Holly Coley

Interdiciplinary Artist, SF!  Hollycoley.com, instagram @hollycoley

[hollycoley]

Spring time pots are one their way to my online store hollycoley.com and a special ceramic show and sale at Tartine Bakery in March 1st in SF. 8-10pm.

[hollycoley]

Custom green porcelain noodle bowl for Andrew! Hand painted vintage Japanese wood working tools.

[hollycoley]

Bodies at rest.

[hollycoley]

Had a great time making clay bells with this kid!

[hollycoley]

September show at Alite Outpost in SF. This is my first solo show where I displayed my ceramics and paintings side by side. Show will be up til early October, check it out if you can. Special thanks to all the rad people who work at Alite. 

[hollycoley]

On September 10th I will be showing my porcelain canoes along with some paintings at the Gallery in Alite. This will be the first time I have shown my ceramics in a gallery setting. Stay tuned for more info. 

[hollycoley]

Last Thursday (June 4th) I went to Dan Olsen’s show at ALITE, a unique camping design store (Theres a gallery space in the back and an espresso bar.) At Dan’s show, you will find a chill Jolly Green Giant installation: Mr Jolly Green wears 1070′s tennis shoes and blends into the background but not before you notice his inviting smile. Dioramas that lead the viewer into the dessert, only to find Gumby wearing sunglasses and hiding behind a cactus (amongst other characters.) I loved this show, Dan is of an amazing mind. 

Dan’s drawings, paintings, collage, and installation are true celebrations of hallucinogenic drugs, love, and imagination. During the opening Dan gave a “Clown Reggae” musical performance as Kissy Face. Where he performed “fuck yeah” hand gestures,shook a rain stick at his balloons, hid under various props, and wore masks set to electronic sounds composed by him. A the end he engaged with his audience by bestowing each balloon to a smiling member. But not before he cut the balloon strings with his teeth. 

Show runs the rest of this month, ALITE is located on 18th street by Mission, San Francisco CA. 

[hollycoley]

I had the pleasure of recently sitting in on a color workshop at Root Division taught by Linsay Stripling. The workshop was all watercolor, which was great practice for me. I tend to mix a lot of different media, so it was relaxing to focus on just one type of paint for a night. The “neutrals” were my favorite. I made three rows of different mixtures of primary colors. 

I see more watercolor in my future. 

#neutralsarethenewblack #RootDivision #supportrd #watercolor #colortheory 

[hollycoley]

New Batch of Small Spirits available now at Hollycoley.com 

Small Spirits are tiny glazed ceramic pots, each one is handmade and original. No molds are used, so each pot is a living work of art. These guys are seriously small. Holly Coley 2015 

#smallspiritssf #ghosts #succulentpots #succulents 

[hollycoley]

Taste Makers 2015 by Holly Coley 

Wall mounted glazed ceramic, epoxy, wood screws, air dry clay, and acrylic paint. Dimensions variable.

I created these tongues for the spring fund raiser “Taste” for Root Division this year. The tongues sold at auction to benefit art education in public schools. It was a lot of fun creating life sized tongues and isolating them as objects. 

If you would like to help support Root Division please contribute to their indie go go campaign. The current capital fund raiser supports the build out of  our new studios and classrooms. 

 https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/keep-art-in-sf-help-build-the-new-root-division

[hollycoley]

The people of Stevenson Street

The division between poor and wealthy people in San Francisco is often contained within a few inches from one another. A few weeks ago, there was a Disrupt Festival on Market street (part of the revitalization of mid-Market street.)

 One of the Disrupt activities was a drawing and writing structure with free chalk. People in the area took the chalk for their own project, away from the festival into a back alley called Stevenson. The above pictures are of graffiti written by the  community that works and lives in the alley behind market street. Not sure who wrote what, but its an interesting piece of graffiti. 

#graffiti #SF 

[hollycoley]

Last year I started picking up pieces of wood and taking them home with me. I felt attracted to each piece, feeling that each branch spoke quietly of being a part of something larger. Now that I have access to a chop saw, the possibilities are endless. 

 I had been wanting to find a way to put them together with other media for some time. This hanging sculpture  brings together the recent collage and drawings I’ve been working on, in that they all offer a recontextualization of the outside/inside in a sculptural sense. 

Wood gathered from:

Guerneville, CA

San Francisco, CA

Portland, OR 

Materials: glazed ceramic, epoxy, wood, plexy glass. 8′’ x 11′’ x 15′’ 

[hollycoley]

Find Love in the Sea by Holly Coley 2015

Late last year I became obsessed with stretching watercolor paper over birch panel. Its basically like stretching a canvas but its paper. You take the paper and get it really wet and then stretch it over the panel. Once the paper dries it tightens like a drum. This piece is 48′’ x 48′’ watercolor, ink, gauche, and glitter on Arches watercolor paper. Part of the Soft Explosions series. 

[hollycoley]

My first experience selling my art was in elementary school. I used to make drawings for other girls, drawings of them holding hands with their favorite member of New Kids on the Block. I sold single drawings for $2 each.

This was pre internet so I think you can guess how stoked these girls were to have their very own drawing of their fav celeb. 

[hollycoley]

Clay Bento Box by Holly Coley 2015 

Greenware. I made three boxes this size. Unfortunately, I made the base too thick and they all cracked when they dried. I fired the broken pieces anyway and the results were pretty interesting. I think they will make fine fridge magnets. 

[hollycoley]

Your Time is Limited by Holly Coley 2015 

Lightfast acrylic ink collage on Arches watercolor paper with painters tape.

#hollycoley #art #collage 

[hollycoley]

Joshua Tree 2015 by Holly Coley

Digital photograph.

#joshuatree #thriftstore #desert #hollycoley #photography