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.