Since I last wrote (which was way too long ago) – my husband and I have relocated from Austin, TX back to Beverly, MA. Its really great to be back and close to old friends and family. And, though some may be surprised to hear – I couldn’t be happier about returning to the snow!

Work has been exciting since the move. I’ve gone from working in-house at C3 Presents to freelancing again full-time and it feels great! There’s tons of REALLY exciting projects that I’m involved in that I can’t wait to add to the portfolio. I was also very excited to learn that Monsterrat has a new Interactive Media program which I’m eager to see students’ work from! I’m also privileged to be speaking on a panel to Montserrats Interactive Media students and faculty on February 25th.

Also, just launched today is the new website for the band, Lucero. To coincide with their new album release “1372 Overton Park” on October 6th – the website underwent a design overhaul that went live today! Check out the preview in my Interactive Gallery.

The portfolio has been updated with some new pieces – a couple to note are the new New Noise Santa Barbara site that was launched last week and the poster for the 1st annual Gran Prix of Beverly that takes place next week in Beverly, Massachusetts.

In more somber news – my thoughts and best-wishes go out to my friends and family in Santa Barbara, California who have already dealt with their share of fires this past year – and are now dealing with the Jesusita Fire. I hope for the best for everyone in the area, and hope this fire is tamed soon…thank you to all of the firefighters who are risking their lives to battle this blaze.

I’ve also been quite focused on painting lately – completing a commissioned piece, and trying to fit in some personal work amidst actual “work” and grad school. So, stay tuned!  

In November of 2003, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts decided to close the doors of the Massachusetts Mental Health Center – 91 years after it’s inception. The hospital had been one of the oldest public teaching hospitals in the country. In response to the closing, artist Anna Schuleit developed “BLOOM – a site-specific installation that would commemorate the building, it’s history, and the people it had both staffed and served.

For 4 days in November 2003, the Massachusetts Mental Health Center opened it’s doors to the public to reveal a transformation of the space. BLOOM, as a Postmodern art-installation, succeeded in drawing the viewers into an entirely sensory-filled, participatory experience – in which they moved throughout the building experiencing new colors, textures, smells, and sounds with each corner they turned:

“BLOOM consisted of 28,000 potted, blooming flowers, selected and sorted by color, and placed throughout four floors of the historic building. The basement hallways were carpeted in live sod for viewers to walk on. The old public announcement system was used to play recorded sounds of the building from the days leading up to its closing”

The hallways and rooms of the building, which were typically colorless, were transformed carpetings of blooms. Each area featuring a different flower each in a distinct color. Thousands upon thousands of purple african violets, orange tulips, red tulips, yellow begonias, Narciissus Paperwhites, ferns, white chrysanthemum, and wildflowers each carpeted separate hallways and rooms of the building. The result was breathtaking textural fields of colors and scents. The basement was carpeted in sod, which viewers could walk on.

The installation, though visually transforming, also spoke to another experience – that in reflection of the thousands of sick patients who had lived inside of it’s colorless and drab space. As it is often customary for hospital-ridden patients to receive flowers, often long-term psychiatric patients did not. Therefore the 28,000 flowers in the installation also symbolized a healing remembrance. After the installation was removed the flowers were donated to surrounding institutions and hospitals.

For more information about this installation you can check out the projects website: http://www.1856.org/bloom/index.html

I just finished up the online portfolio for my Mom to show-off her wide-array of talent! She does everything from drawings & painting, to furniture and murals! Check it out at www.Claudia-Golden.com!