Joy Murray
I made some progress on my turtle rider piece for the Harper’s Playground benefit, but things are taking longer than I planned, as usual. I got the first coats of paint on the turtle and the doll built. Tomorrow the fun part — finishing the costume, finishing the painting, posing and mounting the piece — and finishing!
After he saw my piece, Iris and Aurora, at the Somewhat Secret Place: Disability and Art show, Cody Goldberg, the Executive Director of Harper’s Playground, asked if I might be able to contribute a piece to an art auction for his organization. Harper’s Playground will be an inclusive playground here in Portland, Oregon, for children and adults of all abilities. Here’s part of the letter he sent:
“Harper’s Playground is co-hosting an auction of art to help fund the public art that will adorn our first inclusive playground at Arbor Lodge Park. Please visit http://www.harpersplayground.org to learn more about our project.
Here’s the score thus far:
We have raised $240,000 of the $350,000 we need – the city of Portland has pledged the final $50,000, so we are just $60,000 short of our goal.
Our co-host, Disjecta (www.disjecta.org) is on-board and excited. They will allow all of our pieces to hang one week prior to our event and will co-promote and co-produce the event with us. We already have some beautiful rare vintage 60’s and 70’s rock posters from Victor Moscoso and Stanley Mouse. We will thus bill the lot as “Rock N Roll Poster Art and More. Zoltron is sending some stuff as well, and Upper Playground will be kicking down, too.
Funds raised from this auction will go directly to the costs of public/functional artwork inside Harper’s Playground from two very talented sculptors:
Pete Helzer – http://www.petehelzer.com/
James Harrison – http://www.jamesmharrison.com/
Auction is Friday, September 30th , 6PM-9PM”
An art auction to get art work for an inclusive playground? How could I refuse?
I’ve had an idea for a long time about making a girl with a leg brace riding a turtle. The 
turtle is my animal symbol. I’m slow but I get there; I carry my entire house with me wherever I go (you should see my purse), AND you can’t make me come out of my shell till I’m good and ready.
This seemed like the perfect opportunity to actually start working on it, especially after Cody told me that they loved turtles, and the art for the park will feature Pete Helzer, whose does brilliant turtle sculptures. I sketched out my idea, although the piece itself won’t look like this exactly. For one thing, a friend of mind gave me a wonderful bit of fabric with painted turtles on it years ago that I’ve been waiting for the right time to use. I’m pretty sure that will be the girl’s skirt/dress.
Drawing and fabric sculpting are such different mediums that I never know exactly how things are going to turn out, and that part of the fun.
I decided to branch out into paper sculpting with this piece, another thing that I’ve had on the back burner of ideas for a long time, so that’s going to add another element of surprise to the mix.
I did a lot of consulting on Jonni Good’s website, Ultimate Paper Mache, and found a great step by step guide for making a Ploughshare turtle. I wanted a longer, imaginary turtle, but the structural advice was great, so I went to work on the armature, using paper, foil, duct tape and wire. I also had my great turtle reference book. Turtle shells are so beautiful and wild, I really wanted to paint this one instead of using fabric or embroidery. I decided to use Celluclay for the first layer and then do the finer details with Paperclay.
To speed up the drying process for the first layer, I put it in the oven between 150 and 200 degrees for half a day turning it over once an hour.
Next, I’ll sculpt the feet and details of the face and shell with Paperclay.
It’s going to be a slow process, but I’ll get there.
You can keep up with Harper’s Playground events and progress on their Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Harpers-Playground/116844595027607?ref=ts
As I am writing this, they’re having a Benefit Barbeque at the Arbor Lodge New Seasons (Saturday and Sunday, August 27-28) from Noon to 4 p.m. If you get a chance stop by and enjoy a group of people who have made play a priority.
The exhibit at Beaverton City Hall will be up until the end of August. We’ll be taking it down on the 31st. If you haven’t had a chance to get there yet, it’s a great reason to go to City Hall!
I made my second deadline for the two art exhibits I’ll be in this month. This one is:
Crossing Borders/Breaking Boundaries: Oregon Women’s Caucus for Art Member Art Exhibition, Beaverton City Hall, 4755 Southwest Griffith Drive, Beaverton, OR.
There is no official opening planned, but the art is on display Monday through Friday, 8am- 5pm, in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd floor hallway galleries from Wednesday, July 6th through Wednesday, August 31st.
In this exhibition, OWCA members were encouraged to push their personal boundaries to explore new ground, content, materials, and methods.
My art will be on the third floor with the fabric and mixed media art. It’s a beautiful building, full of light. It’s wonderful that the city hall provides such a great space for art. The OWCA has added a wonderful range of art work to browse through.
I have three pieces in this show. I am showing an older piece, The Reader, a fabric sculpture. She sits on a pillow reading a handmade book.
I made a new Wheelchair Mermaid, part of a series I make that explores the challenged body, using mythology, whimsy and color. This is a fabric sculpture and mixed media piece. This is called Muriel – The Wiser Mermaid.
I wrote up a little story to go along with her and attached it to the back of the chair:
I believe I’m breaking boundaries by working in fabric and pushing the limits of it’s sculptural aspects. The third piece I made is a high-relief fabric and paper wallhanging. It’s called Unfolding. I made a surreal figure out of wire crochet and cloth, a determined figure with starry beads for eyes. She is undoing the wire, letting out crumpled bits of her self. They unfold and refold into origami birds. I used another head and hand to show the transformation made by letting things go. It’s really hard to photograph, but I did the best I could.
We took the pieces down to Beaverton City Hall this morning and were delighted by sight of so much artwork being hung. The OWCA has artists from the very young to the very seasoned, working in many mediums. All the art work is for sale. It’s really worth a trip there. Later in the month I’ll go back and take a few pictures and post them here.
Here are the sculptures on their plexiglass pedestal. They look happy!
I finally got the last stitches done on my new fabric sculpture, Shared Vision: Blind Goddess and her Seeing-Eye Dragon. I’ve named the goddess Iris, and the dragon Aurora.
I have embroidered the name of the piece and the characters in French-knots in braille on a grid that I downloaded from a braille translation site. It taught me a lot about the complexity of braille. I don’t know if my knots will be legible, but I like the design nonetheless.
It’s been a very challenging piece and I got to learn more about structure, armatures and the nature of cloth. Cloth is very versatile medium, but it does have a mind of it’s own.
I had originally planned to do Iris in all white with scraps of textured white fabric and knittings I had done, but they didn’t hang well together and the whites clashed. The bright whites muddied the creamy whites. I tried a dress I’d hand knitted for another piece I’d plan to make in the near future and Iris loved it. She also wanted a kimono made of gorgeous but fussy burn-out velvet. I think the results are pretty nice.
My pieces are hard to photograph. Iris’s eyes are made of prism beads and I painted the skin with a iridescent pearl paint. She has a soft glow that can be seen better in person. I took these photos outside for the best light but I think you’ll get the full impact if you come to see it at A Somewhat Secret Place: Disability and Art, a group show at PRESENTspace gallery from July 9th until July 30th.
I tried to give Aurora both dragon and dog characteristics. I hope the mood of this piece captures the symbiotic relationship between people and animals. Guide animals have a warm powerful energy that exists in relation to the power of their owners. I wish we were all schooled in this way of relating to each other and the world around us.
I’m putting together a story about this idea and this piece for the closing day of A Somewhat Secret Place, which I will present at the gallery on July 30th from noon til 2 p.m.
I will also be showing another, smaller fabric sculpture, the Survivor, and a fabric wallhanging called Not Out of the Woods Yet. There will be 28 artists, both regional and national, represented. The opening on July 9th will feature literature and performance art. It’s everything from the edge to the illuminating — and everyone will enter through the side entrance where the ramp is installed.
Here’s a list of all the events that will take place during this month long event. All the events will take place at PRESENTspace, 939 NW 10th Avenue, Portland, Oregon.
The Somewhat Secret Place Calendar of Events
July 6, 6 pm – A Somewhat Secret Place Post Hanging Party: A Preview for Donors:
Invitations to this event will go to all those who have donated $50 or more to the show through Kickstarter or the OWCA. It’s a chance to meet the artists and curator and purchase artwork in advance of the public. Tickets are still available – contact asomewhatsecretinfo@gmail.com
If you’re reading this before July 2nd, you can still make a donation to the Kickstarter campaign which we’re having to raise money for rent and artists’ stipends and other expenses. A $50. or over donation will get an invitation to this pre-opening private event. Please click this link to find out more:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/owca/a-somewhat-secret-place
July 7, 6 pm – A Somewhat Secret Place First Thursday Public Pre-Opening
Artist Carmen Papalia will give a talk from 6 to 6:30 and then the show will be open for those on the First Thursday Art-walk to have a peek. A free event!
July 9 – A Somewhat Secret Place Grand Opening
Noon – 2 pm – The Grand Opening starts off with a participatory workshop facilitated by Write Around Portland, where participants can find inspiration in the intersection of contemporary art and disability. A free event but limited to 80 people.
6 – 9 pm – Grand Opening Night Reception features one-time, original performing artists and author readings. American Sign Language Interpreters will be there as well as descriptors for the visually impaired. It promises to be the most accessible and hippest art opening in Portland history. A free event with refreshments!
July 14, 6 – 6:30 pm – Artist Talk with Andrea Rosselle, installation artist and sculptor, whose work explores the imposition of the medical object, and experience as a medical body, upon the act of every day living. A free event!
July 21, 5 – 6 pm – Artist Talk with Eric Ferguson: “A Wobbly Line: from Improv to Ink and Back Again.” A free event!
July 26, 7 – 9 pm – ADA 21ST BIRTHDAY PARTY! The Americans with Disabilities Act turns 21 and we are throwing a celebration to mark it. There will be a panel discussion on its impact, then the birthday bash with cake and drinks. This is a ticketed event. Invitations are sent to Kickstarter donors, and at the door tickets are $21 for 2. For discount tickets, check out A Somewhat Secret Place Facebook Event page.
July 30, 12 -2 pm – Artist Talk and storytelling with Joy Corcoran to engage children of all ages to explore the creative lives of people with disabilities. Children must be chaperoned. A free event!
July 30, 6-9 pm A Somewhat Secret Place Closing Party:
A performance by Elie Charpentier and several author readings will celebrate the conclusion of the exhibition. The after-party will be a great opportunity to mingle with the artists, writers and organizers. A free event with free refreshments!
I hope to see you at one of the events!
joy murray art~stories~life 