Moving House

Dearest followers - I have recently moved my artblog postings over to Tumblr. Please click the above image or the following link to see a bunch of new posts: jbbartram.tumblr.com

I've not posted a whole heck of a lot since my show, but there are some shots of my latest small project, a series of tiny embroidered monsters. A preview:



From now on all my progress/final work/upcoming event postings will be on the new blog, so make sure to switch up your bookmarks and all that good stuff!

Deep Sigh of Relief

On February 3rd, 2012, A Collected Collection opened at Freedom Clothing Collective (939 Bloor St West - show's up until March 26th! You haven't missed it!). Lit by the blinking lights of paper jellyfish and filled with wonderful friends and family, the gallery was a perfect home for the discoveries of my beloved R.W. Brackley. Before all the festivities of opening night, though, there was hard work to be done.




My studio-mate Pam and I framed all the pieces in a single day. Thankfully it went smoothly, and Pam's incredible mat-cutting skills made my pieces look incredible. The next morning everything had to be packed up for the drive up to the gallery...



...and once there, Marsya and I hung it all up on the walls, arranging the pieces mostly in line with the narrative of Brackley's story.





Though the work was all up on the walls, my slog had not yet ended. I was in the studio until almost 1 a.m. getting the most important element of the window display done (sidenote: being able to have a solo art show AND design a window display? AMAZING). That element? THESE GUYS:

LED Jellyfish, hooray! from Jessica Bartram on Vimeo.

LED. JELLYFISH.

Made from washi tissue paper and a load of hot glue, these babies were brought to life by devilishly simple LED + battery contraptions made by Anibal (the same guy who got the bears dancing at my last show). They flickered and phosphoresced all night, being super photogenic the whole time:





Alongside the jellies, I also got to dress the window-mannequin. She got some gorgeous clothing from FCC's racks and a spur-of-the-moment tissue paper feather sash, all the better to go exploring with?




Phew. At this point all the setup is complete, I've gone home and had a much-needed shower, picked out my prettiest dress and it's time for the party to start!

A shot taken before the folks arrived:



The pigeon in his element:




The proof of Brackley's book (now available for pre-order!):



And then,



Lovely supporters!



People looking at my art!



Friends! Family! A very happy Jess!

I continue to be flabbergasted and ever so thankful for all the support and enthusiasm surrounding my art. I love creating this stuff, and being able to share it with people, tell my characters' stories and hang it up in a perfectly wonderful gallery continues to be simultaneously incredible and totally surreal.

To finish off this giant post, a shot from the end of the night, after the window had fogged over, turning the jellyfish into creepy ghost-creatures.

Quick Creature-Filled Post

I'm in the final stretch of preparation for my show and, amongst the mad rush to finish both framing and my window display props AND that pesky pile of homework (note: I love said homework, it's just the timing of all this that's a bit crazy) I figured I should pop a quick post up to (a) give everyone a non-photobooth sneak peek of some of the 3D beasts I've created for the exhibit, and (b) throw in a convenient reminder of that whole THIS SHOW OPENS IN TWO-ish DAYS HOLY CRAP. Please, if you can, come to the opening (see image at bottom of post for more info). If you can't make it, that's OK! The show's up at Freedom Clothing Collective until March 26th (and up at Graven Feather for the month of February).

Anyways, presented without captions (who has time for captions these days?), some process shots from my beast production line:





















Onwards to Friday!

A Collected Collection - The Details

In a mighty feat of strength and mental fortitude, I have spent most of the day in front of the computer, designing various items to do with the show. One's pretty crucial - the invitation!





Apart from getting the invite off to the printer, I also worked for many hours on the book portion of this project. Presented below (with little comment as it is nearing 3am) is a sample spread for my little tome (is that too much of an oxymoron?). It's not fully finished, as there is quite a bit more typesetting to do, but I'm happy with how the spreads are turning out thus far!



And now, sleep, as tomorrow is stuffed full of book design, apartment tidying and, oh right, homework (school started up again this Monday. More on that later). Phew.