Biz Ladies

In case anyone hasn't ever seen this blog, Design Sponge is a beautiful blog that offers, among many things, a weekly section called Biz Ladies. Many topics are covered here that can pertain to both artists and crafters and all are super informative. I say check it out...

Darla in Real Life

I worry...it's what I do. I come from a line of worriers...My mom is way better at sneaky worrying than my Grandmother is...She'll atleast ask concerned questions, instead of launching a full on attack of scary "facts" and questions and statements, like my grandmother would do...so in a way I think my mom has helped me be a much more normal worrier than I might have ended up otherwise...
Still, I feel like my own personal worrying has changed in the last year (most likely due to being pregnant for most of the year)...I used to worry without doing much about it, would forget and get over it until I was reminded again of said cause of worry days, months or years later, ie, killer bees, monsoons, food poisoning, stove on, etc, etc, etc.
Now I try to be a responsible worrier...When I worry about something, I try to research it a) so I can learn more about it (which sometimes makes me more scared) and b) so I can try and do something about it.
Something that came up recently is cell phones...Justin and I were talking with our friend Laura about how we don't really know how bad they are for us...we suspect the badness but aren't sure and have never really bothered to look into it. Funny enough I got an email today from the environmental working group (You want to feed paranoia...go to this site. It's awesome and scary scary scary.) about cell phones and whether they are safe. You can search for your phone and see what models are better. There's also an article about 8 steps you can take to reduce your radiation exposure, which I thought was good to include. Turns out that our cell phones are two of the bad guys (shit.) but we've been needing new ones anyway so...maybe we'll switch it up and get ones with lower radiation exposure... Anyway, in case anyone else out there is paranoid like I am, here's the article: IS YOUR CELL PHONE SAFE?
I know this has nothing to do with art. Sorry for that. I've just been in "life business mode" today...meaning paying bills, tracking a package to Belgium that has gone missing, cleaning up my filing cabinet, and overall being responsible and organizing my life...so I felt like this was more on my mind at the moment.
Anywho...Happy Monday.

Next up....?

So what now..? All my shows are installed and staying put (for now) and I am trying to think about what I am to do with myself...Philadelphia Open Studio Tours is coming up in the beginning of October so that is the PERFECT excuse to get my disaster of a studio back in order...(Justin always teases me and says I can work in a trash pile and/or hovel and won't be bothered by it...this is only partly true...I CAN work in an absolute mess, but prefer not to...)
And then what? Well, I've got some ideas coming to me as the impending baby gets closer and closer to coming...Strange images of rabbits and having babies and all that, but weird (of course)...I think I'm going to do some drawings and watercolors as prep work...I have plans to get to the Wagner this week or next to sketch as well...I've been trying to get to that place for years...literally YEARS! I can't believe I've never been...the kick in the ass has been that Justin will be cladding (aka framing out and covering in wood) their bronotosaurus leg (art handlers do the strangest things dont they?) and so he's been mentioning it quite a bit...
Anyway, my thoughts are to plan a body of work, or a group of pieces that relate to one another...and also to plan out some large, room sized installations...I've got some crazy ideas and might use my down time to get logistics figured out...so with all this inner brain craziness forgive me if I seem a bit scattered/all over the place in the next few months...heck, it might be more exciting that way? I don't know...
Anyway, off to sleep...cleaning studio and/or Wagner tomorrow, with photos to come either way...woo hoo!

Weekly Update

What a crazy past week! Thank goodness I did nothing for the last two days except lay on the couch and watch every single Harry Potter movie (Justin even found a bootleg of the 6th one online...was so much better when we saw it in the theater but the crappy internet bootleg did complete our weekend marathon!...Now I feel semi back to normal...

Current Exhibitions


Step Right Up...
New sculpture by Darla Jackson
September-October 2009
Vagabond Boutique
37 N. 3rd Street
Philadelphia, PA

111th Fleisher Faculty Exhibition
August 24th-September 19th, 2009
Fleisher Art Memorial
719 Catherine Street
Philadelphia, PA

Closing Reception: Sunday, September 19th 4-6pm

Upcoming Exhibitions



My Face in Your Space
September 10 - October 2, 2009
Nexus Foundation For Today's Art
1400 N. American Street
Philadelphia, PA
Opening Reception: September 10th, 6-9pm

And...

POST Artist's Installations
Philadelphia Fringe Festival - Festival Bar
SW corner of 5th and Fairmount Streets
Philadelphia, PA

More info can be found at the Festival Bar Page of the Fringe Fest's website.

In October...

My studio will be open to the public for 2 days as part of the 2009 Philadelphia Open Studio Tours. Come see the space I share with the fabulous Ms. Aubrie Costello.

POST Open Studio
October 3-4, 2009, 12-6pm
3237 N. Amber Street, Studio 3-3-A
Philadelphia, PA

And December...

Art House Gallery : Atlanta, Ga
309 Peters St
Atlanta, GA 30313
December 11 - 13, 2009

303Grand : Brooklyn, NY
303 Grand St.
Brooklyn, NY 11211
February 19 - 21, 2010

Art and Shelter Gallery at The Salvation Army Alegria : Los Angeles, CA
2737 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90039
April 8 - 11, 2010

Soulard Art Market : Saint Louis, MO
2028 S. 12th St
Saint Louis, MO 63104
April 16 - 18, 2010

Home Gallery : Chicago, IL
1407 E. 54th Place
Chicago, IL
May 7th-9th, 2010


Fall 2009 Classes

The upcoming classes that I'll be teaching this fall are an Introduction to Animal Sculpture Class through Pterodactyl Philadelphia (to be held in my studio...come check it out!) and Sculptural Forms through the Fleisher Art Memorial. Can't wait!

Hope everyone had a good weekend!!

2 days, 2 Installs

Whew, this week was crazy....getting ready for two shows... Here are some images from both:

First is an installation at the Fringe Festival Bar at 5th and Fairmount in Philadelphia...





The creepy guy under the hood is a raccoon I sculpted a while back...they wanted a hooded figure and he was the chosen man of mystery...


Next is my solo show at Vagabond. The space is small so its only 3 pieces but I think they're pretty funny...and a good continuation from the work I made for a miniature ocean.

Try your luck..., Mixed Media, 30"h x 30"w x 5"d, 2009

Take a shot..., Mixed Media, 12"h x 36"w x 10"d, 2009

Test your aim..., Mixed Media, 36"h x 60"w x 6"d, 2009

In the Studio...

Whont Whont with a dash of Irony...

So I would've posted yesterday...I planned on coming home for lunch from the studio and uploading in progress photos of the work I'm making...that is, until a rabbit fell on my head...
How did a rabbit fall on my head you ask? Well it wasn't a live rabbit, it was a sculpture. And he was up on top of something that I forgot he was on top of when I tried to move said something...and he fell down and cracked me good....there was crying, blood, ice packs, the whole nine yards.

The irony bit, is that this is the piece that fell on my head:


And this is me after it fell on my head:

...