Well Finished Instillation @ Launchpad Gallery

new work

hello everyone. my residency has come to an end. enclosed is a selection of work, accompanied by my artist statement, made in direct response to my experiences in cholul. none of this work is able to be shipped home because of u.s import regulations...maybe it is possible with a broker when i get home, but it is not hopeful. this work is experimental and this experience has been mind opening for the way that i approach my process within my work. i am really looking forward to getting into the studio when i return home. again, i would like to warn any one who would not like to see images surrounding the slaughter process that they may not want to proceed.

all my best to you and love for the new year approaching us.

and into my skin

cow hide, photos, foamcore

untitled

cow ears, nylon

torso

pig skin, nylon, metal wire

shawl

pig skin, nylon cord, metal wire

untitled

pig skin with nipple, nylon cord

3" x 3" x 2 1/2"

Living animals are killed in mass everyday in order to nourish our bodies. The association between the meat that is going into our mouths and the necessary slaughter procedure is a disturbing one to make. This process is kept hidden form our generation in most western cultures. Accessibility into the small slaughter community of Cholul provided opportunity to witness the experience of the animal and its manipulated transition from life to death. This body of work investigates my philosophical and emotional struggle between my reverence for the life of the animals whom provide us nourishment and my dismay at the fear and pain they experience before the moment of death.

ceramic work

untitled

ceramic

28" x 20" x 17"

untitled

ceramic, resin

24" x 23" x 16"

5 days with this cow

***warning***
this entry contains images surrounding the slaughter and butchering of a cow, her decomposing flesh, flies and maggots. if this is something you do not want to see you may not want to proceed any further than the writing of the first two paragraphs.

For years i have been talking about the relationship between life and death through ceramic forms that have an appearance of soft, supple flesh, decomposing and crusting surfaces and oozing orifices. here i had the opportunity to witness and document a female cow being slaughtered and butchered. at the end i bought her skin, took it home, felt what it was like to work with her flesh and then watched the process of it breaking down.

in cholul, as i believe it to be true in most small village in mexico the slaughtering and butchering process happens behind a local market or in someones back yard. in this case it was behind the local fruit stand. men carried her fresh meat from the back yard into the fruit stand to be sold as soon as light broke...about 7:30 am. The cow was still alive at 5:15 am. it all happens very quickly.




























































mexico, where life is less sterile and reality is more accessible.

















































































i felt compelled to take her skin with me

unfolding her and handling her for the first time was really beautiful. i could still feel the life that had been inside her only a few hours before.

after cleaning her and moving her to this rock/altar, i spent the rest of the day working her skin



































































i wanted to watch the process of decomposition, to experience her flesh changing from day to day. this little cage would protect her from the animals coming and carrying her off in the night





















the next morning i felt a little strange knowing she was out in the back yard. i worried throughout the night about what might happen with the flies and the smell of her rotting flesh. i thought maybe i had bitten off more than i could chew and that i should bury her or burn her that day, but my curiosity was just a little stronger than my reason.
































there was so much beauty taking place in the breaking down of her flesh, and a whole new system of life thriving in this environment.




































creating this situation made me extremely aware of the way nature comes in force to do its job. had i left her uncovered the vultures and other animals would surely have consumed her before this time, but i interfered with that part of the process. now...the quantity of maggots was frightening.






































i really felt a responsibility to this cow...entering into this process of her life and her death, and wanted to give her a ceremonious burial, to give her something more human, but in the end, she went out with the trash.

Mickis artist residency at the Fundacion Gruber Jez in Mexico, funded by the kansas city artists coalition.

hello everyone. just a little note to let you all know what i am up to down here on the yucatan peninsula. i am doing a 3 month residency at the fundacion gruber jez in cholul, yucatan in mexico. i feel very fortunate to have this residency funded by a generous lighton international artists exchange program grant from the kansas city artist coalition. you can find out more about both programs through their respective websites, www.fundaciongruber.org and www.kansascityartistscoalition.org.

the foundation is located in the little town of cholul just outside of the big city of merida. i love living in a little village, but it is nice to have access to the conveniences of a big city when needed. the residency program has a sculpture facility which is equipped for ceramics, bronze casting, welding and any other material one would like to work with. i came here with a big ceramics project in mind, but after arriving and realizing the opportunity to learn about different materials like crystal resin and fiberglass in particular...my plans have changed. gerda gruber, one of the founders of the foundation is a sculpture artist and also a teacher who is very generous with her time and knowledge. i made my first polyester mold and have been casting crystalline resin forms. my plan is to combine clay forms with these other translucent materials. a whole new world of possibility is opening up. it is exciting. i am so happy to be here in mexico making work.

the program here was started by gerda and her business partner maricarmen castañera.(photo) in the way that gerda is available to help us with our studio work maricarmen takes amazing care of all of our daily necessities. she provides us with a great little apartment just down the street from the studio, a bike, (with a bell and a basket) to ride all over town, access to a car if we need to use it and countless other things. she also is very generous with her time and has a lot of patience in helping us navigate our daily adventures.

at the moment there is one other artist in residence from holland, jacomijn schellevis. she is a mixed media artist and is working on a project about the rituals surrounding dia de los muertos. she is a great artist and a really nice person and it has been really good to see her process of making work, which is so different from mine. you can view her work on her website www.jacomijnschellevis.nl

As far as the weather goes...its hot and humid with the threat of a hurricane always looming in the air. the yucatan so far has been out of harms way. it rains most days in the afternoon, which is nice because it cools things down a bit...but unfortunately it brings out my new blood brothers, the mosquitoes. besides the mosquitoes, i love all of the wild life of the yucatan and look forward to seeing more. i have been working a lot but also taking time to explore the city of merida and the surrounding ruins and caves. there is so much to see here. the history of the mayan culture is really prevalent in the landscape and in the people. i will be posting to my blog regularly so if you are interested you can check it out.

well, what else can i say...i am in heaven...i´m in mexico and making art.

i hope all is beautiful in your lives, micki


the pathway and door to the studio

and look who is always waiting on the other side of the door...nena, she wandered into the yard one day and after washing her and pulling, i kid you not, about 90 ticks off of her gerda decided she could stay.
















gerda gruber, right, and maricarmen castañer, middle, the founders of the foundation and jacomijn schellevis, left, the other artist in resident are all sharing a traditional yucatecan meal that jacomijn and i prepared.

my ceramic wall form and the very beginnings of the fiberglass preparations.

curious pancho

making a silicon mold using plasticine for my form





















pouring a crystal resin drop and drying it in the sun
















comes out a little crusty but after only about 2 days of sanding...

que bonita!

view of metals area

view of ceramic area... and my studio space

tanto and pancho making themselves at home on my studio suitcase

miguel, the jack of all trades at the studio, working on a resin piece of gerdas

gerda is head of the sculpture department at a small 5 year old university in merida, that specializes in visual arts, music, ballet and theater. she started a program where a small group of university students are able to come and work on projects at the foundation thurs, fri and sat mornings. on these days, i have the opportunity to work along side these students.

3 student from left: edgar, sandra, vanessa and miranda...not a university student, but a student none the less.

gerda with gabby

the two resident apartments with our little car out front

my side of the apartment with the beautiful garden















the street in front of our house looking both ways. i have only seen 2 cars, besides ours drive by.

my kitchen

tempermental storm

after the storm

Getting to know the neighbors

these ladies like to frequent the patio at dinner time


he sings to us at night


the guy down the street


dinner guests


this little guy came in to visit


this is the neighbor lady, she stopped to give birth to the hundreds of babies on her back


this is the family who lives across the street. if you zoom in you will see 6 family members laying out.


he is the bravest of the family, he rarely hides


but mostly they are kind of shy. he thinks i cant see him.


this little guy decided to join me in the shower

this little guy decided to join me in the shower

heading to mexico

testing out the blog before i head to Mexico