Magic Eye

Magic Eye

I’m excited to announce that I’ll be bringing my installation art piece Magic Eye to the Burning Flipside art and music festival this month!

Magic Eye was, in part, inspired by my own experiences with art at Burning Flipside, so it feels fitting that it’s getting to be part of the party.

I appreciate how people interact with art at these events: sometimes using it as a place to meet, pause on their way somewhere, or even a destination – a place to hangout and where they might meet new friends, who were also drawn in by the colors or lights. It serves as a way to build instant connection between strangers, giving them something to talk about. And it can be a point of reference that helps people navigate the unfamiliar festival grounds.

I’ve been fascinated by optical illusions since I was a child, and became enamored with color theory in art school, and I’ve been experimenting with ways to combine these two concepts for years.

In 2015, I began collecting images of optical illusions after realizing that I wanted to use them in an installation art piece.
In 2018, I incorporated color theory and dynamic light into the concept and began adding colors to the illusions, printing them out, and testing the effects of lighting with a color-changing LED strip.
In early 2020, I developed one of my designs into two tapestries which acted as walls for an interactive art installation at the FreezerBurn Texas arts event.
In 2021, I applied for a Fuel For The Arts grant to create more tapestries and build a frame to display them. I was asked to change my design to a more 3D shape and I immediately knew it would be a pyramid.
Testing and perfecting the construction in my living room. I used PVC pipes to build the frame and attached the tapestries with large rubber-tipped clamps.
magic eye at artic expedition
The final form, installed at the Artic Expedition drive-thru art exhibition in 2021.
Magic Eye comes alive at night.

There was just one thing I wanted to add: a place to sit. I dreamed of floor cushions or some astroturf to place around the perimeter, so that viewers have the option to rest while enjoying the art.

As luck would have it, a friend’s neighbor recently tossed out scraps of some very high-end astroturf, and I repurposed it into triangular patches, perfectly fitted to the art. I can’t wait to see it all together!

COMING UP

Join me on Wednesday, May 18th, from 7-9pm at Dear Diary Coffee, where I’ll be celebrating the end of my solo art show featuring paintings from my Iconic Texas series. We’ll have art prints, coffee, and other non-alcoholic drinks to purchase, and feel free to BYOB.

And on Saturday, May 21st, from 6-10pm, you can catch me live painting at a free art party at Distribution Hall. Come find me outside under the live oak trees!

IN OTHER NEWS

I recently returned from a week-long road trip to Marfa, Terlingua, Big Bend, and Devils River. I did so much and took so many pictures that it’s taking me some time to comb through them all – but I’m excited to share them soon!

Thanks for reading!