Jessie Weitzel

Up next....a Sea Lion Soft Sculpture...

2012-01-23T11:48:00.000-08:00

Just some little sketches.

New Work

2012-01-18T12:44:00.000-08:00

Although photographing this piece made me cringe at the sheer awfulness that is my camera...I decided to post images anyway. I'd like to thank the strange Australian survival man on YouTube that showed me how to make a net, and my cat, Lucille. Just because she's amazing.

Materials: Naturally molted peacock feathers, artificial foliage, latex, acrylic paint, glass and resin beads, aluminum leaf, and sisal rope.

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Animated Characteristic: Projected onto the Exterior of "Buried Processes"

2010-07-31T12:34:00.000-07:00

Here is one of the projected animated characteristics from "Buried Processes." This one was projected onto the border where the cavity meets the exterior of the figure.

The puppet was made from foam, latex, and acrylic paint. The armature is steel and aluminum wire. The exterior surface is a combination of sliced synthetic grapes and painted latex "gutsy bits."

Gut Babies from Jessie Weitzel on Vimeo.

"Doom Loop"

2010-05-18T18:34:00.000-07:00

I did the makeup, hair, and crystal fabrication for a collaborated video installation by The Rice Brothers and Rory Magnus, titled "Doom Loop."

The crystals needed to be light-weight, so I made them out of foam, and tinted paraffin wax. They were applied with spirit gum.

The video installation will be shown alongside Noah and Nathan Rice's collage work, at the Grassy Knoll Gallery, June 3rd-July 3, 2010.

Here's the photos:

Thesis Oral Defense

2010-05-04T14:59:00.000-07:00

Viktor F.

2010-01-30T13:22:00.001-08:00

Materials: Clay, paraffin wax, acrylic paint, synthetic hair, glasses, necklace, reclaimed clothing, foam, rope.

Body Experiment III

2010-01-21T09:26:00.000-08:00

This piece continues my investigation of creating a stylized decomposing body to project animations onto. The animated element below is a simple experiment to test the effect of projected animation on sculpture.

Materials: Reclaimed clothing, polyester batting, polyester fabric, clay, synthetic hair,
rhinestones, glitter, plaster, acrylic paint, plastic bones.

Body Experiment III (Continued)

2010-01-20T21:52:00.000-08:00

This animation is projected on the face of the sculpture. The puppet is made from rhinestones and the same hair present on the sculpture. The sound was recorded by Thomas Himes.

Hair Sounds from Jessie Weitzel on Vimeo.

Body Experiment 1

2009-10-06T01:00:00.000-07:00

Making Puppets

2009-10-06T00:55:00.001-07:00

Just some little guys.....

Lumberjack Limbo

2009-08-12T22:26:00.000-07:00

Untitled from Jessie Weitzel on Vimeo.

"Lumberjack Limbo" was an animated installation and collaborative effort with Chad Hinman.

Above is a clip that was projected on the left wall of the gallery space. A sculptural element also occupied the gallery floor. It consisted of the deflated body of the "Gumberoo" and rhinestone encrusted bones.

More info on the Gumberoo: http://www.fearsomecreaturesofthelumberwoods.com/pg11.htm

Chad's work: http://www.youtube.com/roperwick

Stills:

Body Island

2009-05-12T23:08:00.001-07:00

Materials: Clay, spray paint, rocks, twigs, horsehair, acrylic.

A Little Monster

2009-05-12T23:03:00.000-07:00

Materials: Foam, latex, acrylic, horse hair, tile, drain, clay.

Artist Statement

2009-03-30T22:56:00.000-07:00

I have long been fascinated with the transitory elements of life; especially the ultimate transition – death. Coming to terms with my individual ultimatums has occupied my thoughts and informed my art. I apply basic elements of life such as philosophy, relationships, and emotions to this fundamental problem. In my efforts to understand my own death I’ve concluded that, as living organisms, this undertaking should be our first task. Life and death have an entirely codependent relationship. The most effective way to understand death is to think about the physical presence of the body, life; both its limits and its infinitude.

My work is primarily focused on examining the body’s sense of physical and emotional self in the space it inhabits. I use found objects like clothing, accessories, wigs, and rope to illustrate the objects that intimately exist with our physical exterior. I use traditional materials to construct the body or its parts as an object. By combining these materials I hope to create a metaphor for the body that questions the idea that the individual is autonomous and emancipated from its environment. For example in Silky Sheer the body is exploding forth from a drawer of nylons, a material traditionally meant to contain the body’s form. In Viktor F. the body is composed of twisting and contorting lines of rope and hair that encircle a collapsed shirt that represents a torso. The figure is androgynous and pale. The waxy exterior is flesh-like, yet the coloring of the skin gives it the aura of an object beyond human. The figure resides between the inanimate and the organic.

The Jackalope Mimics the Voice of its Hunters explores the fable of an organism neither dead nor alive. Though the animal is a cultural narrative, used as myth and fable, it sits here manifested – composed of collaged parts. While creating the jackalope, I envisioned myself as the mad scientist Viktor Frankenstein. I allude to narratives like Frankenstein and Pinocchio, incorporating the “élan vital” that brings inanimate objects to life. Although science can explain how an organism sustains itself—the “breath of life” or spark of consciousness of creatures remains mysterious and enchanting to me. The moment it slips away and what is to come of it afterwards dumbfounds me. In this piece, the constructed jackalope is awaiting its “élan vital,” its vital force. A force impossible for me to bestow, leaving the jackalope a liminal being forever.

The Jackalope Mimics the Voice of its Hunters

2009-03-30T22:47:00.000-07:00

Wood, foam, plaster, paraffin wax, antlers, deer fur, fox fur, nylons.

Glitter Growths

2009-03-30T22:39:00.000-07:00

Plaster, paraffin wax, acrylic, glitter, sterling silver chain, metallic thread, horse hair, pebbles.

Silky Sheer

2008-12-17T16:41:00.000-08:00

Foam, Nylons, Acrylic, Ceramic Tiles, Clay.

Bordet

2008-11-21T23:24:00.001-08:00

Wood, clay, rope, light.

First Comes Chaos (then comes freedom)

2008-07-15T21:33:00.000-07:00

Plaster, paraffin wax, acrylic, pillow, decorative sand, synthetic eyelashes, synthetic hair, sea urchin spines, makeup, onyx, antlers, artificial foliage.

Sleep

2008-07-15T21:05:00.000-07:00

Plaster, decorative sand, sea urchin skeletons, bedding, inflatable pillows, mirror, furniture.

This work explores a moment of tension, as we are positioned on the brink of sleep.
Our human reaction to something necessary, yet bizarre.

In the earliest stages of sleep, we often mistake ourselves for awake. Our bodies lie
still and quiet while our mind flutters and twists in disorganized thoughts and reflections.

Our “self” slips into its motionless state, and we find ourselves turning inwards; a moment of self-inflicted sensory depravation.

Some know sleep as peacefulness and escape; sleep that poses as a womb.
Warming us, we feel safe and held.

But despite its therapeutic qualities, sleep is also feared. The ambiguous moment
in time where we lose control and external distractions, and we turn into our minds.
We lay consumed by our fears, memories, and knowledge.

Closed Lids

2008-07-15T20:53:00.000-07:00

Plaster, acrylic, fox fur.