McLeod Residence Blog

Giant Squid Opens December 7!

Giant Squid
Cassandra Nguyen

Opening Reception: December 7, 6-9pm

With poetry, live drawings and other activities by the Cephalopod Appreciation Society; squid snacks; and inky cocktails.

The mysterious and elusive giant squid resides in the deepest water of the ocean and is usually not seen by humans, but a few will make a rare appearance at McLeod Residence this December thanks to New York artist Cassandra Nguyen. Giant Squid will open with a reception on December 7, 2007, from 6-9 pm, and runs through December 29.

Cassandra's squid are actually stuffed animals, created in a variety of fabrics including ultrasuede, velvet, brocade, felt and toile. The three at McLeod Residence will each be about 20 feet long, the size of an adolescent giant squid. Cassandra became interested in giant squid after seeing a documentary on the cephalopods. The idea of being the largest creature on earth and yet never seen fascinated her. When she couldn't find anyone selling a stuffed squid, she decided to make her own and eventually refined a pattern that includes a secret pocket. Eventually she plans to make one that is 60 feet long, the size of a full grown giant squid.

Her squid are available for adoption at McLeod Residence during the month and a portion of the proceeds from each adoption goes to charity. Cassandra was recently featured in Giant Robot magazine and is also showing her squid at the Royal/T gallery and cafe in Los Angeles.

Members of Seattle's Cephalopod Appreciation Society will be on hand at the opening party to help disseminate facts and enthusiasm about the elusive giant squid, and will facilitate live drawing, squid poetry, and other activities to help creatively further our understanding.

Squid-inspired poets and performers will include:
A.K. Allin
Anne Bradfield / Elizabeth Bradfield
Levi Fuller
Rachael Harper
Rebecca Hoogs
Rachel Kessler
Travis Nichols
Melanie Noel
Avery Slater
Deborah Woodard
and more!

Going on its 6th year, the Cephalopod Appreciation Society has been meeting annually at the NW Film Forum to learn about and celebrate all things cephalopod. (Cephalopods = Squid, Octopus, Cuttlefish, Chambered Nautilus.) Past annual spring gatherings have included film, poetry, song, art, musical slideshows, dance, stickers, scientific lectures and impassioned speeches. This September, the Cephalopod Appreciation Society was invited by the Burke Natural History Museum to curate a cephalopod-inspired poetry reading for the grand opening of its new In Search of Giant Squid.

Also showing this month is Glimpses from China, a series of photographs by Sami Khoury. Sami lived and worked in China for six months this year and documented his journey in these vivid images from a country undergoing a rapid transformation.

The South Room features a "best of" exhibit of the year's light box images. The Lounge features McLeod Residence's ongoing installation of neon work by Jeremy Bert and Jen Elek and furniture by Gary Andolina. The Water Closets will continue to house the Barbarian Group's McLeod Mirror Series 1: See Yourself In Others. Maggie Orth's Petal Pushers and the Barbarian Group's Biomimetic Butterflies will continue to be shown in the McLeod Room and, at accessible price points, make excellent holiday gifts for beginning art collectors.

Maggie Orth wins USA Fellowship

Today, United States Artists announced 50 new USA Fellows and we are extremely happy that McLeod Residence artist Maggie Orth is among the artists who will receive an unrestricted $50,000 grant in recognition of their work. Considered a pioneer in the emerging field of electronic textiles, interactive fashions, wearable computing and interface design, Maggie Orth has published and exhibited in a range of venues worldwide, and McLeod Residence is proud to represent her in Seattle.

Maggie'™s electronic fabrics have been exhibited several times at McLeod Residence, and currently her Petal Pusher lightboxes are hung in the McLeod Room.

United States Artists is a new organization that exists to support, nurture and strengthen the work of America'™s finest living artists. The first three years of the USA Fellows program will be considered a pilot phase. During that time, USA will distribute 150 unrestricted fellowship grants of $50,000 each to artists across the United States. To learn more, visit unitedstatesartists.org.

Petal Pushers are priced accessibly and would make a lovely entry point for anyone looking to begin an art collection. I also think they would make a wonderful Christmas gift for anyone interested in design, technology, textiles or art. Come on by and check them out! You've got to interact with them in person to see just how cool they are.

Congratulations, Maggie!

Press Release: Big, Beautiful and a Little Scary at McLeod Residence

What do squids and China have in common? They are both big, beautiful, and maybe a little scary. What is the plural of squid? You may use either squid or squids. What's this got to do with McLeod Residence? Well, keep reading to find out about our awesome December exhibits.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Maggie Santolla McLeod, Press Relations
maggie.santolla@gmail.com

Lele McLeod, Gallery
leleblixa@gmail.com
206-441-3314

Big, Beautiful and a Little Scary
New exhibits bring a distant creature and country to McLeod Residence

Seattle, WA,--November 8, 2007-- The mysterious and elusive giant squid resides in the deepest water of the ocean and is usually not seen by humans, but a few will make a rare appearance at McLeod Residence this December thanks to New York artist Cassandra Nguyen. Giant Squid will open with a reception on December 7, 2007, from 6-9 pm, and runs through December 29.

Cassandra's squid are actually stuffed animals, created in a variety of fabrics including ultrasuede, velvet, brocade, felt and toile. The three at McLeod Residence will each be about 20 feet long, the size of an adolescent giant squid. Cassandra became interested in giant squid after seeing a documentary on the cephalopods. The idea of being the largest creature on earth and yet never seen fascinated her. When she couldn't find anyone selling a stuffed squid, she decided to make her own and eventually refined a pattern that includes a secret pocket. Eventually she plans to make one that is 60 feet long, the size of a full grown giant squid.

Her squid are available for adoption at McLeod Residence during the month and a portion of the proceeds from each adoption goes to charity. Cassandra was recently featured in Giant Robot magazine and is also showing her squid at the Royal/T gallery and cafe in Los Angeles during November.

McLeod Residence's Giant Squid coincides with the Burke Museum's exhibit, In Search of Giant Squid, which is on view until December 31.

Also showing this month is Glimpses from China, a series of photographs by Sami Khoury. Sami lived and worked in China for six months this year and documented his journey in these vivid images from a country undergoing a rapid transformation.

Sami Khoury has been practicing the visual arts since 1994 when he worked with the Berkeley Contemporary Opera as a digital artist on its production of William Gibson's seminal cyberpunk novel Neuromancer and formally studied photography while completing his degree in computer science at the University of California at Berkeley at the end of 1997. His work has appeared in The Stranger, Seattle Weekly, Minty Magazine, Aphid Magazine, America Online City Guides, online magazines around the world, and in promotional materials for art galleries, restaurants, and bars all around Seattle, Washington.

The Lounge features McLeod Residence's ongoing installation of neon work by Jeremy Bert and Jen Elek and furniture by Gary Andolina. The Water Closets will continue to house the Barbarian Group's McLeod Mirror Series 1: See Yourself In Others. Maggie Orth's Petal Pushers and the Barbarian Group's Biomimetic Butterflies will continue to be shown in the McLeod Room and, at accessible price points, make excellent holiday gifts for beginning art collectors.

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McLeod Residence, located at 2209 Second Avenue in Seattle, Washington, is a home for extraordinary living through art, technology and collaboration. Proprietors Buster McLeod and Lele McLeod founded McLeod Residence in 2006. McLeod Residence is open Tuesday-Saturday from 10 am to 6 pm. For more information, contact McLeod Residence at 206-441-3314 or visit www.mcleodresidence.com.