Sausage Drag

"Sausage Drag"

I stuffed pantyhose with Polyfil and spray painted the tips with fluorescent pink. I then added tinsel to the pink tips and capped them with a spotted pantyhose.  I used hand dyed yarn to give the tubes "camel toes."  They are hung from a metal ring that has been wrapped in yarn.

I was thinking about Drag Queens after watching RuPaul's Drag Race. I began thinking about the body as a simple form that is gendered by decoration and ornamentation. The phallic forms are created by materials that are designated to women: yarn, pantyhose and tinsel.  I used the decoration and material to gender the original masculine form.

A Private Opening

 The clever idea to make a bathroom into a gallery space was my colleague and friend Emma Adair's.  Here is a shot of some of the girls I worked with on this project.  The idea was to create a space only for women, by women.  It was a great success!

 Maddie Yesko's black and white images are hanging above the sinks.  I created the sink installations.

 The stalls were decorated by real bathroom stall quotes that I collected during my undergrad at Ohio State.  The girls helped rewrite them onto the bathroom stalls here, which for me turned out to be the most interesting part of the project.  When installing they were reading ones out loud that they found particularly interesting. 

 Our teacher and advisor, Irina!

 My paper towel installation.

 Sink installation one.

 Emma was drawn to this bathroom because of this random room that has no toilet, we used it as additional gallery space.  Alicia Brogan's photograph is hanging on the right, Laura Mecklenburger's collage about the challenges of bathroom in a transgendered body is hanging on the right.

 Emma Adair's cuddly and glittery sculpture was front and center!

 This beautiful ceramic fox is done by Jess Cleply

 My sink installation of soap covered sponges.

 Sink installation two.  Folded paper towels.

Sink installation one.  carved soaps and pink plastic.

Happiness is Homemade

 

"Happiness is Homemade"

The blender has been wrapped in fuzzy yarn and pink string.  It sits on top of a foot stool that I have dusted in dry soap.  The cushion is made of stuffed paper towels.  The rug is made of loosely placed string.

Target Practice

Target Practice

Found table cloth, yellow lace fabric, red and white 

embroidery thread, metal embroidery hoops and house paint.

Not sure on the title yet.  When I first moved to Penn State I had flashbacks of playing sports in elementary and middle school.  Walking by so many fraternities and watching the members toss the football to each other reminded me of my interactions with boys as a child.  At this age I could keep up with and compete with boys, giving me a way to gain respect as an equal.  As I grew older it became more difficult for me to compete because I was physically limited by my size.  I still play games with my male friends, but none with large amounts of physical contact.  I've lost this connection with men through sports.
To make this work I bought a found table cloth from ebay.  After the yellow lace circle was attached to either side, I cut a hole and attached metal embroidery hoops.  The embroidery hoops sit in the center, suspended by red and white thread.  I hung this on a curtain rod and added long white tassels as a fringe.  The diamond painted on the floor mimics a baseball diamond or some strange gym floor.  The balls resemble red rubber dodge balls.  The shadows on the wall and floor were unanticipated but greatly welcomed.  

Enjoy the little things. For one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.

"Enjoy the little things. For one day you may look back and realize they were the big things."

Installation

materials:

Ivory Soap, sponges, dry soap, paper towels,

found table cloth, place mat, metal platter, table

and china dish

The title of the work comes from a quote that was placed on the wrapping of one of many Ivory soap bars used in the work, the quote is by Robert Brault.  I started this piece by buying the silver platter at a thrift store.  Originally I had planned on placing the lemon bar sponge cakes around the silver platter, making them resemble tiles.  After I finished making the sponge cakes I liked the way they looked on the platter.  I also liked the idea of the fancy silver platter serving the object that cleans it.  I expanded on that idea by carving chocolates out of ivory soap and placing them in the pink dishes.  The china dish on the floor is filled with water, inviting the observer to kneel.  After getting the work into the space, I decided to paint the floor pink and used paper towels for wall paper.  The printed wall paper was made by placing a lace place mat over the towels and spray painting over it with pink.  The rug beneath the table is made from soap shavings.  The soap and the way it is treated causes the room to be overpowered with smell.  The smell is nice at first, but can be sickening if too much time is spent in the space. 

Bridal Shower

This piece is made with 300 hollowed out eggs shells that were then attached to a string of Christmas lights. I found sheer curtains at the thrift store and sewed the two together to create a fabric basket to hold the eggs. The fabric satchel is hung over a wooden pole that is attached to the wall. This piece addresses the reliance on marriage to feel complete or happy. By hiding the glowing eggs beneath a confining yet beautiful fabric, I am addressing the allure and confining quality of family and domestic life.

I also wanted to show images of this piece with the lights off, it glows quite a bit more.

Pantyhose Project 2

I decided to post my sketches because I love to see other artists sketch books next to the final project. I've decided that I'm going to combine the pantyhose orbs with a hand made rope in between, kind of like an umbilical cord. But I wanted them to hang over your shoulder or around the back of your neck like a fashionable bag.

I've posted my most recent steps in this project. Both the balls are complete! I added quite a bit more string to the forms, making them more tightly compact and controlled. Next step is to connect the boogers!

to see my previous post on this project click here.