I have been sketching out how I want to go about creating the work. I have created a model as a starting point.

The photo above is my living room that I will use as my base for creating a new living room out of the several photos I have received. The process will take a while, so I don’t expect it to be completed any time soon.

I am dissecting each photo I receive and separating them into sections. Each little piece of everyone’s living room is being put into labeled ziploc bags.

After I collect enough of each piece I will sew them all together into a new living room!

I still need living room photos!

If you or anyone you know has not submitted photos, send them my way. lauren [at] laurenusher.com

Luckily for Tom, Neko and me we were able to take a long vacation a couple of weeks ago. We had straight sun for 2 whole weeks! I actually got a little red on my cheeks. It felt nice to feel the warmth of the sun. For the first week of our trip we visited with my side of the family in Utah. There were nephews galore, food, drinks, hikes, cousins, brothers, sisters, dads, moms, lots of stuff!

Neko likes to feel the wind of her face.

Tennyson is always ready to clean.

For the second week Tom and I visited with his parents at their new cabin in Southern Colorado. They have an awesome plot of land with a 360 degree view. I helped out around the house when I could (they just had a frame and a toilet when we arrived), but spent most of my time laying on the deck watching the clouds role in and out of my view.

The view from the deck of the cabin.

Needless to say, it was hard to adjust when we returned. Back to phones, computers, traffic, people, etc. But, it has been a few weeks and I think I am back into the swing.

Thank you solidwhetstone of reddit.com!

This weekend I discovered that I am becoming my mother because I enjoy watching TV while I fold my clothes.  I have distinct memories of my mother both folding and ironing clothes while watching Oprah.  Oprah was her laundry folding television show of choice.  Law and Order SVU is mine.

Love you mom.

I can’t ever really figure out what makes me make art and what makes me stop for a certain period of time.  For a good amount of time I have had the intention of creating a project with the working title of “A Conversation with my Grandfather.”  The basis of the project is taking photographs with my grandfather’s old camera that was given to me after he died.

Just about 4 days before I was set to graduate college my father called me to tell me that his father had suffered a stroke.  I screamed at the top of my lungs.  I had lost someone that had just begun to become one of my best friends.  We had written each other back and forth while I was in college and had grown to understand each other.  Most of it was me realizing both our vast differences and our great similarities.  I was also old enough to realize that my grandfather had lived for 62 years before I was born and that all of those years influenced who he was.  I understand him even more now, even though he is gone, as I get older.  Generations can grow together when they are willing to accept that they are leading separate lives in the same place.

I have rolls of film taken from my grandfather’s camera, but they are sitting in a drawer in my living room.  I don’t know if it is fear or what, but they have been sitting there for more than a year, waiting to be developed.  And, I know that one or two rolls will not be enough for a strong series of work, so I need to keep photographing.  But, I’m not.  I can give you many many reasons.  I don’t have the time, the energy, I have a lot of things on my plate right now.  But, I am figuring out at this moment that I am afraid.  I am afraid to say goodbye.

But, there is hope for me.  About 15 minutes ago I discovered Briony Campbell and the dad project. She used photography to cope with her dying father.  The artist also created a film which may be viewed HERE. The work is honest, soft, natural, heartfelt and very inspirational.  Just what I needed.

Briony Campbell, photographer

]]> http://laurenusher.com/blog/2010/06/just-the-inspiration-i-needed/feed/ 0 http://laurenusher.com/blog/2010/06/a-transitional-period/ http://laurenusher.com/blog/2010/06/a-transitional-period/#comments Wed, 16 Jun 2010 15:08:27 +0000 lauren http://laurenusher.com/blog/?p=221 My art collaborator, Lisa Rasmussen, and I have been discussing the idea of change for a a few months now.  We have been working on a project called Art is Moving for 2 years now and are loving our success.  Lisa will be moving out of the area in September of this year so the dynamic of our collaboration will inevitably be effected.  We are attempting to practice having a long distance art relationship so that we can continue to be a positive force in the art world and community at large.  At this point we really won’t know what will happen to our project until it happens.  Luckily, we are both fairly easy going women that are not afraid of change.

It seems as though I am going through an individual transition as well.  My own artwork and art concept seem to be shifting.  As I am attempting to live a minimalistic type life I am starting to wonder where art fits in.  By minimalistic I mean, low impact, sustainable, eco friendly and the like.  As I try to limit the amount of new material I purchase for my house and life and increase the amount that I reuse and recycle, it has started to make little sense to by new materials to create art.  About 2 years ago I started a project called Significant Stranger, where I made a rule (as I usually do for my art projects) that all of the material I use for my “canvas” had to have been used by someone else before me.  It tied wonderfully into the concept of the art project, that those in the past have created the world I live in today.

There seems to be another reason my body and mind gravitated towards reusing material. This past week I starting having trouble using linoleum to carve because I cannot find anyone who will recycle the small leftovers that I create.  Although I can’t believe I am saying this, I am going to give up linoleum.  Artists are supposed to be creative, right?  Well it is time to get creative and find some used material to act as my linoleum.  Book pages that are stacked and glued together make great carving boards, old wood from the dump, old doors, drawers, lots of stuff.

If Art is Life and Life is Art it only makes sense that the two should mirror one another entirely.

Since the quilt is made up of newspaper and manila folders, I wanted to protect it with some kind of covering.  I found some old transparencies my husband donated to my “reuse it” pile of materials and it is working out great!  I am sewing the the plastic transparency to the top of the patches and sewing the patches together at the same time.

I don’t know how large the quilt is going to be yet, as I am just sort of organically sewing it together.  That seems to be the way I work when it comes to sewing, I don’t know why.  But, as soon as I am finished I’ll take a photo and show you the final project.

I have contacted a few people down in Fremont in hopes of displaying the quilt when it is finished.  What I would really like is to have it on permanent display somewhere in the city.  I’ll keep you posted (that’s the best pun I have ever made-I know, not very good.)

Last weekend I had a great time celebrating the Earth and its awesomeness.  I went to the city of Fremont and led an Arts and Crafts table where we made patches for a quilt made from recycled materials.  I asked every visitor to take a “swatch” I made from old newspapers, maps, and manila folders and draw, paint or collage what they do to help the earth.

I was really happy with the response and collected several swatches that I will sew into a quilt during the next couple of weeks.

Another great thing about this weekend was the inspiration several people told me they were getting from my table.  One woman told me I made her feel like she could use anything and make art out of it.  I could have passed out!  She got it!  I also had several conversations with people about the environment, recycled, reusing and making art while you do all that.  It was refreshing.

I can’t wait until the quilt is finished!

I just finished the second page of my Red Balloon Series, a story about a young girl and red balloon.  I have been trying to come up with as many scenarios to create prints from.  I know that in the future they will go on a bike ride together, go to school and maybe watch the sunset.  For now, here are the two of them running through a field together.  Looks like fun doesn’t it?

Any suggestions for fun adventures for this young girl and her red balloon friend?

The two newest editions to this custom collection are homes in Sausalito, California.

I have been having a great deal of fun with this project!  I love custom work because you are never bored.  A client always comes up with something you would never think of on your own.  The next drawing involves somewhat of a collage.  She spent time living in two apartment buildings in New York and we decided to draw them together on one piece of paper.  Look for that in the coming weeks.