shoemaker studio

This is a gallery of one-offs, works in progress and fun projects. It is a place to showcase work that doesn’t fit neatly into a particular category. Many come from my two years of art making and research at City College's Digital and Interdisciplinary Art Practice Program (DIAP). Here I give myself freedom to post pictures that may be taken with a cellphone camera.

LOGOS
I like to make logos that distill my projects into a single image. These range from realistic to abstracted expressions of the work.

The Digital Migration
The Digital Migration is a semester-long project resulting in five proposals for exhibitions. All of my ideas center around "The Digital Migration", a term describing humanities collective movement into our digital technology. The images in this gallery feature the final five exhibition posters. All of the proposals attempt to playfully address aspects of our digital culture, inviting reflection without being overly serious or didactic. To read more about the projects and my research visit the website:

Doodlescape
This was one of my most laborious efforts. The painting contains two "sides"; each of the minuscule figures is abstracted from an initial "doodle shape". I variate insistently on that initial form with pen and then paint a gradient wash of watercolor inside each of the shapes.  The two macro-shapes merge into another form at intersections towards the painting's middle. This meticulous work in gradients intersects my research into our connection with digital devices. In my art practice the gradient has come to symbolize the light cast by our cellphones and also the barren and clinical design preferences of major tech companies. I want to tear the gradient back from the screen and onto the canvas.

Miniatures
Old barn door handles turned into light sculptures.  I took the images of the sculptures and made a tribute drawing to Calder. 

Cellphone Posture Explorations

Arduino Plant Light Sculpture

I made this project with one idea in mind: how to make a large footprint from something small.  Shadows are a good answer to this question.  An Arduino with motion, sound and light detectors controls LED lights (two RGB, one white) built inside of a wooden planter.  The light sensor reacts to the RGBs which are controlled by a sound sensor, creating an unpredictable feedback loop.  Large shadows are cast above and around the plants.  One of these light sculptures can set the mood for a very large space. 

Self Portraits - Dark in the Studio
24" x 17" watercolor on paper. 

Sculptures - Tree and Controller
Made from found wood.  Tree is a light sculpture in my living room whose colors change with the seasons. 

Controller is a piece of found wood with a metal base structure I designed and had welded by a local blacksmith.  The head of the sculpture encases a cellphone, which is used to control the lights in my apartment as well as keep a digital record of my library.