Category: Art news

Pyropolis Art Guild is hosting their very first Art Show and they need your art to show! The theme is Who Are You, Really? and the guidelines are: “Make a 3-D representation of yourself in animal form”. Avoid moopy or toxic materials- otherwise, go wild.

The show is open to EVERYONE- feel free to encourage your littles to participate.

To be part of the Art Show, register here ASAP.

If you’re not sure what to make, watch the first episode of the first season of Making It for inspiration.

The show will take place on February 29th, 2020, from 4-7pm at Lloyd the Warehouse. We will bring some nibbles and drinks but please feel free to bring some as well! And wear your fancy art show clothes (or not)!

Please email pyropolis.art.guild@gmail.com with questions

Event page:  https://www.facebook.com/events/716952265378303/

1.       What inspired you to create this art piece? 

 I enjoy light, so I hoped to create a space where people could revel in the light during the evenings.

2.       What do you hope people get out of your piece?

An interesting sight?  A comfy place to sit?  The next viral instagram background?  I try not to have expectations, I hope the viewers do not have expectations either.

3.       Are there any stories/lessons learned that came out of the creation of this piece?

Always make sure your LEDs have multiple redundant data lines.  i.e.  use the 2815 strips over the 2811.

4. Is there anyone you’d like to thank or acknowledge?

All the fun people that I have danced with at Flipside over the years.

1.       What inspired you to create this art piece?

At least four inspirations led me to this project. I’m sure there will be more by the time I’m finished. The progress photo is only a small sneak peek of the final product. I was first inspired by an installation at Hopscotch that used these awesome LED balls, so I wanted to do something with those. I was then inspired at the envelope making art night to abandon my original project idea and think of something that would be more permanent and that I could use as a test right for future art project. I was then inspired by the envelop art that Anna Rosethal posted to the Flipizen page. I asked her if I could use her design as inspiration for a piece, and she happily agreed. I was then inspired by a passage from Sartre’s book Nausea to come up with the name: 

“It took my breath away. Never, up until these last few days, had I suspected the meaning of “existence.” I was like the others, like the ones walking along the seashore, wearing their spring clothes. I said, like them, “The sea is green; that white speck up there is a seagull,” but I didn’t feel that it existed or that the seagull was an “existing seagull”; usually existence conceals itself. It is there, around us, in us, it is us, you can’t say two words without mentioning it, but you can never touch it.”

2.       What do you hope people get out of your piece?

I hope people see the blinky lights from a distance, wander over to take a closer look, and are inspired to light up the night themselves. If they see me wandering around and messing with the lights, I hope they come chat and learn how everything works. I’m also hoping to see everyone else’s blinky blinks out at the art piece on Saturday night at 10. I’m having a Blinken Thangs Gathering there and would love to chat about all things that go blink in the night. 

3.       Are there any stories/lessons learned that came out of the creation of this piece?

I learned a ton: 1) This is a great community with lots of people willing to help; 2) Folks here will show you how to use a hydraulic saw, which is super cool; 3) International wire transfers are super expensive, so it’s best to just ask if the owner of the LED company in South Africa has a PayPal account; 4) I can fit 10 foot sticks of steel in my tiny ass car; 5) It’s cheaper and safer to buy lighting truss than to try and fabricate it yourself; 6) and so much more that I’d love to chat about on site.    

4. Is there anyone you’d like to thank or acknowledge?

I’d like to thank Chris Hudson who helped me and at least one other project out. Dude isn’t even going to Flipside and is still giving his time to provide resources and expertise that is needed for burner art. He helped me work through tests of the design, welded it up, and more. This piece definitely wouldn’t have come together as I imagined without him. I’d also like to thank Ignition Philter for assisting financially in the project. It definitely helps motivate me to have all y’all as patrons. I’d also like to thank my family for putting up with all the crap I’ve had strewn around the house for the past several weeks. They might encourage me to do something burnable in the future because it’s all coming back on Monday.  

1.       What inspired you to create this art piece? 

This art piece was inspired by the old-timey “Rain Oil Lamps” that used to be in maybe your grandma’s house, hung in a corner. They were typically a few feet tall, used a small motor to pump oil up and drip it down the clear lines with a small garden or statue inside.

2.       What do you hope people get out of your piece?

Our hope that people will stop and look at our piece for a moment to be mesmerized by its beauty.  This typically follows next by how does this thing work? The secret, it uses a fountain pump and then the power of gravity to drip down an astonishing pattern that is relaxing and calming. The LED light show intensifies the experience by lighting up each drip of oil like a tiny universe.

3.       Are there any stories/lessons learned that came out of the creation of this piece?

We learned that mineral oil is very oily! (Duh) But seriously, we have to clean our machine thoroughly after each use otherwise it is quite a mess!

4. Is there anyone you’d like to thank or acknowledge? 

The Art Team that built this project knows they are appreciated, we also want to thank anybody who stops by and spends some time with the Ultra Rain Lamp!

My name is Cristina Sims, Camp SimWittEd, and my project is called “The Beat.”

What inspired me?

This installation is inspired by the authors that shaped my worldview as a young seeker. The ideas and items presented capture my fascination with the archetype of “the writer”. Sometimes lonely, usually tormented and always a voice that defies and challenges. I have created this desk as an alter to that romanticized figure in my mind. 

What do I hope people get out of the piece?

I want people to sit and explore; experience the vibe. There are stories to read and stories to tell. The typewriter awaits! Write a poem, have a smoke, read a passage and inspire the mind to know. There are gifts to find and mysteries to uncover all while the sweet sound of jazz fills the air.

What did I learn?

The installation became a voyeuristic experience for me and transformed my expectations about the what I had created. As I watched, the piece became less about the objects and arrangement and more about the grace of the lingering cigarette smoke, the way the lamp light glows on the curve of her neck, the sound of the keys clacking when a fevered idea goes onto paper and the items that were left behind as offerings. It came to life in a way that surpassed my intention and imagination. 

I would like to thank Nessa Reed for sewing the desk covering and my dear, sweet husband Jason for his unwavering support for all my endeavors. 

I would like to dedicate this installation to my mother, Martha, a well read woman.

*This piece is in need of support/help. For details, please see: https://www.burningflipside.com/art-project/wish

1.       What inspired you to create this art piece? 

The Winter Games closing ceremony in Korea.

2.       What do you hope people get out of your piece?

A sense of whimsy, an appreciation of nature, a visual kaleidoscopic experience.

3.       Are there any stories/lessons learned that came out of the creation of this piece?

There is never enough time to get things perfect, “Done is better than perfect.” ~CidKid

4. Is there anyone you’d like to thank or acknowledge? 

The Art grant crews for PDF and Transformus were pivotal in creating this piece, thanks!

1.       What inspired you to create this art piece? 

I wanted to “build a big one” ( it had been awhile). I don’t honestly know why a giraffe…I’ve joked that my recent trip to Japan inspired it (Japan…giraffes…yeah, right…). The one item that set the scale is a leg from a wood burning stove, that became the bridge of the nose.

2.       What do you hope people get out of your piece?

 A sense of fun! Inspiration to create something themselves.

3.       Are there any stories/lessons learned that came out of the creation of this piece?

 I’ve learned a lot of safety lessons over the years, working in metal. Eye protection, ear protection, leather gloves. Nothing loose around your neck, an angle grinder could strangle you if your scarf gets caught in it. Bandana, I value the little bit of hair I have and burning hair smells awful. Always with the heavy closed shoes, pant cuffs *over* the tops of the boots, never tucked in, etc. I do have a bad habit of working in short sleeves (it gets hot in a metal shop in Texas, yo)…got the scars on my arms to prove it. Overall this was an enjoyable, comfortably paced work. The most annoying part was rethinking an aspect that was a PITA to change after the fact, it would have been so easy to do before it got “caged in” by the skinning.

4. Is there anyone you’d like to thank or acknowledge? 

My mother, for birthing me. In all seriousness, I work alone. I love incorporating bits from other people’s art, so a special shout out is due to Prost for supplying the hinges, they were part of his Calavera project that went to TTITD in 2014 (it’s taken me awhile to figure out how I wanted to use them). There will be immense gratitude for whomever helps me get this 7.5’ tall heavy af piece out of the shop and onto the trailer!