Massive Money Bags

During SPORE's upcoming tour we invite anyone to create money bags for St Louis native, Stan Chisholm's current Massive Money Bag project which raises questions regarding wealth and value in a largely consumer driven society. In conjunction with Hyde Park art center the money bags will be assembled on a CTA train in Chicago this winter as part of a community/public art project. We will have bags available to stuff. You can follow this project and Stan's other projects though www.18andcounting.com.

Cranky Yellow

Cranky Yellow, a huge contrib- utor to this project, brought in a box of goodies for the road. Cranky is located on nearby Cherokee St and is the only DIY craft artist-run shop of its kind in St Louis. What is Cranky Yellow? not an easy answer. I like to think of them as a quirky connector of local characters, their creations and other related oddities. Cranky also frequently hosts bands and gallery exhibitions in addition to their gargantuan store. Recently the shop was in Fiber Arts magazine after hosting the World's Largest Plush show in St Louis two Springs ago. Though yeah, this sound prestigious and all but the folks at Cranky are actually really low-key and humble about everything they've accomplished. Their website is one of my favorites online and is almost better than the actual store, almost. Here's a wee-little sampling of what the shop looks like as well as what was brought in for SPORE.

And the spires of clay rise

Delicate clay spires converse with glass terrariums on an astro turf floor creating a futuristic juxta- position of natural and constructed environments inside the SPORE gallery. Simiya Sudduth and Leslie Macklin Rice arrived at dusk last night to construct the first installation inside SPORE. Though the work is appealing during the day nothing compares to the experience of viewing it at night with enough distance to take in the environments in context to the surrounding world. You can find more of Simiya's work at systematist.workpress.com and Leslie' at www.americassplenda.com.

Doorware and potatoes salesman strikes

Eric showed up at the studio last night with these mysterious suitcases. He described his contribution to the project on the phone but I was a little skeptical until he opened them up. Truly delighted by these lightweight, durable objects made from paper. Potato fight anyone? Thanks Eric for pulling these out for the road. If you're interested in seeing more of what Eric does check out his website. Eric is currently working on PhD at Wash U on sociocultural anthropology, he has an art background and has a slew of projects posted on the site.

Robert Long completes the modular interior the SPORE gallery

Last night was the end of a long haul resulting in this beaut of a box. This modular SPORE insert was created and designed by Robert Long. Not only is this a fantastic construction which fits flawlessly inside the minivan, there is a removable windows section so that the driver can still see the road. Genius! To see more of Robert's work check out his website here. Robert and I both have studios at Arcadia in St Louis; often resulting in long nights of random conversations, grain beverages and collaborations like this one. Still thinking our very best idea was a sled that involved duct tape and cardboard. It wasn't functional but it was lots of fun. Thanks Robert.