Journal

News from Dowd House Studios: places to find our pottery, exhibitions, classes & workshops, new forms and exciting projects.

Filtering by Category: Collaboration

The Cake Stand Biennale

April 02, 2022Jenny Dowd

My cake and cupcake stands made their NW Arkansas debut in the sweetest, coolest event ever - The Cake Stand Biennale! (Check out an article here from the Fayetteville Flyer)

This Fayetteville exhibition put out a call for entries - for artwork to be displayed on cake stands - I missed the call and deadline, but contacted them anyway because I thought it was such a neat idea. They were looking for a few more cake stands to display artwork on, and it just happened that I had several small stands just sitting around cake-less.

I love making cake stands because they are specific, interesting, intricate objects with plenty of decorating options (plus a little silly). And of course, cake stands mean there might be cake or a sweet treat around, but I also love the idea that these stands can elevate any object and make it just that much more special. I really love the idea of cake stands as tiny galleries, what a perfect use when not being used for cake!

This event and exhibition is super short, it started with a ceremonial cake cutting (with my cupcake stand proudly holding up a teeny cupcake!) on the Fayetteville town square Friday late morning. We walked to a few locations with cake stand art before heading back to the studio to work…

Experience Fayetteville on the town square is a host location that had two of my small cake stands - each displayed prints by Jordian Molloy Gillen from Northern Ireland

(Left to right)

We found a piece by Jennifer Diaz at Cheap Thrills Vintage and another by Amberly Schaffer at Block Street Records. A beautiful paper cake by Megan Smith is in the bakery section at Ozark Natural Foods, and Swoon Juice Bar featured a slice-o-pie by Olivia Gallenberger.

(Left to Right)

Several pieces were at the Fayetteville Public Library, three little embroidered hoops by Cooper & Co Goods were at Xuma Kitchens and Likewise Community features a photograph by Kweku Kranpah on my little cupcake stand.

And that’s just a tiny crumb of the cake! I can’t wait for the next one…

Curator’s statement:

The Cake Stand Biennale is a city-wide art exhibition in Fayetteville, AR that celebrates the idea that art can be anything and art can live anywhere! The Biennale will take place over two days (April 1-2, 2022), with 32 local businesses and Fayetteville landmarks as cake stand host locations. The cake stand galleries will feature the work of over 50 artists from around the world. From paper snack sculptures, to traditional functional ceramics, to literal cakes, we’ve got work representing just about every art medium anyone could imagine outside of our cake stand galleries!

For more images and information, follow The Cake Stand Biennale on Instagram: @The_Cake_Stand_Biennale

categories Art Exhibitions, Community Projects, Collaboration
tags The Cake Stand Biennale, nw arkansas, nw arkansas art, fayetteville ar, cake stands, cup cake stands, cake stand gallery

FoundSpace 2020: A Very Shaky Translation

October 14, 2020Jenny Dowd

I have been excited to share this project, but my excitement was delayed by a series of unfortunate events.

Earlier this summer, Matt Daly and I were invited by the JH Land Trust and JH Public Art to create a FoundSpace experience along the Wildflower Trail in Jackson. We have collaborated on projects for FoundSpace in the past (read about them here: 2019 & 2018 & 2017) and were excited to engage this popular hiking trail in town. FoundSpace is a yearly program that commissions artists to interpret conservation spaces, and I have enjoyed adding a different view to these places.

Matt and I decided to create a story about the inhabitants of this area, the story would be illustrated with words on one side and images on the other, each from the perspective of the being - animal, plant, or other. The physical inspiration came from the aspens along the trail, how their leaves shake and flutter in the wind. We also felt that we were interpreting what these creatures would be saying, so the translation might be a bit shaky.

I collected old signs to repurpose and Matt wrote poems about 12 different creatures or objects that can be found in this area. I then told the story through images, trying to keep it simple.

I hate to pick a favorite, but I think that the Shaky Translation of the aspens might be my favorite. It makes me laugh every time. I tried to reflect the conversation between aspens in my drawing through dots around the roots. They are a fascinating organism and I imagine a little gossipy, as reflected in Matt’s poem: You won’t believe what I heard. You won’t believe what I heard. You won’t believe what I heard…

Some of the Shaky Translations are in English, some in Spanish, and some a mix of the two. We hoped that the image could tell some of the story, and that maybe it was just fine to only get part of the Shaky Translation if you only speak one of those languages (like me.)

Cicada

All that time

under the ground

and now this.

This! What’s not

to buzz & buzz about!

Cloud

The way to go is by and large __________

pretty easy __________ just find

your rhythm __________ your habits

of change and drift along __________

It’ll get tough don’t worry don’t worry

__________ when you hit or the air

you’re riding hits something hard, like

__________ __________ a mountain

First Frost

Let’s wait. We wait.

For so long we let

the soft leaves speak softly

to the soft leaves,

the soft petals to the soft

wings. But now let’s come in

and make all the voices

crackle and also crackle.

Osprey

There it is There It

Is Hover And

Now Now Nownownow

Feet First Through

Water And Into

Longhorn Beetle

Whoa! How

do I stop?

I guess I’m headed

straight for that

that, so that’s what

I’ll hit and hope

I can cling

to that thing

I can’t help but

whoa hit.

And that’s it. Just over a week ago we found that 9 out of 12 Shaky Translations were removed from the trail. I don’t even have images of all of them. The day we found them missing was the day I was planned to photograph the work. I completely realize that I should have photographed them as soon as they were installed. But, really?? This temporary art was supposed to be in place until October 30.

The theft really hurt. I like to think that I’m prepared for anything to happen to my art and that I have no control once it leaves my studio. But I wasn’t prepared.

Check out the article in the JH News & Guide about the project, here, it is a wonderful story about our inspiration and process.

And we would like to invite you to make your own Shaky Translation. The image in the video is of Arrowleaf Balsamroot (which I call Field Daisies) the poem and image was inspired by the crab spider which likes to sun itself on the flower. (Painting by me, words by Matt Daly, and music by Frank Daly.)

Hey there little spider with your

outstretched little arms. I can’t do much

to hold you like you look like you want

to be held. I can however hold the sun

so firmly to the leaf you climb

to warm yourself that the face

of the sun becomes many faces, becomes

my many faces like arms to warm you

Did you see and happen to photograph any of the others? I would seriously appreciate any photos for my records, please email them to hello@dowdhousestudios.com

Here are the rest of Matt’s poems, without images of the Shaky Translations:

Moose

Mama? Yes. Mama? Yes.

Mama? Come here. Mama? Yes.

Mama? I’m here. I see you. I’m here

Mama? I’m going. Mama? Follow.

Mama? Lie down. Lie down? Here.

Here? Here. Mama? Here.

Cutthroat Trout

Eddy to riffle and upstream to the cutbank

shimmer to shadow shadow to shimmer sip the surface

emerging emergers the strange taste of air

all the sharp things that fall from up there

Mountain Lion

Soon enough the snow will fall

and all but prey will go

away. Soon enough, I’ll trade this

quiet slinking (which is only a moving

form of hiding) for another slinking

the kind that tastes like deer.

Kingfisher

Here I come over clear water up to a perch.

There I go down the stream again. I zigzag down-

stream to perch. There I stare into a quiet place in clear

water. Here I cackle and flap but this time back upstream.

Flat Creek

run along along way

to run along

a tumbled

down run of tumbled

along stones

alone and because

you run

along not at all alone

categories Community Projects, Collaboration, Illustration
tags found space, FoundSpace, Jackson Hole Public Art, JH Land Trust, shaky translations, poetry, drawing

A Poetry Apothecary

September 19, 2020Jenny Dowd

This entry should probably be titled “An attempt to begin to get caught up.” I haven’t posted since May, but there has been plenty going on. I’m starting out with a project from early June because it really set the tone for the summer, it’s also one of my favorites.

Early this year, poet Matt Daly invited poets and artists to collaborate in A Poetry Apothecary with the prompt: A collaborative collection of original poems written by local poets who acknowledge the power of poetry to serve as a balm, a poultice, a splint, a placebo, a treatment, a remedy, a prescription, or perhaps even a cure for some of what ails us in our times of need for healing.

Matt and I have collaborated on projects in the past few years and decided to work together this time as well. We started with the idea of tiny poems and tiny drawings that may or may not be helpful for different emotions or problems. Something like - the problem is ___ so the cure is ___ . It also took on the feel of a game of Memory.

Our piece is titled “Sticky Situations” partly because I kept drawing tiny sticky objects - glue, tape, cinnamon roll - and also it seemed a way to define the current pandemic situation.

The process was fun, I drew a bunch of little drawings and gave them to Matt, he responded to the images with a malady and a poem. And we switched, he gave me a list of poems and I drew an image in response. I love how they make sense and yet don’t. I giggled so much in my studio while drawing these helpful little objects!

The exhibition was installed at the Center for the Arts, and our piece was in the Conference room. In response to Covid-19 we mounted the text and image onto small paper plates and encouraged viewers to flip the plates with a bamboo skewer. Seriously one of the first funny inventive moments of this time.

Check out this link to a tour of the show with poetry read aloud: https://vimeo.com/430154010

Also this review on WyoFile

Below are each pair, the drawing is above the poem it applies to. Click each image to enlarge.

I hope you feel better after visiting this Poetry Apothecary.

Or at least had a good laugh.

categories Art Exhibitions, Projects, Illustration, Collaboration
tags A poetry apothecary, poetry and art, tiny drawings, ink drawing, sticky situations, poems by Matt Daly, Helpful Objects

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