books I'm currently working on are much better.

Speaking of the fellow, he has been writing in his blog, painstakingly reviewing all the albums in his top 100 list. He mentioned one of my favorites the other day. Etta James' Tell Mama. If you haven't heard it, you most certainly should. He offers a free download of the album at the bottom of the article. Read and download.

ailing

So, I have been consistently sick with something new every week for the past month. I was never really a sick kid and I used to pride myself on my strong immune system. Things have broken down I suppose. The stress must have made me more susceptible. Hopefully this is the last of it. I don't want to be wheeze anymore.

So, I don't have any new artwork to show you, because I haven't gotten around to photographing/scanning anything. All moments at home have been spent in bed, with my phlegm spit cup in one had and toilet paper roll tissue supply in the other, watching movies to help me fall asleep in awkward propped up positions. Last night was Curse of the Demon. It might have been the drugs, but it was actually scary.



Also, in other news, my download of Degrassi Seasons 1-9 is almost complete. Anyone who wants to join in the watching marathon let me know. I will probably do nothing else all winter break.

Lastly, I'll leave you with this hilarious image from my sketch book where...essentially...I gave up...

a book for the day

Today, I decided to aim toward making a book a day. Instead of working on, and finishing, one sketchbook in about a month or two (which I have been doing for eight years now), I want to switch gears and try to make little concept books. In a completed series, they will encompass each day separately over a stretch of time. Above is an image of something I did over the summer. I found it while cleaning and it sort of served as the inspiration for the idea.

Below are some images of the book I made today.



Cover, inside, and back cover.

More to come with some of my handmade paper...

lesson plans

Grad school seems to be giving me a little bit of a break now that mid terms are over.

I had to teach a spur of the moment lesson to a Kindergarten class at my student teaching practice a couple of weeks ago. Teaching requires much more improv abilities than I thought. The project was a giant collaborative drawing of a "Jungle of our favorite animals". The image is just one of my favorite sections from the larger piece. I also taught a printmaking lesson to a class of 2nd graders for my field observation. The outcomes were really great. It was rewarding seeing children experimenting with materials. All the children have been really responsive to the lessons I create for them. One of the boys, Brian, age 6, drew me a detailed (and even shaded!) picture of a pumpkin, knowing that I love Halloween. "To Ms. Paleprmo From: Brian". It has been fun so far, especially when they are excited and motivated.

Here are some images from my Halloween...


Steve Albini, Big Black with a moshing pumpkin, Endless Mike, and Jurassic Park...respectively.

Images of book concepts I have been working on soon to come...

slugs

I got a wonderful surprise visit from some Philly friends this weekend. It makes me really miss the city. I miss having the community of amazing artists that surrounded me while I was there. I need to get back.

Also, the visit made me realize how little art work I have been making in comparison to what I used to do. I have never been this stressed out and anxious without time for an outlet. Things are getting worse. The worrying needs to stop. I need to find time to make art consistently again. I also need to find time for more physical activity. I hate sitting in a car/classroom for most of my day. Grad school is not treating me right. I will not let it beat me.

pedagogy

This is a small scan of a book cover that I have been filling on and off for the past month. With all the school work and stress, I have to release anxiety somehow. It is 1'6" X 11". I will be case binding with it and making myself a new sketch book over the next couple weeks.

I have been experimenting with paper making processes a lot lately. It is wet, very wet, but really inspiring work. With every edition of paper I make, I have a million new ideas for possibilities of exploiting this process in my more personal expressive work.

something recent

Pulled from my sketch book...



Here is an image of something tedious I did to relieve the anxieties of moving to a new place and starting in a new direction.

foster innovation and creativity

This past month has been extremely hectic. I've started my graduate studies and I already have more things to do than I have time to do them. I've been studying non-stop for Praxis tests and devoting myself to my teaching field experience. I attended a back to school teacher's meeting. I was intimidated being the youngest person in the room. Luckily, my cooperating teacher is super.

All this and it is no surprise I haven't really been making large pieces lately. The extent of my art making consists of quick gesture sketches of friends, family, and animals on things like paper plates, receipts, and wrappers. These are desperate times.

I am, however, taking a graduate book arts concept studio class this semester. I am very excited for that. It'll be picking up where I left off in undergraduate fine arts studies more or less.

The next two years are going to be challenging and a real test of my values, integrity, and efficiency.

Time to be a professional.

Also ... I went to Montreal as a last minute summer vacation trip before school started. I loved it there. It is everything I like about city living. All I need to do is get on learning french and I'm there.



Back to work.

traveling

This seems to be the summer of travel. I have been driving and riding the train everywhere. I have never felt so confident in my freedom and independence. It got better with age, I suppose. My artwork as been reflecting all this. In that I have noticed it is more controlled and to the point. Also, my fears and paranoia about politics and the environment are starting to effect me in a more productive way. I no longer feel paralyzed.

Here is a preview of what some of the pages look like from the art journal I have been working on this summer.




More here...

worthy

I've been spending the past couple of weeks getting to know my new town. Also, spending as much time as possible with my dear friend, Maggie. It has been a wonderful summer so far. Getting used to commuting in NJ so that I can go back to school with confidence. I also just met my best friend's child. He is going to be quite a guy.

As far as art work goes, I don't really have a place to work on larger pieces, so I have been spending most of my time working on an art journal. For those who like keeping visual journals, I highly recommend getting involved in The Sketchbook Project. I am still very much interested in making art books and getting them out there. I think my studio work is going to turn into experimenting with book structures as some kind of portable art gallery.

I miss having studio space to work in...

nothing to be concerned about

Very well then, I haven't posted since before Maine, and there is much to be touched upon.

First off, Maine. Acadia...What an absolutely beautiful place. I hiked nearly everyday I was there, got a nice little tan, enjoyed the genuine sent of fresh air, and set my anxieties at ease with the sound of true quiet. I revived my childhood love of rock collecting along the way. My sister was infinitely amused with my goofiness and we created many a new inside joke phrase. I took a ton of photos, but due to the fact that I am still visiting my parents, I don't have the chord on me to upload. I'll post some later on for inspirational purposes.

So far I spent one night in New Brunswick house. I am excited to get back.
On the drive back from Maine, I had a strange rush of doubt and felt unnerved when I thought on the next two years. Going back to school is a good choice on many practical levels, but for some reason, I still have the overwhelming feeling of intimidation in being my age and going back to grad school. I'm sure it will pass once I get started. I feel really smart and extremely dumb at the same time.

I think once I get settled in New Jersey again, I will feel more confident and my choices will start making sense again. I also might start making some substantial art work again. The root of this probably is that I haven't actually been making.



(Click to view larger)

1. Pink Granite from Cadillac Mt.
2. "
3. Striped ocean rock from Sand Beach
4. Tiger striped blue rock from Bubble Pond
5. Barnacle covered rock from Wonderland Trails

Lately...

So, the move out of Philadelphia is pretty much done. I will post pictures of the new house as soon as I take them. I spent my last night in Philly itunes visualizing with Astrid and Justin to Ladies and Gentlemang... Now on to adapt to New Brunswick.

I've been planning some projects for the summer, and setting up a studio in the basement of my parents house next to my father's model making studio. My father will be making monster movie models while I draft patterns and weave. Nice combination.

I have been having terrible nightmares. Lots of imagery of dismembered people and disturbing abandoned rooms with no doors. Hopefully they go away soon. I would like to get some real sleep.

Lastly, I am a part of a show opening at Nexus Gallery in the Crane Arts building this Thursday (June 10th 6-9pm). Make it out if you can. If not, it will be up for a month.

the letter 's'

Been saying goodbye to life in Philly. Going to miss it dearly. Left: work. Right: house. I don't want to get so busy that I won't be able to visit often. Too many people here mean too much to me.

I've been feeling really angry...and weird. I don't know why really. I haven't been this irritable since...high school maybe. I hope it passes. Not being a summer person is not really helping.

Been working on getting studio work and art related volunteer work going in Jersey. Things are looking up for future art. I have some big ideas for the summer. Some of those include...screen printing on grass, plain weave circular tapestry series, backstrap looming, recording on my own for the band, turning my fathers barn into a darkroom for non-silver processes, and getting so tan that my teeth look super white.

One Week

College is just about over now. I was doing some work in the Non-Silver darkroom this weekend and took some shots. I think it has become my favorite medium to work in. It is the room I know I will miss most in the school... Next to the advanced fibers studio for sentimental reasons.

Here is a sample of my most recently finished print. It is a four color gum dichromate print.

I wonder if my landlord will notice if I turned our garage into a darkroom...

Re...

This is what my studio...and my entire college career... has been reduced to...

The furniture is not included.

Feets hurt. First Friday was enjoyable. I'm really good at condensing. There is an impulse in me that really wants to just burn all my work and move on, start fresh and clear without anything to reference.

True Involution

This was one of the plainer fabric screen prints I did before the thesis show. It didn't make the cut, though it was really close. It was hard mixing the work from the past couple months and the work I did at the beginning/middle of the school year...even though it is just a generalized and simplified version of what I was doing before.

I think I am going to go sketch (FROM LIFE) in the park...because today is the first day in, I can't remember how long, that I have no real obligation.

Less than a month left in Philadelphia. I have a feeling I'm not quite done here, to be honest.

Senior

So, the show is up and ready to be seen. I am very excited to be done. Glad everything came together as well as it did. The great hall is overwhelming. There is really so much good work coming out of this graduating class in crafts. Sometimes over-ambition is a good thing.

If you don't already know the show opens TODAY in Hamilton Hall from 5-7pm. There is also a private opening on Sat. from 5-8pm. It will be up for a week. So, come see what we have all been working so hard on this year.

On a side note, I finally figured out what to do with my business cards. I think it is appropriate.

front and back...

Also glad that worked out as well as it did.

I have been really enlivened thinking about all the work I would like to make when I get time again. After this is over, it will be great to keep working on art outside of an academic setting and without people breathing down my neck. It is strange because after hanging my work for the show, I realized how far off my thinking is visually from all my thesis work. Probably going to stem off far away from fibers and pick up a paintbrush again this summer. That will be nice.

Business Cards?

Most recently drawing on acetate. The series is large but this is my favorite. It consists of layers of gently X acto-ed sheets.

The senior show preparation and installation is starting to come together. The show opens this Friday (5-7 pm) and Saturday (5-8 pm). Hope to see you all there.

As an added bonus...My postcards as downloadable wallpaper!

Set up a mock show of my work in the critique space. This was for my final advanced class critique. It went really well.

My mother came for a visit last Sunday and hung out in the studio for a while. She walked around and looked at my work. She "found herself getting lost in the drawings". I think, just with that comment, that I succeeded in making work related to my thesis. Wipe the sweat off my forehead.

Now, I just have to finalize and hang for the show.

88

Installed work I am considering putting in the show at the end of the month. I have a critique tomorrow. We will see how it goes.

Otherwise...here is a sample of the work I have been doing recently. Everything is getting more and more simplified.

senior show

Trying to plan and organize what I want to put in my senior show. It is giving me really horrible anxiety.

Here are some recent things I've been working on.

The first is an ink drawing on paper. The second is a screen print on silk. The last is a study for a wall drawing.

Mom wants me to go home for Easter. I really don't think that is going to happen.

today

I have successfully dyed plexiglass.

Here are the before....

and after...

So exciting.

moving in

Mezzotint 1

Plate I have been working on. Ready for edition of 8.