New Year, Time to Reaccess the Blog// Intro

So my blogging for the past few months has been scarce at best. What can I say? I got married in May and what was inside this maker's mind was love, love, love...and I don't think you come here for that.

So, I am working with Frankie Flood this semester, and luckily he is pushing us to blog about our work and create more of a web presence for ourselves, which is a personal goal of mine too, so I'm pretty excited about blogging this year. I'm really excited and hope to blog more frequently, and often, even if there isn't much, I will still try and put up a picture or two. My other blog, Objectified Bodies, will function as more of a critical blog, addressing the subjects that I am interested in and currently researching, so if you don't get enough here, please take a look over there and I'll try and get a new post up soon.

Intro

For those of you who do not know me, my name is Sarah Holden. I am a second-year graduate student at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, under the direction of Frankie Flood and Yevgeniya Kaganovich. I moved to Wisconsin last year from Virginia, where I received my BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University. UWM and Milwaukee seemed like the right fit for me for a lot of reasons, but mostly because I saw the future of this program. I can't really explain it, but I can tell something big is going to happen here in a few years, and I really wanted to be a part of that. Milwaukee also reminds me of Richmond, where I lived for 6 years, and I really loved it there, so I figured even if everything else was going to be different (and it definitely was, and still is) at least I could find comfort in looking at the raw beauty of an industrial town that's got some real history to it.

As far as life plans go, I'd say I plan to get my MFA and then go make art. Hopefully sucessfully enough to support myself. I am teaching an intro metals course this semester for the first time, so I'll have to keep you updated on the teaching front, whether that is something that I want to do right away, but I can already feel like it is going to be. Just from the slim amount of experience I've had so far, I can tell you there is something about showing someone how to do something for the first time, or seeing how happy someone is when they know they can make something awesome from what I've shown them, that means that teaching will definitely be in my future. Since I just got married, yet I will be living apart from my husband, who is also going to grad school at Northwestern in Evanston, IL, I'm pretty excited to buy a house when we are done with grad school, have a chance to actually open all our wedding gifts and then use them! Its kinda funny that we got married, but all our goodies are in my parents garage and basement back in VA. My husband is Canadian, so there is a good chance we will end up there one day, but at this point, wherever we can find a good job is on our list, hopefully a big enough city to have what we both need.

As far as interests and hobbies go, I do enjoy cooking, which I've been getting tons of time to do recently, which has been awesome! And of course, I love to make! My work ranges...large to small, sculpture to jewelry, fashion and adornment to objects, but somehow it always seems to reference the body. I am completely fascinated with the human body, the female body, and even the internal body. I make large sculptural work with steel and manly materials (I just LOVE it when chicks rock out with any process that is considered more of a "manly" thing to do, and do it well. I also spent some time this summer making jewelry, which was really nice, and has really informed my studio work as well. I know that I need both one of kind work and productive studio jewelry in my practice to feel balanced. And my studio has been busy these days! I've been doing some amazing things, and really asking myself a bunch of questions, and feeling like I am finally getting somewhere. Since my work commonly exists on the body, prosthetics is a running theme in my work. I am also really interested in feminism and how this relates to the body as well as prosthetics.

Here is what I have been working on in my studio lately...



















This is the model, on the model that was a sweet find on cragislist.. Luckily I got this dress form from a woman who never used it. I use it all the time! One day I might actually buy a nice one, but for now this lady works just fine. I do wish I had one that was a different size though. I'd love to work larger. I talk a lot about the idealized female form in my work, and although i can make work that fits on me with this form, I'd like to push it more in the future, but can't afford those dress forms..PRICEY PRICEY...Anyways..SO glad I made a model for this piece. I figured out a lot of things in string and tape that I didn't have to figure out in expensive metal. Thank goodness!

Anyways, I did start welding the pieces together, and I love how the bodice looks like muscles...



















There is going to be more added on top of it, but its quite beautiful even like this...very reminiscent of a skeletal structure, architecture, or even veins. I saw the bodies revealed exhibit this summer, and I can NOT stop thinking about it! Maybe this is evidence of that...

PS--Check out this picture I took today..as I was driving down Lincoln Memorial Drive...Just another beautiful day on the lake, with a huge amazing clipper ship sailing down the lake! Isn't it just AMAZING??? I love clipper ships!



that's all for now...