Environmental Interventions:

Day 4 – the final push

Mandy Greer — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 01:33:50 +0000

Today is really the last full day to make things happen, it’s a gorgeous sunny day too! In the morning the studio explodes as artists dig for the last bit of materials for the next two days.

The artists also are writing about their work, as it is in process and also to prepare them for presenting their work in a powerpoint presentation on Friday to their parents.

Click to view slideshow.

Day 3 – Gibbens-Hoffman-Self-Moore progress

Mandy Greer — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 20:32:34 +0000

Gibbens-Hoffman-Self-Moore

Our work has been focused on two major bodies. There’s the natural aspect: gathering sticks, moss, as well as other natural resources to create the main skeleton of the sculpture. Our other main focus has been creating the crocheted and sewn pieces in the studio, crafting with yarn, fabrics, and other unnatural resources. These handcrafted pieces will be used to adorn the sculpture created outside.

Working outside, we discovered how difficult it can be to construct using only natural materials. Because our main body is made up only of things found in the natural world around us, it was difficult to get everything to balance and look the way we intended. Getting our materials to the site has also been a challenge; we had to bring up large branches and limbs to create the skeleton of the “nest”.

Click to view slideshow.

Day 3 – Tommila-Martinez-McNally progress

Mandy Greer — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 20:29:56 +0000

Tommila-Martinez-McNally

As a group we started with this idea of a dense branch being suspended in a tree. Then at the bottom of the branch, have a funnel twisting around the tree. Once we found our spot our idea changed. We decided to have thin strands of thread holding up the branch in a group of trees and have the funnel coming out of the group of trees. Our basic concept is to have the allusion of we as people can branch out into nature and maybe even see some sort of harmony in this piece.

Click to view slideshow.

Day 3 – The Moonblobs progress

Mandy Greer — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 20:19:43 +0000

Hamilton-Smouse-Peterson

The Moonblobs

Our piece is quiet but it speaks for its self. The installation is made of intertwining spider webs and yards of crocheted chains in white, representing the natural world. On the opposing side there is a net of color that is representative of the material man made world. And the white crocheted blanket represents the bridge between the two and the difficulty we experience trying to keep balance between them.

Click to view slideshow.

Day 3 – Auburn-Miller-Nicolai progress

Mandy Greer — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 20:14:28 +0000

Auburn-Miller-Nicolai

We started out with some basic ideas, but weren’t sure what we wanted our final project to look like until we visited the site. We found a large apple tree with branches spreading out over a bench. This is where we got our idea to connect the bench and the tree with the crocheted chains of fabrics we had been making. We took the chains up to the site and started tying them into the tree and around the bench. Already we have discovered that the space we have created between the bench and the tree with these chains is very open and interactive. It’s a new environment part organic and part man made.

Click to view slideshow.

Day 2 – more studio work

Mandy Greer — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 19:58:13 +0000

By the end of the second day, these young artists had SO much work done and plans for the next day to begin the installations in earnest. There is such a wild array of textures, and adventurous choices going on in the studio…shredded sweaters getting woven into large mats. Nasty plastic mats that keep a rung from slipping get shredded and crocheted into what looks like natural vines.

The piles of clothes are beginning to dwindle and it’s forcing people to find the possibilities in the piles of scraps left over from Centrum workshops from the past.

I share with the artists how I take apart old Afgans from the thriftstore that cost $3.00 but yield me about 20 skeins of yarn. Once the colors they want start to dwindle, the idea makes sense. These two from The Moonblobs just get a little too zen with it. I actually could do it all day.

Because it is still Summer Camp...

Day 2 – An outdoor studio

Mandy Greer — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 19:41:17 +0000

Fort Worden is a stunning place. There are trails through wooded areas where you stumble upon ruins and old bunkers that look like a street from Pompei. Steep cliffs over look the beach and grassy meadows full of daisies and dive-bombing sparrows. Why crochet indoors when you can hike up a steep trail to a little field high above it all. We just go to the site to sit, relax and get some work done.

Click to view slideshow.

Day 2 – more of the process, a slide show

Mandy Greer — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 19:27:20 +0000

Click to view slideshow.

Day 2 – Concepts are moving forward

Mandy Greer — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 16:23:17 +0000

By the morning of day two, the young artists have chosen their sites and are beginning to work out how to apply their original ideas to the shapes and forms they are finding in the landscape. Ideas are evolving and some things discarded. Color palettes are becoming more and more refined.

I also show them my giant ‘spool’ knitter my husband made for me, and several of the groups incorporate what it can do into their projects. It can make a giant piece of knit in a very short amount of time, and really any kind of fabric can be used, the wilder the better. We also plan for a work time up on the plateau.

Day 1 – The process….

Mandy Greer — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 20:23:21 +0000

Once we all got on a roll, much of our time is spent generating elements of the artists’ installations. The groups have each appointed a facilitator, not necessarily a group leader, but someone who keeps them on track, makes punch lists, takes notes, makes sketches and meets with me about their progress. These artists are so self-motivated, and a vibrant group to work with!