Art Gallery Proposal
This is kind of a weird one to put on a portfolio, but the family insisted…
Seeing those around us get engaged, Nicole and I were witness to many proposals of varying types. Occasionally we would discuss these proposals, as couples do. On one such occasion she said to me:
“You’re creative, you’ll probably do something cool.”
And if it wasn’t already, from that moment the pressure was on.
At first I thought I’ll make something (emphasis on singular ‘thing’) and hang it in a gallery. How cool would that be to tour an art gallery and stumble across a custom piece? But then I called Storm King and tried convincing them to let me plop a huge sculpture on their land for a day. After some hard negotiating they politely declined. Then the MET and the MOMA ghosted me.
So I thought, “OK, well I still like this art gallery idea, so I guess I’ll just make my own.”
"Start the Stopwatch" - painted acrylic, wood, encasing a lightbulb
"Five Towns Tax" - 1999 Toyota Corolla hubcap
"First Date Jitters" - hand-painted on white panel
"Punkin Lunkin" - hand-painted on white panel
"Just Lean into It" - laser-cut, hand-painted & assembled
"You're My Favorite Color" - colored acrylic panels on hand-built wooden sliders with a light behind - when moved to overlap, the panels shine purple
"F*** the Belt Parkway" - hand-painted on white panel
"Relics" - two jars from 'Wonderspaces' in Philadelphia
"Punim" - mahogany wooden blocks, CNC etched (v-bit) and painted
"Her Happy Place" - hand-painted on white panel
"High Praise", "The Simple Things", "Drink My Pee, Chowdhury" - screenshot, AI images, a parking ticket
"Hu U Looking At" - chocolate bars on a white panel
"Lil' Harold" - cardboard, wood, and paper - hand-built and hand-painted, suspended from the ceiling by fishing line
":)" - hand-painted on white panel
![[Redacted] - slow-cured plaster, carved on a CNC router, hand-painted](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/65ee7befd665cb6f606b13d5/1721317441692-5EN75T5RMV7217ZIGQAA/OYM01293.jpg)
[Redacted] - slow-cured plaster, carved on a CNC router, hand-painted
"Good Intentions" - iron-on letters, suspended from nails by fishing line
"The Girl with the Faces" - a gift, hand-drawn by Nicole
"Solar-Powered Love" - hand-painted on white panel
"Floppy" - wood mosaic, laser cut and hand-painted
"Poop Dirt" - a jar filled with soil
"Heart on My Sleeve" - hand-drawn sketches, ironed onto t-shirts
"Unlimited Nachas" - enlarged print
"Reminiscence" - 6" x 6" white ceramic tiles, painted black and laser-etched through the paint, displayed on hand-built wooden frame
"Possibilities" - blank 6" x 6" white ceramic tiles on a hand-built wooden frame
"Cherished" - hand-painted, enlarged recreation of a note left in my notebook, on white panel
"The First Slide" - print on panel, final text bubble peels away to reveal a hidden message
" " - laser-cut wooden box with flush-fit drawer, painted white, drawer pulls out to reveal the ring box
Right side of the gallery
Left side of the gallery
Peonies flowers placed throughout in tiny vases
My favorite part: after I proposed, our families came by and Nicole gave them a tour of the gallery.
I didn’t think about how I probably set the bar pretty high for myself on this one. For our 10th anniversary I’ll take her to space or something... A problem for future me.
(If you have connections to mentorship in glass blowing or ice sculpting please reach out)