Today I've been digging the work of artist Pamela J Wallace.  She uses industrial "cold" materials like steel, wire and plaster paired with natural and "warm" materials like abaca, wax and fibers in a fantastic way.  She has a background in sculpture, but she also works in 2-D / mixed media, installation and drawings.  

As Two |  2010, 7 x 13 x 4 inches, wire, wood, abaca paper, encaustic

Antennae |  2010, 16 x 8 x 3 inches, wire, abaca paper, encaustic

Interuption of the Moirai (a dangerous precedent) |   2011, 37 x 41 x 7 inches, iron, fabric, thread, graphite

Contained like a Plastic Sprout | 2011, 11 x 9 x 4 inches, wire, abaca paper, forged iron, plastic ball

so long  |  2005 40” x 16' x 2'6” forged and fabricated iron rings and stands; fabricated steel box containing 550 lbs. of anthracite coal; plaster spheres; pigment; beeswax

System outlier  |  2010 15" x 14" graphite, charcoal, collage, back side of picture frame 

This week I'm having a blast teaching an "Altered Books" class to 13 keen 6-8th graders and preparing new items for my etsy shop (sneak peek coming soon!)  

I've been showing my students some pretty rad examples of altered books.  Today,  we looked at what uh-mazing things you can do with just an Xacto knife, a book, a big dose of patience and focus, and your imagination.

To get inspired, we looked at the work of:

Georgia Russell

Nicholas Jones

Noriko Ambe

Su Blackwell

Alexander Korzer-Robinson

Brian Dettmer

I can't wait to see what the students come up with!