Happy Holidays

Well the end of this year has been totally unexpected! I found this silly photo and I wanted to share it with you. Here is a photo that makes me giggle and laugh when I see it. Hope it brightens your day the way it has mine. Have a Happy Holiday Season! 
 

Alexander Calder, Roaring with his Circus Lion, 1971, Courtesy of Calder Foundation.

Tension Among the Ropes Series

Tension Among the Ropes Series, a set on Flickr.

This is my current body of work. Wanted to share.

Arkansas Cornbread Festival

The Arkansas Cornbread Festival was a huge success. I am so lucky to be working for the Bernice Garden and have the chance to participate in the creation of this wonderful event. We had a lot of news coverage. We tripled our expectancy for patrons to the event. And everyone had a great time!

I made and manage the Arkansas Cornbread Festival website, as well as the Bernice Garden website. During the event I spent the day photographing, assisting the Cornbread Competition participants, collecting votes, counting votes, and pretty much whatever else was needed. It was such a great day, even the sun came out to say hi!

American Flag Tent was Ours at the Festival

Unfortunately I did not get a chance to assist my fellow UALR students. We all chipped in and shared a booth to sell our hand-made craft wares at the Festival.  They were awesome to help me out and handle my sales.

Allison Short talking with Alberta Pearson

Allison Short who makes some fantastic recycled bottle-cap jewelry was there.

Myriam Saavedra of Myriad of Mischief was there. Although I did not get a shot of her at the festival (what!?) I got a photo of her items.

Lilia Hernandez with her wares for Achis Design was there. Her hand-printed shoes are awesome, at least that is word on the street and from my feet. She also found us the sweet tent.

And Mrs. Linda Holloway was there with her feather earrings, and wood-working items for the kitchen.

We also represented UALR Applied Design program and our school "club" the League of Extraordinary Metalsmiths. Linda is talking up our program and showing off our mini-exhibition.

Look at how many people are there!

My one shot of me at the event.

My friend and co-worker Liz Sanders with boy-friend Ryan and her parents

Friends at the event.

Thanks John, Rach, And Fav...I mean...Ryan for coming to the event. Okay, I have more stuff on my list to do before the night is over. Just entered into an online exhibition on Crafthaus, and now for a school related entry. Then I think I can sleep......maybe?!

Check out more photos I took of the festival here: Flickr

54th Annual Delta Exhibition

After 6 years of applying......I finally got into the 54th Annual Delta Exhibition at the Arkansas Arts Center.

The Annual Delta Exhibition showcases contemporary works by artists from Arkansas and the six bordering states. This juried exhibition has grown to encompass works in all media and offers a snapshot of what's current in contemporary art in the mid-South.

The piece that got in is my Welcome to the Family Chalice.

Welcome to the Family Chalice (2010)
Brass, Silver, Wood, Milk paint
19-1/2 in. x 10 in. x 6-1/2 in.

 

Each component is hand-fabricated. The piece was inspired by the movie Tom Browning's The Freaks and my personal experiences of being a musician's daughter. Those that have seen the movie know the movie portrays the darker side of violation of trust and acceptance. However, on a personal note I wanted to express my feelings of the sacricity of becoming a part of a larger community. The top 'tent' structure produces a satisfying sound, being made from a manipulated cymbal when the ritual of sharing a drink from this cup ends and the lid is replaced.

Arkansas Arts Center

I really want to make a performance video of this. But instead it will be at the Arts Center from January 27 2012 until March 28th 2012. I'll try and do that afterwards I believe. I'm excited because I literally live 2 blocks away, so luckily shipping will not be a problem.

You can see close-ups on my website here: http://www.carriecrocker.com/

I am so excited and honored! I wish my grandmother could be there for the reception, she would be so proud of me. She used to take me here as a kid, she introduced me to fine art, painting, and so much more. There is no way I can express how exciting this is to me.

Began Working on Banner for BFA show backdrop

So I've been working on my BFA project and started the construction of one of the backdrops. Here is some photos of what I've done so far. This fabric is going to be a backdrop for an instillation piece floating in my head for a year.

Inspired by trains and train hoping from when I was a kid. The bar my mom regularly played at was next to the train tracks. When I was supposed to be dancing on the dance floor, I'd run out and jump on the train for a little bit. Since it was going slow, I wasn't as scared as my mother would have been.

However that memory got me thinking about the circus imagery I utilize for my metalsmithing pieces, I've been wanting to reference trains, and the graphic illustrations of banners. Here are some photos of the process.

Canvas Fabric

Double-stitch hemming to corners

Getting better at operating a sewing machine.

I'm not working at school for this piece right now. I've been needing the space and the quiet to work, plus when I'm working I can't really talk, and I get distracted by the wonderful people up at the studio, and frustrated when I'm trying to focus. So I'm working at home right now. I had to rearrange my studio. I put up plastic sheeting and sewed the 6 ft. x 9 ft. banner. Most Circus banners are within a 54 sq. ft. to 135 sq. ft. space. I do not have a wall that is 9 ft. long and easily accessible, so I covered one of my studio doors when hanging.

6 ft. x 9 ft. banner sewed & hung

Treating canvas with Gesso

Gesso Completed

Samples primed with gesso for testing paint

I will be testing out different paints: Milk Paint, Acrylic with Matte Medium & maybe Tempra. I want to create a worn matte surface, but I also want it to be durable over time. I don't want the banner to stick to itself when I roll it up for transportation either. Next step is paining the map.

I am also designing the rig for hanging. It has to break down easily for storage and transportation, but be well crafted, and also have a worn surface treatment. 

Vintage Tin Jewelry

Vintage Tin Jewelry, a set on Flickr.

All of these earrings were made from recycling a Vintage Tin container. Some have sold and some are on my etsy store: http://www.etsy.com/shop/CreativeCloudDesigns?ref=si_shop

I'd love to know what you think of my photos and my hand-made jewelry. Let me know what you think.