Marriage. Commission by Larry Kirkland.

August 24, 2016

I was asked to translate these words into Napkin Rings. Using botanical interactions, I lay these here for the newlyweds to figure out in the years to come.

Artwalla 6x6, 2016

August 14, 2016

Raika's Room

August 01, 2016

I wish I knew the exact day,

that she knew,

she wanted the drawing.

This is Raika, she hired me to draw on her room, when she was 12.

The room is the perfect size for a week of installation. Eight feet wide and ten feet long, with a huge window, closet, and entrance door, with 7 foot and 8 inches ceilings.

The first request was Birch or Aspen like trees.

The bough's trunks needed a place to stand, so I brought the sweet woodruff from my own garden, a place she has been many times.

In need for one more element, I asked her father, as Raika was off working to pay for the drawing.

Digitalis. The foxglove.

A flower that resides at its own pleasure, in the back yard of my childhood home, and at the front gate outside Raika’s window.

Apparently it is a favorite of hers, too.

The last step was the trigger drawing.

Raika, now 13, can take the drawing with her where ever she might go.

Corvallis, Oregon July 28, 2016

Push & pull

July 26, 2016

Corvallis, working on a new commission. I have stopped to gather my thoughts for letters and thank you's and... where am I and "draw the horizon" moment.

So excited it hurt.

July 20, 2016

I was so excited about this I could hardly breath. Today. I see so much more work to be done.

Before I go on, let us just hold this for a moment. Right here.

Now just imagine, these three panels as three walls in a room. I'm going, you coming?

studio visit: Paul McCarthy

July 19, 2016

It was mid moment- before dinner after dinner between dinner. There were many in the studio that night, among the work, the bikes, and the words.

He had seen both shows with his wife Karen in the winter. And now things were smeared with red, Orlando had just happened, the structures were messy.

Roots gravitate to each other.

#PaulMcCarthy #Orlando

studio visit: Rosy Keyser

July 19, 2016

I had to listen hard, because I had just met her. Words are fleeting. Yesterday it was Rosy Keyes. We discussed the work as porous enough to let in things- and yet closed enough to endure. Yes I think so. #rosykeyser

Always the best hands.

July 13, 2016

My collaborator on past non-profit work suggested she make boxes for the Napkin Ring Project. As I rode away on my bike, after she off-handedly mentioned the idea, I was struck. Again.

What a gift this woman is.

Here is the beginnings. A day of play, gelatin plates and exploration. Get this... she is making prints from the rings to cover the boxes. Beautiful boxes. More to come. I am so excited.

Yet again, I bow to the amazing Tricia Harding.

#thenapkinringproject #progress #queenofartwalla #galleryone

The first shot of the evening.

July 12, 2016

Yesterday, I took myself photographing through the Palouse on a back way home. Thanks to some very loud Liz Phair and open roads, the evening was quiet delightful. Here, with the sky, the dirt, and light, I am.

Honoring: Work is work.

July 08, 2016

It is an honor to have a client buy my work to then donate. This is empowering. The hard work done is celebrated, paid for, and then celebrated some more. Thank you Chandra Hall And Dr. Chris Hall.

The next room.

July 06, 2016

Futa-oki

June 30, 2016

This past week I made my first Futa-oki to honor the visiting a Master of the Tea Ceremony.

Yabe Keishu - sensei was visiting the garden to prepare for her Ikebana demonstration at the Foundry Vineyards in honor of the Walla Walla Mokuhanga Center's first week of workshops.

Yabe Keishu - sensei is also a master of the "Sōgetsu, 20th-century Japanese school of floral art that introduced the zen’ei (“avant-garde”) ikebana style in which freedom of expression is preeminent." (This explanation was stolen from the FV press.)

Sensei, with the help of the wonderful Hitomie Johnson, gave instructions on how to alter my napkin rings into a tea ceremonial object that holds the lid of the tea pot.

Here is the Futa-oki I made for Hitomi and her tea . Of course, the messages inside are for their owners, you will have to attend their tea ceremony to see them.

Commune-it-caution

June 25, 2016

So communication has been reopened.

Send word from the Correspondence page in the menu.

On Insta-gram: augusta_sparks

Social Art Practice: The Napkin Ring Project

June 24, 2016

Social Art Practice: The Napkin Ring Project

Begun as a means to bring intention to the table and to the work involved to make a meal, this project focuses on the function an art object can serve in the daily ritual.

Napkin rings as art, remind us to stop our work, sit in our seat and assess that which lays before us. In response to, Lunch at the shop, by Peter Miller, where he employees paper napkins, and moving past the common place setting, consider the napkin ring’s role. The space between creating a meal and consuming the meal, the ring stands to separate these two practices. Holding the continued conversation from one meal to the next, the napkin ring marks the beginning of what Peter Miller calls for as, “the time to relax, savor, and commune.”

History implies that hygiene was the original reason for their invention. As a young mother with the endless laundry of cloth napkins, this is what spurred my use. As society embraced their use, materials expressed wealth. As a child, I held a silver ring. This, a perfectly contained object of art, symbolizing a life in British occupied Japan. Alternatively, contemporary table settings are presented in duplication. Sameness rules. As my family grows and art reigns in our home, our rings hold forth as a tool. I humbly submit the idea that they are each activated objects, reminding us to be present. A ceremonial object within a society that is progressively loosing its connection to the ritual of interacting face to face.

Simplified, I paint on each copper ring as a resist. The exterior is etched into relief. The interior is etched with a secret, verbal message in response to the exterior painting. The copper holds the hand’s warm and gives texture to touch. The table is unified in its color, and each place is identifies a separate person.

My proposal is three fold.

First, to show the rings in a space that I have altered with a massive wall drawing made in response to a gallery space. To set the stage for the dinner and an opening to inspect the idea.

Second - The Curated Potluck.

In anticipation of each meal, 12 participants would be given a serving bowl and a drink vessel to bring their contribution to the meal. Removing labeling and constructs, the food and drink would be equally presented, and placed family style on the table. The guest list would be curated. The table would be long and set by the artist. The RSVP process would enable the invited to pick their napkin ring out online prior to attending. The interior message will be with held until arrival. The ring will be theirs to use that evening.

Beginning with a giving of thanks in honor of art and the future, and a reference to their choice of ring, the dinner would commence. Unfurling the idea, potentially each participant could submit a name to attend the next curated potluck.

Third, documenting through out the dinner process. I will take a series of participant portraits. Have already started to collect stories from the table, and to recognize the differential that this anchor creates in home life. Attendees will be encouraged to write a response, these will be published with the portraits taken.

Exploration in activating a dynamic interaction between groups, using systems that society has in place to continue the conversation by redefining the function an art object can serve in the daily ritual.

Thank you to the StorefrontLab of San Francisco, due to your request for submissions I flushed out the first formula for The Napkin Ring Project as a performance! #storefrontlab

Consider the the object.

June 24, 2016

In response to, Lunch at the Shop by Peter Miller, and moving past a place setter. The space between creating a meal and consuming the meal, the napkin ring stands to separate these two practices. Holding the continued conversation from one meal to the next, the napkin ring marks "the time to relax, savor, and commune."

#petermillerbooks