Friday, December 16, 2011

Britches & Hoes!


BEHOLD, the best art Debbie & I have ever made! From the messes of Megastudio comes this hilarious video that is sure to change your life.

Hey y'all! A collaborative effort produced by Yellow Bicycle Films & Debbie Duke's Backyard Beverages, "Britches & Hoes" is a hilarious video poking fun at our ideals of farm culture, line dancing, and down-home aesthetic. Created from start to finish by artists Michaela Lynch & Debbie Christensen, it speaks of the handmade and genuine qualities of folk art. Each of the puppets were made by transferring images onto balsa wood, punching holes for eyelets and brads, and assembling them before stringing them together. The featured dancers include the artists themselves (Debbie is third from the lest and Michaela is second from the right) and their favorite people to dance with (Debbie's cat, their weaving teacher, an old man, and one of their favorite artists).

Directed by Debbie Christensen & Michaela Lynch
Starring Bill Lorton, Fran the Cat, Debbie Christensen, Ben Kinsley, Michaela Lynch, and Some Old Guy
Music by Ed Gilmore & the Bunkhouse Four
Set Design by Debbie Christensen & Michaela Lynch

Debbie Christensen's website | accomplice and acclaimed beer brewer
Ben Kinsley's website | sing along coordinator and talented artist
Bill Lorton's website | weaving teacher and Megastudio supporter

Monday, December 12, 2011

Silent Films & Beating Hearts

I made a book.
And I made it using a process commonly associated with mass production.
Photography.
Over the past few months of shooting film & printing in the darkroom, I became fascinated with light as a tool for markmaking. So for my final project, I decided to push it.
I wanted to use photography, or light, to create something completely original and rather difficult to replicate. So I started by creating my own negatives on clear, vintage 35mm film. The result, with authentic film grain, was an aesthetic similar to silent films.
I handwrote each of the notes and drew the frames. I found an exposure that worked. And rather than using a timer, I exposed each by turning the enlarger on and off manually each time, approximating the exposure. I then cut off white boarders with scissors, ensuring an organic shape, and rounded each corner by hand, furthering the uniqueness.
I then handstitched all 30 pages together, piercing my needle without any measurements dictating my next move. When extended fully, the form replicates that of a filmstrip format.

The text that is included are excerpts from my blog, typewritten post-it notes, sketchbook scribbles, and writing on my hands. Acknowledging the discomfort I felt towards using my own words, I preferred they remain silent, and beautiful primarily in aesthetic.
Words are more important to me than I care to admit, but this book is one step towards accepting their gravity and using it to my advantage. The title, found scrawled next to a reminder to look for Ricky Nelson on vinyl, references the contrast of the whisper of words and the anxiety they instill in me.


The Thing With Back-up BFA Ideas...

is that sometimes, they become your real idea.
So now I'm making art about Eleanor Rigbies like Martha and June here. This happened exactly six days before my midyear presentation. This being my realization that The Sentimental Archive involved too many logistics and following a thesis (and not my process) led me far from my original intent. So I went back to what inspired me. (Er, first I had to figure that out...) Monday night at 9pm, I realized what I've been talking about this whole time. The imagery I've been working with. The aesthetics that constantly move me. And then at noon on Tuesday, I turned in my presentation. And then Wednesday afternoon, I had to present like I've been doing this for a semester. It's a risk, changing my mind this late in the game. But it's definitely for the better.

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Back-up BFA Idea #1

Because thinking about a thesis is dumb (and stressful), along the way I've been thinking of absurd projects that would mostly be really funny. I mean, maybe I'll address them in the future as small bodies of work, but not BFA.

So here's one idea: apologies. I would make art that is all a bunch of apologies. Letters and stuff written on objects & images or whatever. For example:

A ceramic plate for my parents that says "I'm sorry my vegetarianism is annoying to you."

A barf bag for Debbie that says "I'm sorry I made you pull over so I could puke on the side of the road. But here's a barf bag for next time."

A watch for Bill, my weaving teacher, that says "I'm sorry I don't show up until 10:30 every other week."

I don't know. It's really not well thought out. But it's funny. Good thing that's not my BFA!

Friday, December 2, 2011

This happened today.

I didn't sleep.

I made it through 3 studio visits.

I made silly business cards.

I don't know what I'm doing for BFA.

I'm not worried, despite the fact that midyears is in less than a week.

I set up for the holiday sale, with help from Debbie.

I put dreamcatchers, pocket friends, merit badges & love letters up for sale.

I sold love letters.

I sold love letters.

I sold love letters signed Love, Michaela to random people.

Do you not see how fantastic this is?

(Now thinking about BFA and love letters and $5 bills and art.)

Hi, my name's Michaela.

My hobbies include drawing owls, shedding thread, sneezing gold leaf, having anxiety, dropping off the face of the earth, judging books by covers, and being cold.

This is my way of saying that I need to get back to updating this everyday. Because I make lots of marvelous things that I think you would like.

It is 6:18am and I don't think I'm going to bed ever. But the studio opens in a little over an hour, so that's good. And Megastudio's climate is warmer than my bedroom.