repeat printing adventures

I'm going to print this in repeat using discharge (bleach) tomorrow!! How exciting!


This is a Photoshop mock-up I did so I could see the repeat. I'm pretty pleased.

Ritualistic Objects?

This is a Quipu. There were myriads of them in Peru.

This is what I'm working on:



I feel like there is some kind of connection between the two. My professors keep talking about ritualistic/shamanistic objects in relation to my work. They talk about implied bodies, the feminine, and the use of materials in some kind of raw or elemental state. As for me, I'm just working from intuition, and, it would seem, a new-found love of fringe/hair.

In keeping with all this, I've got yet another new artist statement...

Statement
I am interested in ritualized intersections of natural and man-made materials, coming together to create objects that speak of the feminine body and repetitive practices. I’m letting my intuition guide me in the creation of these objects and the materials needed to continue expanding on my practice. Through explorations that combine rubber and wood, hair, felt, steel, or clay, I have begun to create a body of objects that speak much like ancient artifacts do, indicating an absent site and unknown purposes. As the works evolve, they are becoming more embellished and ornamental. This decorative aspect is juxtaposed with the non-preciousness of the rubber, leaving the viewer with more questions than answers as to where these works originate.

Bike Tube Experiments

I’m interested in the intersections between art and science. In the past, I’ve explored this through ideas of decay, through the study of chemistry inherent to natural dyeing, and also by co-opting/re-creating natural phenomena and spaces. More recently I’ve begun questioning my responsibility to a sustainable practice and how these ideas affect the work I make. This, in turn, has lead me to my interest in collaborative processes— the collecting of material and research to build a work. This has manifested itself in the form of cultural knowledge (via my fulbright in Peru) as well as a developing dedication to using re-purposed materials, such as bike tubes and cloth from clothes and bedding. As I continue with my explorations, I hope to find a space with the process of collaboration becomes a part of the work and not just its driving influence.



As I continue to work with these materials, I’m finding some kind of ritual in the process. The works are becoming talisman objects, mergers of the natural and the urban. As I continue to work in this way, I want to begin incorporating the mineral elements of my natural dye work… ash, salts, raw materials. They function as relics of a time/place unknown to me, however they make a kind of sense…

All images+content property of Katie Vota

Domestic Spaces, Natural "Invasion"

So grad school will really kick your butt....

I'm finally getting around to putting up photo documentation of the work I've been doing so far, and here's the first of it! This is a piece I did to begin working on ideas of natural artifice and the domestic.

Project Statement

The Victorians were fascinated with bringing nature into the home. It was a kind of backlash against the modern industrial age, as well as an exercise in decorative aesthetic. Over time, this fascination with nature hasn’t lessened in Western society. As we’ve become increasingly distanced from the natural world—the out doors being dirty, full of germs, bugs, and other undesirable things—the desire for natural artifice or “fake nature” has increased, leading to a market of goods that co-opt the image of natural phenomena, pattern, texture, and shape. This idealized version of nature is seemingly welcoming and benevolent, domestic and tactile, including mass-produced items such as blankets that look like moss and designer felt rocks. But what is within this fascination that causes this rift between the artificial and the real? Why is the fake embraced and actual nature placed in a position as “other” to be enjoyed as an idea more than in actuality? In producing these rocks, I wanted to explore the connections between domestic and tactile, in relation to fake natural objects. Why do people want to consume these objects, to own them? Is it a kind of exertion of control over (idealized) nature? And what causes these fake natural artifacts to camouflage themselves so well into domestic spaces?



These rocks were screen printed with ink and dye and then painted/printed with micro-suede base for the puffy lichens. They were then sewn and stuffed! I'm planning to continue locating the "site" for this work. I don't think that inviting people into a domestic space (such as my sun room) is really feasible as a long-term strategy for making work in/about domestic spaces. Neither is attempting to create a domestic space in a gallery setting. I believe I will end up sending these rocks out into the world, to live in the homes of people I know. I'll then round up images of the rocks in their new homes and create a photo book that documents the work.

New Interview about my work

There's a fantastic write up on the Other People's Pixels Blog about my work, thanks to Stacia Yeapanis!

http://blog.otherpeoplespixels.com/otherpeoplespixels-interviews-katie-vota

We've still got 7 days to reach our goal of $3000! Please spread the word, share the interview, and remember supporting individual artists is just as important as supporting the arts community as a whole. http://igg.me/at/kvotamfa/x/2929751

Onion Skin Natural Dye Tutorial Video

Katie Vota Onion-skin Dye Tutorial from Filmhaus Grafik on Vimeo.

Thanks to the fabulous Sarah Little for her help with yet another amazing video!

If you haven't checked out my MFA Funding Indie Go-Go project, follow the link! Please consider contributing!

Natrual Dye Video....

New video for my indie go go project will be be up by tomorrow morning!! (Hint-- It's a dye video...) I'm very excited!

http://igg.me/at/kvotamfa/x/2929751

MFA Funding Indie Go-Go Campaign

My Indie Go-Go campaign is now live.

MFA Funding Pitch from Filmhaus Grafik on Vimeo.

The long and short of it is that Graduate School is an expensive endeavor. I want my MFA because I believe it will make me a stronger artist and more able to be competitive in the contemporary art world. I want my MFA so that nothing can stand in my way of getting a full time teaching position when I decide that is to be part of my art practice. I want my MFA so I can get some focused critique of my work and build a group of peers that I'll be able to rely on in my future artistic life. While these things are important, it's unrealistic to ask artists to take out loans equal to those of medical students.

SAIC's Fiber & Material Studies program is the best textile program in the country. I'm told it's the most difficult department to get into at the school, and here I am, one of 11 incoming graduate Fibers students. I can't turn down this opportunity, and yet I'm faced with taking on more debt in an economy that shows no sign of creating jobs for all of us oh-so-educated 20-somethings. This is where you come in. Crowd source funding offers you the unique opportunity to fund things you believe in and helps support people and ideas in a way that has a direct impact.

I want to thank you ahead of time, for taking an interest, for your contributions and support, or for taking five minutes out of your day to take a look at my site or to spread the word. As with all things collaborative, I can't do this without a community of people to back me up.

A life update

So things are about to get real busy...

I'm going to be attending SAIC for my MFA in Fiber & Material Studies this fall!

I've got two upcoming shows to announce:
“Construction” Indianapolis Art Center, Indianapolis, IN, June 7th-Aug 3rd, opening on June 14th from 6-8
"Black Willow” Paperish Mess Gallery, Chicago, IL, TBD August/Sept 2013

I'm re-designing my website... (for now you can find the preview version here). After it's live, it will go back to being at my domain, www.katievota.com

I've now got a twitter... You can follow me if you like?

AND! I'm starting a crowd-source funding campaign to help me pay for Grad School! The plan is to go live May 6th! I'm aiming to raise $3,000 to help me not have to take out private loans to pay for school. (more info is upcoming)

(on a side note I'm considering re-starting my etsy with completely different things for sale this time, but in what time I will manage to do this I have no idea...)

Here's a picture of a cool lichen:

The Art of Plant Micrography

The fabulous Justin Ray just profiled my new art(collab) project on Complex! Check it out HERE.

If you want to see the full project, I'm using collabfinder-- check it out too.

New applications for Madder

This article is so cool!