For three days in June several of my tarpestries were on display at Global Lounge’s World Village Festival in Capitol Park in Boise.
The Elepants in the Room was very popular with lots of people using it as a backdrop for their selfies.
The fish tarpestries were attached to the barricades around the “beer garden.”
And “Sss(mmm)sss…” Stood watch over the beer ticket sellers.
In addition to making the tarpestries, and hanging them in their eponymous exhibition, I have put together a photo book which tells the story of their evolution.
My friend Peggy Jo, one of my Existential Cheerleaders, got me started doing “documentation” of my process.
As an artist in the middle of creating new work it’s almost impossible to be your own witness. To intellectually understand the “whys” of what you are producing.
So I went back to the beginning — the creation of the Treefort Tarps Picadas.
I wrote about the “hows.” How I answered the question of what to create for the installation, and how I actually got them made.
I wrote about the “wheres” and “how’s” of the installation itself, (which I could never have done without the help of Sue Latta, and Mike).
And then about the crazy windstorm which whipped it all apart.
The evolution of the Tarpestries really began when the Tarps Picadas came down, and with 20/20 hindsight I was able to write about how that unfolded.
I write about what makes something an art form, and touch on the idea that tarpestries are in fact a new art form.
There are lots of photos of the tarpestries in the current exhibition.
And I wind things up with some questions. Things I think about, and things I wonder what other people, like you, think about — all relating to making art, and also specifically to the making of the tarpestries.
I framed screen shots of the book’s pages and have hung them in the current exhibition.
The book itself will also be available for purchase for $25. If you’re interested in buying a copy, just contact me through my website MelissaSasiChambers.com and I’ll hook you up.
Meanwhile, the best way to see the Tarpestries is up close and personal, and so I really hope to see you at the reception tomorrow — 4:30 to 6:30. Y’all come!
The, shall we call it, Closing Reception for my TARPESTRY exhibition is day after tomorrow, and I am hoping to see many of you there. But for those of you who aren’t even in Boise I thought I’d share a little more about one of my more unusual tarpestries, “The Elephants in the Room.”
This tarpestry is my first foray into the use of a material which lights up. It’s so cool!
My friend Chris is an electrician, and over the past six years he’s done a ton of electrical work for us around our house(s). When he saw the work I was doing with my tarpestries he thought I might be interested in incorporating this material which his company, Lumos Lighting and Design, is using in a variety of ways such as safety clothing and Western tack for horses, into one of my tarps.
Would I?!!!
I think you’ll agree it works great as “Eastern tack for elephants too.”
What makes this tarpestry even cooler though, is that it’s set so the material “blooms” on and off which tends to stop people in their tracks. It’s impossible to ignore these elephants in the room.
Click the image to see the Tarpestry book
