closing up shop

Recently I’ve come to a very difficult decision.  I’ll be shutting down the studio. Realistically, there is no other option. I have not had the time to dedicate to being there consistently. Consequently, I have not produced much art recently. Consequently, I have not had any shows, or sold much art. The studio is not paying for itself, and budget dictates that it’s time to move forward.

During the process of shuttering the place, I’ll have opportunities for those who enjoy my work to purchase some originals at screaming deals. I’ll have a lot of free stuff to give away. I will have “pay what you want” deals. And it will all culminate with a fire sale liquidation show at Upcycled in November.

You want in on the action, get ahold of me. Otherwise, I’ll see you in November @ Upcycled.

6th Annual Skate Deck Art Auction

Opening / Reception: May 6 (5-8 pm) @ The Brink Gallery
Auction: May 21 (5pm – ?)

When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see in truth that you are weeping for that which has been your delight.

–Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet

Let yourself be fooled by love...allow despair its destruction

Soft and light in my hand, a letter written on handmade paper ripped so that it was unusable under the dull blade of my X-acto knife. Changing blades, I set down the knife and began gently sifting through the pile of letters before me. Already I had employed what I had found to be the most efficient process to distill the letters thus far, and I entrusted the next selection to the same process. I pick up a letter and read it as fast as I can. looking for a word or phrase that jumps out at me. And I find it. Let yourself be fooled by love. I read the surrounding words and immediately know that I have found the hand that fits the piece. Carefully, I lay over it the glass under which it will be displayed and begin cutting.

Initially, when I conceived of The Leaving and the Left, I thought that I had all of the love letters that had been given to me over the years. What’s more, I believed I had all of the breakup letters as well. Breakup letters isn’t the correct terminology, I guess. It’s the post-breakup letters. All of the breakups were done in person. All began amicably. Hurt and anger, bitterness and sadness, these emotions sullied the memory of something that was once beautiful. And not always my sadness or anger, sometimes it was theirs. As I began pawing through the box of letters, I was surprised to find none of the good-bye and good riddance letters at all. None. So I turned to my computer. And there they were. All of that post-processing. Done via email.

How interesting! When we are in love and life is wonderful and everything is beautiful, we spend lots of time trying to express those feelings of closeness and joy to the other person in delicately handwritten letters on special paper, with carefully chosen pens. The act of writing the letter itself is an expression of love, of intimacy. Yet once that love has shifted, the expression becomes cold and utilitarian. Distant and guarded. This, I decided, is a perfect illustration of the disconnect that occurs when love shifts.

Knowing that you are a crucial part of my life makes me very happy

My intention in embarking on this project almost a year ago was to honor those feelings of love, not in a nostalgic way, but in a way that says, Yeah, this was pretty amazing, this thing we shared. At the same time, I did not want to ignore the ugly and often difficult sentiments that were expressed once the love shifted away from romance and togetherness. And I say “shifted” because even in the most acrimonious breakup, one in which nasty words are exchanged, the intimacy that was once shared is infused into one’s life, and becomes a part of one that cannot be cut away, even with the most delicate and sharpest of scalpels. It becomes a part of us.

The feelings of intense love may fade, but they have been expressed and still exist somewhere out there in the ether. Also floating out there in the Universe are these bitter, rancorous feelings. Feelings that are just as valid and important as the I love yous and You mean the world to mes. Both feelings deserve to be honored, and the best way to do this is to honor them in the same space in time.

As things progress, expect to find more explorations of the project here. In the meantime, you can view some of the completed pieces and details of them over Flickr [link]. If you are in the Missoula area, please be sure to stop by The Art Hang Up [link], where four of the pieces are displaying (and for sale).

Marc Moss is proud to present the Recession Retrospective: Affordable Art Studio Clearance.

Reasonable prices for beautiful art. Come on down, have some sushi, a glass of sake and enjoy the art. Marc’s making room for more art in the studio; everything must go. Pieces from Marc’s entire collection: assemblage made from rusty metal, reclaimed glass and wire, as well as collage pieces on view throughout the month of November. More info at marcmoss.net, marcmoss@gmail.com or 406.203.4683.

15% of all proceeds to benefit the Missoula Food Bank

When: Throughout the month of November, beginning with a reception on First Friday 11.05.2010

Where:  Sushi Hana, 403 N Higgins Ave

Once Upon a Time (detail)

My Heaven Sent Lover

In case you didn’t know, Spontaneous Construction 2010 was a hit! And now we’re extending the fun even further by offering up some of the day’s creations in a silent auction!

The items pictured…were created by teams during the SponCon contest, but we also have a variety of other SponCon items up for auction (doors painted by local artists, etc).

The silent auction items are currently on display in our ReVAMP showroom and our “library” area.

HERE’S WHAT TO DO

Stop by the front counter of the store and sign up for a silent auction bidder number. With that bidder number you can place your bid by writing down your bidder number and bid amount on the bid sheets attached to each item. You need not be present to win (we’ll call to tell you you’ve won)!

The silent auction items also have a “Buy it Now” price, so if you just can’t wait until the auction ends you can walk away with your favorite item today! Otherwise, the silent auction ends on SATURDAY NOVEMBER 6TH AT 5:30 pm.

View the image at full size by clicking on it.

Garden Table, by Team Karnicklin

Wine Rack Table by Team MMW

Rickshaw by Team Earthbound

Jewelry Case by Melissa Picoli

Rotisserie by Team Brock-Lee

Lamp by Kadin Bardsley

Mirror by Marc Moss

I wrote about the making of this mirror .  You can also see a better picture of it over here.

So get thee down to Home Resource and sign up for the silent auction. Make your bids! Home Resource is located at  1515 Wyoming, Suite 100, Missoula, MT 59801 (The corner of Russell and Wyoming).

Lucas Dupuis poses with Marc Moss (and several others) with the artwork (photo by Lucas Grossi)

I work with rust and patina because I like the way it looks.  Aging metal is beautiful.  It is a natural progression that I have begun using rusted metal and found parts to create custom mirrors. As we age, we become more beautiful.  The mirrors we use to see our physical selves should enhance that beauty.  And so, I make these custom mirrors from rusted things.  Even the mirror portion of the piece itself is marred and scratched, chipped on the corners.  It is something old made new.

(Show Me Your Best) Blue Steel was born completely from objects I found in the yard at Home Resource for the 7th annual Spontaneous Construction.  All of the parts are affixed to the metal using copper wire or screws.  The entire structure is affixed to a piece of plywood to give it rigidity.  The hardware by which to hang the piece is mounted in such a way that the mirror can be hung in any direction.  Which is to say, any side can be the top.

To purchase the mirror, go to the ReVamp shop at Home Resource.  Directions and hours here.

To consult with me about a custom mirror of your own, drop me a line: marcmoss@gmail.com. Would love to make something special for you.