Nectar: War Upon the Bees by kelly heaton

One week remains to see my work at Pratt Manhattan Gallery as part of the show "Nectar: War Upon the Bees." Through February 11. 

https://www.pratt.edu/events/single/?id=52214

The process of making "Smells like Money (Hungry Spirits)" 2015 and "Spent Flower," 2015

Left: Smells Like Money (Hungry Spirits), 2015; Right: Spent Flower, 2015

perfume and my artistic practice by kelly heaton

A collage of recent works in perfumery, including my line, Field to Fragrance®, and my company insignia, The Virginia Perfume Company

A collage of recent works in perfumery, including my line, Field to Fragrance®, and my company insignia, The Virginia Perfume Company

I have decided to add perfumery to my artistic portfolio. For years, I searched for scents that I loved and was almost always dissatisfied. Real perfume is rare in today's marketplace; and when you find it, the costs are exorbitant. I understand the expense to a point: ingredients for perfume are precious and valuable, but the added fees for brand identity are excessive. I discovered that making perfume is similar to my existing practice, wherein I combine traditional media, engineering, and intuition. Perfumery promises transcendent results, but the process of creation is both artistically and scientifically demanding. Fortunately, I have a knack for art and science, so making perfume has been a natural progression for me.

Creating chakric perfumes for "Bee the Flower," 2015

Creating chakric perfumes for "Bee the Flower," 2015

Some of you may remember my initial foray into perfumery from Pollination (2015). I created a series of perfumes corresponding to the chakras of the human body, along with body pollen. Both were combined into a painting kit that is used to adorn yourself with scent and color -to literally become a flower- as would attract a bee (or in our case, another pollinating human being). I plan to revisit the formulas for my chakric perfumes and launch a related line in 2017 under the umbrella of The Virginia Perfume Company. Each chakric perfume is designed to evoke a bodily frequency spectra for the enhancement or healing thereof.

Some of my notebook writings to create a new formula, revealing my process and failures

Some of my notebook writings to create a new formula, revealing my process and failures

Making a new formula is a challenge that I liken to inventing a new recipe, such as for Mrs Fields Cookies. Although I start with a vision, I can't predict the complex interactions that occur in the mixing process. Some surprises are positive while others are lackluster or even disastrous, ruining the entire mix and forcing a time-consuming and expensive restart. Obviously, I develop using small quantities because I never get the formula right on my first try. For some formulas, I spend many months and thousands of dollars of ingredients down the drain.

A typical view of my perfume bench during development

A typical view of my perfume bench during development

When a formula finally comes together, it feels like magic. The ingredients gel into a perfume that evokes memories and emotions. Smell is such a strong and ancient sense. The effort to create a perfume of great beauty is worth every effort. You can experience my results here. Thank you for your interest in my perfumery, as I take great pride in my work; not to mention, by purchasing my perfumes you are supporting my overall artistic practice. For that, I am extremely grateful.

Many thanks and kind regards,

Kelly Heaton

open studio: technology-dependent person by kelly heaton

Technology is changing our entire experience of reality. I grew up without email or cell phones, and only started to use a word processor in high school. Landline phones, TV, movies, and radio offered escapes from reality, but people basically lived in the real world all. of. the. time. Even when we were bored, we hung out in the real world. Now, the instant we experience boredom or social isolation, we check our email. We text instead of calling or talking in person. We search the web. We update our blog and procrastinate on social media. Our entire psychological construct is evolving from physical reality to virtual. Even our dreams replay experiences that do not exist in physical reality. What would Jung and Freud say? As we withdraw from nature and into ourselves, into fantasy and ephemera, we are ever-more vulnerable to basic realities that once occupied humans all of the time. Danger, Will Robinson.

open studio: boy meets girl by kelly heaton

Boy Meets Girl (2 Knobs with Variable Resistance), 2016. Colored pencil, graphite, and gouache on paper.  11" x 15"

This drawing is a study of potentiometers and their knobs as a metaphor for people and their personas. A potentiometer is a device that is used to adjust (vary) resistance in a circuit. Volume knobs are potentiometers. Or, more accurately, a volume knob is mounted into the shaft of a potentiometer to facilitate easy adjustment. In order than the entire mechanism doesn't turn when you twist the knob, potentiometers (aka "pots") are mounted into some kind of panel. Most people only see the knob mounted onto the panel, and are never privy to the pot behind -- which is the real story. 

Relationships are similar. We hide our true selves behind a rigid panel, a wall, presenting others with a knob, or persona, with which to interact. Other factors twist our knob, represented here by a bunch of thumbs in the sky. Maybe God, maybe fate, maybe spirits ... who knows. In my drawing, I included a spark gap in the foreground which will ignite if the boy's and girl's knobs are properly adusted. If they are turned on, so to speak, ;-)

open studio: who by kelly heaton

Detail of "Who," 2016.  Colored pencil, graphite, and gouache on paper.

I continue to study electronic circuit design as a means to represent the "energy anatomy" of a human being.  In this drawing, "Who," I have constructed each chakra of the body using a simple circuit designed to manifest the corresponding energy.  In the above detail, you can see the solar plexus, heart, throat, mind, and crown chakras (in ascending order).  In the coming weeks, I'll be working on sculptural studies of the chakras; and I will explain my reasons in greater detail.

open studio: buddha resists mara by kelly heaton

Buddha Resisting Mara, 2016.  Painted ceramic, wood, electronics, and wire.

A little sculpture / study of Buddha meditating beneath the Bodhi tree. To his left, is Mara assumes the appearance of death. To his right, Mara is the illusion of life. The branches of the tree are full of so many little resistors, pursuing their own journey to enlightenment.