Artwork Update: March 2011

More Storybook animals,

Book: Maria Sibylla Merian and Deep Storage: Collecting, Storing and Archiving Art

I finished a book called Chrysalis by Kim Todd last week.

At the moment I'm in love with the person whom the book is about. I think this sort of conundrum has happened before, in love with the leading character in a biography who has passed on. In love with the idea of them. Merian traveled to Suriname to paint insects, such a grand adventure. I can't imagine in a era where women weren't doing anything individually without a man, here Merian a divorce comes traipsing into the South American city wanting to draw and paint insects.

After reading this book I want to relook at Maria Sibylla Merian: Insects of Surinam



Another book I recently finished is Deep Storage: Collecting, Storing and Archiving Art. I love the idea of the artist as not just a collector but also a archivist. Maybe this stems from my own obsession with libraries and things that withhold information. One of the first places my mom took me museum wise was the Harry Ransom Center, which at the time was the place where the University of Texas at Austin housed their art and their rare or special collections. Later they moved their art to the Blanton Museum of Art.

As people pass through the exhibitions, as I did those many years before, they have no idea what these facilities hold behind the scenes. They carry with them so many objects with historical perspective that it could make the average persons head spin. Each exhibition facilitates a small view into what they hold.

Artwork Update: March 2011

We have known eachother for a long time, 2011

Storybook animals:




I completed the Storybook animal series while at the CACtroy Residency. It consists of 26 drawings. I will be updating my blog as I add them. I'm interested in using them in a book and I will explain more details and the project comes along.

Featured on Hortus Noctis

I was featured awhile back on Cendrine Rovini's blog, Hortus Noctis.

I had talked about our collaboration awhile back, which you can go back to
HERE.

I used google translate to decipher what the lovely Cendrine Rovini had said about my work. It deeply moved me and I felt that it was proper to create a new blog post about it.


"With Kelly Rae Burns to inaugurate this new series on my favorite artists.
Kelly's work is that of metamorphosis, they are tattoos that become badgers, cats which mate and are gods, plants that grow seed-deer. Each drawing or mixed media is like a shamanic incantation. Sometimes the colors explode, leaving the horns, stretch the legs and faces, there are triangles, stripes, earth currents. When one of the creatures of Kelly Rae looks at you is like a question, or suggestion, the beginnings of dialogue."

Thank You Cendrine, each time I look at your artwork I am moved. The ethereal way you draw and how you create a dialogue about female identity.

Event: Farmers Market & Empty Bowls Houston

Urban Harvest Farmers Market at Eastside

favourite sellers:
Sinfull Bakery
Nisha's Indian food



Houston Food Bank Empty Bowls at Lawndale Art Center.

This is the beautiful wooden bowl Peter and I picked out :-)

Event: Blaffer Gallery and Okay Mountain

First Take: Okay Mountain at Blaffer Art Museum

I have been following the Okay Mountain Gallery/Collective since their 2006 when I visited their gallery space. The space was pocketed away on the eastside of Austin, TX. The address reads 1312 E Cesar Chavez St. Ste B Austin, Texas 78702 but it's more off Navasota st. Oh well--logistics, now artists just idly know where it is. The first exhibition I attended excited me. It was Elaine Bradford's exhibition of several deer heads hanging on the walls...their antlers branched overhead connecting to each other through a network of red crochet. You can see a image of the installation here. This isn't about Bradford's work though even though now as I write about that first exhibition--I want to talk of her works rather than Okay Mountain. It has been getting tons of press as a entity. No individual artist within the collective is seen as the best or at least I wouldn't say so, but together they create a factory of interest.

Their work as a collective has been inviting such as an exhibition they had at Creative Research Lab (the gallery space has moved into the VAC) in 2008 called, It's Gonna Be Everything. They constructed a pyramid of Lone Star beer cans. Yes Lone Star beer. You can see a article about construction here. These instances really showed me the warmth at which they were creating. Also, hearing about their show at Pulse Miami in which they created a Texas corner store from scratch.

Although these exhibitions were exciting to me, the Blaffer Gallery show was not as inviting as their previous shows. Maybe I am too used to their playful jaunts which both excited me by them and created intrigue. This felt more of a drone recreation of something they had seen somewhere else. Although this exhibition doesn't change my overall feeling towards their collective, it's not something I would tell others to go see. You can see images of it here.

Event: Peter's Birthday

Peter and I came into Austin this past weekend on very short notice. It was nice to be back in Austin after two months away. We enjoyed Bouldin's lovely food...I even tried their Nutella Mocha Latte. Something I've been "meaning" to try for years now. It was very decadent. Afterwards we walked around South Congress shops on such a lovely dry Texas day. We popped into several stores but the most notable is
Big Top candy shop


We popped into Summer Moon Cafe on South first, I had their iced Toddy, it was delicious.

On Saturday evening we went to Rio Rita early in the night.

Peter had a Bloody mary, which is delicious with their infused vodkas. Their coffees are nice and strong too (just fyi). As we walked around the east side we passed TONS of food trailers, which I'm guessing they are getting ready for the mass of people at SXSW. Definitely hoping some places are still open when we return. Coolhaus *** being a definite.

If you are in the austin area for SXSW, these are other foodcarts that we love in Austin:
The Flying Carpet on South Congress
Gourdough's donuts on south lamar
Torchy's tacos
Kebabalicious

At midnight on March 13th we ended up at a warehouse on East 5th and Brushy:


The next day we were back in Houston, but our whirlwind weekend wasn't over. We had a early dinner at Rainbow Lodge, they specialise in local wild game and use many of their ingredients from their garden. I had an amazing salad to start with which contained fresh mixed greens, gold and red beets, jicama and a amazing lemon vinaigrette dressing. For our main dishes, Peter had Antelope and I had Snapper. After our lovely meal we saw the Blue Man Group at Jones Hall. It was a really nice show and very entertaining/comical.

It was a great weekend!

ArtHash Interview

You can view the interview at: ArtHash

March Birthdays

A lot of the dearest people in my life are Pisces and I thought I would dedicate a blog post to them.

First is La Hanza who I met in grade school :) La Hanza who you can find here (Fashion Flickr and here (photography).

and this is her adorable dog, Trixie,

(Trixie photo from Viva La Hanza's flickr)
Besides taking awesome photos and being uber fashionable she also is a counselor.

Sarah who I also met in grade school during a school dance. Yes, a school dance. Lives in the Northeast now and teaches. She also is heading Monadnock Roller Derby team. You might have noticed her visit in Febuary.




Peter who I met at Plush sometime in 2009 and then again at Flipside in 2010.

Flipside 2010

Our first photobooth picture in Summer 2010

New Years 2010

It is hard to explain the closeness I feel for these Pisceans.

February Mail

lovely card from Heather, mix cd from Sarah and fox and elephant+movie from Edwina


Dried Mango and Topo Chico Mineral water From Peter

I posted this before but it should be included for February mail :)