Mary O'Brien

Living in Two Worlds

2011-11-08T08:31:00.000-08:00

No Trompe L'Oeil here (apoligies for my first non-art post on this site) but just pretty much how I feel ending a 2-year stint as an Arts Administrator here in Charlotte, NC.
Along the way, I got some "authentic Southern taste" added to my Northerness.
Now, during the long drive home, I'll try to make sense of it all (3K miles ought to do it) with some new project ideas that I'll incubate, while trying to keep Daniel in the truck in site out one of the windshields.

A Year in the South

2011-03-01T09:20:00.000-08:00

Who You Calling Sweetie, Sweetie?

Squeezed

2010-02-02T14:38:00.000-08:00

Waste or want?
What could a bag of lemons do to help the hungry? Does the gesture do more for the giver or receiver?

I Have, I Want

2009-12-25T13:23:00.000-08:00

No, this is not about personal downsizing, as some have asked.

Haves and Wants

2009-11-18T11:03:00.000-08:00

I'm living in the urban South this year. Our apartment overlooks a freeway viaduct that also doubles as a homeless encampment. The commute traffic wakes me before dawn each morning, as it does the viaduct dwellers. I often watch them climb out from their camp as I sip my morning coffee in comfort. A disjointed reality and reminder of the bigger picture beyond the studio.

Wildacres Residency

2009-09-24T18:20:00.000-07:00

From my artist residency at Wildacres in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. The studio was immense, the surroundings awe inspiring and the people absolutely wonderful and supportive.

Words are Following Me

2009-07-15T07:59:00.000-07:00

Words have always meant a lot to me. I support my art practice by writing, researching and editing. These days though, words seem to follow me into the studio. Here you see studies for a larger, multi-piece interactive ceramic installation. Rather than indulge the delicate nature of ceramics, I want the viewer to interact with them, and in doing so, manipulate the original context.

Legacy

2009-05-09T16:07:00.001-07:00

It's not over yet.

Refuse (11 0f 87 Jobs Americans Don't Really Want)

2009-04-06T10:47:00.000-07:00

My impressions on the national economic crisis continue in "30 Ceramic Sculptors" at the John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA, May 1 -30, 2009.

Feats of Clay, 2009, Gladding, McBean Clay Pipe Factory, Lincoln, CA

2009-04-06T10:35:00.000-07:00

Shine (7 of 87 Jobs American, Don't Really Want)

Trompe l'Oeil 2008

2008-12-17T11:04:00.001-08:00

Stuck (5 Out of 87 Jobs Americans Don't Really Want)

2nd Annual Trompe l'Oeil Exhibition
John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis CA
12/31/08 - 1/25/09

My trompe l’oeil sculptures play with the physicality of memory attached to everyday life and a sentimentality for work. Their illusion relies on the viewer’s sense of nostalgia and a familiarity with common tools that used to be found in any home. In an attempt to portray their textures, patinas and gestures, I consider the culture of work and the changing role of physical labor. While these household tools have become domestic icons in a sense, telling tales of hard work, traditions and habits, their pretext is twofold, portraying work and jobs that are no longer valued, even in rough economic times.

2008, ceramic, 14” x 13” x 15”

Body Count Baby

2008-08-06T19:50:00.000-07:00

The civilian body counts for the Afghanistan/Iraq War differ greatly. While reporting methodologies vary, controversy exists in the accuracy of the counts with some websites addressing this challenge with resignation: “That is the sad nature of war” (IraqBodyCount.org). Anniversaries are celebrated, monuments are erected, military sacrifices are commemorated, and yet often, the civilian causalities, particularly citizens of the invaded countries, are forgotten.

Children are the most difficult to identify. Individuals are seldom listed by name, and are often identified as merely "baby", with just an age range, or as “family of” a deceased adult.

Visual Impact

2008-08-06T12:06:00.000-07:00

I was able to show my entire Love of the Game series for this exhibition at the Marin Community Foundation. On exhibit August 4 – October 9, 2008 at 5 Hamilton Landing, Suite 200 Novato, CA. That's my "Fat Boy" sculpture on the postcard.

I helped install the work of fellow Marin Arts Council grant recipients in a beautiful refurbished former Air Force hangar at the historic Hamilton Field. I couldn't help but think of my father, an Air Force pilot who finished his military service at Hamilton after WWII.

The Visual Impact exhibition is a diverse and interesting show, with a good balance of 2D and 3D work including work by my husband Daniel McCormick. We're returning home from our cross-country trek for the opening on September 25-- 4:30-6:30pm.

Full 'o Bomblets

2008-07-02T14:06:00.000-07:00

All the current pieces in this series, "Love of the Game" will soon be in together my studio to photograph before my installation in the Visual Impact exhibition sponsored by the Marin Arts Council and including recent Fund for Artists Grant recipients. More images soon.

Visual Impact

August 1 - October 10, 2009

Marin Community Foundation

5 Hamilton Landing, Suite 200

Novato, CA 94949

Book Series Continued

2008-07-02T13:57:00.000-07:00

Here's the latest in the book series. I'm still exploring.

Legends of Lost Salmon

2008-05-30T13:29:00.000-07:00

This is a great auction benefiting the West Marin Artists in the Schools Program that Dan and I have been very involved with over the years.

Show dates June 7-July 6. The opening is Saturday evening June 14th with some final bidding excitement at the closing on July 6 at 5:00 p.m.

Wild Book Show
Point Reyes Books
11315 State Route 1
Point Reyes Station CA

Bomb Meditation

2008-05-11T17:09:00.000-07:00

Lately, I've been able to spend more time on this series of pull-toy bombs, (that clarification in case Homeland Security is reading). I find it fairly intense to work on them, given the irony vs. the reality. The more bomb sculptures that I make, the more real world models I find. I'm thinking of making these until there are no more real ones being exploded, but I'm afraid I'll lose that game. Still, the meditation while I'm working on them feels right, something like a protest ritual.

30 Ceramic Sculptors 2008

2008-03-24T12:08:00.001-07:00

My work is in the annual 30 Ceramic Sculptors Exhibition at the John Natsoulas Center for the Arts.

April 25th through May 24th, 2008.

Domestic Intentions, 2008, ceramic

My mother wasn’t much of a housekeeper and neither am I. Perhaps my fascination with these household cleaning items is rooted in my paternal grandmother, an Irish immigrant who worked as a domestic in turn of the century Philadelphia.

These are very personalized tools. Individual textures, patinas and gesture keep me interested sculpturally. However, as I study the sculptural form of each, I find that apparent simplicity gives way to more complex underlying allusions. They have become domestic icons telling tales of hard work, traditions and habits. In an attempt to portray the commonality of these hidden histories, I consider the culture of work and the importance we give the universal tools of that labor.

Trompe L'Oeil

2008-01-05T14:10:00.000-08:00

My broom sculptures are included in the John Natsoulas Center for the Arts' First Annual Trompe L'Oeil exhibition January 2 through February 2, 2008, located in beautiful downtown Davis, California.

Love of the Game

2007-09-07T12:08:00.000-07:00

Here's a sneak peak at the new series I am working on.

See the series at Artisans Gallery, 853 Fourth Street, San Rafael in War and Peace An exploration of internal or external conflict and resolution.
10/31- 11/18.

The Wicked Sisters Live On!

2007-07-18T17:27:00.000-07:00

I am happy to report that the Wicked Step Sisters have received two awards--First Place Sculpture Division, Marin County Fair & East Bay Clay Award, California Clay Competition.

They've also become the inspiration for a new piece I've been invited to create for the Bolinas Museum Annual Benefit Auction on September 15th (more about that later).

Currently you can see them at the ACCI Gallery in Berkeley until August 18, 2007. Learn more about the ACCI exhibition at: http://www.accigallery.com/Events_Set.htm

Back to Structures

2007-04-23T09:04:00.000-07:00

Something I saw recently rekindled my interest in this past exploration into architectural forms. In the near future, I think you will be seeing more work like this selection from my 2005 Hamlet series.

Meet the Wicked Step Sisters

2007-03-28T11:56:00.000-07:00

They make their debut at the California Clay Competition Exhibition at the Artery, 207 G Street, Davis, CA, April 27-June 2, 2007. I'll be escorting them at the opening Friday, 4/27 from 7-10 p.m. and hope to get your vote.