i have jumped ships find me at caitlinrosesweet.tumblr.com

b.y.o.q 2010

I had planned on showing "cord" and getting more folks to braid into the piece but it was raining. i decided i wanted to still be a part of this rad event so i showed up with some pink string to gay up the trees. I am really excited about burl. burl are basically tree tumors. i have been doing some research on them. i think they are so magical and beautiful, there is some transformative about them. disease. healing. mutation. anyways it was less than romantic working in the rain and feeling ignored by folks there. i often feel sad about how my community responds to visual art. which is hard because i make art about building community.

but i feel good about the work i did and i am planning on growing this body of work. it reminds me of sacred geometry.

i am no stranger to loss...

my computer died. i had everything backed up on an external hard drive. but somehow all that info is gone too. so 2 years of digital work, all my documentation of my work, personal photos, music, research, writing is all gone. all that exists is what is on this blog and my facebook account.

more cord

cord at dirt star nqaf 2010

Cord is my new epic project. it is about the way we build community. all the fabric is from stuff i collected for "my mother's blood" and from free boxes and donations from folks in my community. fabric is a part of our history and how we create connections with each other. revolutions have started over carpets and quilts. this is an on going interactive installation, people gather braid and talk and connect. i sew it together, it continues to grow, change shape, size, color. i was really blessed to have tons of folks come to my house and hang out with me and braid. shay pointed out that this is also about me accepting support and energy around my mother's death.

fancyland part 2

i am in love with this piece. it is so beautiful and felt so good to make. and so good to spend time in, as you walk around it and through it, it changes shape, design, and when the light changes different parts light up and glow. it looks like beams of neon light shooting through the woods. dreamy. i have no tittle yet. this feels like a new growth, a new beginning, a new body of work for me. i am thankful. i need something that feels good and light. i feel like i have to come out as an artist who is in love with formal aesthetics.

artist retreat at fancyland

this is the 2nd installation i did on the land. the piece is tittle "sever". last fall i was suppose to do a 2 week retreat at fancy land. my mom was in the hospital and it was unclear what was happening, the cancer had hidden in her marrow, she started chemo, and was not absorbing her blood transfusions. the last conversation i had with her was her telling me that the way i could support her was to go to my retreat and make beautiful magical art. she passed 4 days before i was suppose to leave. my plan was to do an installation that would be a continuation of the "mother's blood" series. it was a big prayer for my mom's life to continue for her blood cells to come back healthy. i couldn't tell my mom this, she was a private person and unwilling to sit with how her having terminal cancer effected her children. my art was too intense for her and she didn't want to see it. "sever" is about being cut off from a major force in my life...my mom. moms are a big deal. they are the gates to this world. i feel severed from my life, my energy, my heart, my history, my lineage, etc. this piece feels alive to me. the vines i wrapped are cut poison oak (many years dead) and travel up the tree. i am still sorting out how i emotionally connect to this piece.