nicole m. gibbs

What's Happening in the Studio

2012-01-18T20:16:00.002-05:00

After a long summer of moving to our first home, the studio is up and running. Here are a few snapshots of what I'm currently working on. There are two potential bodies of work starting now. The first are what I'm calling "pennant drawings". They're constructed from torn segments of other drawings and collage material.

It takes a considerable amount of time to make the fragments. I'm asking myself a lot of questions right now: do the fragments need to be hand drawn? By me? What content/effect does having collage material from old magazines offer? How can I make these bigger? Are they a timeline or record? This idea started with a series of drawings from summer of 2008 that were combined. Here's how they looked individually:

And then when I put them all together:

The other thread I'm starting to explore is garish color and the power of repetition. I think I'm drawn to pattern right now because of my constant exploration of fabrics and interior design for our home. I especially like Amy Butler's designs; she is not afraid of color! I fluctuate between natural and neutral colors and bright, almost primary colors in my compositions. In learning about Amy's process--in which she designs the seed pattern or motif in paint, and then it is replicated--I wondered how hard it was to create my own. This is my first attempt:

I'm going to scan it soon and see what it looks like replicated. I was pretty shocked at my color choices as I went along. I kept pushing myself out of my comfort zone whenever selecting the next color. What I find intriguing is how repetition mitigates the discordance of the color. This led me to really push it. First I was looking for motifs...here's the first steps:

And then here's where it went:

It's not complete yet, but whoa! That's a whole lot of color for me. We'll see where it goes...

There are some other directions starting to form, but these are the two most prominent. Alongside them, here's what else is percolating...

My 2010-11 Freshman Class Profiled in IMAGE magazine

2012-01-18T18:54:00.002-05:00

The final project for my freshman design students last year was profiled in CCAD's IMAGE magazine and blog. Here's the online version.

And here's an earlier entry on the CCAD news blog about the performance. It was such a great experience!

Working on the Interwoven catalog

2011-10-11T16:54:00.000-04:00

This summer was a busy one--buying a house, teaching College Preview at CCAD, and starting my new position at Ann Hamilton Studio. However, I did manage to make significant progress on a catalog for Interwoven, the project I did in February 2010 with St. Andrew Lutheran Church. CCAD sophomore Luke Kramer, an up and coming young designer, worked with me on the design of the catalog. He did a great job! I've got a few loose ends to tie up with some of the stories and credits, and then it should be ready to publish. I am looking forward to sharing the catalog with the members of St. Andrew, whose stories and images illustrate how the making of shawls and quilts can connect a community in a truly remarkable way. I'll be sure to post a link to it here when it's all ready!

City Art Center Exhibition - Delaware, OH

2011-01-09T11:01:00.009-05:00

I am currently showing at the City Art Center, 22 E Winter St, Delaware, OH from January 7-30, 2011. Open hours are Thursday, Friday and Saturday afternoons.

These works are made using ceramic slip (or watered-down clay) to make an initial mark, and then tracing the edges of the water in the clay as it absorbs into the paper. As the clay dries, it shrinks and embosses the paper, causing it to ruffle. In some of the works, I have mixed fabric dye into the clay. This is what causes the turquoise marks. I think of these drawings as meditations on time, material, and impermanence.

Mark Bradford-inspired collages by my CCAD freshmen

2010-11-13T10:08:00.001-05:00

Last week, my two freshman Design courses completed their first group public art project. It was inspired by a trip to the Wexner's Mark Bradford exhibition. A few of the students were standing in front of one of his giant collages, and said that they wanted to work that large. Just as Bradford collects all his material from LA where he lives, the students gathered all their collage elements from downtown Columbus where CCAD is located. It was a proud moment for everyone to see them on view to the public!

My new website!

2010-07-27T16:44:00.000-04:00

I am excited to announce that I have a brand new website at www.nicolegibbsart.com! I will still be using this blog for ongoing news and updates, and they are linked to each other. Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

Nice review of Interwoven project

2010-03-26T12:20:00.005-04:00

Kristin Forbes, a freelance reporter, wrote a nice review of my project with St. Andrew Lutheran Church in Beaverton, OR. Here it is!

Artist Collaborates with Beaverton Church in Interactive Art Project

The Interwoven Project

2010-01-31T14:42:00.007-05:00

From Feb. 6-14, I am working as an Artist in Residence at St. Andrew Lutheran Church in Beaverton, OR. We are making a piece titled Interwoven that will document the use of handmade fiber arts to mark transitional moments in community and individual life. It is inspired by a 1943 article by Margaret Mead about the connectedness of art and everyday life, as well as by the Protestant observance of the Transfiguration and its connection to sukkahs, the temporary tents made during the Jewish celebration of the Feast of the Tabernacle. This is my first collaborative social-based artistic project, and it will include a photography workshop and book project (Sun., Feb. 6), a lecture (Wed., Feb. 10), and a temporary collaborative installation (Sun., Feb. 14). Here is a brochure that describes the project in detail, and there is a separate flyer in the post below about the lecture. All are welcome to attend and/or participate!

The Interwoven Project - Artist in Residence Lecture, Wed., Feb. 10th @ 7:00pm

2010-01-31T14:38:00.004-05:00

Great review of my show

2010-01-15T18:53:00.001-05:00

Here's a great review of the work in my current show, Remote Sensing, in the Columbus Dispatch last Sunday.

Remote Sensing - New Work at the Ohio Art League Gallery

2010-01-02T11:24:00.006-05:00

Check out my show at OAL, and if you're free today, I'd love to see you at the opening!

January 2-27, 2010

Opening: Saturday, January 2nd from 6-8 p.m.

Ohio Art League Gallery
1552 N. High St.
Columbus, OH
www.oal.org

Works by Nicole Gibbs
Curated by Susan Li O'Connor

"Remote Sensing" is a collection of mixed media drawings that employ the cool, impervious perspective of satellites to investigate control, communication, and chaos within dear and difficult relationships.

Spills, Birds, Satellites

2009-11-08T16:51:00.014-05:00

(Click here to see these images in a larger-format slideshow.)

Just before departing for my temporary teaching position in Olympia, WA, I put up a selection of my recent works for friends and family at the Clean Space Gallery on OSU's campus. It was a great opportunity to experiment with ways of showing these pieces, which were made over the course of two years.

At eye level
At normal art-viewing height are the most resolved pieces, offering a synthesis of my ideas about spillage, chaos, and order. These works are deeply psychological for me, and reflect the ongoing process to understand my past and the relationships that have shaped who I am today. Many have an aerial or synoptic perspective. The palette is cool, calculated, and sometimes hyper-colorful, just like the countless satellite images I grew up looking at when I went with my mom to work at the EROS Data Center, a partner facility of the US Geological Survey. The satellite is a remote sensing device. Its eye is emotionless. It is clinical and unflinching. There are times in my life when I want this incorruptible perspective—to see my situations, relationships, and artwork with a calm clarity.

In contrast, I invite liquid into my work to act as a mentor, collaborator, and antagonist in my efforts to let go of control. With its susceptibility to gravity, evaporation, and pooling, liquid serves as a counterpoint to the straight lines and geometric shapes present throughout the imagery, and stands in as the great Unexpected to which one must adapt. By welcoming it into my artwork, I attempt to build flexibility and responsiveness into my process and mindset.

Above eye level
Along the top of the room, I displayed a chronological record of my evolution through material and form in my drawings. They are experimentations, and not necessarily complete works unto themselves. I installed them high above in the clerestory level of the space so that they could only be seen in any detail with binoculars. I think of this as the idea space--above one's head and just out of sight. The viewer who wants to see them up close must exercise willpower to do so. Observation is an active task; birders know this all too well. Like birders, the viewers had access to technology (binoculars) to undertake this task, if they so chose.

Below eye level
On the floor of the space, I installed my Water Shadows. Made from tulle, these patterns read more like wet spots on the floor, and many people walked on them. (They even fooled the facilities maintenance supervisor, who thought his crew had some cleanup to do. I showed him the secret of them--boy was he surprised when I picked up a "stain"!) I like the idea of activating the peripheral, and its important role in stimulating curiosity.

Many of these pieces will be on view during January in my solo show at the Ohio Arts League gallery in Columbus. More info on that to come soon!

Embracing Combustion - OCAC workshop

2009-08-13T09:41:00.003-04:00

Here's a slideshow of the ceramics workshop I taught at OCAC a few weeks ago. It was such a blast! The students were very experimental and motivated, and it was a lot of fun. (Workshop participants: if you want access to the images, just go to this link.)

Drawing Water from an Empty Well - OCAC Workshop

2009-08-13T09:39:00.002-04:00

These photos are just some of the dozens of drawings that the participants made in my experimental drawing workshop at OCAC last month. They were so creative, engaged, and fun to work with! It's great to be inspired by one's students, and that was definitely the case with this wonderful group. (Workshop participants, you can gain access to the photos at this link.)

Showing in Cleveland at The Sculpture Center

2009-06-03T09:13:00.002-04:00

I am showing work in the exhibition titled, "After the Pedestal: The 5th Annual of Smaller Sculpture from the Region" at The Sculpture Center in Cleveland, Ohio. It is a real honor! The opening for the show is this Friday, June 5th, from 5:30-8pm, with a talk by the juror, Paola Morziani, who is the Curator of Contemporary Art at The Cleveland Museum of Art. Click here for more information.

My Work in the Group MFA Exhibition

2009-05-16T19:56:00.002-04:00

Here are my pieces that were featured in our group MFA graduating exhibition. Enjoy!

2009 MFA Exhibition: Begged, Borrowed, and Stolen

2009-03-30T12:05:00.005-04:00

Here is a link to the online site for our upcoming MFA Show. It will be open April 22-May 20, with the big party on May 9th. There are links to each of the artists. It's officially happening--pretty dang exciting!

Summer Teaching

2009-03-30T11:17:00.007-04:00

I will be teaching workshops this summer for children, teens, and adults both here in Columbus and in Portland, Oregon. Here's what and where:

Wexner Center for the Arts

Environmental , July 13-17, 1:30-4:30pm, ages 15-18. Do you prefer to run with the wind, feel the earth under your feet, and see the change of weather up close and personal? Work outdoors at Ohio State's beautiful Chadwick Arboretum in the workshop taught by sculptor Nicole Gibbs. Learn how a piece of garbage can be transformed into a piece of art, or how light, shadow, rain, dust, soil, or pollen can be made into an incredible fleeting visual you can capture in a digital photography. We'll recycle and repurpose found materials and elements to make temporary 2D and 3D sketches outside and then document them before they dissolve back to where they came from, like ghosts.

Natural Home, July 13-17, 9am-12pm, ages 6-7. Do you feel best surrounded by the natural world of trees, wind, sky, plants, animals, and weather? Why not make the outdoors your daytime home for a week? You'll create your own personalized dwelling out of impermanent, nontoxic materials working with sculptor Nicole Gibbs. Whether you build a human-size ground nest or a wispy, windy string home, each installation will be a metaphorical portrait of who you are when you are not indoors. This workshop takes place at Ohio State's Chadwick Arboretum.

Oregon College of Art and Craft

Drawing Water from an Empty Well: An Idea-Generating Workshop, July 18-19, 9am-4pm, adult, p. 12-13. There are multiple times in an artist's practice where the inspirational well seems dry--whether trying to find confidence at the outset of a new body of work or breathing fresh life into a familiar subject, medium or process. The visual artist's equivalent to "writer's block" represents a time when any direction is possible, often bringing excitement and stimulation as well as doubt and paralysis. This workshop is designed to provide an improvisational toolkit to overcome droughts in your art-making practice, or just to add a new burst of inspiration into a practice that is going well. The workshop starts with associative word exercises, journaling and quick sketching. Then the real fun begins: using a wide range of traditional and nontraditional materials, students will create quick individual drawings, some of which will use music as inspiration. The result will be 50-100 drawings that will act as a reference for materials, techniques, gestures and forms from which to draw future artworks. Prerequisites: basic drawing skills and an inquisitive, open-minded attitude.

Embracing Combustion: Using Fabric in Ceramic Sculpture, July 20-24, 9am-12pm, adults, p. 10. Have you longed to capture the beautiful folds, pleats, and puckers of fabric in ceramic sculpture? While it can take years to master the trompe l'oeil techniques of using only clay to replicate fabric's fluid movement, it takes only hours to turn an actual fiber garment or construction into a piece of ceramic art. In this weeklong series of half-day workshops, students learn the basic techniques for firing fabric. The instructor will share her specially-developed clay body formula, as well as her techniques for hanging, drying, patching and firing fabric. Because the fabric burns out of the piece and leaves a fragile clay shell, participants will also learn how to load and handle these uniquely delicate pieces. Each student will create a set of sample fired and glazed pieces, as well as one simple fired fabric garment or construction. Prerequisite: beginning ceramics course or equivalent.

Indelible Marks goes to NYC and Massachusetts!

2009-03-27T10:40:00.005-04:00

Over spring break, Annie took Indelible Marks to Movement Research in NYC, an important laboratory for the showing of new dance and movement-based art, and to the Green Street Studios, a center for dance in Cambridge, Mass. Here's a link to an OSU article about the piece and its travels. Lily and I sent our videos and my paper pieces with them, which gave me a funny sense of separation anxiety knowing that I wouldn't be there to put them up or see how they work. In the same regard, it's also a really exciting feeling--I can't wait to hear how it went!

Video excerpts from Indelible Marks

2009-03-26T16:53:00.006-04:00

Click here for photo stills of the performance

Click here for a video excerpt of "Trace"

Click here for a video excerpt of "Spillage"

Here are a few excerpts from the videos Lily and I made together, and a slideshow of the performative project called "Indelible Marks" that's mentioned elsewhere on the blog. Hopefully these videos are the first of many that Lily and I make together!

Indelible Marks: Lantern Article (click here)

2009-03-02T19:13:00.006-05:00

On Feb. 12-14, the premiere of the collaborative dance project that I worked on with Annie Kloppenberg and Lily Skove took place at OSU. It was great to see all of our hard work come together, and it was really well received. Here's a link to the article in the university paper. Frustratingly, they left out any mention of Lily, who did some of the videos on her own, and some in collaboration with me. I hope to have footage of the performance online soon.

Hand Nest

2009-01-29T20:57:00.002-05:00

I've been studying birds, and found this amazing book about eggs and nests. My hands were cold at the time, so I decided to make one for my hand. It's on the ladder to the loft in my studio, and it's nice and cozy.

Drawing Stack

2009-01-10T14:17:00.005-05:00

Over the summer I was making a lot of little drawings. These drawings were sitting in a plastic ziploc bag for several weeks. I decided to try to find some way to connect all of the drawings together into one piece. I ending up sewing them together, and this is the result. I originally had it hanging at a conventional, eye-level height, but when I brought it into the gallery, I decided to hang it very high. It was hung high enough that the only way to view it was to look at it through binoculars. I had the binoculars just hanging around--not right next to the piece--so the viewers had to want to see it closer and take the initiative to find a way. Looking through the lens becomes a moving frame, meaning that the viewer decides what part specifically he or she wants to see and moves the binoculars to frame that view. (I have to still take a photo of someone looking at it with binoculars...soon!)

Wall Stacks

2009-01-10T13:49:00.005-05:00

I noticed earlier in the fall quarter that when people came into my studio, they were often attracted to my storage method for the paper and fragments I use in my drawings. So, I decided to see if it could actually be a piece. A lot of my recent questions have to do with how to present my work without over-utilizing my training in museum art installation. It seems like when I apply these conventions (how high to hang something, how to light it, how to label it, etc.), my work becomes static and less interesting. So, I used a lot of chance operations in hanging these. For instance, I put all the groupings of papers from the wall stacks on the ground, randomly hammered nails into the wall (pin on the donkey style), and then grabbed each group and put it on a nail. Normally I would be more compositional about it--the stacks would go from larger groups in back to smaller in front. Instead, the stacks became more interesting because you have to look from the side to see what might be underneath. I also like that there is so much hidden from our view. It reminds me of archaeology in a way; we can't know all of the treasures that lie in layers under our very feet. The random height also activates them and seems to make them more dimensional.

Sewing techniques

2008-09-13T19:32:00.001-04:00

Here's a few more drawings that feature the hand sewing...pretty fun!

See-through drawings

2008-09-13T19:19:00.000-04:00

Some of the latest drawings I'm doing incorporate architectural drafting film, which one of the graduating grad students gave me when she was cleaning out her studio. It's been really fun to work with, as it allows me to mask some of the areas a bit, as well as pierce the surface of the paper to make some things move from the front to the back. Two-sided drawings are next, I think.

Getting somewhere

2008-09-13T19:08:00.001-04:00

All the experimentation is starting to pay off; I have a lot more freedom in my process now, and I'm actually chomping at the bit every day to get into the studio to see where it will go next. I've started incorporating some hand sewing techniques, which has been really fun. I just got a sewing machine, so who knows what will happen next!

Public Art project

2008-06-19T18:13:00.000-04:00

My spring quarter is finally done, and I'm getting the blog up to date. I was in a class this quarter that was actually a public art competition (there's a past posting about it). The jury was June 5th, and while I didn't win, it was a really great experience. I worked with a 3-D modeler who made a virtual model of my pieces. These are a few of the images he made. I took these images and made them into two 36 x 48" presentation posters. I also made a small model. They are in an exhibition on campus right now, so hopefully I'll take a picture of them on view to post.

New work

2008-04-29T20:26:00.000-04:00

This is the beginning of a drawing project that I'm doing. I hope to cover the enter circumference of my studio with these little drawings to see how they evolve over time. They're really fun to do; not a lot of preciousness or time is spent on each one. You can see how I'm starting to loosen up. The first ones are shown in a grid, and the later ones are pretty random. It'll be neat to see what they look like when I'm done! There also images of pieces I've done in fabric, paper, dyed slip, and water. Water is a big theme in my work.

Day Break Night Fall (final version)

2008-04-22T14:52:00.001-04:00

I finally got back to the video studio to finalize my edits to my second video. These changes came out of our critique in class of it, and include going back to the original title ("Day Break Night Fall"), as well as changing the ending so that the birdsong ended sooner and the final line was left unbrushed. I like how it turned out...

Public Art class

2008-03-25T16:53:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was our first day of classes for the spring quarter. I'm taking this course called "Public Art". We're going to be developing proposals for the Easton Mall or the site of our choice. We'll get $400 to cover our material costs for the presentation, and the proposals will be juried for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place for cash prizes. The 1st place person has the option to further develop and produce their project with a budget of $25,000. This is very exciting!

Our professor showed us several websites, and I particularly liked this one titled "Frozen Grand Central": http://improveverywhere.com/2008/01/31/frozen-grand-central/. (Cut and paste link into your browser, or click the link over to the right under "Links".) Be sure to watch the video. Enjoy!

Vivian Hall Project

2008-03-20T17:14:00.000-04:00

One of the sculpture professors, Malcolm Cochran, got permission for 18 grads and undergrads to do site-specific art installations in a partially-abandoned building, Vivian Hall, on OSU's campus. This hall was built in 1952, and housed a dairy production facility, as well as labs and offices for agriculture and food science. As participants in the project, we had to come up with art pieces that spoke about some aspect of the building's history, usage, architecture, or general feel. Opportunities like this don't come along very often, so we were all excited. On Sunday, March 11th, we had a one-day opening event for the Vivian Hall Project. This project lasted the entire winter quarter, so it was really great to see the final art installations.

My project is the last shown in this slideshow. It covered the entire length of the hallway, and was made using paper found in Vivian Hall and tape. I was inspired by a section of taped paper remnants that I found in one of the offices. It struck me as interesting that these papers were at one time of enough importance to tape to the wall, but then became obsolete and were torn down. It made me think about events, information, and the passage of time in Vivian. It also had a lovely geometry that seemed almost like a design element. So along the length of the hallway, I created a line of taped corners, and in some areas, a cluster or flurry of the corners and tape remnants. It was fun to see how many viewers did not immediately (or ever) see the piece because of their acceptance that it was indigineous to the space prior to us being there. For those who did "discover" it, hopefully they began to see how art and the everyday are not that far apart.

Here's a slide show; if you want to see a more extensive one with captions, let me know:

My Second Video

2008-03-20T11:28:00.000-04:00

Here is my second video--enjoy! (It's about 4 minutes...)

2nd Quarter Review

2008-03-20T11:17:00.000-04:00

On March 11, I had my second quarter review. My committee, which consists of Todd Slaughter (http://www.art.osu.edu/?p=p_profiles&personid=19), Ann Hamilton (http://www.art.osu.edu/?p=p_profiles&personid=9) and Laura Lisbon (http://art.osu.edu/?p=p_profiles&personid=12), met with me for nearly two hours to discuss my work and progress in the program. It was really good and intense, and I feel like I've got some new fodder with which to work. They encouraged me to work on the taxonomy and language of what I am doing, as I haven't quite figured out how to put words to the process I'm engaged in. Also, my museum background in some ways becomes a crutch because I have freedom in the experimentation with materials, but when it comes to presenting them, I tend to fall into conventional exhibition methods. Again, lots of good things to think about, and I will be rewriting my artist statement as a beginning to put language to my work.

Here's a slideshow of my 2nd quarter review work:

My first video

2008-03-01T15:14:00.001-05:00

I am just finishing my video class this quarter, and this was the first video I did. Enjoy!