do you really think he'll pull through?

I’ll be moving into my new apartment within the next two weeks. I just bought the most comfortable bed that you just sink into and some velvety, ruby red slip covers for my couches. I have a huge empty wall space above my couch which I’ve decided is the perfect place for a new painting. I don’t know why, but I really want to paint a walrus. I haven’t made a painting in quite a while, but I’m pretty confident I can churn out a giant walrus in a few weeks.

And I have the strangest desire to title it “Walrus in a Coma.” And maybe he’ll have rubies for eyes.

Imajica is Majical

I just felt like sharing a wonderful chapter from a really wonderful book.

girly pearls

I've had this obsession with pearls, lately. Not only because they are beautiful, but I love that they are considered a "gemstone," yet they grow from within a shellfish! It's literally the hardened secreation of a slimely little mollusc!

I've also been obsessed with looking up the healing and emotional uses for gemstones. Pearls emit peace and tranquility. They are symbolic of the moon and it's effect on the human body, balancing the hormones. Pearls also represent fertility and purity, as well as influence the wearer to more openly accept love (for themselves and others). I believe the pearl is also a great symbol of femininity and womanhood.

I had used pearls, or the idea of pearls, in my work in the past (see here and here). I recently felt the urge to continuing exploring pearls and femininity in my work. Out of nowhere I had this idea for a stop-motion video. I've never done stop motion before, nor have I ever wanted to.

Images of baby oysters on a beach, the birthing of a stream of fluid and pearls from a human womb, and a bird warming a pearl in it's gooey nest were flowing through my mind.

formspring.me

Do you have an exact, personalized definition of 'success' when it comes to your artwork? by godownmatthew

No, not really. I don't have a formula or a checklist. If I am successful with a piece of my work I have: faced and completed challenges I have given myself; solved unforeseen problems that may have occurred to the best of my ability; and have completed or went beyond my own expectations of myself or the work.

I'm pretty easy to please and I don't place too much pressure on most things I do. When I work I usually have an initial idea or goal, but the fleshing out comes during the process of creating the work. I go with the flow and try to make what I have work. And if it doesn't work, it gets placed to the side and I keep going.

Some pieces are more successful than others not because they are better crafted or more aesthetically pleasing, but because in the end I translated my thoughts more clearly.

This sounds conceited, but I usually like most things I make. I think because I start to actually love them like my own babies.

Ask me anything

Space Rocks, mission complete

My installation of Space Rocks: A Look at Far-Out Minerals has come and gone. I really enjoyed this project, from start to finish. In total, it makes so much sense to me and represents me as a creator and a human being. I'm really sad that it's over, but I'm extremely proud of myself. Everything worked out beyond my expectations and I couldn't have been happier with the outcome. Of course, a lot of thanks to friends and collaborators, who brought wonder, skills, and a lot of personality to the project.

The video is finally up!


Space Rocks: A Look at Far-Out Minerals from Madeleine Bliss on Vimeo.


If you'd like to buy a DVD, email me at madeleine.m.bliss@gmail.com.

New challenges await me, and I'm excited for what the future brings... in other words, "what the hell to do next?"

Space Rocks: The Thesis Paper

Below is the thesis paper for my senior project, Space Rocks: A Look at Far-Out Minerals, which counts for half of the project. I thought it might be nice to share it with anyone who is interested in my thoughts on the work.


There is nothing more complex or more beautiful than our natural world. I use the elements from this world to tell a new story. My work invents cultures that speak foreign tongues, which have sprung from stars and rocks. Each time I begin a sculpture, I am writing a new mythology for my imaginary world. Greatly influenced by the ritualistic practices of native societies, I believe humans need to create gods and legends for themselves, and making art is my way of satisfying that need.

Two years ago, I took a trip to California and had the opportunity to drive down the coast of the Golden State. I was overtaken with amazement and appreciation for the landscape around me. Immediately, personal myths began forming in my mind. The mountains and hills were living creatures, whose enormous faces would slowly emerge from the brush to watch over the world. This was the first time I was so inspired by the sculptural elements of nature, and it has deeply influenced my work ever since.

Mythology and story-telling are an important part of making art. After my visit to California, I returned to the studio to make the images of these creature mountains that had so deeply struck me. During this time, I began reading Joseph Campbell’s The Power of Myth, in which he connects mythology to personal spirituality and to our modern world. My work entitled Watchers, four ceramic animal-mountains perched upon individual shelves, each with a shadowy root below them, was the result of diving headfirst into an imagined spirituality that only I was privy to. Watchers are the gods of heaven and Earth, connected to the sky and ground, looking over all of us, protecting us. This work was meant to be shared, but its meaning was obvious only to me. I bared my spirituality to whoever was willing to view and asked for nothing in return.

Space Rocks TONIGHT

Space Rocks opens tonight! RSVP to the Facebook event!