Coming this Spring, Art in the Open (AiO) is a biennial event, produced by the Center for Emerging Visual Artists in partnership with Fairmount Water Works. AiO transforms the Schuylkill River Banks into an outdoor studio tour for three days, inviting artists to share their creative practices with the public!
Visit me during AiO, and you might find yourself flying a kite!
Above: a successful test flight of a Vietnamese paper kite by a volunteer during my 2018 residency at Tacony LAB Community Arts Center. Photo by Lauren Lipson.
I intend to make a large number of small kites using paper, bamboo, and a variety of recycled materials such as bubble wrap. The design of the kites will be influenced by my surroundings along the Schuylkill River, incorporating beautiful sumi ink wash drawings and cut paper techniques. Visitors will be able to watch me making the kites, and if the conditions are safe (no rain or traffic), I will invite them to try flying a kite, and encourage them to write about their experience. For some, it may be the first time they've flown a kite, and for others it could revive memories? My artistic training focused on drawing, printmaking, and installation art, but I gravitated toward making and flying kites as a mindful activity. When people fly kites they are essentially doing the opposite of looking down at a computer screen. When their kite is catching the wind they are looking up, focusing into the far distance, and feeling and reacting to each change in tension in the kite string. I hope some people will find peace and relaxation by flying a kite along the Schuylkill River Banks.
I have instructed children and adults in kite making and flying, through workshops for Abington Friends School, The Philadelphia School (TPS), Second State Press, The Tacony LAB Community Arts Center, InLiquid, and Capital One. I am familiar with traditional kite designs that are easy to fly in variable winds at small urban parks, and I can experiment with improvised designs as well. The use-worn kites, accompanied by the written reflections of the visitors that flew them, could make an interesting contribution to the AiO exhibition following the 3-day outdoor event.
