Proposal for La Reunion Tx, Making Space: Installation

Privet: A non-native gone wild

During the time that I have spent at the La Reunion property it has always struck me how much the non-native shrubbery called privet has taken over the landscape. This plant, originally from Asia is very aggressive and hardy. It is used widely in the DFW metroplex as a decorative bush around houses and commercial builds. Unfortunately a single privet bush will produce 1000s of berries each year. These berries are often washed into the city’s storm drains which empty into the local creeks and streams. The result is that most of the creek banks and flood zones in the DFW area are now overgrown with privet. Once a privet bush is established, simply cutting it down cannot kill it. The root ball is like a Hydra, it will send up several new braches for each one that is cut off, totally replacing the old growth within a few short months. Privet is pushing out the native plants that native animals, birds and insects feed upon. This is creating vast areas of monocultures that only support other aggressive plants like poison ivy and insects like mosquitoes

Privet: An experiment in repurposing

The branches of privet are very long and thin, but also surprisingly strong. In this way privet resembles plants like the ocotillo, cane and bamboo, all fast growing plants that are widely used as building materials. Based on these natural characteristics, a team of artists will “harvest” privet branches from the La Reunion property and use them to construct a sculpture. This sculpture will be of a design and scale that calls explores the architectural validity of using privet as a building material. Documentation and photos will be taken throughout the project. After 12 months the sculpture will be dismantled, at which time documentation will focus on the condition of the sculpture and the structural stability of the privet.

If this field test proves that privet can be used as stable building material, it could turn the urban privet plague into a valid source for sustainable and green building materials

David Bates at Dunn and Brown Contemporary

This was originally posted on Art and Seek in January 2010, but it seems to have been lost when they reformatted.

I stopped in at Dunn and Brown Contemporary to see the new show by David Bates, Themes and Variation. Of the 24 paintings on view only 3 are not of flowers. So it's safe to say that this is a show of floral still lives. It is not breaking any new ground in the world of painting, in fact it is looking backwards into the history of painting, one of the things that David Bates does with skill and passion.

There are strong connections with the stone solid flowers of Marsden Hartley, Picasso's late decorative work, and Manet's paintings of cut flowers. All artists that demonstrate an obvious love for the medium of oil painting.

From this platform of art historical connections David Bates launches into a series of paintings that are thick with paint, rich with deep color, and bold with mark making. When all combined, this show of Themes and Variations is a strong must see for those who love oil paint.

Dallas Museum of Art Photo Meet-Up

Hooked up with the DMA Meet-up to take photos around the museum. The group was small this time around, but we had a great time talking about posting work on the DMA Flickr site, managing our Flickr accounts, and I found out about The Art of Photography Podcast.

Then we pulled out our cameras and hit the museum for about 20 minutes, finishing up back in the media lab for some fresh photo show and tell. So it was a pretty straight foreword event this time around, but in the past they worked with pinhole cameras and even played with blue screens. Both of which Nicole Leigh said they would probably do again in the future.

What makes an White Elephant

The standard definition of a White Elephant is something that you have received as a gift that clearly demonstrates that the giver has absolutely no idea who you are and/or that the giver is seriously out of touch with the basic concepts of quality and good taste. There is also the possibility that the giver lives deep inside a world of their own making.

The unwrapping of a truly bad White Elephant gift often shakes the social etiquette of the receiver as a flood of emotions, questions and helplessness washes over the receiver's face. This often resulting in stuttered statements such as "Oh my, how very interesting." "Wow, where in the world did you find one of these?" " You made this yourself, No, Really?"

Surprisingly we often remember those White Elephants more clearly than most of those really good gifts we have received over the years. A backpack made from old dirty smelly blue jeans, The Jolly Monk, who pees in your face when you open his robe, the box full of juicy mold that was at one time a loaf of banana bread...

Above is a seed picture that I did using lentils, rice, and mustard seeds. It was created for the Gorham's Traditional White Elephant party. A party where all the guest are encouraged to regift some of the their more painful receivings. Among this years offerings/dumpings was an indoor dog poo pad, a portrait of a Spanish conquistador on black velvet, and and baby juicer (the kind that you use to actually juice babies with)

So be happy this new year.

Drawing app for iTouch

I read an interview in Art in America with David Hockney. He talked about his new large scale paintings of the English landscape, and how some of the original drawings were done on his iPhone. I have downloaded 3 apps to my iTouch: Doodle Buddy, Fountain Pen Free, and MyPaint Free. Each are fun to play with. The above drawing was done with Doodle Buddy.

Our Printmaking Workshop is just around the corner

Well the Holiday Card Printmaking Workshop is this Sunday. Susan and I have collected all the supplies. We are going to make a couple of prints this week just so we'll be on the same page with the instructions and any possible printing issues.

Artist Made Holiday Cards

Halloween has pasted and even though Thanksgiving is still a few weeks away I feel it is safe to say that I have already designed and test printed this years holiday card. Don't get me wrong, Thanksgiving is my most favorite holiday, but making Christmas cards is a Smith tradition that goes back 56 years. And this year Susan Giller and I will be teaching a workshop at the Creative Arts Center on hand made holiday cards using a quick and simple block printing method. For more info you can go to the CAC web site.

Posted on http://bradfsmith.blogspot.com