the big black purse

big black purse
Kristine Mays, artist
Size: 16 in. (width) x 14 in. (height) x 5.5 in.(depth)
Medium: wire
Color: black with silver circle

"inspired by..." series: number four

sunshine in brazil
Kristine Mays
Inspired by a dress created by the Brazilian designer Tufi Duek
Size: 38in. L, 26 in.W, 5 in.D
Medium : wire
Color: red

the need to create

I am thankful for the chance to create. When I was a little girl I carried a pencil and a folded piece of paper with me everywhere I went. That is until one day when I accidentally stabbed myself in the leg with the pencil and I freaked my mom out provoking a long lecture about lead poisoning. So, instead of giving up this habit completely, I switched to carrying a blue crayon and kept my habit quietly.
I was eager to capture what I saw. Maybe it meant drawing a picture, maybe it meant writing down a memory or capturing a moment, maybe it meant having opportunity to draw or doodle when bored. In any case, this piece of paper was important. This is a habit that has continued on in my life. My purse is usually filled with many pens and folded pieces of paper. My backpack has pens and sometimes there are sets of stationery and note cards so that I can write a letter if I want regardless of where I am.
Sometimes we forget, overlook, or bury our dreams. Yet what I have realized is that I have always felt the need to create. It is something I simply do. I wake up and begin to write or work on a piece of art - even if it is only in my mind that I am working in it, figuring it our before my hands go to work. Sometimes I keep a pad of paper & a pen next to the bed because I may wake up with an idea that needs to be captured before it gets lost in sleep. 
I love to keep my hands busy making something beautiful. I have made jewelry from hand-blown Italian glass beads. I have done calligraphy. I have created puppets and stuffed animals. I have painted pottery. I have made costumes. I’ve dabbled in theatrical makeup. I have filled many sketchbooks full of drawings of people I have seen on the bus or at the library or somewhere in passing. I have made patchwork quilts. I have painted with acrylic paints and created sculptures from wire. I have made collages and greeting cards. I have a list of ways in which I’d like to create – things I want to do in my lifetime – like make handmade paper and do mosaics and the list goes on and on. 

I love and am passionate about being creative. I am grateful for my imagination, the time to create and hands that still work, despite the ways in which I overwork them.

"inspired by..." series: number three

Inspired by: Foxylee patent leather jeweled flat by Guess Footwear and the Stuart Weitzman Broach Pump, a satin pump with a jeweled brooch

"inspired by..." series: number two

Inspired by: Ralph Lauren wooden wedge

My ultimate desire is to explore shapes. This desire simply comes out in the form of clothing, or in this instance, shoes. I simply enjoy transforming something we see everyday into something extraordinary.

"inspired by..." series: number one

Inspired by : patent leather wedge shoe by Pierre Hardy

an interview...

The beautiful Jessie agreed to interview me and came up with some great questions.
Sit back and have a good read… Maybe by the time you read and leave me a few comments, I will be back from my self imposed homework binge.

1. What got you started creating figurative sculpture? Why figurative? Why wire? When did it start? Where do you see it heading? (ok...that was like five questions in one. Basically, i'm asking you to tell ALL! ) :)

Hold on to your seat – this answer is long-winded but a testament to how all things come together…
Since childhood I have always done lots of drawing. I kept the bullies away in elementary school at times by drawing them a great picture. I impressed family and friends by being able to draw those little sketches in the backs of magazines for art instruction schools. In junior high my music teacher would pay me to make program covers for orchestra concerts. I loved to draw so much that I used to carry a sketchbook with me on the bus. I was so painfully shy and in my shyness I simply kept to myself and observed others. My sketchbooks were hand-sized so I could draw people around me without them really noticing what I was working on. In my twenties after a period of not making art at all, I found a box of pastels, some butcher paper and begin to create again, making big drawings of the faces of people. At the same time I discovered this bead shop near the coffee house where I worked. For months I spent any money I had on beads and supplies. I drew pictures of people, made earrings and cut up fashion magazines making collage. Thinking back on it now, that was a time of great exploration.

I got totally immersed in the idea of capturing facial expressions for a few years and in my late twenties I began to exhibit my work in coffeehouses and local businesses both in Sacramento and San Francisco. I enjoyed the work I was making and yet as I created, the list of things I wanted to try simply got longer. I moved on to sewing these haphazard patchwork blankets for a while, giving one to each of my family members and close friends. Then one day while waiting for my friend to get her hair cut I spotted a bead store across the street from her salon. While wandering around the store I found some rolls of wire along with an advertisement for workshops to learn how to make wire candleholders. I gathered up the information and bought a spool of wire and yet because the workshops were pretty expensive (well, 75 bucks for 2 hours) I never went to a workshop. Instead I went back to the bead store a few times and in simply looking at the candleholders and experimenting with the wire I figured out how to make my own. Once I’d made a few candleholders I was bored with the idea and went back to drawing however, drawing became a bit dull to me as well. What I wanted was to create something with my hands. I went back to the wire only this time began to create twelve inch tall wire men by wrapping wire in a spiral like manner. From there I stretched further, working from a desire to freeze movement. All of those years of watching people on the bus came back as I began paying close attention to people around me – the way they moved, the way their clothing wrinkled from ordinary wear, the folds in the fabric from pushing ones shirt sleeves up, the way there are wrinkles in pants at the bend of the knee. My observations come out in my sculpture. As for the fashion magazines that were once material for collages, now I sit among magazines and flip though them looking for interesting clothing almost always shown in movement on the body of someone. When I find the images that thrill me I study them for awhile, allowing myself a chance to map out just what steps are needed to create a sculpture out of what I see on a page. From there I begin to create. I like using wire because it has a certain strength and underscores my admiration for strong women. As a medium it has a certain amount to permanence to it as well. Some of the wire I use is the rugged kind of wire generally used to mend fences. I like the idea of the possibility that my work has the strength to live on beyond my life. In a nutshell, I guess you could say I started doing figurative sculpture because I am just really into observing people and find myself continually inspired given the chance to simply people watch.

2. In terms of your art, do you have (or have you ever had) a mentor that is important to you?

I don’t know if I have had a mentor in the typical sense of working with someone or seeking advice from them. I have had certain artists that I’ve followed and to a certain extent, envied. This healthy jealousy has pushed me to continue making art and to take risks. For instance, I remember two years out of high school reading an article about Kara Walker. We are the same age so I was just so taken back that she was such an incredible artist and that she was working and going after her dreams. In my mid-twenties I started meeting artists through a San Francisco organization called ArtSpan. I met a circle of friends who in their ordinary work as artists have taught me so much about simply creating and getting work out into the world. I've also spent time reading more than a dozen books about the business of art.

3. What, in your life, has surprised you the most?

I think I am surprised each time I am able to make art and share it with the world. As a child my mom always said art was a hobby and in high school when I said I wanted to be an artist it was completely discouraged. Being raise in a family where money was always tight, my mom wanted me to get a job that paid well and when I said I wanted to be an artist, well that did not go over well. It took me years to show her that this was a worthwhile pursuit and I think after all of this time she has had a chance to see how much it means to me. She’s come around and is one of my biggest fans, always at every show and promoting my work all the time.

4. If your art could change the world, in what ways would you want it to do that?

Wow- what a question! I could contemplate this indefinitely. Since you have been reading this now for an eternity (are you still there?) I’ll be brief… I’d like my art to change the world simply by conjuring up feelings and ideas in people that words and music can’t express. I don’t expect my work to be for everyone. Some folks may look at a wire dress and see it as frivolous, superficial and fun and yet others may see beyond the exterior and see the soul I have captured… I don’t know if I can take on the world but I do come baring gifts for all – one person at a time…

5. You have just been commissioned to create a very large mural on the side of an important building that, in some way, tells the story of your life. Without worrying about your level of talent, what visions come to mind?

Another hard question and yet I was tell you what comes to mind first – I see a person climbing the wall, surpassing obstacles, overcoming.

the DeYoung...

What can I say? It was incredible!
The place was hoppin’ with quite a diverse crowd of people from all walks of life. Droves of people filtered into this very large area of the museum. A bar was set up on one side with bartenders making top shelf drinks and the area where the band played filled up quickly with some folks sitting and others dancing while crowds stood and mingled and wandered around. Across from where I was set up people were allowed to participate in creating Vivienne Westwood inspired accessories.

I created a sculpture inspired by a Vivienne Westwood piece. I invited guests to join into the experience of it all by signing a ribbon to add to the piece. They could simply sign their name or write a message. I spent the evening talking to so many individuals, talking about my work and listening to them tell me how the work spoke to them. I tied ribbons continually reading a variety of messages from a simple “Aloha” to things like “Seek peace” and “Look for inner beauty”. People even wrote ribbons in memory of friends who’d passed away. I loved seeing children (lots of people brought their families and kids) get excited as they signed a ribbon and then watched me place it on the sculpture. It all came together nicely. It was simply an amazing night. At the end of the night we were told that it was estimated that 1800+ people were there (that was the number of people who saw the Westwood exhibit that night even though not everyone who attended went to the exhibit). Now that I am home I am struggling to find words to explain exactly how I felt or just how incredible and significant this event was for me. There were lots of sweet moments. One lady named Paula shared a story about Alexander Calder traveling on a trip with a roll of wire and pilers in his pocket, (instead of shipping a piece) having been invited as a guest to do a show. One woman asked if I’d seen this fabulous piece at a gallery on Geary Street in SF. As she described the piece I smiled. She was describing MY PIECE from the show I was a part of for the SF International Arts Festival!


What more can I say – it was a really good night.

kristine @ the DeYoung

Join me tonight at the DeYoung Museum in San Francisco as part of Friday Nights at the DeYoung!


Friday Nights are back! The popular series returns, offering live music, poetry, films, dance, tours, lectures, cocktails, food, artist demonstrations, and interactive art projects. Tonight will be the closing party for the Vivienne Westwood: 36 Years of Fashion exhibition.

Musical guests will be Parallel 23, an Afro-cuban Funk band and the artist demonstration will be done by yours truly!

Entrance into the event is free and there is a reduced admission of $10 into the Vivienne Westwood galleries. Members are admitted free.

Read on for more information about Vivienne Westwood…

Vivienne Westwood is both iconoclast and global icon. In the 1970s, she electrified the world with the launch of Punk fashion and went on to become one of the most inventive and influential designers of our time. Fashion to her became "a baby I picked up and never put down." This exhibition, which was organized by the Victoria and Albert Museum, London and which makes the de Young its only U.S. stop on an international tour, celebrates Westwood’s extraordinary, nearly 40-year-long career. Known best for her fearless nonconformity, she also has a profound respect for the past and looks to it for inspiration. With tradition as her springboard, she takes historic garments such as corsets and crinolines and reinvents them in new ways or uses thoroughly British fabrics like tartans and tweeds to create fashion that gently parodies Establishment styles. However outrageous or provocative the result, her approach has always been practical. She is driven by a curiosity about how things work, and her work reflects her systematic exploration of the structure of historical costume in museum collections. Westwood's extraordinary range and inventiveness is showcased in the more than 150 objects that make up the exhibition, all drawn from her personal archive and the V&A's collection. The work spans the extremes of fashion, from London street style to the catwalks of Paris and London, and reveals Westwood’s own evolution from subversive shop owner to one of fashion’s most respected figures.

breaking ice

There’s an art reception tonight. (Does the piece in the middle of the postcard look familiar?)

blue curves

Title: blue curves
Kristine Mays, artist
Medium: wire
Size: 13 in. (width) x 21 in. (height) x 8.5 in.(depth)

upcoming show...

Spring Open Studios
Saturday and Sunday
May 12 & 13
11 am - 6 pm
Developing Environments
540 Alabama Street
San Francisco, CA

Mission Open Studios is a working collaboration between the art studios in the Mission District to have an open studios weekend May 12th and 13th from 11am - 6pm. The Art Explosion Studios, 1890 Bryant St, Project Artaud, The Blue Studio, Root Division, Developing Environments, Compound 21 and Workspace artists will work together and open their studios for an amazing weekend of art viewing. All the studios are located within blocks of each other and there are more than 300 accomplished artists expected to participate and over 100,000 sq/ft of studio space to explore. This will be the biggest and best art show of the spring.