Whenever I throw myself into a large project, my studio suffers. I go into a frenzied state of just trying to get it done right and on time; I can put this away later and find a home for that tomorrow. Apparently this isn't uncommon amongst artists, as I've shared this gripe with several friends in the last week.
Common or not, I've spent the last five days in and out of my studio, cutting the fat and gifting what I haven't had a use for (and honestly don't think I ever will), vacuuming feathers and organizing. It's an extremely tight space and I have amassed an impressive collection of trinkets in the course of my life, so keeping this room functional takes some creative organizing.
Anyway, here's my desk. I intend to upgrade soon but this little guy gets the job done for now. All my eye candy is posted on the wall in front of me, as well as the measurements I hastily scrawl onto it when skinning specimen. To the left is one of my freezers.
The drawer is organized with all the tools/embellishments I need for finishing touches.
Below is my extremely high-tech trinket organization system. Over time the labels need to be changed to reflect my inventory. It feels great to have finally updated the system.
Things I collect:
Another highlight: my closet. It wasn't meeting its potential before, so I moved a bookshelf into it and got cracking.
Bones, skins, mannequins, solvents/chemicals, dehydrated specimen, all live here as well as a few early stabs at the whole taxidermy thing.
And that's my studio, in a nutshell. I plan on moving to a bigger space in the next year but why not make the most of my humble, quaint little room while I still occupy it?
Now that I'm all clean and organised, I can focus on whats next, like hats to wear at the derby, and several orders for some very , very patient clients.
A few weeks ago I skinned a rabbit for a future project and froze the meat until the time was right for a meal. That time was two days ago when I accidentally defrosted said rabbit and not the ground raw rabbit meal intended for the cats. Still coming out of my derby stupor (amongst other jobs) I threw my human food rabbit into a marinade comprised of a Budweiser (door prize beer; my husband and his friends play this game of leaving a shitty beer in the fridge door for one another. I don't drink beer so I don't get it, apparently) and agave syrup with a healthy dash of salt and bay leaves. My anemic culinary muscle twitched and I hoped fo the best.
I searched for a rabbit recipe on one of my husband's favorite blogs, Glutton for Life. This yielded a fascinating entry about Welsh Rarebit, with instructions, so I hastily ("I'm late, I'm late!" ) jotted down the crap I needed to buy and caught the train to whatever job I had to work that day.
That day turned into a clusterfuck of late trains and rainy weather and I had to walk too far carrying too much in the cold to even talk about. Regardless, it was one of those times where I was eager for a hot meal consisting of warm meat and butter and bread. Then I really read the recipe and laughed at myself.
There is no rabbit in Welsh Rarebit.
I don't know if it's a joke or what but there was no turning back at this point. I put the meat on a skillet and just figured I could incorporate it into the meal.
That is Jim showing me how to "stream" liquid in to the pan. Apparently I wasn't doing it right.
When it was all said and done, the whole thing seemed to me like a glorified shit on a shingle.
The color and consistency were drab, gross, even... but the taste was dripping with warm, fatty blissful COMFORT.
Jim took a picture from his side of the table of me eating. He was kind enough to greet me at the door with a towel and my bathrobe, which I was still wearing come dinner time. This image would perfectly encapsulate the idea of warm and cozy nights, except my hands are so fucked up. I hurt them a bit with all the delicate work I've done on Derby stuff (plus aerial training) the last few weeks but JESUS, I've never wanted to go to finishing school more than I do now, looking at my awkward paws man-handling the fork and knife like some savage. If I'm ever going to famous I need to be composed around a table setting, for crying out loud.
So that's the Diamond Tooth version of Welsh Rarebit. It was tasty, gooey and good. Not good enough to repeat, but a moment in time worth noting nonetheless.
I love horses. I've never wanted to own one, I don't even really enjoy riding them...rather, I prefer observing them. I could watch a horse move for hours. In my eyes, there is no more perfect example of the balance between strength and agility, brute force and beauty. I also love horse people. There is something in their blood perhaps, that I can relate to. Seeing as all things equestrian tend to be on the financially steep side, one would think that there would be a sort of elitist vibe that could frighten a Bohemian artist such as myself. I couldn't find that notion further from the truth though. At every equine event I've attended, I've found myself amongst free-spirited individuals who appreciate a good quirk much more than the proverbial next guy.
That said, it only seems logical to take my love over state lines and partake in "the most exciting two minutes in sports", AKA the Kentucky Derby. I must confess, the thought hadn't even occurred to me until my sister in law, Danielle, (who dreams big and accomplishes bigger, see here) suggested it over Thanksgiving dinner. I set my sights on Churchhill Downs for 2011 and since then have worked tirelessly with my miracle worker/facilitator of dreams Meredith Lindemon of Meredith Communications to make it so. She dove headfirst into the task of getting me not just into the Derby but fully immersed in the entire event. Contacts were made, sponsorships were proposed. We worked out this and that, revised the product, toiled and troubled until about a month ago when the pace began to pick up. Before I knew it I was presented with a ten day deadline to create 4 custom hats for a silent auction and 75 (seventy five!) hand-crafted brooches, hair pins nad combs for gift bags at the Julep Ball.
Remember Barbaro?
I was searching for a Derby related video to include in this post and I fell down the rabbit hole of Barbaro tributes. I am stunned at just how many of these videos exist (also at how graphic and injury-focused most of them are) and overwhelmed with emotion recalling how the love that so many of us felt for this heroic creature united us that Summer.
And now it's all done and my little army is en route to Kentucky. I will be following suite next month to attend the Ball as well as Kentucky Oaks and the Derby. Of course I'll need to create something to wear to these events but for the moment I'm going to get a full nights rest and come up for air. I just wanted to share photos of the newly minted Diamond Tooth Millenary 2011 Derby Line and take a moment to thank these people:
Jim my husband, who never complained while his home turned into a feather filled factory and graciously relieved me of most domestic duties. Oh, and he happens to be an awesome photographer who shoots all my work for me.
My folks, who have proven to me time and time again that if you ask, you shall receive. Not just because they're kind, but because they believe in me.
Danielle, my aforementioned sister-in-law who gave me the idea in the first place.
Daniel Wilbur, proprietor of Wilbur Vintage who would open up his shop early for me and patiently allow me to paw through his trinkets in my attempts to amass enough charms with which to adorn all of my creations.
Bailey (and all my chicken friends!), aka chicken master; without his donations I wouldn't have had any medium to work with.
Gregory Andrew Powell, millenatrix extraordinaire and my arch nemesis who was kind enough to momentarily bury the poison-tipped hat pins and share some of his wisdom.
And of course Meredith, who wasn't afraid to push me to reach higher even while I was being a brat.
Sun Hat:
This a Panama hat embellished with fancy chicken and peacock feathers, swiss dot horse hair and antique veil.
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Summer Beret:
This little beret is composed of fancy chicken and ostrich feathers, swiss dot horse hair and a vintage brooch.
Oh and look! Leather tags!
Fascinator:
A little something to enhance your up-do; made of fancy chicken wing and peacock feathers, antique ceiling and vintage pearl beads.
Comb:
That is the back of the comb; it's a tricky shot since there's so much going on. I used an antique comb from 1920 and embellished it with the tail feathers of a fancy chicken, some peacock, and a vintage crystal necklace. I added a poof of antique French veil.
Below is the front. This one is a real doozy.
Brooches:
These are a few examples from the gift bag items. I used 24K plated stick pins as the bases and each one is one of a kind and infused with my heart.
Combs:
The bases for these are silver plated combs; each one is lovingly hand crafted.
Hairpin:
Only 5 of these; silver plated base with vintage jewelry embellishments.
Andria Bibiloni, 28, of New York, ceased to exist on Mar. 23, 2011 in Philadelphia, where she lived since 2000. A visual artist and educator, she strove through her work to facilitate a dialog about sociopolitical and interpersonal issues. Known for riding her Blasterbike, 2007, in the streets of Philadelphia, her departing wish was to be displayed riding a bigger, louder, and heavier soundblasting vehicle. Beth Beverly of Diamond Tooth Taxidermy will be handling the preparations for the viewing, which takes place at the Rotunda in University City on Sunday March 27 from 3-5 pm. Guests are invited to stay for refreshments.
As anyone who works in a creative field knows, an artist must occasionally supplement her income with tedious, unglamorous jobs such as working gigs on cruise ships down in the West Indies every now and again. Tiny violins, I hear them.
The down side is, while living on board said cruise ships, no taxidermy gets done. Virtually nothing gets done, since I live in a room the size of a pocket and internet connections are sparse and sporadic at that. So my apologies, all five of you who read my blog and have perhaps checked in over the last two weeks wondering where I am. I've been busy acquiring a tan that would make the cast of Jersey Shore green.
Upon my return to dry land,I have hit the ground running, so to speak. I am in the midst of some prep (some, HA!) for a really big-time dream project with a deadline that is making me laugh or cry depending on what state of self-medication I am in, I have a thousand or so loose ends to tie up for a performance piece next weekend (I'll post about that shortly) and I'm rehearsing for an aerial dance gig just three weeks away! Yes, I am a circus performer also. Someday, my passions will merge together and this will all make sense. For now, here are some images of samples I made for my mega-project that may or may not be a secret at this point. Feast your eyes:
Next up: more details on my collaborative performance piece with local artist Andria Biblioni.
I was recently commissioned to create a custom flight-of-fancy-hat for a friend's mother. It was a birthday present and, seeing as the giftee shares the same big day as yours truly, I poured even more love and care into this piece.*
I was given the parameters of a making a piece that was a bird alit on a wide-brimmed hat and given creative freedom as far as the rest goes. I found this lovely sun hat made from woven horse hair and got to work on a recently sourced hen from my dear chicken master buddy. She was rather large- a little too large for this purpose, but I was so enamoured with her coloring I plowed ahead and taxied the skin onto a smaller, altered form. I posed her to be perched, curious, holding back part of the brim with her wing; almost an extension of the wearer's head.
I gave her a pair of oversized eyes and lined them with crystals, as well as embellishing the original coat with some brighter pheasant feathers. A gold and diamond chain around the brim completes the look.
Look at that beautiful fuzzy bum! The blueish feathers underneath the tail are the pheasant accents.
I added a poof of white with some belly down at the end of the chain, and called it a day. Well, there were some structural issues to address but I took care of those earlier. When one is wearing such a monumental structure on one's head, it helps to have straps on the ready to hold said structure into place. I rather enjoy the pomp and circumstance of dressing up in this way-having an entire creature on my head makes me taller, it makes me stand up straighter, and I am so much more aware of how I move my head. It feels very elegant. I am eager to see how well my birthday sister and recipient of this gift wears it.
