A white day full of muffled sounds. Almost everything a whisper.

The snow is still falling and the sky is the same strange yellow as last night. Perfect symmetry 12 hours later. It has been a night and day of quiet observation. An occasional muffled voice heard with the crunch of boots on newly fallen snow. It is a joy to be so quiet on the inside too.

Stillness.

These are the moments that inform the drawings I am currently making. Four currently on the wall and four prepped to go.

The snows have been keeping me from the studio. But I’m going no matter what end of this week. This is a detail of one of the drawings waiting for me. And there are several others just aching to get out.The paper is already torn and ready to go.

This is a smaller series on Rives BFK. The surface loves the graphite and hangs on to just enough pastel.

I’ve been back to working on these drawings. They are a spring place that I hold in my head. I have imagined them blooming by April. Then again the rhythm of the seasons has been disturbed on this crazy planet so I’m not really sure what will take place. I do know that the days are getting longer. That makes the possibility for growth in all living things.

Today I’m in the studio early and they are my world.

I’m thrilled to announce my show of drawings that has opened at Heavybubble Gallery : 1622.
I haven’t shown the larger drawings in this show before. It’s great to be able to hang them without frames. You can really see the surface of the drawings. Hope you’ll stop by and see the show.

artist reception
Friday, February 12, 2010
5 – 7 pm

exhibition
Friday, January 8, 2010
Sunday, February 28, 2010

—
from the exhibition card:

Stella Untalan’s minimalist drawings create unexpected landscapes. Each drawing is a combination of pastel, graphite, and charcoal with rhythmic marks of subtle hue, often escaping their self-imposed grid.

The distinct rhythms invite contemplation and exploration of places deep in memory, influenced by change of seasons.

This solo show also includes some smaller works in colored pencil.

location
heavybubble 1622
1622 South Street
Philadelphia, PA

exhibition hours
Wednesday – Friday 2:00 – 6:00 pm
other times by appointment
215 545 7531

I was intrigued by the { following 2.0 } project at many levels. Not the least of which was my twitter handle : stellth. Stellth is one side of me. Stellth is a silent observer, an investigator, a documenter. Stellth is unseen.

Being an observer is essential to stimulating the imagination. Observation and imagination were key to my process in this piece.

I decided that I would use small identifying details in my tweets to hold the thread together for my followers. In this way, if their attention lasped or a tweet or two got past them they could fill in the blanks and recover. It made entering the piece at any point viable. A follower didn’t need the whole story to become engaged and then follow.

Living in a walkable city made picking subjects and logistics easy. I selected someone by a physical attribute: hair color, jacket, bag. I was never really close enough to hear any of the conversations of the individuals that I followed. This is where I mixed the factual and imaginary.

© 2009 Stella Untalan

The first person I decided to follow, a blonde woman I often see on my way to the gallery, avoided me the first day. I had to decide if I would skip her and follow someone else as my first subject. I decided against it. I imagined that anyone who knew I was doing the piece would wonder what happened. That would be all for the good. Intrigue from the start.

My first tweet:

The woman with the blond hair put on her raincoat, took her umbrella and headed up 18th street. #fp20

and then :

How had she avoided me all day yesterday? #fp20

Early on I decided that I would wait if the blonde woman disappeared from view. I would wait as long as it took until she reappeared. On the very first follow I waited from 10:40 AM until 1:56 PM. While I waited, I thought out loud sending a few tweets to keep connected to the story. Letting my followers know I was still making the piece.

tweets :
I’m waiting. For her. #fp20

I have no idea how long it will be. I imagine it must be a meeting, an appointment. 45 minutes? an hour? #fb20

Methodology : observe and let the story unfold, improvise.

By the time the blonde woman emerged I had a couple replies from followers on twitter and Facebook. They asked me, who is the blonde woman? why are you following her? One person asked me if I was stalking… I gave them the link to the project post. They were intrigued and excited to continue following the piece.

I had lunch with a friend who asked me outright, who is the woman? Do I know her? I replied : Follow.

I had decided not to map my actions or use photos in my tweets. I wanted the narrative and my followers to use their observations and imagination to extend the story. They sent me tweets asking, what store, what cafe?

tweet :
The bag is TINY. Thinking about what could be inside. Can’t be a pastry can it? #fp20

http://www.dragonflycakes.com/

When I tweeted about the TINY bag a whole flurry of questions came at me. Guesses. I would reply. More guesses. Links to reference materials about different kinds of candy and French pastry. It was an amazing interaction. Surprisingly, the most investigative responses happened on Facebook (I import my feed). Maybe it was because people knew me and felt comfortable.

tweets :
I’m thinking of a name for the woman I am following. Should I name her so that this stream sounds less impersonal? Not her real name. #fp20

The response was a resounding NO. I was pleased. I didn’t really want to give the blonde woman a false name, and my followers agreed.

The last interchanges with my followers were around the sister that visits the blonde woman. I assume it is her sister; they look so much alike. My followers suggest that whatever was in the TINY bag was to share with the sister. A special treat they enjoyed together when they were young and that they still share today.

tweets :
She’s coming back out. A car has pulled up. A rental car. I can see the little enterprise e logo. She’s greeting the driver. #fp20

The blonde woman is opening a gate for the car to enter. The woman in the car is parking. They are hugging. #fp20

My unexpected joy in making this piece came from the interaction with my followers who were open to writing the story with me. Imagining and embellishing as the story unfolded.

The idea of a cover of the Acconci piece on twitter and compressing the timeline fits our current culture perfectly. All of the performances can be viewed on Twitter using the search term #fp20.

Are you following me?

Spent a good deal of saturday working on the studio. The configuration is so different from the last space that it is taking time to get to know it. Lots of new drawers and surfaces to store and complete work that I have to figure out what’s best for what.

Still trying to figure out how to get the bikes out of the way. I think I have an idea how to hang one and make it work.

I got an old wooden blind up in my little corner where I hang by the coffee machine and figure things out. It keeps the energy in back there. It’s good to work on these projects while I figure out where I’m going next with my three big drawings.

Lot’s of things in my sketchbook. It’s going to be a busy winter.

I’m also gathering up some of my drawings to go into the Heavy Bubble Gallery @1622.

When the winter comes the long hours of darkness bring an additional chill. Each winter my drawings look for the light. Drawing that embrace the chill. Each year I toy with the idea of creating illuminated drawings.

This year I have begun seriously making some three dimensional models to determine what kind of papers I’ll need to sustain the shapes that I want. What translucency sheets provide for particular lighting options.

My goal is to fill a space with these lanterns of a kind that a scribed and marked with a vocabulary of inked marks and scratches.

This is one of a new series I’m working on. There are six drawings in all. I’m currently working on three.

These are the fruits of an all day session for thanksgiving. I was in the studio from 8:30 am until 7 pm. I am greatful for my fabulous studio and the time I have to make work there.

These are large drawings over 20 x 30 actual drawing space. These size take many all day sessions with periods of rest in between. It often takes me a month to finish one.

During October 26 through October 30 I was involved in a twitter performance piece. The project was concieved and organized by @Platea. @Platea is a global collective of individuals interested in the power of public art carried out in the digital megacity of social media.

Methodology : observe and let the story unfold, improvise.

It all began with my first tweet:
The woman with the blond hair put on her raincoat, took her umbrella and headed up 18th street. #fp20

This was the beginning of a surprisingly participatory performance. I’ve written a recap at @Platea. I’m planning to make a series of drawings and a book to expand the story and experience from the performance.

I’ve begun work on it.

Been getting into the studio and spending time there. Just haven’t really gotten going on the new drawings. I started a set of red ones and now I’ve had to put them aside. I don’t have that kind of energy.

I’ve spent a good amount of time working to get the studio space ready to make work. Right now it’s about camping out there and getting the space energized.

I have been concentrating on the objects that take me on journeys to the drawings. Objects gathered from distant places that have been speaking to me about where they have come from. This photo is one of the small shrines of a kind that I keep. These small stones will take me to the sounds and smells that will create new drawings.