Tetris on the Brain

I was invited to show at the second annual 8-Bit art show at Family Affair this year. I did a collab piece with Delton Demarest last year that set the bar high for us as individual participants this time around... Because my solo show at DVSN West was only 2 weeks ago, I wasn't sure how much time I had to devote to a concept, but I knew I wanted to elaborate on the brick patterns I already created. At first my heart was set on making a dimensional Super Mario Bros brick/block, but I couldn't decide on which version to use. Then after floating around on the web I found photos of an awesome Tetris Art installation in Sydney, Australia called "One More Go One More Go". Seeing that gave me new inspiration, and although my piece would be created on a smaller scale, the spatial possibilities of the shapes from Tetris became more intriguing.

"One More Go One More Go"  photo: ellabarclay.com

I have been collecting metal remnants and things from my friends and while walking around in odd places, so all of the material I used the fabricate my Tetris block (tetrimino) was free. The shape I chose could be considered an "s" or a "z" shape, depending on the way it's displayed. I gave the piece full xyz dimensionality so it looks like a cage or skeleton, it begins to create additional geometric images than what would normally be there if it was just flat, I enjoy angles and geometry. Over the course of 10 hours of cutting and polishing and welding, I created "Anatomy", its just under 2ft tall and will make a nice piece for someone's home in the future... It will be on display at Family Affair (denver) for the rest of the month, 2049 Larimer St.

There is a very informative Wiki about the origin of Tetris, it's worth a read!

Thanks!

Photo by Steve Pamlenyi

My show was last night at DVSN West, and I am pretty happy with everything I put on display! It sounds weird but only because I've never shown art like this before... I had mounting complications with my neon pieces, but everyone was excited about my new dimensional works. (**For folks out there that plan on showing art in a space, make sure you know how you're allowed to hang work in advance, so you can plan accordingly!). I really appreciate everyone that was able to make it to the opening, I think everyone had a fun time!

Me

The Westword did a blog post prior to my show, that was really nice, and thanks to Amber Taufen for the write up. Here's the link if you would like to read it: http://blogs.westword.com/showandtell/2012/09/harrison_nealey_on_beauty_is_d.php

Steve Pamlenyi

That guy, Alexi High, once again changed the whole vibe of my pieces by making the time to help me by cutting parts on the flatbed CNC router at his work... I know it was my concept, but that's worthless sometimes without someone else's expertise! I raise my glass to you

Alan Bader

I did two late night photo sessions with my friend, Alan Bader, we produced a nice set of photo prints of the neon pieces and series of used mops (graffiti markers). I'll eventually add those for sale on my art page, by the end of October I assume. I think Alan did a supreme job working outside of his normal photography settings and his ability to adapt and shoot was captured in the photos he chose to print. He is actually getting close to starting his own business called Omni Creative Development, doing professional product design and product photography from his residence in North Denver. He is currently an employee at Omerica Organic, where he operates CNC machinery and takes photographs of the organic wood jewelry and accessories the company produces. I have to show a lot of love and gratitude to Alan and I hope he does well moving forward with his solo endeavor. Thanks!

Steve Pamlenyi

Thanks to Matt Feeney (Magnet Mafia) for bringing those trick silicone baking molds for a sweet set of fridge magnets. Sorry you missed the opener but we'll hit it up soon!

Thanks to Joel DeJong and Todd McMurry of DVSN West for giving me a show in their boutique and I hope they enjoy the art as much as I do... Sell some pieces fellas!

I want to thank my girlfriend and my son for putting up with my late night sessions of working on all of the pieces and parts of this show. Thanks to the rest of my friends and family that encouraged me and offered their support. And thanks to my studio mates, Dan Castillo and Delton Demarest for making sure I succeeded on my mission with this show...

For those that want to see the work, it will be on display until the end of October. Have a good weekend everyone!

Neon peek

I've got plenty to do before next Friday, a few folks have seen the progress photos I've posted in different places, but its time to blog about it!

I've designed 3 pieces made out of neon lights, neon is a specialized subcategory of the signage industry that I've never worked on personally, so I had Acme Neon Signs bend glass to my specs. I'm really excited about all of the work, but neon is just cool! So here's a sneak peek of my glass-

Pass it on!

Here's the flyer for my show at DVSN West...  It's a little late in the month, but I'm still pushing.  DJ Musa will be playing records and if all goes well I'll have an afterparty celebration at Black Shirt Brewing.  I look forward to seeing folks there, any repost/shares of this flyer are appreciated!

Please RSVP on Facebook if you are attending...  Special things will come of it!

19 days...

I'm having my solo show at DVSN West at the end of this month (Sept 28) and I've got a lot of work left to do!  My show is title "Beauty is..." my objective is to transform the act of graffiti vandalism into beautiful objects.  I have a past of walking around the city, and there were always specific things that fascinated me about graffiti and street art, so I'm going to share those things with everyone.

"Beauty is..." will feature mostly dimensional objects which I have fabricated or designed, I am welding a lot of metal pieces to show, painting others, and I'm even going to do 2 or 3 neon pieces!  Neon lighting has been an obsession of mine since I started designing furniture and things almost 10 years ago and this will be the first time I will use it in an artistic format.  I don't want to give too much away, but I'm really excited about the show!

I've been slacking on getting flyers printed, but I did manage to get some sweet stickers printed to promote, so look out for those around Denver and RSVP on my Facebook event if you feel so compelled!  DVSN West is an urban clothing boutique located at 250 Fillmore Street in Cherry Creek North.

Quick and dirty

I've been messing around with paper and resin this week... Resin was pretty unsuccessful this go around, the mix set up before releasing all the bubbles. I was planning on showing it this Saturday at Indy Ink's 10th anniversary show, but I'm back to square one at the moment! Less than 24 hours to turn out another piece, so we shall see what happens. I did take a bunch of photos before pouring the resin, I'll share them soon once I grab them off the camera, but here's a quick phone pic-

Perpetual circle of creation...

It's been hard for me to get motivated to do my personal artwork, I know everyone has their own pace and schedule and responsibilities outside of art, but I feel like I should be producing more... It has been months since I've felt the interest to create anything new. I think part of that is due to my studio space and it's quirks. A lot of weird things have happened there which are completely beyond my control, since then the vibe hasn't been the same and I've lost my drive... I'm currently searching (with my studio mates) for a new space to reclaim my artistic sanity, right now things are a struggle.
I have been working a bit with Delton on one of his projects for Breckenridge Brewery, just a little woodwork and laser etching but I enjoy helping with technical parts of gigs, plus lasers are fun!



On other fronts, my day work is going great. I've been staying happy and productive at Demiurge, we are still doing "nail birds" along with other artists' projects around the country.


Work with my fabrication partner, Brian, is going well. We have completed our railing project for Common Grounds Coffee, a set of stair stringers for a private residence, a sign package for an office building in the Denver Tech Center, and another sign package for a new food establishment on 15th and Platte called eat+drink...

Oh yeah, we made a few things for the cooks at the new Squeaky Bean also!

Future things have almost become the present... Last week was the groundbreaking ceremony on the GreenBox property at 3310 Brighton Blvd, a Focus Propery Group project. That is where our 60ft public art wall will be installed! We had a chance to speak to the developers and contractors involved on the project, and we brought a sample of what our wall will look like and do...

 
Hard hats and neon vests were abundant, along with coffee and bagels... We can't wait to fabricate and install this piece!

 

So overall my productivity has been up, but I need more improvisational creation in the mix... I'm thankful for everything I have going for me right now, so I'll just keep pushing forward-