Talking Trees

So I've been spending my entire semester learning puppetry and programming on the arduino. It's all coming together (very slowly) into one large, interactive installation. Here is the sketch of what it will hopefully look close to.

The idea is there is constant background music, a non-lyrical version of zip-a-dee-doo-dah, and when you pick a flower, it responds. Well, each one responds differently. In the clover patch there is one four-leaf clover, that when picked, gives you cheers and applause. But until you find it, all the three leaf clovers tell you how wrong and stupid you are. And once you rest upon the giant checkered blanket, the tree comes to life, with blinking apples eyes and sad mumblings of how he wants you to stay.

Stay tuned for images, video and programming code of the final product- to be installed Dec. 16th.

FantaShanty 2010

Together with friends Rachel James, Andrea Steudel, Lindsay Montgomery and Mike Stangler, I wrote a proposal for an ice shanty turned enchanted forest and performance venue. And just after the Cake Party we find out that, Hooray!, the "FantaShanty" (think Fantasy Shanty) was accepted as part of this winter's Art Shanty Projects on Lake Medecine in Plymouth, MN.

"The FantaShanty invites visitors to step off the ice and into a lush, enchanted forest of magic, puppetry and story telling. Guests are welcome to sit in warmth upon soft mushrooms, tree stumps or the grassy forest floor, to listen to readings of their favorite fairy tales and watch live puppet shows. In addition to performances, visitors are invited to drink hot tea and look through the woods for hidden plants, animals, and other magical creatures."

As we begin preparing to face the Minnesota cold, we will be blogging our endeavors here. Keep an eye out and come visit us out on the lake!

Cake Party

In collaboration with friend and fellow printmaking grad student Rachel James, we took a spare studio and turned it into, well, a cake room. The cake, a 6ft tall structure on wheels, got surrounded by a conglomeration of bright colors and soft textures. The following few images are from our more "formal" photoshoot.






Costumes were required for all. The party featured hot pop (by Ben Garthus and Sam Hoolihan), cold pizza, lots of cake, Jello, lunch lady Miss Andrea Steudel and break dancing by Bryce Davidson.

Finally!

After years of putting off blogging (due to lack of good title ideas...seriously), I finally gave in. I was so close to going with Robin Schwartzland, but thinking that might be too close to a personal amusement park, I ultimately settled with robin schwARTzman. Anyhow,I'm hoping to keep this updated with new caricatures, puppetry endeavors and current art projects. Stay tuned!