Climbing the Walls Designs

10/30/2024

Book now for early bird holiday pricing....
Single subject graphite 11x14 portrait of your loved ones or pets starting at $600. Price reflects unframed amd unmatted artwork.

10/28/2024

This week's blast from the past: The Construction Town

Built in 2012. The room was surrounded in town buildings made from wood. At the front of the room I painted a construction mural - borrowed from a children's book reference at the time. This room was my favoritye and I still have all of the buildings - so much fun!

10/03/2024

As the Crow Flies
5.5’x7.5’x9.5’, Foam, aluminum, fabric, branches, dirt, mulch and silk flower mixed medium installation, 2023.

As the Crow Flies is an immersive experience where the viewer walks into a tunnel-like portal. What begins as an English garden quickly morphs into a surrealistic Avatar-esque experience boasting handmade florals and manipulated found objects. The tree is carved from foam as are the birds, birdhouse and many of the flowers. Eucalyptus invades the senses, while happy birds chirp among the backdrop of dystopian fluorescent back lighting

Inspired by the Hero’s Journey, the protagonist is called to action and finds themself on the threshold of an adventure. This quest is fraught with challenges and perilous tribulations. The hero plunges into the spiritual underworld and comes face to face with her demons. Life changing transformation occurs, and the hero returns to a life of enlightenment.
As the Crow Flies marks the inaugural phase of a Hero’s Journey. It journeys through a metaphorical manifestation of introspection and a rite of passage. The work expresses the spatial experience of transformation from the old and new, the real and surreal, and the rational and irrational – through a psychological and corporeal lens.

09/22/2024

So pleased that there is a world where both my graphite portrature and sculpture can co-exist. A shoutout to my reference model for helping me decipher the perfect form that I then used in my installation, The Blind.

08/29/2024

07/27/2024

The Blind
Within the walls of her quiet haven, a young child trembles in the darkness. Daring to make the tiniest sound, the stuffed bear is firmly pressed to her lips to stifle the raspy, uneven breath. Shivers travel down her spine and through her bare toes. How long has she hidden in the closet, seconds? minutes? Or has it been all of her 8 years? Tiny fingers nervously trace patterns in the dusty floorboards while outside shadows menace the illuminated cracks of the ill-fitting and flimsy closed door.
A heavy rhythm of footsteps loom in the distance, coming closer to her hideout. The floorboards outside the closet creak, their echoes contort like sinister whispers in the stillness. Having reached the door, she can almost sense his trembling pulse and ragged breath. She can hear the low tones of his deep voice clearly now as the doorknob turns, “Here I come”.

"The Blind" is the corner piece to the “Portals” body of work. With the exceptions of the two-dimensional ‘See no evil, hear no evil, say no evil’ illustration, the installation is created entirely with foam, wood and mirrors. The work speaks to the vulnerability of childhood and innocence lost. Details abound with the dyslexic ‘Keep Out’ signage, a red glossy high heeled shoe and a menacing shadow in the darkness. "The Blind" offers a firsthand powerful glimpse of abuse with mirrors strategically placed to insert the viewer into the narrative.

To see more details on this work, visit the Installation tab of my website at: www.climbingthewalls.net

07/23/2024

“What molting is to birds, the time when they change their feathers, that’s adversity or misfortune, hard times, for us human beings. One may remain in this period of molting; one may also come out of it renewed.” ¬
- Vincent Van Gogh

"Molting" is an oversized foam recreation of a child's bedroom created in 1-point perspective - influenced by Van Gogh's "Bedroom" paintings. There are incredibly detailed sculptures of bugs, skeletons, pill bottles (and an ax murderer too!) and so much more to see in this childhood nightmare panorama - please check out the Installation tab of my website www.climbingthewalls.net

07/16/2024

"There is a sacred place I envelope myself at the end of the day. With lights drawn low and in silent absolute solitude, I slip into the steamy waters of my ceremonious bathtub. This is a religious experience. The liquid is just hot enough to castigate myself for the regrets of the day. I offer my regrets to the waters, seeking forgiveness and reconciliation. In the quiet, my demons appear and, one-by-one they are vanquished and replaced with resolve. I do not reach to touch the swaths of flesh that quiver on my side. I do not glance down at my scarred breasts and surgically mutilated belly, I push away the slight memory of a youthful body, now replaced with a splintered and weathered woman. Within moments my body disappears, and I am floating. I give thanks to the universe. Finally, I pray for the future and gaze triumphantly as the past trickles away through the drain. I am cleansed through body and soul. This is renewal." - lorrie anne minicozzi

Fall of the Sparrow; is a life-size installation almost ENTIRELY sculpted from FOAM depicting a reference to Shakespeare's Ophelia and feminine vulnerability.
For more information, or to see more of my foam sculptures and portrait work, please visit www.climbingthewalls.net