WORKSHOPS

As part of my practice, I conduct workshops.

Here are some of the projects that incorporate a workshop experience.

Works in Progress 

Works in Progress breathes new life into ordinary overlooked objects. Using unconventional materials such as lint, organic matter, fabric, yarn, twigs,
wires, etc., I take items in various disrepair states, upcycling and transforming them into unique works of art. This project can be commissioned and tailored to specific requests; for example, repair your damaged items, as part of an event, a workshop, a performance; please see Work in Progress on my website and the Work in Progress Blog

As a performance workshop, I assist participants in the repair, upcycling, and transformation of the damaged or incomplete item(s) they bring, turning those items into new wearable art creations and rendering them usable again. This workshop encourages storytelling and exchanging ideas relating to what actions we take collectively and individually to safeguard our planet and contribute to positive change. Guest musicians and performers selected, depending on the situation, will accompany us during the workshops, adding layers to the storytelling and generating possibilities of improvisation. Upcycling memories, we share our ancestors’ stories to mend our world for the future and bring hopes for future generations. Participants have the opportunity to draw or write their thoughts relating to environmental issues. The installation includes a pop-up shop consisting of repaired items and performance artifacts. Note that participants can choose to add their items to be auctioned and sold; the precede contributes to cover the event’s cost. More importantly, I will donate part of the profit to an organization that deals with climate and water issues, such as The Pacific Institute.

The repaired items, journals, and pop-up shops will be an installation that is developing over time.

My Favorite Grandmother 

My Favorite Grandmother is an ongoing project.

Part one is a medium through which participants share stories about or told by grandparents. I engage with passersby teaching them to knit while listening to their stories. This moving collection of narratives and anecdotes is on My Favorite Grandmother Blog a forum to visit, read, comment, and connect through storytelling. Your story is welcomed and appreciated. Please contact me with your submission.

Part two is my related performance; I’ll Draw a Line, inspired in part by my grandmother’s stories of wartime recession when women drew lines down the backs of their legs to imitate the stockings they could not afford.

Tangentially related are Knitting, a video collaboration with three fellow residents during my Art Omi residency and the Knitting Project, an ongoing participatory performance.

Moments

Work to be commissioned, personalized. A portrait of memory of a time of specific moments in someone’s life. More typically, it would be as a celebration for a milestone, such as an anniversary or birthday. It is created as a room installation or on small objects as well as in the shape of a piece of jewelry. There is a vital collaborative element between the artist and the subject. I will first interview the people involved to gather all the necessary information, the history of the subject, the significant events throughout the years, of the memories that need to be represented. And together, we will work on selecting the physical elements of the installation.

As a room installation, the work is lodged most often at the place where the wall and the ceiling meet. Initially, a border is painted in a particular color to become the background of the piece. The four main divisions of the room will represent each of the four seasons. A wire/thread/string is pulled once around the room to symbolize a year. Specific moments and memories of that year are marked by a piece of stone/glass/bead. Depending on how many years the installation represents, layering of wires/strings and build-up of beads and stones are formed. The selection of objects and colors depends on the specific history of the subject. For example, to celebrate wedding anniversaries, each year will follow the traditional representation such as year one/paper, year two/cotton, year 25/silver, etc. Depending on peoples’ wishes, small personal objects and/or photographs can mark a specific moment in time. This work can be formatted on a smaller scale, such as a freestanding sculpture, a stone, a block of wood displayed as space allows, or a custom-made jewel. Please see example of Moments installations, sculptures and jewelries and Moments workshops and performances.

Please contact me if interested in commissioning and including a workshop in your event or gifting a repair or an installation to yourself or loved ones.