Jenesis Studios

noreply@blogger.com (Jenesis) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 22:01:00 +0000

This blog (and more) now lives at it's new home, at JenniferAkkermans.com See you there!

Blog Moving!

noreply@blogger.com (Jenesis) — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 02:27:00 +0000

Just letting you all know that this blog is moving to my website, at jenniferakkermans.com. You will find it (and more content!) under the Blog tab there.

See you soon!

Swings in Public Spaces

noreply@blogger.com (Jenesis) — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 17:03:00 +0000

Studio Vignettes #2!

noreply@blogger.com (Jenesis) — Mon, 23 May 2011 19:47:00 +0000

Ribbon Rack

Ribbon Basket

Creepy/cool antique doll

Trims! In a purple basket! On a yellow wall!

Portrait of an iron.

Studio Vignettes/ New Camera!

noreply@blogger.com (Jenesis) — Mon, 23 May 2011 19:30:00 +0000

Ribbon

Trims

Creepy little wooden man I got in an antique shop in Santa Fe!

Orange

Thread

Bowl of pretty! (I also just painted a bunch of baskets some pretty wild colors- blue, orange, pink, and purple!)

I got a nice new camera from my parents for graduation! It's a Canon Rebel T1i, my first DSLR, and I've got a lot to learn! These are just a few pics from around my studio, as I'm just learning my new toy/ tool! These are just on the automatic setting, and I'm really liking them. (And it has video, which will definitely come in handy!)

Thanks, M & D!

More to come!

New Camera Bag!

noreply@blogger.com (Jenesis) — Sat, 21 May 2011 23:39:00 +0000

I can't believe I made this!

Inside

So my mother suggested that since I just graduated from a Fibre program, I make a bag for my new camera, instead of buying one. At first, I thought, "yeah, maybe," and then later, perhaps more realistically, "I'll probably end up buying one at some point." But then, I don't want to spend all my money on a (probably boring) camera bag, so last night I looked on the internet for a pattern. There are lots of patterns for point and shoot digital cameras, but those patterns weren't going to work for my new DSLR.

So I decided to just wing it. I used some material I already had in my stash, and some foam I found in my studio. There are a couple things I need to fix yet, such as rounding off the goofy front corner, and and adding a decorative strip around the top of the lid, for visual interest and to hide the slightly uneven stitching. But overall, I'm impressed with myself. It looks like a camera bag!

The bag is padded to protect the camera, has a zipper, and pockets of various sizes on both the inside and the outside. The strap is actually two "straps," so the length is adjustable, and it looks really cute tied in a bow.

It looks good, is sturdy, and is the right size!

It's nice when things work the way you envision them.

ACAD Grad Show: Nephropoleon

noreply@blogger.com (Jenesis) — Sat, 21 May 2011 15:49:00 +0000

Photo by Jeff Chan

Panel information. There is a skin sample on the actual panel.

This is my work in the ACAD's Grad Show. I dressed up in my lab coat and name tag, and talked to people about the Institute of Morphoid Research, and handed out my informational brochures. Barb said her sister was confused, because she had never seen creatures like these where she lives in British Columbia. Point illustrated!

Gradu-macated!

noreply@blogger.com (Jenesis) — Fri, 20 May 2011 15:49:00 +0000

My official Convocation was yesterday, with the grad show opening the day before. I don't have many photos yet, because they're all on my mother's camera! This is a photo of my brand new BFA with distinction, and my Board of Governor's Award! (Photo taken with my graduation present- a DSLR- a Canon Rebel T1i! So excited!)

Hopefully I'll have more photos soon... including the ones my mother took of all the Fibre gals!

noreply@blogger.com (Jenesis) — Sun, 15 May 2011 18:18:00 +0000

How to Steal Like an Artist

I really enjoyed this. Lots to think about.

Coming Up Next.... An exhibition of contemporary fine craft by emerging artists.

noreply@blogger.com (Jenesis) — Tue, 10 May 2011 21:32:00 +0000

I'm in an exhibition! The Alberta Craft Council has been hosting this show for at least the last few years, and this year, when I was finally eligible to apply, I got in! I'm sending them three morphoids, Sepal (on the postcard!), Pteropod and Scarabaeidae. And they've requested IMR brochures!

Coming Up Next....

An exhibition of contemporary fine craft by emerging artists.

About the Exhibition:
"Coming Up Next explores how Alberta’s next generation of fine craft artists will be shaping the future of the craft scene in Alberta and beyond. This juried exhibition is organized by the Alberta Craft Council and features the work of emerging fine craft artists who are within the first five years of their career or in the final year of their formal education. Spring is a time to celebrate all that is new and Coming Up Next has become a customer and gallery attendee favourite to find contemporary fine craft with fresh new designs in clay, fibre, metal and other craft media. If you want to see a range of promising new talents come and visit the Alberta Craft Council Discovery Gallery, 10186 – 106 Street, Edmonton."

My fellow artists include: Alysse Bowd, Kaitlyn Brennan, Jane Durham, Brenda Philp, John Smith-Jones, Jenna Turner, Melissa Wong (Fibre 2011!) & Michael Yung (Fibre 2010).

The exhibition runs May 28 - July 9, 2011. Opening Reception: Saturday May 28 from 2-4pm. Wish I could go.

Green Porno

noreply@blogger.com (Jenesis) — Fri, 06 May 2011 16:49:00 +0000

I'm sure you might have seen this before, but it's too good not to post. (And I don't know how she does this without laughing..... unless it takes 30 takes a scene.) Isabella Rossellini has a whole series! Actually, two!

Attempting to clean the studio!

noreply@blogger.com (Jenesis) — Tue, 03 May 2011 21:01:00 +0000

Merging two studios into one is... tough! I think I had more stuff at school than I realized. I have most (not all! My grad piece is currently being stored at school) of my stuff home, and it is nice to have everything in one place, but there's so much of it. I've had two studios for the last three years, which means duplicates of most tools and lots of supplies. I have three sewing machines, and at least six pairs of sewing scissors.

These are some images from my studio, although not too recently. I've been spray painting some stuff (such as the basket you see in the picture below) with really bright colors - blue, green and orange. I ran out of pink, and will be doing a bit more with that when I get some more. Also, we finally ordered my "Christmas" curtain rods on the weekend, so I'll be making some curtains this week, probably.

So I'm trying to sort and get rid of some stuff, but some it, I don't think I'll ever be able to throw out. I guess the solution is.... find a new studio! Well, when I can afford it, I hope to get a studio that's not in my basement. As much as I love this little studio, it's just me, and I could benefit from a place in a more external community.

And the Morphoids take up a lot of room.... I think they're multiplying! I have to keep them and their abrasive materials away from "the softer stuff." Some of them are still at school for the grad show, so I don't even have them all at home. I don't know what I'm going to do with them when I get them home.

Foley Sound Effects

noreply@blogger.com (Jenesis) — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 21:18:00 +0000

SoundWorks Collection: Gary Hecker - Veteran Foley Artist from Michael Coleman on Vimeo.

This is interesting... a behind the scenes that I never really thought about.

No Plan B.

noreply@blogger.com (Jenesis) — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 23:41:00 +0000

I found this via Lindsay, on the Wired to Worry blog. It's encouraging, as it's graduation time for me too, and although I know I am doing what I'm intended to do, and I do it well, there is a lot of uncertainty right now. I know that soon I will be off doing something fun and wonderful, but right now, everything is in limbo, and it's hard to look forward. There seems to be nothing concrete to focus on.

Yesterday, I cleaned out my studio at ACAD. I cried. I feel like I'm being evicted. I know that's a little harsh, but that school has been my "home" for the last five years of my life. I've spent more time there than anywhere else, probably in my whole life. While I know that I will see my studio mates again, it will be less often, and more difficult to get together. There is something really nice about going to hang out will your best friends every day. Even though we all do different things, we all have similar interests, values, fears and ambitions. It will be tough without having that safety net right there.

As Jobs says, it's much easier to see "the dots" looking backwards than forwards. I have come a long way in five years, and will go much farther. But right now feels like the end, because I don't know where the new beginning is yet. I have to trust that what I've done and what I've learned and who I am will enable me to go forward from here, in a way that is true to who I am supposed to be. But, even though this is a bit of an uncertain time for me, I do have passion, and conviction, and this is what I am meant to do. If I die today, am I doing what I would want to be doing? Yes. This current uncertainty is just a shifting of gears. I have no Plan B, nor do I want one. This is it. No Plan B.

Ben Folds - Animated Music Video

noreply@blogger.com (Jenesis) — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 15:40:00 +0000

An animated music video for one of my favorite artists - Ben Folds.

Jennifer Willet

noreply@blogger.com (Jenesis) — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 20:53:00 +0000

Institute of Morphoid Research Presentation

noreply@blogger.com (Jenesis) — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 20:34:00 +0000

Institute of Morphoid Research from Jennifer Akkermans on Vimeo.

IMR Brochure

noreply@blogger.com (Jenesis) — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 16:28:00 +0000

So things have been a little (crazy!) busy for me lately, with this being the end of my graduating semester. I feel like I've made a great breakthrough in my work, and it's really exciting for me right now, but I've needed to finish what I've promised I would finish. But now that most of that's done, except finishing up (as in "responding and reworking") my grad piece, I can start on some of the other things I want to do. (Well, soon, after I hopefully find a job so I can pay my rent, and you know, live.)

Anyway, here's some work on the IMR.... I've gotten these brochures professionally printed, and will be handing them out at the grad show. It's like my whole portfolio in one neat little package.

I've also been working on the IMR website a little, although there is still a lot to do there yet.

noreply@blogger.com (Jenesis) — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 20:04:00 +0000

I want a Petite Lap Giraffe! This site has a live webcam!

noreply@blogger.com (Jenesis) — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 02:06:00 +0000

Cool Hunting Capsule Video: Zoomorphic Collection from Cool Hunting on Vimeo.
[via Craft]

Magic Molecule

noreply@blogger.com (Jenesis) — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 00:23:00 +0000

My, how things have changed.

The Jacquard Show

noreply@blogger.com (Jenesis) — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 19:09:00 +0000

Jennifer Akkermans, a photo by MackenzieFrere on Flickr.

Last week, we exhibited The Jacquard Show, in Gallery 371. I don't think I've posted a picture of the finished work from the Jacquard workshop with Louise Lemieux Bérubé, , but I do know I've posted about A Horse in the Living Room.
Read my classmate, Melissa Wong's post about it on her blog.
Here's a link to images from the show, from Mackenzie Frere.

Nudibranchia/ A breakthrough

noreply@blogger.com (Jenesis) — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 15:02:00 +0000

So this year, as in the last few months or so, I've felt like I was having a bit of an artistic crisis. While I was enjoying my work, I didn't really know what exactly I was trying to do, or why. I was trying to make my work about a really heavy topic (genetic engineering and the meddling of man), but my work is more.... light and a little bit funny. I was told my artist statement didn't match my work, which, in hindsight, I agree with.

So I felt a little lost. I kept making work, and continued to play with work I had already made (in my Stride exhibition, as well as other places), and there was no slowing of the ideas there. But how do I formulate it? Talk about it? What exactly was I trying to do?

I spent time with the Morphoids, studied them. I photographed them in nature, in my house, had other people photograph them in their houses. I was concerned about display (all on the floor?) and how to present my work to get what I wanted across. Problem was, I wasn't really sure what I wanted.

And then I started doing animation. I did a really short stop-motion animation this semester, mostly because I felt like I had been talking about it for so long, I had to do it before I was finished ACAD. Again, I wasn't really sure exactly what the animation would be about. My narratives tend to be really subtle, because we relate to the Morphoids much differently than we relate to, say, other human beings, pets, or even puppets that are intended to resemble human beings. So I approached the animation with an idea about trying to just observe what the Morphoid might possibly do if we weren't there. Take a look....

While I feel the animation is successful, especially for a first animation, there are some major problems with it, mainly that I don't really know how to use my mother's camera. I had to figure out how to address the problems without redoing the animation, as I didn't have the time to do it. I had other work to do, and the animation was to try it before I graduated, because I've talked about wanting to do it for a year now. The biggest problems were the jumpiness of the film, the background, and the coloring wasn't quite right. So, I decided to frame it like it was newfound old black and white footage of a creature we've never seen before. I think it's quite effective in this way, although I still want to redo the animation, or do a similar one a little differently.

The timing must have been right with doing this animation. It seems to have solved my context problem. I needed to sort of explain what the "footage" was and where it came from, so I introduced it as "presented by the Institute of Morphoid Research," not really thinking too hard about it. So now I have a context to work in, and am working on developing the IMR and framing my practice by the parameters I am setting up for the IMR. (More on that later.)

A role model of mine, artist Suzen Green said, in one of her recent blog posts, "As a teacher, when I see students struggling with the conceptual side of their work I always tell them to ground themselves in process and the answer will come on its own terms. Making is its own form of meditation. ... Answers will make themselves known when [you're] ready to receive them."

Sometimes the answer to a problem you have comes out of something else all together.

Where Art and Science Meet

noreply@blogger.com (Jenesis) — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 16:20:00 +0000

I found this image while I was looking for an image of a scientist for my artist talk coming up next week.... It's a Coin-Operated Scientist.

"This was a live ambient stunt, to help raise money for MS Research. We built a mini research laboratory with a coin slot in the front. Inside a real scientist sat slumped and motionless. When people made donations, he would sit upright and conduct science experiments until he felt the money had run out."

[From, um.... Ads of the World.]

Totally Stolen From the Fibre Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Jenesis) — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 03:22:00 +0000

[via ACAD Fibre Blog]