#Identity

Reflections… socially constructed ideas of ‘beauty’

I am reposting my reply from comments in my last blog post because I think it is important and continues this conversation… My work on body image has always been about a universal dialogue. While I may use myself as a subject, I am discussing issues of feminism and female representation that have been going on for years and years. I am just using my work and myself to keep the dialogue going. I didn’t mean for this post to sound like it was a jab at my own self esteem and s

The Paper Doll Project

Me, about 10 minutes ago My hair has been short for about a year and a half now. I had it shaved for an art performance in which I was challenging media’s distortion of beauty as well as society’s perception of gender and stereotypes. I am a woman. I am a heterosexual woman who likes men. Why should I have long hair, wear stilettos, short skirts and wear caked on make-up to attract a man? I just don’t get it. Or, actually, I do get it, It just makes me sad, so I try to ignor

Binge and Purge… the video!

The lovely Nina Camplin/Fuschia Nightfire filmed the whole 5+ hours of my first “Binge and Purge” performance/installation in Second Life. She then edited that down to 25 minutes and then sped it up and added this way cool music. Check it out!!! #losangeles #feminism #conceptual #virtualworld #art #community #painting #avatar #virtualreality #contemporaryart #DigitalArt #LEA #secondlife #contemporary #metaverse #virtualart #cyberspace #virtual #modern #Facebook #lindenendowm

Support your local artists!! Buy art for the Holidays!!

Support In October I opened my studio for the 3rd time for the Brewery Artwalk. As always it was such an amazing experience. I met so many new people, caught up with long time friends and made great connections for myself and the Brewery Artwalk Association. Oh did I tell you? I am now the President of the Brewery Artwalk Association!!! Help me raise money to continue my project “A comfortable skin.” I want to buy 11 more mannequins, plus size/full figured women to make an in

The Avatars on display… @Create:Fixate a one night art event in DTLA

I was honored to be invited to display the avatars at Create:Fixate a one night art event in Downtown LA last night. It was a fun night of art, music, drinks and friends. I hung out by the Avatars and decided to take photos of the people taking photos with them. It was an interesting experience. I wanted to jump out of my skin every time someone grabbed their boobs!!! There were signs saying don’t touch… but alas people still did!! I almost feel violated!! Geesh!!! All in all

Where art lives!!! (and where I live!)

#LlynFoulkes #losangeles #feminism #conceptual #art #community #painting #BruceDean #EmilyHalpern #collector #ClaudiaEndler #KevinFlint #show #avatar #TwoBitCircus #TealeHathaway #bodyimage #newmedia #AndreMiripolsky #contemporaryart #DigitalArt #BillLeighBrewer #abstractart #contemporary #metaverse #Cerospace #ChuckSwenson #photography #artgallery #BrendaHurst #cyberspace #ChristopherCooper #Openstudios #gallery #DistopianStudios #modern #Facebook #NicoleFournier #installati

The end of an era… or… new beginnings?

It kind of depends on whether you think the cup is half empty or half full as to what you think of my latest virtual performance/installation. Yes, I deleted my entire inventory in Second Life. Or what I was allowed to delete. Turns out I can’t delete my library or calling cards. Well I can delete calling cards, but they just show up again because I still have those friends on my list. AND I am NOT deleting my friends!!! This past Sunday, I finished the performative aspect

Saying Good-bye… to Second Life stuff!

Please join me Sunday Oct 20th at 10am pst/slt as I finish the durational performance where I delete the entire contents of my Second Life Inventory. The performance/installation Binge and Purge was going to slowly be played out until the end of December. While I still have the space and will continue the installation on a conceptual level, I am going to finish the purge and delete my entire inventory on Sunday. One of the main reasons I am finishing tomorrow is because of t

Post-Brewery Artwalk/Pre-Holiday Art Sale!!! 25% off!!!!

This last weekend I opened my studio for the 3rd time for the Brewery Artwalk. As always it was such an amazing experience. I met so many new people, caught up with long time friends and made great connections for myself and the Brewery Artwalk Association. Oh did I tell you? I am now the President of the Brewery Artwalk Association!!! Because the holidays are close at hand and in post-Artwalk/inventory clearance fashion, I have decided to hold a weekend only sale. Everything

GO BIG OR GO HOME!!

So, remember a couple days ago when I said I was going to grow out my hair? It was already getting a bit longer, ok it was only 1/2 an inch, but still, long for me. Why not continue to let it grow? Why not go back to when I had longer hair? This whole hair thing is an every-changing, ongoing process. I keep trying to figure out what it means. Why did I shave my head in the first place. I am pretty impulsive after all. I wanted to make a statement about body image, my frustra

Why I wear a wig…

The last couple of art events I have gone to, I have warn a bright pink wig. I bought the wig a year and a half ago and thought it would be fun to play with. It sat alone untouched for over a year until a friend came over and saw it and wanted to photograph me wearing it. I put it on along with a super cool hat I bought from the Tim Burton exhibit at LACMA and I was transformed. I thought it was total fun and imagined having my real hair like this. Alas, I am not able to do t

Little Abstracts, Big Personalities

While I was painting the Avatars, I noticed the drop cloth was forming a really wonderful abstract painting. They measure approx. 4×7 inches and look really great framed. All ready to hang: $40 each Ask for pricing on multiples. Plus shipping national and international All signed and titled either “Excess” or “Residuum” and numbered. All original, one-of-a-kind paintings. Drop me an email if you would like to purchase the Little Abstracts. kristineschomaker

What does it mean to be one-of-a-kind in the digital world?

One of the interesting conversations started from my project “Binge and Purge” is that of the unique, one-of-a-kind work of art in Second Life. You can read a couple blog posts and the comments on Ziki Questi’s blog here and my own blog here and here. Thinking about my own inventory, I don’t believe I have anything that is totally one-of-a-kind. I have a Japanese Tea House a friend gave me, but he still has a copy and I am sure gave other people copies. I have bought limited

The fragility of life

When I set out to create a work of art, whether a performance or installation, a painting or collage, I normally don’t have any plans. I might have some thoughts and ideas written out but I do this particular project because it is something I have to express – an idea I have to communicate, some dialogue I have to start, a notion that I have to challenge. The last few projects/performances I have done have been dramatic and extreme: I shaved my head; I did a photography proje

NEW WORK!!!

So It has been a crazy busy time for me. I just moved to a new loft… _____________________________ I am reconnecting with good friends… I picked up the Avatars from the Beverly Hills Gallery. So glad to have the girls safe at home…LOL _____________________________ I am also working on some new pieces. Right now I have to put any new Avatars on hold until I can get enough money to have them made. In the meantime I had to work on something else. I decided to play around with th

My life as performance art

A year ago, almost to the day, I had my shoulder length blond hair shaved off. It was one of the most freeing experiences I have ever had. I didn’t know what I would look like with a bald head (Or actually buzzed, as my friend used a #2 razor) but I didn’t care. I had to do it. I was so tired of seeing women in the media (and elsewhere) objectified for their appearance. “Portia Di Rossi cut off her ‘signature’ locks,” “Charlize Theron shaved off her gorgeous blond hair.” Why

The Gracie Kendal Project

For as far back as my memory allows, I had never found myself in a place I felt comfortable. My world has been in a constant state of change since I graduated High School, actually since my parents divorced when I was 12. I have moved in and out of my mom and stepdad’s house, had several roommates, had over 16 cars in 20 years of driving, changed my hair more times than I care to say, fluctuated my weight with the rising and setting of the sun and the list goes on… Needless t

“Self Portrait as an Avatar”

So it’s 1245am…and I couldn’t sleep. I had been laying in bed for almost an hour, listening to my clock radio playing Abba “Dancing Queen” (couldn’t keep my feet from tapping with the time) and just couldn’t fall asleep. I have been so overwelmed this last 2-3 weeks with so much on my mind, that I decided I had to just spill. I have been trying to work on my artist statement, or at least some type of statement as to what I want to do for my thesis project. After many pages of

A crisis of Confidence…

So yesterday I was struggling with the idea of identity. In Second Life I am known as Gracie Kendal. Face Book, Gracie Kendal- Twitter, Gracie Kendal- Myspace, Gracie Kendal- LinkedIn, Gracie Kendal…. Where do you draw the line between RL representation and SL representation? As an artist in RL, I upload my works to Second Life and sell digital virtual copies of my work. I use SL to help get my work out there to a worldwide audience. No one can deny that SL is wonderful for t