THE STUDIO OF NICOLE MERKENS

ABDUCTION BY MOONLIGHT  The Moon - a Tarot Card Installation at Rarick Hall, Hays Kansas Materials and processes: stoneware, glazes, terra sigillata, slip, press molds, fired to cone 2, branches, wire, vinyl, beads, metal, chain Nicole Merkens “In a Tarot card reading; the Moon card refers to a deep state of sensitivity and imaginative impressionability, developed within deep relaxation. Here we dream and go into trance, have visions and receive insights. The Moon card represents the ultimate test of a soul's integrity, where the membrane between the self and the unknown is removed. What transpires next is between a soul and its maker. The Moon card advises that you trust your instincts and intuitions.” This enchantment installation is a physical depiction of my version of “The Moon” Tarot Card. What happens in the moonlight, what does the moon witness?  In this magical forest many unexplained events occur; there is a transcendence between two wo...

Multiples Installation: “Warm Fuzzies” The Mulitples Installation was made in collaboration with myself, Lauren Baird and Chantel Bollinger. The assignment was for each person to collect multiples of a certain object, come together as a group and install on campus. We chose, magnets, giant dark brown pompoms, and little light brown pompoms. We glued the pompoms to the magnets and set off to conduct our installation. We created a Warm fuzzy Caterpillar type creature and used the magnets to affix them to the metal chain railing outside Rarrick Hall. Each section of the caterpillar body is separate, so they can be rearranged in a variety of styles and body types. We kept it installed all night and came back in the morning to find that someone had been playing with a couple of our little guys and found that they had crawled a good 50 yards away in the grass to a new location. Someone definitely needed some warm fuzzies that day.

I am so honored to be apart of this show in August at Workhouse Arts Center. 9518 Workhouse Way . Lorton, VA 22079 . 703-584-2900 . www.workhousearts.org www.workhouseceramics.org

Videography: Eric Stumon A performance involving an age range of women painting themselves with clay slip and then making body prints on a roll of pink paper. This performance is about a women's acceptance of her aging body in regards to society's view that women should be young and beautiful in order to be important. This also reflects the goals of the Guerrilla Girls Group, working to promote women in the arts, dismissing the idea that "women need to naked to get into the Met Museum". Materials used: Slip, paper, video, masks, baby pool. Filmed by Eric Stumon at Fort Hays State University 2016. The video was then shown alongside the body prints in the Moss- Thorns Gallery in Hays, Kansas For more information on the real Guerrilla Girls go to:  http://www.guerrillagirls.com

"Intervention" Installation. "Learning Never Ends...even in summer"

Today I made a site specific "rapprochement installation", "The Zia Crystal Grid at Castle Rock". A Crystal grid is made by the placement of stones in a geometric pattern for the specific purpose of directing energy toward a goal and Zia is the symbol of New Mexico.(Zia definition courtesy of JessicaWhitten.com):The people of the Zia Pueblo in New Mexico regard the sun as sacred. Their symbol, a circle with groups of rays pointing in four directions, is painted on ceremonial vases, used to introduce newborns to the sun, and is featured on the New Mexico state flag. Four is a sacred number of the Zia, and can be found repeated in the points radiating from the circle. The number four is embodied in: The compass (north, south, east, and west) The seasons of the year (spring, summer, autumn and winter) The periods of each day (morning, noon, evening and night) The stages of life (childhood, youth, middle years and elderhood) The sacred aspects one must de...

The first installation was installed today. My colleague and good friend, Heiða Halldórsdóttir and I, installed "The Flower Curtain at Jellison Bridge" on the Fort Hays State University today. We hung twine from the rafters of the bridge's infrastructure and hand dipped flower petals in casting slip. The Flowers were adhered to the twine with just the slip itself.  The twine hung at different lengths and a small opening was left in the middle for the bridge patrons to pass thru.  Directly underneath the curtain was a thick gold glitter line used to represent a threshold.  The sparkly line was meant to signify that once crossed, the magic would happen. The curtain remains hanging tonight. Tomorrow we will check if anyone has tracked the glitter to either side of the threshold. How far will the magic travel? 

My Posse So here begins the "Installation Summer".... This summer I will be residing at Fort Hays State University to do a 3 week intensive Art Installation Semester with Linda Ganstrom. In order for this to happen, I had to coordinate a few details first. What to do with my kids??? Here is the first leg of my journey. Today I drove 6 hours to the Florida Panhandle to deliver my girls to my parents. Here they will enjoy the week of 4th of July where I have spent the last 34 July 4ths! It's a magical stretch of beach and I will get to savor a full day floating and Paddle boarding in the Gulf of Mexico before I hop on a 5am flight for Wichita, Kansas and then drive 3 additional hours to get to Hays, Kansas to begin my summer adventure. So I leave with this parting shot of the glorious ocean and hope you follow my art journey. Next Stop...Kansas Gulf of Mexico

Well it's the first day of July.... So that means it's time to make my way to Kansas. I have my red shoes packed. Fort Hays State here I come.