Many stamps

I have been making many stamps for guests to create their wishing flags. I made around 20, big and small, include an image of my cat, Sano, that I made yesterday. She has been showing up my creation.

Mandala project: Purification ritual

It always rains in the early stage of making my Mandala. And it is not just little drops. I expect thunderstorms. And it happened again, here in Annmarie. When the rain storm pounded on my installation ground, I took it as that was the sign that I was successfully communicated to the universe and it approved my intention, and the ground was blessed and purified. Of course one can argue it was a just a matter of humidity, pressure, and temperature, but I knew something.

(Colors intensified after the rain.)

Wishing Mandala

I am here as an artist in resident at Annmarie sculpture park and art center to lead their summer public art program. I will be making an environmental art installation, New Mandala with natural found objects that reflect the locality of my current surroundings, Southern Maryland, with “Wishing Flag” component that the visitors of the garden will participate. This will be my 5th outside Mandala, 6th total Mandala piece I created.

First outside Mandala at Djerassi residency, Woodside, CA.

Every new Mandala has been evolved from previous version. And here in Annmarie, I can sense that I will be achieving to the next level. For last 3 days I am researching the new elements to the piece. I always wanted to make my piece more 3 dimensional. My last piece, Wetland Mandala, at Oysterville, Washington State, courtesy of the Espy foundation, was the first one which has significant height element.

I could have certainly repeated that structure, however I wanted to make it different off course. And I found the way. By using monofilament and ropes, I will create the visual walls in 4 directions that will have the illusion of mass when one sees it from the distance.
Another new elements to the “Wising Mandala” (working title, maybe Spider Mandala is better since I am putting strings everywhere) is “Wishing Flag” element. Public is asked to create a flag that they write their wishes on and decollate with their drawing and stamps that I carved.

The idea is that the wind carries out their wishes to the universe as like a Tibetan prayer flag.

The project is going forward!!

More photo of my mandala:
www.junart.net
flickr page

Annmarie Day 9, Bobby, The Flying Tortoise

Flying Tortoise at Annmarie.
It is amazing to be so digitized at the residency. My first residency in 2002, I used to bring all CDs. (I think I-pod did not exist yet.) I used calling cards and a payphone. I used a film camera. (I changed all digital around 2004.)
Here at Annmarie sculpture garden and art center, I can get wi-fi as long as I am near at the main building, and if I am out of length, I can use tethering method, which is rather temperamental and slow, but I can get online. (Or I can just use my droid for basic internet stuff.) So, now I just need to get a solar panel charger. (My inner gadget boy is calling....)
So, here is another installment of my video project...A tortoise, Bobby,is flying over Annmarie.

Annmarie Day 6

I edited a little time laps video that I shot on day 2.

Annmarie Day 3

I like being here doing only my thing. I actually picked up few calls asking me to work for them. I told them I am in a residency in MD or "Merry Land" as I said, and I am merry. So, today I left the place at first time. I went for 5 minutes bicycle ride to a post office. I worked on a painting a bit, made a video. I saw a dear as well.

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Annmarie Garden Sculpture Park and Arts center residency. Day 1

I arrived at Annmarie in the mid afternoon smoothly, thanks to my friends, Tara and Stephan, who kindly drove me down here. I took a train to Newark and met them up there. The worst part of my trip was from my Slope apartment to #2,3 line subway's Bergen station with a 90 pounds not-so-roll-well suitcase, 40 pounds duffle bag, and a 64 inch tube contains canvas. It normally takes 4 minutes, but took me 17 minutes today. But I knew once I get on the train it would be easy. Once we were in a car, we drove down 95, and took local freeway from Delaware, looking young corn field.  Looking at Maryland map, I am in Southern Maryland where Patuxent River meets Chesapeake Bay. I am here, Annmarie Garden, in association with the Smithsonian Institution, Sculpture Park and Arts Center, to make a public outside art installation. I will also lead a public participation program which will be a part of my installation. I will be making new version of my nature Mandala using found objects from the property, and I will ask visitors to make "wishing flag" to attach to my piece. "Wishing flag" idea is coming from the Tibettan prayer flag which normally has a good fortune prayer printed on.  "Wishing flag" hope to grant wishes of vistors, either their personal fortune or more psychological wish like finding themselves as wind blows. I met a few staff members today, and they pleasantly welcomed me, and we discussed about the project a little. After that, I did a little bit of the location hunt for the project. I noticed there were so many pinecones. I will most certainly use them. My living quarter was descrived as "rustic" on their website and literature, so I was imagining a wood cabin with wood burning stove. But,  I would use "simple" to depict the place. The studio area is quite specious and has many lights. So, I will be making 2-D art at night from the studio. I think my stay here will be cool!!