olga ziemska studio

2012-02-23T08:57:00.004-05:00

orbits and arcs.

indra in the making... some shots from my fabricator.

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2011-12-10T18:42:00.005-05:00

it takes a village

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2011-11-20T18:41:00.004-05:00

2011-10-12T04:00:00.003-04:00

and this is in my head...
and then this is for it all.

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2011-09-29T19:01:00.005-04:00

headphonehands music...
especially staniel clay.

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2011-09-06T11:09:00.010-04:00

first dog-eared page from the book i am currently reading... the lives of cells by lewis thomas.

this book found me ten years ago when i was picking through a free-book-pile in columbus.

listening to this.

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2011-09-04T15:02:00.002-04:00

labor: to make something out of nothing.

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2011-08-29T10:27:00.005-04:00

we recognize that which we know.

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2011-08-26T08:51:00.004-04:00

the fact is that the planet was here long before us and will be here long after us.
- lynn margulis

beautiful here.

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2011-08-03T14:51:00.005-04:00

khora continued...
what is under the feet.

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2011-07-28T01:46:00.020-04:00

Life: Everything, Domain: Eukaryote, Kingdom: Animalia, Phylum: Chordata, Class: Mammalia, Order: Primates, Super Family: Hominoidea, Family: Planet earth, Genus: Cleveland ohio, Species: Khora

The evolutionary run on sentence.

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2011-05-05T13:08:00.004-04:00

Some press for the Year of the Rabbit here, here and here...

The public unveiling is May 12th and Heartwood Rabbit will find his temporary summer squat at East 30th Street,
between Superior and Payne Avenue- I hope you get to check out all 24 bunnies around town.

The photo above shows Heartwood Rabbit, with New Beginning by Sean Kelly, and Jade Rabbit by Lauren Sammon.
Thanks to City Architecture for sponsoring Heartwood Rabbit...

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2011-04-22T12:41:00.008-04:00

year of the rabbit just in time for easter...

i just completed this sculpture for a public art project in cleveland.
for more info about the project go here.

and happy earth day!

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2011-04-15T20:39:00.004-04:00

part two of the artist for artist interview between elaine and i can be found here...
the top two images are from our exchange.

elaine's show declarations of truth is at cleveland's sculpture center this april 29th - june 4th...
be sure to go check it out

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2011-04-14T11:52:00.003-04:00

an in process shot of heartwood rabbit- i am finishing up the project in a couple of days...
more photos to come, so keep checking back.

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2011-04-08T23:03:00.004-04:00

2011-04-04T13:12:00.009-04:00

you can read the first part of my interview with elaine on the artist for artist website right here.

also...

i am in good company at this blog.

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2011-03-19T16:07:00.008-04:00

a new addition to the studio... heartwood rabbit in the making.

this big rabbit is a part of a public art project within my local community for the year of the rabbit...
more info about the project can be found here.

see you tonight supermoon...

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2011-03-18T16:40:00.006-04:00

opening the windows...

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2011-03-14T13:23:00.008-04:00

thinking of you japan...
some ways to help can be found here, here, here, here and here.

i have donated to each of these organizations.
i hope you choose to help too, in any way you can.

follow through with heart.

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2011-02-02T12:23:00.005-05:00

thanks again for your patience while the website is being redesigned...

here's a studio rainbow from a couple of months ago.

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2011-01-23T19:25:00.013-05:00

brilliant album i am listening to now a days...
it's worth the whole ride all the way to the end, especially the end.
very poignantly present.

what a great name.

still working on the website... i promise it is coming soon.

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2010-12-13T07:46:00.010-05:00

thank you for your patience while the website is being redesigned...
be sure to check back soon.

(photos courtesy the 2010 Ohio to New Mexico Road Trip-
construction at the greater earthship community)

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2010-11-04T23:15:00.006-04:00

to have your life spark before your eyes...

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2010-10-29T13:14:00.012-04:00

we are in one nest.
- taos pueblo people

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2010-10-19T13:38:00.005-04:00

looking to find these two little cuties a home very soon,
since the ones we previously lined up fell through.

i found these two little boogers at a park downtown at 8 weeks (they are 16 weeks old now)
the handsome boy on the left is sir burak sol kat pronounced boo-rock
and the precious little girl on the right is princess luna marsa laptop monkey a.k.a monkey or lulu.

they are adorable purr machines that get along with dogs, cats, kids, etc...

email me if you are interested or know of someone else who might be...
help me keep these little ones out of a shelter and into their new forever home.

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2010-10-19T08:59:00.010-04:00

... i guess the adobe home we will be staying at in arroyo seco has a small "respectful" brown bear that visits the river by the house. i prefer respectful to friendly ...

i'd like to do something like this with all my favorite music...

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2010-10-18T20:44:00.008-04:00

great photo from a different site... roadtrip.

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2010-10-11T15:29:00.008-04:00

perfect calm and mild day on the lake for brainstorming...
listening to this.

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2010-10-10T09:24:00.006-04:00

some photos from our walk this morning around the neighborhood...

the area i live in is called the goodrich-kirtland park neighborhood,
it's predominantly businesses in the surrounding blocks...
so the weekends are always super quiet.

sometimes blue and i feel like we are the only two living in this miniature city of ours...

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2010-10-09T10:03:00.007-04:00

cell to cell comparison to an albugo cell which is a type of white rust that forms on plants.

deeply immersed and meditating on the church of cellular biology.

a human being is a part of a whole, called by us "universe", a part limited in time and space.
he experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest...
a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. -albert einstein

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2010-10-08T09:03:00.006-04:00

in the process of finishing up important details regarding the piece, such as lighting...
once those details are complete-- i will extensively document the piece.

in the meantime, here's some press about the piece, written by ksu student journalist shauna carter.

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2010-10-06T11:46:00.007-04:00

this fall elaine hullihen and i will be taking part in the ongoing artist series called
artist for artist, in which artist's are paired and conversations are had (and documented).

i am looking forward to seeing what emerges from our encounter...

in the meantime, here is a heart&hand outstretched performance by elaine,
and information about the wonderful anneliis beadnell, the mother of artist to artist,
here and here.

(the top image is of elaine hullihen's performance a float a flicker photographed by shannon sullivan)

2010-10-05T09:13:00.004-04:00

yesterday was the last day of the install...

noel, jen and i installed the last figure in the atrium,
and i went around and adhered all the final acrylic hemispheres on the piece
(to cover the mounting hardware).

once the lighting is adjusted,
i plan to get some thorough documentation of the piece...
so more to come.

2010-10-03T19:58:00.008-04:00

this is a photo that lisa scalfaro took during the install on day two...

it made me smile remembering the moment, but i am totally intrigued by the light shadow of the partially
formed dancer figure above my head.
calling all photo experts, scientists, shamans, spiritualists, and ghost hunters to explain....

; )

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2010-10-02T12:30:00.006-04:00

day two of the install went amazingly smooth and full of good vibes thanks to my wonderful install crew-
noel, jen, haley, anneliesa and mike helped me get 13 figures unpacked, cleaned and mounted on the wall in 5 hours...
(thanks again for all your help guys and gals!)

the piece has definitely energized the atrium of the roe-green center,
with word spreading quickly throughout campus about the new addition to the theatre, music and dance department.

i thoroughly enjoyed watching and hearing all the student, faculty, alumni, and press responses to the piece...
seeing the look of awe and wonder on their faces and hearing all the ooo's and ahh's was priceless.

even though the piece is not completely finished yet,
i can tell that it will be a welcome addition to the new center.

2010-09-30T20:42:00.008-04:00

day one of the install was all about laying out the placement of the figures using cardboard templates of the fourteen dancer silhouettes.
i made some changes to my original design, but very happy with the results.

tomorrow is the big day when the dancers finally move into their new permanent home.
wish them luck...

2010-09-29T12:31:00.004-04:00

it's all about the piles today...

getting everything prepped for the install that starts tomorrow.
counting down the time and details.

2010-09-27T12:33:00.005-04:00

the view out my window last evening...

i like this ... and this.
think cellular communities...

2010-09-25T22:32:00.003-04:00

2010-09-24T18:42:00.004-04:00

back at it again...

called on some back-up assistance to finish up some additional cabochons needed for the piece.
in one day, we pumped out 1,500...
not so tough to accomplish when you have great company & conversation.

can't wait for the install next week...

2010-09-23T09:46:00.013-04:00

whale sounds have always moved me deep inside my rib cage...
at one point while living in europe, my ringtone was the call of a humpback whale-
a very mystical and soothing sound.

today i came across the dirty projectors and bjork's new project, mount wittenberg orca, and read the following:

we've decided to give away all the money that wittenberg generates to the project of creating international marine protected areas. only 1 % of the oceans are protected in any way and this is a huge problem.
we're working with the national geographic society to create areas of sustainability, so the oceans don't end up like a giant poisonous corpse hugging the continents.

so i donated, downloaded and listened...
it reminds me of a musical performed by humans dressed up as whales,
singing in human-stylized-whale-sounds,
with a rhythm of fluid continuity.

here is more info from the mount wittenberg orca site here, here, here and here.

2010-09-20T09:35:00.005-04:00

my work was featured on stylus.com the other day...
stylus.com is an inspirational trend and research website.

the featured piece was about artists using thread and string in their work.

the article showcased my installation from 2004...
when earth and heaven were in easy communication with one another.

this four room installation i managed to pack and transport in a single suitcase to poland...
all 20,000 yards of it (this made me very happy).

it was also fun going through airport security with plaster body casts of hands, mouths, ears and eyes in my carry-on luggage...
this turned out to be a great conversation starter and a beeline to the security checkpoint.

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2010-09-18T12:43:00.002-04:00

... a rainbow from late last fall.
i wonder what this fall will bring...

definitely a cross country road trip with pup in tow.

it's time to swap some lake erie sand for some southwest sand...

2010-09-17T10:57:00.003-04:00

here are some pics of two of my brilliant summer interns, alisun and anna (with blue and boo's)...
from may until august, my intern crew helped me with adhering all the images onto all the acrylic hemispheres.

the ladies were wonderful to work with... and they added a lot to the making of this piece...
thanks so much to alisun, anna, maria, haley, anneliesa, peggy and adrienne for all your help this summer!

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2010-09-16T10:14:00.001-04:00

... just got the plaque for my sculpture the light which can be heard...
i love love love the braille.

i have always wanted to incorporate braille into a piece...
having my hands on some has me thinking.

2010-09-13T10:40:00.004-04:00

more shots of the light which can be heard... in progress.

top photo is of my inspiration and reference wall when patterning the piece-
the beautiful and brilliant northern lights.

middle photo is of the five sizes of acrylic hemispheres that are used in the piece
(the sizes range from 1-1/2 inch to 1/2 inch)

bottom photo is of the piece in the "dirty studio"
(called such because it is the only enclosed space in my studio that i can get as messy as i want to : )

in october i will be adding some photos of my studio to my web page.
my 2,400 square foot live/work studio is located in downtown cleveland's goodrich-kirtland park neighborhood, right next to asia town.

i use roughly 70% of my studio for work and the other 30% for living.
keep an eye out for the photos...

2010-09-12T12:30:00.001-04:00

this is the piece that i am working on for kent state university's new dance, theatre and music building.

the close-up image shows a detail of the thousands of photos that i pulled from ksu's archive of student performances in the past ten years...

18,180 individual acrylic hemispheres with photos make up this piece.
there are fourteen dancer silhouettes in total.

the install of the public sculpture is happening at the end of the month...
and after half a year of working on it, i am definitely looking forward to it.

2010-09-11T15:33:00.003-04:00

... it has to start somewhere.

so i figure what better place to start then with the thought that generated me...

my mom.