provisions for buoyancy

I had this hat made to help promote the project and also find it's helpful to have something of this nature when working in public space.   Prior to working with this material, I sealed it in double garbage bags and left it in my car, in the heat of the sun for several days. It looked pretty clean, but it's best to take precaution when working with materials salvaged from the trash.   I've got foam cut and a pattern made for a life vest. Now, I'll need to find a suitable material to cover it with...

  Someone had posted to the Craigslist free listings that they were giving away a bunch of wood - it was first come first serve, people could just show up to the address and help themselves.  Frank, the Exhibitions Coordinator at VisArts, asked if I wanted to use this chair they were throwing out. I said yes - as it is quite comfortable, so we'll see how I end up using it.

After finding a lot of usable boards in this dumpster, I asked someone onsite if they would mind if I helped myself - they said "Take everything!" I think this foam could be used for making a life ring or life jacket. It's currently bagged in a black garbage bag and will spend several days in the car, in the heat of the sun before I take it indoors anywhere. The foam looked pretty clean but it's best to take precaution against bugs - unfortunately, this needs to be a consideration when working with salvaged materials. My friend's dog Lucy was along for the ride with me today! - Don't worry - I didn't leave the seat belt on her as I thought she was better off without it. But I did find it funny, that when I put it on her - she didn't seem to mind one bit and just sat there calmly. 

  The first day I moved into the studio at VisArts , Frank McCauley – the exhibition coordinator and artist, was cleaning up one of the larger rooms after a painting workshop. The floor had been covered in plastic to prevent paint from splattering all over it and the plastic was just going to be thrown out. Seeing that, I thought I might be able to use the plastic to make a poncho and offered to salvage it. After making a little mock-up and then a life sized mock-up – I learned from my mistakes and made this poncho.  Poncho in progress: I used an iron to melt seams together, placing aluminum foil between layers of plastic I didn't want to accidentally bind together and also under the iron, over the plastic seams I was applying heat to. I worked outdoors to ensure good ventilation.   

On May 10, I moved into a studio at VisArts , in Rockville, MD, to begin a four-month Fleur and Charles Bresler Artist Residency . During the residency, I’ll be working with materials I salvage locally to make a series of mock survival devices that are nautically themed. Once complete, I’ll activate these “survival devices” in publicly accessible locations, using them as props and catalysts for interacting with the public; performance actions will be conducted away from water and when possible, performed in densely populated places where, if the sea level were to rise by a given amount, the site would become flooded (such as with low lying sectors of Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, MD). I will also produce a series of drawings that reflect projected changes to local waterways, if the sea level were to rise. I envision these to be drawn in a visual language inspired by topographical maps and composed of multiple repetitions of the word “AND”. Subscribe to the blog