Blame The Lag Time On The Mushrooms

Being a long time blog reader and blogger I have read this sad phrase a number of times Sorry so long between posts... It's usually the last post you ever see on that blog.

Well, here I am writing that phrase in a way that looks like a commentary on blogging. But in fact it has been a long time, and I do feel bad about the long lag time. I have over a dozen posts waiting as drafts. Some just needing a good proofreading before posting.

So what has me so distracted? Well, about a year ago I started working with the Nomadic Fungi Institute as their archivist. I know, a hopeless dyslexic as an archivist? Just shows how desperate they are for any kind of help.

Anyway, I have become more involved with NFI than I would have ever thought. There is so much work to be done, and it seems the more that gets done the more there is to do. But I do believe strongly in what NFI is working towards so all the time and effort feels good. It feels important.

NFI has a blog that I hope you will visit. It is filled with photos, lab reports and even a few interviews. If you read any posts with lots of grammatical mayhem then you'll know its one I wrote.

There is also an NFI Facebook page and an Istagram feed. Here are the links to each.

www.WorldOfNomadicFungi.com
Nomadic Fungi Institute Facebook
Nomadic Fungi Institute Instagram

Okay, let me get back to proofreading...
Brad

Tricks With Tostadas

If you ever find yourself bored to death while sitting in a Mexican restaurant try grabbing some tostadas and make a hip contemporary sculpture...

Actually this post is a test. Looks like my last two posts were never sent out via subscribers. Hopefully it was a fluke and this post will proceed with flying colors.

Morning Light

Starting the weekend with a cup of coffee in the studio. So many fun things to play with.

Fun With Snow Globes

Having some fun in the studio playing with snow globes. They seem pretty start forward at first but then you have to think about what materials you are using, and will they hold up to being submerged in water from now until the end of time.

For my snow globes I made small glazed ceramic sculptures that I epoxied to the inside lids of varies jars I've been collection over the last few months.

One of the key differences between a good snow globe and a less than satisfactory snow globe is the air trapped inside of the jar. If there is an air bubble at the top, you have a substandard snow globe.

The best way to prevent this bubble is to submerge all the parts in a bucket of water while putting the snow globe together. I was amazed at all the Youtube videos that skipped this detail. In fact I was amazed at all the videos that simply guaranteed the end product would be all round crappy.

In the photo above you will notice the green algae. This is due to the fact that I used egg shells instead of plastic confetti for my snow. Egg shell and mother of peal where common in Victorian snow globes, but the Victorians also tended to use oil instead of water... I did boil the egg shell first, but there was still enough proteins left to grow a very nice microcosm. Perhaps next time I'll add a few sea monkeys.

Dallas Art Fair Promo Code for Professionals

The Dallas Art Fair starts this week! There are lots of great events at the art fair and all around the city all week long.

The Dallas Art Fair is the one show that brings hip, contemporary art galleries directly to Dallas. It should not be missed! AND for the Second year in a row Dallas Culture Map is sponsoring free day passes to all professionals. I am assuming you are all professionals of some sort.

So, follow this link, copy the promo code and past it in at the Dallas Art Fair ticket page.

http://dallas.culturemap.com/news/arts/03-26-14-dallas-art-fair-professionals-day-free-admission/

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/dallas-art-fair-2014-tickets-10403780989

See you at the art fair,
Brad

Zona Moca Art Fair Mexico City

I am a nut for art fairs. For me, art fairs are the best way to see firsthand the artwork that is driving the cultural head lines. So when American Airlines ran a ridiculously low airfare to Mexico City that coincided with the Zona Maco Mexico Art Contemporaneo I booked it.

Living north of the Texas/Mexico wall I soon found that information about Zona Maco was very limited. Most of it was in spanish, a language that I don't speak, read or understand unless it addresses the topic of food.

The Zona Maco website has an english version that includes most of the basic information but fell short on full functionality. But I was able to gleam that over its ten years of operation it has become quite big with galleries from all over the world exhibiting a wide spectrum of artistic styles and price points.

The art fair was laid out in three zones contemporary art, modern art and design. These zones were not hard set and it was a pleasure to see how they conversed with each other. It was interesting too that sunday appeared to be family day, with large groups of parents, kids, grandmothers, aunts and uncles long lines at the food stands.

Material Art Fair Mexico City 2014

Seeing the Material Art Fair was a case of being at the right spot at the right time. I was in Mexico City because American Airlines was running an airfare that was so cheap I couldn't find any excuse not to fly down to see the Museo Soumaya and the Museo Jumex. Plus there was the super sized Zona Maco Art Fair (more on all that in the next post)

Over breakfast at Casa Comtesse I noticed a listing in the local paper for the Material Art Fair, and it was going on just down the street from where I was staying!

This was the first year of the Material Art Fair with just forty galleries in attendance. The focus of the fair was on "Emerging Practices"(!?)  A little over half of the galleries came from outside of Mexico. Several exhibitors were actually artists co-ops such as the Neter, which isn't so much a gallery as a group of artists that are committed to promoting their artwork by promoting the gallery. These groups work together, pulling from the groups resources to build bigger and better events, exhibits, opportunities, and artwork. These groups with their can do attitude added a lot to the optimistic atmosphere of the art fair.

The Neter used customized pizza boxes to create portfolios that included limited edition prints by twelve of their artists. Very nice work at a very reasonable price.

Printed Matter Inc.

This art fair was more about making new discoveries than perusing the walls for well known signatures. The galleries represented mostly under recognized artists, in fact I would say that the galleries themselves were mostly under recognized. That element infused the art fair with an air of excitement, optimism and rebellion that the bigger, blue chip art fairs are too mature/tainted to generate.

I was very surprised and happy to see Dallas represented by artist Ricardo Paniagua at the DAI Gallery...

Kevin Jacobs Director of the Oliver Francis Gallery

And Dallas's own emerging practice gallery, the Oliver Francis Gallery . 

Over all, the Material Art Fair was a great opportunity to see how artists, co-ops, and galleries are approaching the art market with new alternatives in the hopes of making big waves. Hopefully next year MAF will make a bigger splash by spending more time on promoting the art fair, and perhaps finding a better location than the fourth floor of the Hilton.