Studio shots:
Sarah Cormier from Double Edge Theatre helps weave wool into a fishing net
Friday, January 25, 2013
Studio Shots
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
The Village
Something interesting happens when you state your intention to bring contemporary public art to a large city landmark such as The Christian Science Plaza. The village gathers. And you gather the village. During the ground work for collecting the vast amount of wool needed for The Lighthouse, I have met shearer Andy Rice and other New England sheep farm owners who are insightful and offer great advice. Friends such as, actress Christine Stevens offers video and voice over for a fundraising campaign, and educator and farmer Nicki Robb spends an afternoon weaving and contemplating the human/animal connection. Interns from colleges are coming in to work and the studio is filling with the smell of lanolin. Family members are helping with material choices, Marci Caplis helps with editing documents, and artist Chris Nelson bounces ideas to help me see clearer the vision for a sculpture that has taken on a life of its own. Architect Andrew St. John and Engineer George Sherwood help with structural elements; all of this under the guidance of a true mentor, artist Mac Dewart.
Artists are small entrepreneurs conducting on any given day the publicity, fundraising, ordering of materials, meeting with the suppliers, getting permissions, organizing and training help, meeting with architects and designing and creating the actual sculpture. The research and literature read at night to instill deeper ideas is a bonus and a favorite part of my job, but mostly it is the village that I love. Asking for help in my first monumental urban public art sculpture is the first step to actualize this dream.
Intern Gina Shvartsman and Nancy Winship Milliken weaving raw wool into a fishing net.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
New Public Art Installation
The Lighthouse
The
Lighthouse, a new site-specific light and natural material installation will
be on view from May to October 2013 in Boston's Christian Science Plaza as a part
of the Boston Sculptors Gallery's group show, Convergence, co-sponsored
by The First Church of Christ, Scientist. My 70-foot tall wool and sailcloth
sculpture will enliven the vast concrete plaza with organic materials
responsive to wind and be dramatically lit at night by internal lighting
elements. More than two dozen public art installations from Boston
Sculptors Gallery members will be on display at the Plaza to draw attention to
contemporary visual art and promote its prominent place in the life of the
city.
© The
First Church of Christ, Scientist. Used with permission. (aerial view of
installation site)
© The First
Church of Christ, Scientist. Used with permission. (view of installation site
near the reflecting pool)
This dynamic installation
will employ scaffolding to surround an existing lightbox that depicts images of
children. The scaffolding creates an industrial platform for me to weave 150
feet of raw wool collected from New England sheep farms. The flowing, airy and
textural natural materials will provide a contrast to the surrounding static
concrete and steel buildings. This mixture of urban and rural materials, The Lighthouse, is full of metaphor:
protection, home, community, comfort.
·
This contemporary installation is my gift to the city of Boston.
No money will be made in the sale of the temporary installation, and for this,
I will need to raise $10,000 to install and rent scaffolding for six months. Your
contribution will, quite literally, provide the foundation of this monumental
and dynamic sculpture. In collaboration with The Christian Science Plaza, we
have acquired all the required city permits and permissions for the
installation. It is all-systems-go right now in the studio; wool is being
sheared and collected from local farms, college interns are helping weave and
felt in the studio and the smell of lanolin is in the air!
This image, by photographer Jeff Derose, shows the weaving method of raw wool that will be used for The Lighthouse.
To follow the development of the process of making The Lighthouse, please visit the studio
blog at http://nancymilliken.com/news/ subscribe to
get RSS feeds, or sign up for periodic email updates on the home page of http://nancymilliken.com.
I greatly appreciate your contribution.
Thank you,
Nancy
Ways to contribute:
Checks earmarked The
Lighthouse can be made out to:
Nancy Winship
Milliken Studio
Please mail to:
Nancy Winship
Milliken Studio
21 Sumner
Mountain Road
Amherst, MA
01002
For a tax deductable
contribution, make your check payable
to the Arts and Business Council of
Greater Boston. To ensure your money will go towards The Lighthouse Project,
all checks should be earmarked: for
CSPP/ Milliken (Christina Science Plaza Project/Milliken)
Please mail to:
Nancy Winship
Milliken Studio
21 Sumner
Mountain Road
Amherst, MA
01002
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