OUR GENEROUS DONORS

THANKS TO THESE GENEROUS DONORS FOR MATERIALS TO MAKE THE IUSARTCAR A REALITY.  We've received a gift card from Home Depot to purchase necessary materials, such as exterior paints, adhesive and grout for the stained glass, and other essentials.  Carpet Remnant Outlet for the new carpeting for the IUSARTCAR, and Preston Art Center for their huge range of paint colors and brushes for the interior attention to the Steampunk vision. Rainbows Stained Glass has made generous contributions of beautiful stained glass for the back window.Thank you all.

We welcome any donations that might be beneficial to our project: old clocks or clock parts, brass/copper fixtures of any kind, old mannequins, tubing (like vacuum cleaner hoses), used pens, pencils, brushes; anything that has a Victorian flair, old gauges or anything that has a gauge-look, old oriental carpeting 6' x 13' or linoleum that looks like oriental carpeting, blue velvet or velour - at least 14 yds, small frames (the more ornate the better, and the more the better)...or anything that sounds like the aesthetic hinted at above.

Again, sincere thanks to our three first and major donors. We hold a special place in our hearts for each of you. 

The Rear Window (so far)

Pre-Halloween

Kristy working on the stained glass window.
Hmmm....
RED!!!  That's a showroom color for sure.
Kristy, Randy, and Ben surveying the logistics of bumper removal.
Ben crawling under the van to unlock the back bumper.

When I got to Mellwood today, there was a crew working on the stained glass window and the side of the van was getting a coat of RED!!!  It's a very bright red, even I can see that it's red, which is pretty good for someone whose visual history has not included that hue. RED!!! Something will happen to it I'm sure....I hope.....there is a plan, right?

Kristy and I finished it up after I got back with two more cans of RED!  Ben and Randy stopped by to pull the back bumper and haul it over to the studio on campus.  Ben's casts are looking really good, although I've only seen a few, I'm confident that there'll be two impressive 3-D tableaux of Debra's face and Ben's hands adorning those bumpers after all is said and done.

Samantha came by with all kinds of goodies that she and Pasqualle found at Goodwill, and a very generous supply of studio materials donated by Preston Art Center, Inc.  We should be able to really tackle the interior with this full palette of colors.  Thanks, Prestons!!

I will be doing portfolio reviews at Manual High School tomorrow, so I'll be scarce around Mellwood.  However, tomorrow looks to be a very warm day and with those friendly temperatures, I'm hopeful that many of you will be over making a big dent, maybe you could take a break to run by Galerie Hertz to see my exhibition.

We still need more rooftop still-life materials, and those of you who are going to work with Scott on getting that put together might run up to his office tomorrow and see if he can come down to the space and give you some pointers.  It may also be a good idea to put it together before it all gets painted as contact/adhesive points may not hold as well if it's all painted gold beforehand, although those points could be sanded.

One last thought, try to be more mindful of the prep work you're doing especially if you're spraying paint.  Kristy and I had to redo some areas that were not masked out or that were masked too much.  Part of the hood had to be repainted, a tire, part of the roof, the windows scraped. Rather than having to do a lot of back-tracking, think through what you're doing so as not to interfere with someone else's work. It'll save us a lot of time. 

What's New?

We have a few computer issues happening on Steve's end this week (last week it was mine), but Steve is trying to get it resolved soon so we'll have more images to post, I hope, by the weekend.

Laurel has obtained a 'gift card' from Home Depot for materials, such as paints, grout, and adhesives.  Laurel has done an excellent job getting donations for this project.  I'll start a "donors" section soon as we now have two donors to the IUSARTCAR project.  I'll be posting their corporate logos soon so those who are visiting our blog might stop by those establishments and get some stuff for their own art cars.

Anyone have access to E6000 adhesive, bring it over with you, the more the sticky-merrier.

Where are those mannequins?  How about those pens, pencils, and brushes?  How about those clock parts? Vacuum cleaner hoses? Or bring the clocks and we'll mine for the parts.  Any old type-writers out there? The back tail gate has ben claimed and there are serious plans for that space, this has apparently been an agreement with those who've been at Mellwood on a consistent basis.   Check with Laurel or Kaitlin for details.  Remember that this is a collaborative project, so if you do something that's not 'part of the plan', you may find it covered with rubber duckies the next time you stop by to work.

The weekend is forecast to be warm (70 degrees) and it may be our last opportunity, our last possibility to work comfortably. This past week has been pretty chilly.  You may want to coordinate a work-party that moves the project into a very productive direction.  You can communicate with each other by using an old email from me, eliminate me from the list if you'd like to make plans that don't include me, my feelings won't be hurt. Then I can just be surprised when I stop by at some point over the weekend.   Although to be honest,  it would be nice to see more consideration happening in the back interior, that activity was not considerate of the Steamerpunk idea that had been embraced or the assignments that had been distributed. REMEMBER, it's collaborative, you're looking for consensus, you're creating something as a community that says something about you as artists who are working collaboratively.  If you're working independently of everyone else, you're taking away someone else's creative opportunities.  Everyone has some 'grunt work' and everyone has some 'creative work'...like Obama, "spread the wealth."(chuckle)

Saturday's Working Session

Our work session on Saturday was a little under-whelming, since there were only four of us there, but we did get some things done in the absence of a quorum.  Pacalle had the canvas and was pinning it to fit the front seats and discussed some things that are needed for the Steampunk interior theme.  She's sent out a call to all of us for those materials, such as clocks, small picture frames, vaccum cleaner tubing, wire, old type-writers, etc.  We have to start getting some of these materials to the space so we know what we're working with.  Also, our brushes, pencils, and pens collection is mimimal at best.  BRING MATERIALS WITH YOU WHEN YOU COME TO THE SPACE!!!  Nate, Adam, and I worked on the hood, applying a blue undercoat with a nice blend coming in from the edges (starting to think flames would be fun....nay). Scott is going to help put together the still-life sculpture that we'll be mounting on the top, so someone needs to get those materials from the drawing studio and supplement it with other materials that you feel would make an engaging still life and bring it all over.  Have you all checked out the thrift stores, Salvation Army stores, Good Will, any place where you can gather some interesting materials?  Your garages, attics, and basements? Can anyone bring caulking guns?  I can pick up the adhesives. As our time is getting short, we may have to have a definite division of work so that those of you who come over to watch can actually have a part in this process.  Right now we need action more than an audience.  The interior needs to have some color, and there are lots of jars of acrylics on hand and lots of surfaces on which you can paint images, patterns, self-portraits, anything...... 

A PRODUCTIVE DAY (for the most part)

Our new art car...thanks, Kristy.
Brian and Kristy surveying the prospects.
Amanda touching up the lift-gate.
Brian spiraling, but not enabling.
Kristy on the interior.
Ohhhh, that's cool.
Brent cutting glass.
Brent and Laurel finding the muse.

I think the interior is finally primed, although I'll double check it tomorrow (Friday), and the carpet removed (dust masks were in order).  Maybe there'll be some activity while I'm gone, but I'll check in at Mellwood when I return at 4:00-ish to see how the transformation is going and if it progressed any.

We're continuing the spiral from the tires along each side of the lower door panels, so the template that we used on the tires was also used for some multiple overlapping florescent spirals (repetition is our friend).  They turned out pretty nice, layering and spraying along that surface with yellow, orange, blue, and green.  The outside rear-view mirrors were started, one picks up the colors of the spirals and may contain a ruby (no, not a real one), and the other has a diamond that will soon sparkle.  Some started working on the hood and I'm not really sure what they decided, but it will NOT have a "snap" on it (that's what we call conflict resolution). Appropriating images and/or slogans from popular culture will age too fast and be too cliche too soon. Think original (to the extent that we can).

The interior is all acrylic/laytex, the exterior all oil.  Oil-based paints clean up with mineral spirits, laytex with soap/water.  The two don't mix, so don't think that they will. The bucket of water that we dip into is for the laytex/acrylic, washing hands, etc. The two cans of mineral spirits are for cleaning up the oil based stuff.

A new shiny black car owned by one of the artcar enthusiasts was branded today with florescent pink, their name sprayed across the hood (yikes!), the "sprayer" feared that the police would show up at his door this evening (we'll see, and if we don't see him for a few days, we'll know why).  Before I realized what was going on it was done, so there was no stopping it.  So we actually have two art cars in process.  A brave soul!

Progress was made on the rear window, the template was placed and the essential lines traced onto the glass for mounting the stained glass (again, picking up on the spirals, Van Gogh had an eye for spirals). It'll be a beautiful feature.

Working in the space requires materials.  I've hauled over a bunch of stuff, but extra newspaper would be good, bring some over. Brushes, exactos, any colored enamels, stuff for the steamer-punk interior, think it through.  We didn't touch the dashboard area so the steamer-punk crew can begin addressing that tomorrow maybe, and there were a few people who said they had things to contribute to that theme. There are a lot of color available as I brought over all of my jars of acrylic color.  They can be mixed with the can of white for tints.  There are also brushes available, but if you have favorites, bring them. Someone will be working on the tail-lights decals for the IUS logo. 

We need to start putting together the drawing studio still-life materials to mount to the roof. It all needs to be arranged and somehow bolted together as one piece (without the bolts/attaching mechanism showing, figure it out). If it's going to be "GOLD", how about a royal blue base? Maybe royal blue that fades to deep red? Ohhhhh., that would be so nice with a gold-leaf still life.  Maybe measuring the length of the roof will help to establish the length of the still life.

I understand there's an artcar working-party at the space on Saturday.  I'll be by to see how much fun we're having.  

Where We Are

Steve rolling the roof.
Where we are now.

The exterior in now a 'primed canvas' and ready for painting, adhering, stenciling, whatever you want to do. Keep in mind that the surface is oil-based, so if you're painting, used an oil-based paint.  If you're adhering, sand the area to receive the glue. If you're drawing, the surface should work really well since it's a flat white.

The interior is about ready, although it would be good to get the painting/priming completed, and that carpet out in as close to one piece as possible to use as a template for the new stuff. The seats have been measured and I have donated canvas for the new coverings.  Pascalle and Samantha are working on that.  Brent and Laurel will be working on the stained glass, Ben on the faces. What are you doing?

You all need to decide what's happening to the exterior and what's needed to get it done.  I think right now the only things that have been brought over are the things I brought and the few brushes that Randy brought over.  So we definitely need more pencils, pens, and brushes donations. We'll also need some newspaper to cover the windows for any spray work, bring the morning paper with you on Thursday.  

DEBRA'S CASTING

Debra's face was cast this afternoon so that Ben could do a variable edition of it for mounting on the bumpers, and any where else we may find to put a face.  And since we are the fortunate beneficiaries of her generous contribution to the project (the van), it seems only fitting that her face be 'plastered' across the front and back.   Clay and printmaking seems like a fun combination ( a dirty variable edition, get it?). Steve will include the entire process in his portfolio "Steve's Take", so stay tuned.  It'll be beautiful, I'm sure, especially since we got the slide show up and running.  In the meanwhile, Ben will create a multiple of Debra's 'portraits' and I think he's planning on other "body parts" to also incorporate for an interaction that's not so repetitious.  "Identifying" parts, he says.  He has the bumper in the clay studio.  Stay tuned.

WERE IN!!!

Thursday, Oct. 16: Several of us met today at Mellwood.  The rent has been paid!!!! The van was moved into the space and we attacked it: taping out the essentials we wanted to protect; beginning to prime the interior; figuring out how to remove the seats in order to remove the carpet (we want to use it for a template); untangling the bead screen; removing hubcaps and bumpers (Ben has that on campus to measure for Debra's face molds), discussing the logitstics of the antenna/brush; how the tire-spirals will work...and exploring the rooftop (not of the van, but of Mellwood), which seems to be an interesting rendezvous spot as indicated by some left-over evidence.  It was a pretty fast and furious two hours.  However, we need to figure out how to find bigger chunks of time to get this in a presentable form by December 4. I'll post some images from today after Steve processes.  I saw him several times crawling around in the belly of Mellwood shooting our antics. I also spoke with Rob about some exterior primers (he's my car restorer guru), and I'll look for his suggestions tomorrow (Friday) before I go over...I'll be there around 1:00-ish, so if anyone is available, c'mon over. Thanks to Alan Evil for the warning about the leaky ceiling and to Conrad Bladey (peasant) for all kinds of adhesion tips (see THINKTANK II). Hope to see some of you tomorrow.

We need: some cat litter to absorb some the oil on the floor (anyone have cats?); newspaper to mask out windows; more pens, brushes, and pencils donations (Randy brought in a small stash);...  

Thursday, October 16 (posted the 15th): We'll be meeting at Mellwood.  I'm meeting Debra at 9:00 a.m. to move the van there and then I'll be taking her back to her place so she can get her regular auto to get to campus. I'll see the rest of you in the 12:20-ish range.  Bring anything you've collected for the cause.  We can get things taped out we want to protect like the windows, and start on the interior (removing carpet and getting it measured.).  I don't know if Susan and Donna have sorted the drawing still-life materials, but someone might check with them to see if there's some of that to bring over.  We'll need some tools to take off bumpers for Ben to work with, bring what you can to accomplish that, keep in mind that we'll have to put them back on.  I haven't (obviously) scanned the sketches yet, but will within the next few days. I've been busy getting ready for my exhibit that opens on Sunday at Galerie Hertz.  The reception if from 1:00-4:00, so please stop by if you have the time.  It's new work I've done while on my sabbatical last year.

Later in the day: The above images will show the transformation of the studio space that Brian and Scott accomplished in a fairly short period of time.  Not only sweeping up the debris, but also driving and pushing the other two art cars out of the space.  In the third image you can see the one art car that we pushed out of the studio across Mellwood avenue into the gravel lot. 

Scott was a big help in getting the space ready for us.

There were a lot of decisions made a few days ago, some examples: Ben is going to cast Debra's face for a clay mold to line the bumpers, he'll manipulate each one so they'll be a little different, he's also going to address the antenna, it'll be a paint brush, and he's going to spiral the tires (thanks, Ben); Brent, Laurel and company will create a stained glass image of Van Gogh's, Starry Night, for the back window, they're working out the logistics of applying and stabilizing the image (thanks, Laurel and Brent).  This is an experienced glass group and they assured us it could be done by December 4 (that's our initial deadline); Samantha and Pascalle are going to start working on the seat covers, Although we may start referring to them as something different. They both have textile experience and can bring a new point of view to "seat covers" (thanks Samantha and Pascalle).  We need pens, pencils, and brushes donations. Please give what you can!  Bring them to my office or to Mellwood.  The Drawing program is donating some of the old still-life materials, such as old mannequin parts and other still-life materials that are not used very much but have been drawn a lot over the years (thanks Susan and Donna for sorting out those materials).  I have a lot of sketches, some of which I'll post in THINKTANK II when I get some room to breath.

Would loved to have had more help in the studio, may have to find a hot tub to soak off the car pushing....ohhhhh, I found one!

See you Thursday at the Mellwood space, and don't forget your magical camera and eye, Steve.

We Have Carpet

Laurel has a commitment from a carpet store to supply us with navy auto floor covering.  She spoke with the store manager about linoleum and he thought the carpet would be easier to install over the corrugated floor of the van.  Navy sounds kind of nice and offers all kinds of possibilities for interior changes, especially if we can get some clashing compliments in there. Pascalle, any ideas for seat covers?  Laurel is also going to meet with the store manager at Home Depot today. Good luck, Laurel. 

Art Car Central

We've gotten a great plug on Art Car Central and linked to it, so there'll be folks from all over keeping up with our progress.  Take some time and browse that site, there's a lot there to fuel our inspiration.  See you all tomorrow.

CHECK OUT:

www.artcar.blogspot.com

SANDING DAY: Final thoughts

Randy, Sarrah, Samantha, Pascalle, Kate, and Ben sanding the finish off the van.
Ben removing Caravan.  Sadly the Dodge emblem went as well in spite of my pleas.  I presented it to Debra.
The roughened finish.

The finish was ripped off the van today by almost everyone in the group.  We now have better pictures after our official photographer, Steve, processed his shots (see above).  Here are a few that I shot that are not near as fun.  I'm glad that we have also have good shot of Amanda sitting on top of the van with her palm sander buzzing.  I think we got the entire surface roughened in about an hour.  Debra looked out the window after we were finished to see how we had transformed her van and initially couldn't find it; she was still thinking shiney green.  Now it's dull grey.   

THINKTANK II

The sketches below are some of those generated a few days ago.  I didn't post them all since many weren't sketches words and were not legible after scanning.  If you click on the images you should get a larger version.  I personally like the idea of painting a "still-life" on the hood of the car.  We have some flat white Rustoleum that would make a good paint surface, but we'll have to use enamels or oils since our exterior base is enamels and will not be very stable for laytex/arcylic.  Oil based would work and then clear-coated.  There is also the idea of adding "art quotes" from everyone in inconspicuous areas, either your quotes or from your readings about artists and their work.  There was a Lowrider idea; hmmmm.  Creating a still life on the tops of the roof with discarded materials from the drawing studio.  Those old mannequin parts spray painted a brilliant gold might be nice?  We have some florescent colors now (spray); the beads are almost untangled, and the interior is almost 'primed', some activity between now and Tuesday would be a big plus for the cause.

SEE COMMENTS SECTION

Thinktank II is our current arena for honing a plan of attack.  I will see to it that visuals get posted, but you have to see to it that ideas get discussed and executed.

So here we go, the IUSARTCAR is going to be an Artcar. The green theme is abandoned, replaced by a near consensus artists expressing art for the sake of art, in the name of art, and for the love of art.

The second prep phase (wash me was the first) will be Thursday, October 9, from 12:20-1:10 at the same loading dock behind ceramics.  We're going to knock that glistening finish off and get it ready for paint, adhesives, and even some interior design considerations. Bring any materials that you feel would expedite the process.  Also, take a look at the wikihow website: www.wikihow.com/Create-an-Art-Car, there are some good and valuable tips here for us.

Update: There are some great shots from Steve, but I'm trying to figure out how to present them as a slideshow so they don't take us so much physical space.  Maybe I can archive the first batch so the second batch of you all in the studio could be posted in that spot. Lemme see....

OK, let's go......