New work and pregnancy

Here are some new items from the studio that are obviously influenced by my whole journey in pregnancy. They are all works on paper and range from 11 x 14 inches to 12 x 17 inches.

The nursery has become my studio

So for those of you who may not know, Joe and I are expecting our first child to arrive this January. It's an exciting time which has pretty much transformed my studio practice from focused on me to focused on the baby (I am about a month from my due date). I figured I would post the nursery pics on my blog so you can see what I have been up to outside of the "studio".


So as the "nesting" instinct kicked in, I designed and made a mobile for my little one. A flock of birds which rest on yarn wrapped sticks and twirl through the air with the slightest provocation.

Joe and I also designed and executed a mural for the baby's room. A simple forest theme in greens, tans, and blues. We are now taking commissions for your kids' room as well...

Two Sides of One Brain

So lately I have continued the more abstract gouaches but have also taken to making some drawings in graphite again that are completely representational. The following is a mixture of the results....

Building Barriers: Read in Peace

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Finally gotten the time to enjoy that book you've been meaning to read, only to be interupted?  Follow the steps in this easy how-to and you'll be able to read in peace.

LA Fluxco Show

This past weekend I was in LA for a group show at Fluxco Gallery. The show featured five artists from the west coast and five from the east coast and was pretty cool since it ended up that each artist shared a room with an artist from the opposite coast. I was in a room with an artist from LA named, Mike, who is responsible for the wooden extentsion cord reaching towards splat. It was a fun show and owner of the gallery, Ford, said that this was one of his favorite things that he has put together in the space. It should be open for a few more weeks (till mid June) so if you are gonna be in town email me and I'll put you in touch with Ford since it's by appointment only.

Enjoy the pics - there's Michael Eudy posing with Ford's golden words in the background (and then Michael's paintings in the shot above). I am also there with my friend Kabira who I have know since birth and who was my fabulous hostess for my time in LA. Then there are some gallery shots including some details of the architectural oddities that I really enjoyed responding to in the art. Letting the works creep out into and under the enviroment more that before....Pictured below is Joe's video again in another context - this time it was in a room with his drawings and then photos of buildings by another artist - the two cities coexisting together. It was cool to see Joe's work small kind of like a little painting at that scale.

Good Intentions at Temple Gallery, April 9 - 13, 2007

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So I finally got it together and finished the video documentation of the gallery show Good Intentions that was on view at Temple Gallery from April 9 - 13, 2007. Walking through the gallery with a camera captures the intricate nature of many of the works on view. The only thing some people may notice is that this video documentation was taken before all of the changes in the show occured - so the tables are still there and the yarn graffiti over the fire alarm isn't there yet. Enjoy the evolution! By the way if you want to see this documentation in a larger viewer that you can read titles on - go to www.blip.tv and search jahjehan bath ives.

H-Town and OFFsite

Joe and I just got back from our whirlwind weekend in Houston of friends, food, and art. We are already missing all our Houston peeps and are currentely working on a transporter to beam us there whenever we want mexican food and great people. The show The Distance between Two Points: Joe Ives and Jahjehan Bath Ives with Mackey Gallery OFFsite was awesome. We had a great time flying in with our art and setting up for a cinco de mayo opening. It was so fantastic to see everyone and we had such a great time that we basically forgot to take pictures - so believe us more than two people showed up. So imagine lots of folks in front of the art and enjoy the shots. Also if you didn't get there to watch the videos you can see them here on the blog - click on March posts and watch centering. Then go to Joe's blog at www.joeeives.blogspot.com and you can watch his video too.

This piece is called "expectations are hard to keep". It just started one morning with the idea of trapping space and grew into something that I think may be very tied to the fact that every time I turn around it seems like another friend is pregnant. In case you'd like to know it's gouache on paper and is 16x20 inches.

Creating Objects in a Blank White Space

These works are all gouache on paper and are 9 1/2 x 13 inches. They all start with me thinking about the objects I have been making or am wanting to make or sometimes just a mood I am in. Then I pick up a brush and see what happens.

It's Time to Partaaay

The show is finally up. Joe and I spent most of the day today setting up and here are a few shots of the results. To see more please check back later in the week, once I get someone with a good camera in there OR come to the opening this Friday from 6 to 8:30 at Temple Gallery in Philadelphia. The address is 259 N. 3rd St and there will be cookies and art!