Morgan Gesell

WWTD?

2012-01-27T19:30:00.002-05:00

Oh hey, blog.

2012-01-23T17:24:00.000-05:00

Well, well, well. Have I been avoiding updating this old thing? Yes. Why? I was waiting for the trauma of my full faculty review to wear off a bit. It wasn't HORRIBLE... but it also wasn't GREAT. So, what can I do but move on and make new art.

Here are some photos from my show. I still haven't taken any really great photos.. I'll be doing that soon because I'm sure they want me to get my art out of there in the next week or so.

Excavation Vacation: Scoop and Squat

Squat

It's embarrassing I'm in all of these pictures but it can't be helped..

Cluster's Last Stand

The cluster of Cluster's Last Stand.

Teleidoscopes!

Feat. Roxanne (curator extraordinaire) and Ron (master sculptor)

Okay, so on to new things. No need to live in the past.

Now I'm starting a new project of teleidoscope inspired pieces.. The first one is starring my great grandmother Johnnie Miller Nash Morgan aka "Nannie".

This time I've split up one photo into about 40 triangles, and I have 140 prints (half of them mirrored).

The plan is to start the teleidoscope with one triangle, say the eye, and then eventually morph the pattern to the next triangle. And so on. So in the end I hope for it to resemble a trippy portrait.
Right now I'm just a cutting machine. I'm not even half way done cutting out about 6000 triangles.

This time once I have all of the triangles ready I plan to add some dimension, mount them so they form a concave half sphere. I want the viewer's peripherals to be filled with the image. It's going to be tricky but I feel this is the best way for my work to move forward.

In addition to the normal routine, I'm taking a badass class called Intro to Textiles. It's just a basic class where we'll learn about fibers, but there's also a lab and today we made felted soap. I love school.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

2012-01-01T12:29:00.002-05:00

Full faculty review

2011-12-12T20:03:00.003-05:00

= PASSED.

Photos of my show will come... gotta let my brain drain first.

TONIGHT

2011-12-09T11:29:00.003-05:00

is the opening for my show!

Finishing all of my art = stress.

2011-12-02T00:11:00.001-05:00

The final teleidoscope. About 8 ft. tall.

My little bronze buffalo!

Laying everything out.

A few plywood shapes.

Forming the cluster for the second pedestal.

Chaos.

LOVE

All day yesterday was my main art day. I finished the bookcase piece, and mounted the teleidoscopes. It was a long, long day.

Tacking on the last crystal!

My little helper.

Contact cement application.

Technique.

The contact cement was getting to me.

And today I finished the pedestal...

BOOM.

Today I hauled of my work (two pedestals, bookcase, 11 teleidoscopes, and the dream catcher lawn chairs) down to the MAC. Everything is in it's place, and I'll admit I'm pretty freaking in love.

I'll post pictures of the show after my opening next week!

Looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow.

Thoughts on Thanksgiving.

2011-11-23T02:56:00.001-05:00

Thanksgiving Break

2011-11-21T21:41:00.001-05:00

These are iPhone teleidoscopes. I put the teleidoscope..

..this little guy, directly up to the iPhone camera.

I just took these with my mac!

This is quite exciting to me!

On Friday we did a bronze pour at school.

(I'm the one working the chain)

Going to break open my bronze soon. Can't wait to see how everything turned out.

And I spent the rest of the weekend working on teleidoscopes.

This one turned out huge!

Only two more to go!

I also picked up the postcards for my show that opens December 2nd. I think I got over 200 of them so I'll be dispersing them around town for the next few weeks.

That's all for now!

2011-11-17T23:53:00.000-05:00

I may be sleep deprived but I got something done today! Close up seen previously here.

During Thanksgiving break I will be an art making machine.

Bronze pour preparation.

2011-11-14T19:21:00.001-05:00

Crystals galore.

2011-11-10T18:47:00.000-05:00

I still don't think this is enough!

I just finished a new mold with 6 larger crystals and was able to start casting tonight. !!!

Smallest and Biggest.

The buffalo mold will be done tomorrow (if all goes well). It's my first 3 part rubber mold so it's definitely stressing me out. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Worked on this today too.. my sister is slowing becoming the star of my art.

One Buffalo, Two Buffali

2011-11-09T19:03:00.000-05:00

Began working on a mold to cast little buffalo. If all goes well I'm going to cast them in bronze. !!!

NEWNESS

2011-11-05T14:40:00.007-04:00

Triangles. Bigger=better.

Surprised my sister isn't mad I'm using this one!

I'm not allowed to use the after shot though.

So here is what it would've looked like!!!

Walgreens has made a small fortune off of me this semester. My last photo pick up was for 680 4x6s. But it's good because they're always running deals on prints so I was able to save about 40 dollars. And I'm happy because I'm set with prints for the next 5 teleidoscope pieces.

ALSO, I started a pinterest account. Pretty excited to have a place to collect everything I see, instead of just littering my desktop with images.

Okay. Time for the dreaded art history paper!

Crystals, Mountain Vaca and Gone Fishing

2011-11-02T18:08:00.009-04:00

I finally finished this one featuring my grandma and grandpa standing in front of some mountains (from previous post). The triangles on it were about an inch big so it took me over a week to complete where the rest of them I've been knocking out in a few days.

Bigger triangles = less work.

I just started this one featuring my mom.

I'm totally loving the pattern her arm is making. And the bobber on her fishing pole is adding a nice dot/highlight effect in the pattern. I'm about 1/3 of the way done with this one.

Yay art!

The past week...

2011-10-23T01:36:00.003-04:00

Finished!

New teleidoscope.

Paraffin Crystal!

Hot air balloons and RVs.

2011-10-10T23:47:00.002-04:00

These two are almost done. Still need to mount them and cut away the rest of the excess paper. !!!!

2011-10-08T21:42:00.001-04:00

2011-10-07T01:22:00.000-04:00

What I'm working on right now

2011-10-06T10:54:00.002-04:00

Family Vacation

2011-09-21T00:29:00.002-04:00

Teleidoscopes

2011-09-19T16:57:00.002-04:00

These are some of the teleidoscope images I've been working on made up of old family photos. Loving them. Planning to make them into CMYK screen prints. Wish me luck on that!

2011-09-15T15:30:00.002-04:00

For me, nothing is more frustrating than art not going the way I want it to go.

I'm in love with how these resin crystals are turning out, but while I was pulling this batch from the mold each one took a chunk of rubber with it. Basically means my molds are ruined because the nice flat surface of the crystals is ruined. PISSER! So now I have to remake all my molds! Awesome!

I need a beer.

SWEETNESS

2011-09-14T14:50:00.003-04:00

Just cast these crystals in resin with a touch of purple dye. I think they look pretty legit.

So excited about this new project!

If I could grow my hair out over night..

2011-09-10T15:58:00.001-04:00

I'd wear it like this tomorrow.

Gretchen Jones

Connecting threads

2011-09-09T11:08:00.000-04:00

I'M BACK!

2011-09-08T22:56:00.007-04:00

Wow. Where to begin?

Finishing up the 3rd week back in school. I think I've been avoiding updating my blog because my stress levels have been off the charts. This is my 3rd semester which means in December I have a full faculty review which will decide my status as a MFA candidate. I'll have to present my work and be able to defend it flawlessly to ensure I can stay in grad school. Freaking scary stuff. But I've spent the past 3 weeks figuring out exactly the direction I want to take my work this semester and now I'm feeling really pumped. I have several pieces planned, now I just have to execute.

Meanwhile..

Cats from my Childhood: Muss, Blossom, Fluffy and Bob (you know, the cat pelts!) is in an exhibition at Collar Works in Troy, NY called "in-organic". And... TWO OF THE PELTS SOLD during the opening reception! How about that?! My first "real" show and my first sale!

AND

Today I got a lovely email from Jennifer Hunold, the curator of "in-organic", letting me know there was an article written about the show. Here's the part about me...

"Though not as apparently violent, Morgan Gesell Milders’ “Cats From My Childhood: Muss, Blossom, Fluffy and Bob” is one of the most successful pieces of the exhibition. On the wall appear to be the furs of four cats, but they are made out of latch-hooked yarn. The piece effectively combines not only the fuzzy softness of beloved memories, but also the horror of obsessive nostalgia. After all, who but the craziest of crazy cat people would ever skin their cats and hang the fur on the wall?"

How wonderful is that?! Read the rest HERE.

So now I have to get to work. Here's a sneak peak of my latest inspiration.

2011-08-08T12:20:00.002-04:00

My cat pelts were featured here today!

Back to School Nightmares

2011-08-06T10:20:00.003-04:00

The school year is coming up pretty quick and lately I've been dreaming less about waiting tables and more about getting back to school and finding that every other grad student had a super productive summer, and that there are a few new girls and they are really good at crocheting.

I can't wait to get back in my studio, and back into a routine of art making.

8 days!

Summer

2011-06-09T19:07:00.002-04:00

Oh, Florida. You're such an excellent distraction.

Second Semester Committee Review

2011-05-31T10:03:00.003-04:00

Miley Cyrus' Dream Catcher Tattoo

Grandmother

Dream Catcher Sunglasses and Hot Pink Doilie

Mutated Bronze Deer and Lime Green Doilie

Painted Navajo Rug

Arrowhead Pillows

Chief Jesus

Grandma Canyon and The American Dream

The installation

Painted Hardwood Floors

I've finally forced myself to share photos of my installation. My summer has started off very slow in the art making department. Getting settled in, visiting with friends and family and working have consumed all of my time and energy. Oh yes.. and the beach. But I have a stack of Jesus paintings and new pack of brushes. I'm ready.

Guess who's back?

2011-05-19T22:41:00.001-04:00

I've been on hiatus (internet/hard drive issues.. you know).. but I'm back! I have many, many photos to share. And I will, soon!

Da Vinci and El Greco

2011-04-20T11:13:00.002-04:00

These prints will be mine soon!

Wax Trees

2011-04-19T22:28:00.003-04:00

I'm participating in a bronze pour next week so I've been busy the past couple days making wax castings of my arrowheads. I think I have over 100 of them. This photo is of a few of the wax arrowheads sprued up. Metal casting is sort of difficult to explain, but I'll try.

Basically there will be sort of a cylinder placed around this wax tree and then filled with sand. Then that will be placed in a kiln and "burnt out". All of the wax will melt away and the sand will harden, leaving behind the cavity of where the wax was. Then the molten metal is poured in, filling in everywhere wax once was. The final result is what you see below, only metal. Once it cools I can cut away the arrowheads and clean them up a bit and then I'll have a collection of bronze arrowheads.

Sounds easy, right?

My mom purchased me two plaster molds from the 1960s from an estate sale recently. They consist of deer parts and a skunk family. I also made wax castings from these molds but instead of putting the deer parts together the way they were intended, I decided I'd attach them in unnatural ways. In this photo it's kind of hard to tell but the deer on the left has two back ends.

I really like this little guy.

Here is my creature/arrowhead/cat/skunk/shark tooth tree. The cat and the shark tooth came from silicone molds I made in my very first Sculpture class at Flagler College taught by Mike Mitchell. I never expected to use them, but now I'm so happy I hung on to them!
I'm planning to make one more arrowhead tree before the bronze pour. I'm pretty obsessed with learning new techniques. Can't wait to see how these turn out!

Chief of Chiefs.

2011-04-18T15:53:00.003-04:00

Current Jesus collection. Thank you Jesus Freaks who send unwanted pamphlets in the mail. There's finally someone in the world who actually wants them. ME!

Keep em' coming.

Progress..

War Lord

The Transfer

2011-04-14T15:29:00.002-04:00

My arrowhead doilie piece will be in the Flagler College Alumni Show at the end of April so I needed to transfer them to a board that is transportable. I'm using pvc board that I cut into a "doilie-esque" shape. I still need to finish all of the mounting and build a crate. I need to get it in the mail asap. So happy with how it looks!

Thoughts on Jesus Indians.

2011-04-07T12:36:00.005-04:00

I'm so excited about these Jesus Indians and here are a few things I want to say about them.

In a thrift store Jesus is just as tacky and kitsch as an Indian figurine.

Both Jesus and Native American appropriation are idealized images. It's how white people view Jesus and Indians. (such as Walter Sallman and M. Hook - painters of Jesus)

I have taken an image that is sacred and changed it the way I want to. The same way white people take sacred imagery from Natives and use it however they want. I haven't done anything "bad" to Jesus, I just put him in a headdress.

The first settlers of North America came and forced their religions on the Natives. In these paintings I'm not making fun of religion or Jesus. I'm targeting the people who have no respect for other cultures and religions. The people who believe the way they think is completely right. I'm using their idealized image of Jesus and turning him into the white man's idealized image of a Native American.

2011-04-04T20:09:00.000-04:00

Giving Jesus a makeover.

2011-04-04T17:37:00.003-04:00

Nearly done with Chief Jesus II. (needs a better name) This one is painted to resemble a famous photo of Sitting Bull. I asked Brian if it's weird for me to be so obsessed with these Jesus paintings, and he said "yes". Oh well, I just can't help myself.

Math.

2011-04-04T10:58:00.000-04:00

A clean desk is a happy desk.

2011-03-31T19:13:00.001-04:00

It may be hard for you to believe, but this is organized. I feel like I accomplished something today!

Chief Jesus

2011-03-30T18:32:00.001-04:00

Math.

2011-03-30T11:08:00.000-04:00

2011-03-30T09:55:00.002-04:00

I'm having trouble finding motivation. Can I just listen to The Head and the Heart while wandering the internet all day instead of making art?

Hot Pink Doilie

2011-03-16T15:27:00.000-04:00

Time

2011-03-14T14:44:00.002-04:00

Spending some quality time with my x-acto knife.

I'm currently cutting out three doilies: hot pink, lime green, and hunter orange. It's one of those impulse things, I'm doing it without totally knowing why yet, or how I'll display them. It's the kind of paper that is so bright it hurts your eyes. Suggestions..?

Sneak Peak: Oh, Miley.

2011-03-04T09:41:00.002-05:00

My happy place.

2011-03-04T09:31:00.000-05:00

Something else I'm excited about..

2011-03-01T14:45:00.002-05:00

Crossed Arrows, Summer '11

My new etsy store, in collaboration with my great friend Aleisha.

It's currently empty, but we have big plans to fill the store with our great vintage finds and collaborative art work this summer. ♥

Arrowheads and Doilies.. of course.

2011-03-01T13:00:00.002-05:00

Lounging.

2011-02-28T13:18:00.000-05:00

♥ RMY

2011-02-22T00:42:00.002-05:00

Just wanted to take a post to show my appreciation again for the lovely ladies at Red Met Yellow. They are glorious.

Dream Catcher Lawn Chair progress

2011-02-21T01:14:00.004-05:00

I'm almost done with the standing lawn chair. Spent several hours creating the web out of synthetic sinew. Here are a few process shots...

The little dark thing is 5 washers, original to the lawn chair, that I beaded into the web.

I really like how it's looking, but I'm not totally thrilled with that gaping oval in the center. I would love to continue the webbing tighter and tighter but it's becoming nearly impossible. I'm going to see if I can problem solve tomorrow. I'm also planning to add more feathers to the bottom. Starting the webbing on the folded chair tomorrow!

Bugs vs. Art

2011-02-19T22:54:00.004-05:00

Learned a little about myself today. I'm more interested in an insect display than meat sculptures.

Natural History Museums > Art Museums

At least that's how I feel today.

Art can't compete with this!

Staying busy!

2011-02-15T19:14:00.003-05:00

I know I'm always excited about my art, but seriously, I'm excited about these..

I silkscreened this image onto a variety of fabric colors/patterns. They will become pillows very soon! I also plan to create multiple arrowhead styles and I'll vary the colors. With this project, the kitschier the better.

The second unfolded lawn chair dream catcher is at the last stages of being wrapped.

I've given myself a deadline, Friday after next, to finish those beasts. And then I'll be moving onto my next project, which (of course) I'm so excited about!

New blog project!

2011-02-05T20:48:00.005-05:00

morganandmanda.blogspot.com

RECAP

2011-02-05T18:31:00.007-05:00

I made this graph on 1-11-11. It documents the Ugg boots I saw during one hour on 12-10-10. This is the product of procrastination.

Creative Thinking: Where do you put your coat?

I decided to begin a coat hook collection. I found the two leaf hooks on etsy.com from Portuguese Vintage. Love them. The brass whale and the cast iron duck both came from eBay. Still on the look out for more.

I've been loving my collection of old family photos this semester. Here's my inspiration wall. I'm planning to make work with most of these images. Can't wait!

I finished Grandma Canyon on Thursday, critiqued on Friday and I'm smiling about it today. Here are some process shots.

Laying out all of the shapes and tracing the design onto tracing paper

Halfway through welding.

Printing out the image, 36"x 48"

Rubber cement glued to the wall

Halfway through grinding to a shine

Ron lending a help hand

I can't believe I'm already one month into this semester. This one is going by WAY too fast.

I have one goal for the next two weeks. FINISH THE LAWN CHAIRS DREAM CATCHERS.

Steel!

2011-02-03T23:54:00.003-05:00

I am so beyond happy to be done with this piece.

The photo is approx. 3 ft x 4ft and the metal part is HEAVY. (at least for me)

I need to think of a title...

Edit: My sister just came up with "Grandma Canyon". Genius.

Out of my comfort zone.

2011-02-03T08:17:00.002-05:00

All of the Sculpture grads received an "assignment" to work outside of their comfort zones and we were assigned what type of sculpture we had to make. I got steel!

And this is what I have done so far. I used a plasma cutter (see previous post) to cut out all of these shapes, grinded them down, and welded them all together.

There's a few more steps to finish today for the crit tomorrow.

I'm pretty darn pleased.

No time.

2011-02-01T13:20:00.001-05:00

So much to talk about, not enough time to form thoughts.

I'll update this weekend!

Printmaking!

2011-01-26T16:47:00.003-05:00

Working on my first silkscreening project of the semester. I'm going to use this amazing/hysterical old photograph of my mom's family (my mom is 2nd from left).

I really love this because this kind of photo won't be around much longer. If you take a photo like this, with everyone's head chopped off, you'll just delete it. I think old photographs like this should be cherished!

I'm working on a motif of a magnolia surrounded by a triangle pattern that I'm going to silkscreen onto a 36"x48" print. HUGE.

I'm going to line up the motif in a wallpaper-esque pattern.

Looking forward to seeing how this turns out!

2011-01-24T22:18:00.001-05:00

I just finished wrapping a lawn chair! I'm feeling accomplished.

FRUSTATION

2011-01-23T14:07:00.001-05:00

Some days everything seems to go wrong. Made big plans to work all day in my studio, but surprise, surprise! There's a school basketball game going on! And there is absolutely NO parking anywhere near the art building! AWESOME!

Ordered Pizza Hut wings to quiet my angst, damn it.

Today=

2011-01-23T10:39:00.001-05:00

STUDIO DAY

Claus Oldenburg inspired writing assignment.

2011-01-21T20:39:00.001-05:00

I am for art that feels more at home in a home than a gallery, that may one day live in a thrift store and that most likely spent a good portion of it's life in an old lady's living room.

I am for an art full of love, that makes me smile big and feel that knot of jealousy somewhere in the middle of my chest.

I am for an art that came in a kit, but created with no regards to directions.

I am for art that doubles as something useful, like a journal, a cutting board or a pair of shoes.

I am for the art of a cat smartly sprawled out on his back waiting for his armpits to be scratched.

I am for an art that is found in dirt or sand, and looks great in a bowl on a shelf next to about 15 others like itself.

I am for art created when the vacuum pulls across the fibers on the carpet and the art of the butt print on a sofa.

I'm for the art of a chocolate stout and a nut ale swirling together to form a snickery deliciousness.

I am for art that is craved and satisfying when you eat it up, like Taco Bell.

I am for art that can be made with a stack of National Geographics and a glue stick.

I am for art that isn't made by a douche bag and that will never see an art auction.

I am for an art found behind layers of wallpaper or discovered in a box in an attic.

I am for art made from trash, like a Danielle Steel novel, while watching TV and drinking a glass of wine.

I am for art that is the love child of glitter and yarn, made with control and precision, that teaches me something about the world.

Today, art got good.

2011-01-18T19:24:00.005-05:00

Super darn excited about beadwork. Practice, practice, practice.

I've spent the past week wrapping. (give me a beat!) It's torturous, but isn't art fun when it's torturous?! Still haven't finished this process but I'm almost done. Once this skeleton of a lawn chair is wrapped, it will become a dreamcatcher. Yes. A dreamcatcher. I have synthetic sinew for the web. I have reasons for all of this, but I need to organize my thoughts and I'll post what it's all about once I'm finished!

My creative epiphany today came to me while I was pondering what I could add to the dream catcher to make it more than a wrapped lawn chair. "It needs feathers," I thought. But Michaels craft feathers would make it too tacky, even for my taste. I thought maybe an embroidered feather or crocheted.. and then it hit me. All of the green plastic-y fabric from the original webbing of the lawn chair could perhaps make the perfect feather! I tested it and and boy, oh boy. I'm happy.

Day Two

2011-01-11T21:44:00.002-05:00

Back in school. Feeling lots of pressure. I've always struggled with "what's next". One thing I have accomplished since last semester was reading a fantastic book called Neither Wolf, Nor Dog by Kent Nerburn. It's about a white dude, Nerburn, who is asked by an Indian Elder to write a book about the American Indian's real history and sadness. I learned a lot and I can't stop thinking about it. I plan to make some work based on some Native appropriations. I'm nervous that what I'll do might be viewed as disrespectful but I don't intend it to be. I just need to make what I want to make and hope for the best.

On that note, I un-upholstered a lawn chair today.

And threaded a beading loom.

And drew a chart that records the amount of Ugg boots I saw every minute for one hour.

And I taught today!

Overall, a productive day.

Sounded like a good idea.

2011-01-09T23:50:00.003-05:00

Decapitated Santa head and red glitter in a bouncy ball of liquid. I'm sure the sketches for this object were full of Christmas cheer.

2011-01-09T21:45:00.001-05:00

It's time to start arting it up again.

Arrowhead Doilie Process!

2010-12-14T19:35:00.004-05:00

Laying out the pattern.

Applying to the wall.

Very tedious.

!!!

2010-12-14T19:03:00.006-05:00

My first committee review was fantastic. Plenty of criticism and whole lot of encouragement. I have so much to think about and I'm really excited about the direction my art is going.

Spent lots of time rearranging/cleaning my studio. Including hanging all the drawings for my website and my halloween costume masks. Was tempted to hang up my knitting but I didn't want to go too far.

All of the mold making I've accomplished this year. Feat. corn molds, arrowhead molds, plaster molds in the back and a selection of cast objects on the right.

Knocked Up

Arrowhead Doilie

(my pride and joy)

Cats from my Childhood

(with name tags)

Now that my semester is complete I'm spending some quality time knitting.

And plans for a co-curated art show will be formulated soon with Ron Hollingshead. It's going to be incredible.

AND Fat Cat and Precious are coming to live with me after the break. Happiness.

Hey Committee!

2010-12-13T11:28:00.001-05:00

Last few days of the semester!

2010-12-09T22:11:00.007-05:00

First of all, how amazing is this? Yes, that's one of my arrowheads transformed into a pushpin. And I'm SO EXCITED about it.

Still have to glue 543 little nails into 543 arrowheads. That's what I'll be doing tomorrow.

As well as spackling/painting my studio walls.

Decorated the studio today. This Christmas tree was passed down to me by an older grad student. This year it's theme is Florida.

And here is the studio's Red Tinsel Hot Glue Gun wreathe.

Three wolf moon t-shirt wearing pregnant mama deer with baby deer in diapers and child deer in Mcdonalds themed t-shirt.

Four days til my first committee review. So much to do.

Deer blog,

2010-12-05T18:46:00.001-05:00

This is what I'm working on RIGHT NOW.

Arrowhead Update

2010-11-30T19:24:00.003-05:00

Nearly done!

Corn on the Cowb

2010-11-08T21:34:00.001-05:00

Sustainability themed cow skull skinned in rubber corn.

Project for my Art and Environment class.

Casting apples and indians.

2010-11-05T00:41:00.002-04:00

Just realized I've neglected to post anything new on here in over a week. Oops. I guess it's because I haven't really accomplished anything besides getting all of my mold making done. These are my Three Wise Indian Princesses (just came up with that name on the spot, I'm good, I know).. and you can sort of see some of my cast apples as well.

Now that these are done my life will be ruled by my cow skull covered in corn. Just wait, you'll see.

Foxiness

2010-10-27T22:43:00.003-04:00

I have done nothing during the past two weeks except mold making (by day) and fox costuming (by night).

I swear mold making will be the death of me. I know people say that all the time about a lot of things but I'm forreal. Or it will at least make me cry. And I've only felt this way about two other forms of art, screen printing and dark room photography, so if you've had a "so frustrating I could cry" moment from those too then you know what I mean. I love the thought of mold making. It's great. But it takes HOURS and HOURS and then it most likely won't come out right or you somehow manage to break your mold. Like, seriously, omg.

But anyway, I'm very pleased with this cute little mask. I'm almost done with the 2nd one (boyfriend one).. and I'm pretty much done with our tails too. Just have to figure out a way for them to hook onto our belts.

I've also been busy working on my sister's costume (lightning bug: see previous post).. Finished with the hood but I still have to solve the problem of the glowing butt.

So excited for Halloween weekend.

Mold making is REALLY difficult.

2010-10-21T19:55:00.002-04:00

I literally spent 9 hours on this mold. And a few hours yesterday. It's truly a beast.

I'm attempting to make a mold of a light fixture/glass globe covered in prisms-esque thing.

It has about 4000 undercuts so the mold will be 15 parts.

I have two parts completed and one ready to be poured in the morning.

Why did I choose the hardest object ever?

I'm learning to think upside-down, inside-out, and backwards.

FUN!

CORN

2010-10-15T14:04:00.003-04:00

I'm working on making rubber corn. How awesome is this?! I'm a little too excited.

HELLO ANIMALS

2010-10-12T22:27:00.006-04:00

Last October, a girl I know named Bella turned 1 year old.

I bought her a set of Little Golden Books that came with a blank book and filled it for her with pictures of all kinds of animals. She's now turning two and it makes me so happy to see she's still enjoying the book!

♥

Doileaf.

2010-10-11T23:09:00.003-04:00

Did you want to know why I love Goodwill?

2010-10-10T00:29:00.001-04:00

Burn baby burn.

2010-10-07T19:37:00.001-04:00

www.morgangesell.com

2010-10-07T01:13:00.001-04:00

Yeah, that's right, I have a website.

AND IT'S AMAZINGGGGGGGG

www.morgangesell.com

2010-10-05T17:56:00.003-04:00

Launching soon.

♥ RMY

2010-10-02T15:26:00.004-04:00

I've been working like a fiend on drawings/sewings for my soon to be website. Just wanted to mention how much I LOVE the Meg(h)ans at Red Met Yellow. They're basically the most creative people you'll meet. And also the funniest. I've had the pleasure of modeling for them..

And as you can see from this photo alone, they're amazing.

Can't wait to see the website RMY is creating for me. SO excited for it!

If anyone needs a website, photography, illustrations, graphic design, business cards etc.. Get in touch with these girls and they will rock your socks off.

My plastic arrowheads.

2010-09-29T00:15:00.002-04:00

I made these little guys from a rubber mold. I'm in the process of making another mold with another 5 or 6 smaller arrowheads. Eventually I want to have 4 trillion of these made. You'll see.

Artful weekend.

2010-09-25T20:01:00.015-04:00

Had a fantastic studio visit yesterday from Nate Larson. He walked into my studio and was like, "Oh, you're the cat pelt girl!" Turns out I came up in the conversation held over dinner the night before. He had a very positive reaction towards the kitties and everything going on in my studio. Nothing like some good old positive feedback to really brighten your day!

Today I traveled north to Pittsburgh to check out the Mattress Factory and the Society for Contemporary Craft. Wow and wow.

Even though part of the MF was closed for installations, the floors we got to see were beyond great.

The 2nd floor is the James Turrell cave. No skyspaces but really cool light installations.

Thank goodness for this map. This entire floor is practically pitch black.

Sarah Oppenheimer

This piece is insane. It's cut through the 4th floor and ends out a window on the 3rd floor. Down through the hole you can see a wrought iron table and chairs in someone's yard. The girl working said she's never seen anyone sitting at the table though. Too bad.

Out the window.

Yayoi Kusama

These two rooms where like a fun house at the county fair. We had a blast. They even give you little hospital booties to slip over your shoes!

And now to the Society for Contemporary Crafts

Cassandra Smith

These=love. I want them.

It doesn't even seem fair. All of her work is so amazing. Ahh, I'm jealous.

Kate McDowell

It's funny I saw this artist's work because one of my professors just sent me a link to her website last week, and of course I loved it.

Allyson Mitchell

A view of the ceiling. Seriously!

This was the coziest, most 70's, fluffiest, embroidered, pink, latch hooked, fuzzy installation I could have ever dreamed of.

I felt like I was in paradise throughout this entire exhibit. THIS is why I'm happy to be an artist.

Micro Macro

2010-09-24T19:24:00.002-04:00

Worked on this today for my Art and Environment class. Just so you know, sewing dry leaves is difficult.

I love this.

2010-09-22T21:55:00.001-04:00

Beautiful family history

Two Things

2010-09-21T18:37:00.003-04:00

1. Working on a design pattern for my future website. Used water color pencils so far and I'm not finished. Probably will embellish a bit more, and then using sewing to spell out a word across the image. You'll see..

2. Vote for me here! I submitted my work to H&M's Your Art Here contest. The winner gets to display their art in the NYC H&M store front. Pretty sweet.

HA!

2010-09-20T16:07:00.001-04:00

This makes me smile. I really need to practice perspective.

I do kind of like the wobbliness of it, sorta.

First Crit!

2010-09-18T12:26:00.004-04:00

Cats from my Childhood
Muss, Blossom, Fluffy, Bob

Had a great critique. And a great birthday!

#3

2010-09-16T18:46:00.002-04:00

♥

#2

2010-09-15T13:25:00.000-04:00

I'm serious about this.

Foxy

2010-09-14T23:54:00.003-04:00

My potential costume. Getting pretty excited now.

Lightning Bug

2010-09-14T23:26:00.002-04:00

My sister told me she plans to go as a lightning bug for Halloween (my absolute favorite, times a million, holiday).

So I decided to sketch out what I would like a lightning bug costume to look like.

Maybe I'll even volunteer to make some of it!

♥

Eyes to the ground.

2010-09-14T19:46:00.004-04:00

The hunter(of treasures)/gatherer in me led to this little drawing.

Hopefully the 1st of many feather studies.

Eventually to be seen on etsy(?).

Kitty Pelts

2010-09-13T23:03:00.007-04:00

I've been working diligently on four cat pelts, inspired by my childhood pets, for the past two weeks.

Muss sketched out on the latch hook mesh.

I have to pre cut an infinity amount of yarn for each project. The least enjoyable part of this job.

Muss!

Blossom and Fluffy

Bob

Growing up I had so many more kitties than this, but these babes are the ones that found a place deep in my heart.

Labor Day was spent teaching myself how to knit. Thank you, Youtube!

This is the first "finished" product. Gotta love headbands!

Apparently there's a technique called "pearling" that I haven't attempted yet. Baby steps.

And finally, a little feather I sketched during my class today. Hoping to get something similar to this tatted soon. ♥

Crit

2010-09-10T18:16:00.001-04:00

My first graduate critique is next Friday, on my birthday.

So this may be the best, or worst, birthday of my life.