Pete Art #6

Pete art wax.jpg
Originally uploaded by Childe_Erik.

Wax
2006
Peter Simpson, 2005-
Wax on wood fiber

This piece, unfortunately, does not translate to digital media as well as some of the others because it is primarily an exploration of texture, of the different strokes produced by varying applications of colored wax on pressed wood fibers. Seen in person, this piece is one of my most topographical works.

Pete Art #5

Pete art blue green.jpg
Originally uploaded by Childe_Erik.

Blue in Green
2006
Peter Simpson, 2005-
Watercolor on wood fiber

The title of this piece is, of course, an homage to the legendary Miles Davis album, and I had in mind particularly Bill Evans's piano solo on the title track. The chromatics of the piece evoke grass and water, and the form hints at the figure of an animal. The style attempts to echo Evans's spare elegance, and the wrinkled canvas in the top right quadrant of the piece suggests one of the tone clusters Evans deploys so artfully.

Silly circles

Over the weekend, Pete learned from his month-older cousin Blake 1) the sign for "bird" (thumb and forefinger in repeated pinching motion)--there was a great moment when two birds flew close by and the two babies looked up and did the bird sign together, 2) the ritual of "silly circles," or spinning around in one's living room, and 3) the sound a monkey makes. Blake learned "uh-oh" from Pete. Both kids start with what they know, so Pete's monkey sounds a lot like his uh-oh so far, and Blake has a chimp-like uh-oh.

Now that he can walk, Pete is bonkers about going outside. He picks up a coat or keys or his sunhat, walks to the door, and says, "bye-bye." He didn't like the hat until he figured out that he only wears it on walks. Now he puts it on himself to push us to take him exploring.

Crash, Bang, Boom

From Carolyn--

Pete's favorite book at the moment is one that is just a lot of different noises. It's one I loved when I was little, called Crash, Bang, Boom. My mother hated it, so she thinks I'm getting my commupance having to read it over and over. Pete is also fond of Noisy Barn which involves lots of animal noises. And he now sticks out his tongue when we open a book consisting of baby photos to a page with a baby sticking his tongue out. He then looks to make sure I'm sticking out my tongue, too.

Little man on campus

From Carolyn--

Pete and I have been taking advantage of the amazing weather and taking walks on campus in the early evenings. Erik and I started doing this over break (when it was finally warm enough), but campus was pretty desolate. Pete is loving seeing people and exploring. He's oddly obsessed with the Harris Center (including the disco balls hanging from the ceiling of the concert hall) and game for any flight of stairs that he can find. If you're out playing wiffle ball or catch and hear a little voice saying "ba[ll]?? ba[ll]?? ba[ll]??" over and over, it's probably Pete.

Pete Art #4

Pete art hearts.jpg
Originally uploaded by Childe_Erik.

Valentine
2006
Peter Simpson, 2005-
Mixed media

My first mixed media piece using an opaque background, Valentine creates two literal and metaphorical levels. Slightly above the surface, a loose triangle of naturalistic postage-like stamps intersects with a rough circle of mass-produced stickers like those given to schoolchildren on holidays. These geometric forms are linked by the pure, bright red that creates its own circle of the six leftmost stickers. The machine-made precision of that layer contrasts with the similar but muted coloring and abstract forms of the canvas layer, inviting the viewer to consider the two layers' interrelationships.

Assuming a position

From Carolyn--

We've been reading to Pete a lot recently. He has an insanely cute way of turning the pages and then folding his little hands together in his lap to listen to us read what comes next.