Lents Neighborhood Intersection Repair
Wilson and Larsen Studio were commissioned to design a street painting in conjunction with neighbors and PBOT. We presented 3 designs and this one, “Double Dutch”, was selected. On June 26, 27 and 28, 2015 we worked with over 30 painters at a time (of all ages) to create this 5140 square foot design at 86th and SE Glenwood Ave.
Above: Drone photo by Adam Simmons at Lents Creative, Below: Original digital design (WLS) and volunteer painters
ERA Vicki Lynn Wilson at Clackamas Community College
Though all of the work was created in about six months, the materials, techniques and inspirations meander though a twenty year period of discovery. These are theories finally tested, tying of loose ends, and clearing mental and physical space for something new. The human form has such a narrative capacity, and material holds a symbolic language for me. Here, the figure is a support, a vehicle, and a culture on which to grow my material experiments. In creating this work, I release the past and realize my potential.
This has been an era of study which I began as an apprentice and ended as a professor. This show is a rite of passage and many of the pieces express that concept through an un-named spirituality. Much of the work I produced in the twenty years preceding this show was thoroughly planned from the inception. In this work, in the spirit of letting go, I responded spontaneously to the materials and the forms in each stage of completion. I didn’t know when I started a piece what it would look like in the end.
I began with the number 40, because it is my 40th year. At one point I was working on 45 pieces but I can’t say for sure how many will be presented until the day the show opens. (I finished 29 and exhibited 23). It has always been my way to physically mark the passage of time…cutting my hair on the first day of graduate school and not again until I was finished, returning to places I had been just before a period of intense struggle. When I imagined this show, it was imperative that the work be shown before I turned 41 and I thank Kate Simmons and Clackamas Community College for the opportunity to share this work.
(These are really unsatisfactory pictures but I thought I should post them until I get better ones:)
The Dream, 2015. Carved and Cast Plaster. Dimensions: 31x12x12 inches
Bloom, 2015. Plaster and Steel.Dimensions: 7x18x6 inches
Gift, 2015. Plaster over armature and Crocheted Doilies. Dimensions: 44x22x8 inches
Traveler, 2015. Glazed Ceramic,Yarn, Twine, Rope, Ribbon,Synthetic Hair, Fur, Paint and Cement Base. Dimensions: 26x8x20 inches
Bad Chemicals (Orange), 2015. Glazed Ceramic and Glass. Dimensions: 9x8x5 inches variable. SOLD
Faulty Wiring (Yellow), 2015. Glazed Ceramic and Glass. Dimensions: 9x8x5 inches variable
Release (#2), 2015. Glazed Ceramic, Toothpicks and Plastic. Dimensions: 10x8x5 inches
Release (#1), 2015. Glazed Ceramic and Wire. Dimensions: 9x5x6 inches. NFS.
The Prince, 2015. Raku-fired Ceramic and Wood. Dimensions: 24x9x9 inches. Private Collection.
Journey, 2015. Glazed Ceramic, Pipe Cleaners, Paint and Shellac.Dimensions: figure is 7x12x6 inches, ladders are variable/flexible
Spirit, 2015. Glazed Ceramic, Papier Mache and Paint. Dimensions: 10x8x7 inches. SOLD.
Ritual, 2015. Glazed Ceramic, Pine Needles and Epoxy. Dimensions: 12x12x9 inches
Pilot, 2015. Glazed Ceramic, Wood, Cement Base. Dimensions: 49x19x8 inches. Dismantled.
Lotus Eater, 2015. Glazed Ceramic, Styrofoam, Cheesecloth, Paint and Cement Base. Dimensions: 41x20x20 inches
Beloved, 2015. Glazed Ceramic, Gold leaf, Epoxy and Wood. Dimensions: 26x13x10 inches
Gorgeous George, 2015. Glazed Ceramic, Glitter, Epoxy, Nail Polish, Cement base. Dimensions: 40x8x9 inches
Eve’s Rib, 2015. Stained Ceramic and Epoxy. Dimensions: 25x7x7 inches
Vessel, 2015. Stained Ceramic and Epoxy. Dimensions: 23x7x8 inches
Lefty, 2015. Glazed Ceramic and Steel. Dimensions: 33x15x9 inches
All Cylinders, 2015. Glazed Ceramic and Steel. Dimensions: 60x26x20 inches. Private Collection.
Tiamat, 2015. Glazed Ceramic and Steel. Dimensions: 34x16x5 inches. SOLD.
Exit, 2015. Raku-fired Ceramic. Dimensions: 8x8x5 inches. Private Collection.
Ferguson, 2015. Glazed Ceramic, Shellac and Cement Base. Dimensions: 25.5x8x8 inches
“Twinkle”, Foster Window Project
This 88 ft long mural was created by a community suggestion and voting process. Wilson and Larsen Studio, working on a SE Uplift Creative Engagement Grant, prepared 3 design choices based on input from the community as to what they would like to see at this unused building. 400 people voted online. WLS prepared a community work part and over 25 neighbors helped to paint the boards. This mural is on the Historic Phoenix Pharmacy Building at 67th and SE Foster Rd. See the finished work and another Foster Window Project at: https://fosterwindowproject.wordpress.com/
