Feather of the Dog, Hair of the Owl

Feather of the Dog, Hair of the Owl is the silly title my mother, Camille Biexei, came up with for my show that opened at Art Access yesterday. As promised to my favorite fruit fly, Gerald, I am posting pictures of all of the pieces in the show (I wanted to do this punctually, since Gerald's time with us is limited.) The media used for anything listed as "mixed media" is any or all of the following: graphite, colored pencil, art marker, watercolor, and guache. My mom helped me with the titles: I came up with some, she came up with some, and we named some together: mommy-daughty team work! Thank you to all the fine folks who showed up at the opening. Your support and kind words meant a lot!


This work stems from a small series I did in late 2010, titled Wolf Pack. It consisted of portraits of animals and humans with which I feel a kinship. I chose to further explore the symbolic significance
of three of those animals, wild dogs, owls and the California condor. I have seen all of those animals in the wild. Owls I have seen on many occasions, experiences which were intimate, mysterious and intense.

I depict animals in my artwork because they are to me an ideal faculty to convey pure emotion and thought. I view them as otherworldly, pure and wise. They possess a spiritual and physical beauty which I find captivating.

When working on my drawings I try to work in a somewhat spontaneous state, allowing myself to react to what I have previously placed on the paper. The letterpress prints are based on my drawings which I felt compelled to reproduce and explore further. I produced the prints using the letterpresses at the Book Arts Program at the J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah, where I work as a Studio Coordinator. Thanks to my mother, Camille Biexei, who suggested the show title, to my sister, Katherine Allred, my little brother, Orson Taylor, and my friend, Jason Young.

Owl of the Sun 17" x 23" mixed media

 Becoming: Fire and Water 17" x 23" mixed media

Communication 17" x 23" mixed media

Point of Recognition 17" x 23" mixed media

 

Bold Intentions 17" x 23" mixed media

Pure Language 17" x 23" mixed media

 

 

Flight of the Messenger 17" x 23" mixed media

Thought and Form 17" x 23" mixed media

 

The Sound of the Universe 17" x 23" mixed media

True North 17" x 23" Mixed Media

Seeds of Light 17" x 23" mixed media

Seeds of Transformation 17" x 23" mixed media

 

Truth and Wisdom 17" x 23" mixed media

The Visit 15" x 22" linocut and photopolymer on letterpress

The Messengers 15" x 22" linocut on letterpress

Transmutation 15" x 22" linocut and photopolymer on letterpress

 

Soul, Self, Shadow 15" x 22" linocut and photopolymer on letterpress

Alt Press Fest

The Alt Press Fest is coming up!! July 9th, at the City Library, it's going to be bananas. I'll be there! (Talk to Mr. Clinton Watson about it: it's going to be fearless, and poka-dotted!) Headed by our fearless leader, Ryan Perkins, the Alt Press Fest posters were made this year by my friends Laura Decker, Max Kelly, Valerie Jar, Whitney Shaw, and myself. We made them last year, and went all out in hearts and stars by screen printing and letterpressing them. However, this year, things didn't move as sweetly, so we've had them digitally printed. Which is alright by me. (You can ask Ryan how he feels about it, earnest fellow that he is.) We made the posters so that they can function as both posters and be cut down into postcards (innovation, guys!) We took a team approach and made the poster collectively. Each of us did our part of the poster based on a book or movie (presumably one that can be checked out from the City Library.) My book muse was Momo by Michael Ende. However, the City Library does not have a copy of Momo (I better write them a tear-jerker of a letter.)

In regards to the posters of yesteryear: Ryan designed the typography. He, personally, screenprinted the images for all 6 versions, with me as his chatty helper/catcher/obnoxious person standing around. My image featured My Man Friday: