Check out the mummified Chupacabra by Taxidermy artist Serina Brewer.
-Related to post Because Goat-Sucking Creatures Do Exist.
June 5, 2007 by ybonesy
Check out the mummified Chupacabra by Taxidermy artist Serina Brewer.
-Related to post Because Goat-Sucking Creatures Do Exist.
Posted in Animals & Critters, Art, Culture, Dreams, Family, Fiction, Laughing, Random, Vision | Tagged chupacabra, chupacabra remains, chupacabra skeleton, humor, proof that the chupacabra exists | 13 Comments
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I love this woman’s work. Do you know she was at MCAD about the time I was? Check out her bio. I remember her work when I was there. I have an affinity for unusual found objects and, well, roadkill is right up my alley. Just ask Liz. 8)
The amazing thing about her work is that bones and wings and feathers and skeletons are around us every day. But most of us choose not to pay attention. I like to notice them. And sometimes I even take them home with me (I especially like wings and the details of the way they work).
Her website is stimulating. There are some good writing topics there.
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I love it, too. And I knew from writing with you that you had/have an affinity for roadkill.
Wow, I had no idea that she went to MCAD when you did.
BTW, when I took a workshop with Natalie in Taos, she brought in a couple of Santa Fe artists to talk about their processes (which boil down to the same basic principle that writers follow, which is to show up for yourself and your work). Anyhow, one of the artists that talked to us also worked with roadkill, but in a different way. I remember this Santa Fe artist’s pieces to be delicate, like entire carcasses of small mammals put back together, their spines and bones like ivory sculpture. And she worked a lot with sardines, all held in place, somehow, pouring out of spigots. It was fascinating and beautiful. I tried to find a link on her but I couldn’t recall her name. If anyone knows of her, please add a comment.
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ybonesy,
I had to come back to this post and comment because someone found our blog yesterday by the phrase:
making roadkill skeletons
It makes me feel so good that I’m not the ony one who has dabbled in the thought of bones and roadkill as art. 8) I’m so glad we are a blog about writing AND art.
I hope people checked out the link you provided above: Taxidermy artist Serina Brewer. I think people cringe when they hear the words. But like you said about the artist in your comment above, the art itself is beautiful. And it’s the way we are all put together – body, mind, spirit. It seems we live in a culture that is glued to mystery and horror movies but cringes at the thought of roadkill art. It makes no sense to me.
Did you ever remember the name of the Santa Fe artist you heard in Taos?
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I saw that search term!
No, I did not ever remember the artist’s name, and believe me, I tried finding her through Google using all sorts of search terms. When you’re in Taos this July at MBL, can you see if anyone there remembers what her name is? Her installations were fantastic. She only brought a few pieces of art in to talk to us, but she had a slideshow of her large installations. I also had taken down her name and intended to visit her at her gallery, which is in her home, I think, because I knew Dee would love her artwork. And then I lost it.
Hmmm, maybe I can dig it up in one of my notebooks from that time.
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Yeah, I’ve been thinking about notebooks from Taos because one of the writers I was with last night said she had started rereading some of her writing practice notebooks this summer. I think I’m going to start rereading mine from Taos last year. I’ve got about four notebooks. I’ve never read them. I bet you will find her name there. And so much more.
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Every morning while I do my stretches I listen to a little Natalie Goldberg on tape or CD. Since my stretching routine only takes 5 minutes, it takes forever to get through one side of a cassette tape. I usually have to renew them the maximum number of times allowed at the library. Anyway, this morning she was talking about obsessions, and what we obsess about in our writing practice. When I’ve looked through mine, there aren’t that many new things being said. Just the same 5 or 6 over and over everyday. I don’t want to write about these topics (like Natalie suggests), I just want to forget them. I’m sick of my obsessions. But I don’t think they’re going away quite yet.
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Sinclair, good point about obsessions. I listen to Writing Down the Bones sometimes in my car as a way to remind me to stay on the basics. I heard a snippet the other day where Natalie was talking about writing from where the juice is, from where the heart of our passions dwell – our obsessions, good or bad.
Even if the juice comes from a place of anger or bitterness or negative emotions – if that’s where the juice is, we have to let it out. She said for her, the negative transforms through the writing and integrates. That’s what happens for me, too, when I write about emotions I wouldn’t normally show on a day to day basis.
Our obsessions – we get sick of them. But they are also where our passions are found. What we do with that – I guess we find out in the stories we tell. I find that some people continue to cling to the negative. Some move on. I choose to move on. I think it’s a choice we can make.
I like your practice – listening to tapes about writing while stretching. I bet it all sinks in at the body level.
When you say you have 5 or 6 obsessions, would you be willing to share them with us (in general terms)? I think the woman in ybonesy’s original post above had to be obsessed with bones and feathers and the displaced and discarded living beings. And that’s always been one of my obsessions, too. What are yours?
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Guess what I found in my notebook? The NM artist’s name that I was trying to remember!
Colette Hosmer, and here are two links to her work:
Her own website (the images load *very* slowly, and it seems to feature mostly recent work from China):
http://www.colettehosmer.com/index.shtml
An article about a series of still-lifes she did with real objects:
Click to access nmpa20070608z045.pdf
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ybonesy, cool that you found her name in your Taos notebook. They seem to be full of gems.
I checked out her work and I like her installation work the best (go under the Installation Art link at her website). She does a lot of cast fish. But there’s also a Ghost Ranch piece that is pretty grounded:
Ghost Ranch Installation (link).
I also like the one called Alcove. It looks like she moved from smaller object art to installation and monumental art. She’s gotten larger and larger in scale, something artists seem to just have to do once they get their bearings.
Installation work is difficult. Every detail has to be considered, as well as traffic patterns, light, and safety of those viewing it. I did a large inside/outside piece for my senior show that took me weeks to plan and weeks to complete. At the scale she’s working, I bet it takes years.
Great work and that you got to hear her speak about it. And thanks for the links.
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Isn’t that an interesting coincidence: Ghost Ranch??
Yes, the minnows. I remember those well, and the feet.
But there were rebuilt skeletons of roadkill that aren’t pictured, and those are the ones I wanted you to see. Hey, maybe you can nab a visit to her place (or ask folks at the workshop about it) when you’re in Taos. That would be a great side trip (but maybe not for so many people at once?).
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ybonesy, I was thinking about this artist’s work at Ghost Ranch (Colette Hosmer) and wondered if you had visited the feet again (?).
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No, the feet were an impermanent installation. They would have melted away years ago. (I never did get to visit them. The artwork that I did see was along the lines of the roadkill skeletons that were rebuilt into new creations.)
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[…] We’ll keep our eyes peeled for unique costume ideas. Hey, maybe we could dress her up as one reptile-creature that I hope to NEVER see in my home. The chupacabra. […]
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