When the word wants to be a thing

the past few days has been spent trying to "lift" the language from the sewing patterns and place it onto something else. i started with the transfer pen on Xeroxes onto tracing paper, which was too smelly and required so much for such crappy results. I then used matte medium to transfer the Xeroxes onto the wall -- very messy process, but gives cool results in the end. Very good detail and line quality. I actually don't think that I'm going to end up pursuing this exploration because although it allows me to extend the life of the sewing pattern word configurations, it's flat, which is what I wanted to get away from. That said, I think it works perfectly for the Nomadic Studio project - just gotta figure out different places "out in the world" where I can make these transfers. Well, the true issue is not where, but my getting comfortable doing this stuff in public. It will be fun to try different surfaces, e.g. walls, poles, sidewalks, etc.

Thom, Sang and I talked about what it was that I did want for my installation, even though I wasn't clear about my next steps. I want:
* volume
* tactility, visceralness
* language

Thom said that if what I wanted was for people to touch it, the piece would have to be irresistible, so that you wouldn't just hope or ask that people touch it, but it was so visceral they couldn't help themselves. He gave such a great idea: what if the
words were made out of something that wasn't solid at all, but something viscous and/or malleable. Of course! If the whole point of this exploration is to make poetry an active not passive experience, what better way than to engage the senses, but not just touch? The thing I make isn't static, it moves, lives. The first thing I thought of was dripping honey (Ann Hamilton already used honey), but I like the thought that the piece would begin as a fully cohesive piece, with the words intact, then they melt down the wall and onto the floor.

Beeswax
syrup
honey
resin-like substance