After much thought and feeling completely unsatisfied with the last layout I decided to change the whole design of this website. Much simpler as you can see but with more features, details, and most importantly, easier to update.

I’d appreciate if you point out any bug or issue in the navigation.

Enjoy and share! <3

P.S.: New images are on the way both personal and commissioned.

It’s been a pretty busy time after my graduation, I don’t like to talk much about my life (this would get really dull) but I can assure you I haven’t stopped creating any day, actually ideas have been attacking me constantly and I’m noticing that I’m filling my notebooks much more faster than in past years. On the other hand, I’m becoming very dependent on it, I don’t think is good that my memory can’t simply keep up with the images I’m thinking of… obviously the major part of these doodles won’t see the light.

I have a collection of new works to show, part commissioned and the other personal, the first are part of musical projects that haven’t been released yet (and not finished in the inside design), and the second part I decided to save them for Hysterical Minds’ new projects. I think is better this way, I remember years ago I wasn’t able to finish something and keep it for myself for a while, I always felt this urge to share it with everyone to then notice flaws I wasn’t aware about during the emotion of accomplishment. Now after doing a 15 image collection and keep some of them for almost a year and half in the shadows I’ve tamed that rush.

And… talking about series, I’m starting a new one (kind of). I write this down to force myself to complete it! Right now I’m in that phase when you try to see a new world in your head, but is behind a thick wall of fog. I’ll get through it ;)

M.

It’s been a while since I wrote anything and is definitely time to move on talking and posting about this series, I think the calendar is a good way to close this subject for good! So I decided to make it compensating the fact I couldn’t find the time to make a more affordable version of the book for the christmas season. (That doesn’t mean I won’t make it later, I just want it to be perfect).

If you wish to order one go to this link: http://www.deviantart.com/print/22803711/

Hope you like it!

Sulfur II had a very chaotic, experimental and somewhat uncertain development that made me doubt about even recording this, but I’m glad I did because it shows exactly how part of my work can be too when I don’t have any sketch or concept in mind, just a vague atmosphere. What I wanted to picture was the moment before or after Sulfur III (I did that one first, haven’t shown it yet) where molecules attract each other to gather inside of her torso rising the temperature. So it was an ambiguous atmosphere what I had in mind, cold and warm but overall shimmering and tremulous. I used almost the same picture as in Sulfur IV and sometimes I regret this but as it was a close up more than a background display I think it works fine.

P.S: I’m very sorry for the bad quality, I lost the original clips. Forgot to back up those before my laptop died :/

Sulfur II from Marcela Bolívar on Vimeo.

Click!

As some of you know masks have been part of my late works, and from the moment my HD crashed 2 years ago I decided to make them myself and be part of the handcrafted elements around the digital enhancements and automatic tools, this series was the perfect excuse to make all the props myself.

This mask in particular was part inspired by insects and armory as for vegetal features that could blend with the surroundings. It was done with wires as base structure, paper-mache to give volume, plaster gauzes for covering, and cold porcelain to fine details and finishing the look. That’s basically how I make all my masks. The ones for this series are very simple, I only added the fancy elements digitally because I did not want them to break or fall off during the shooting and is always more inspiring to see a basic shape and change it later or add up something in photoshop as I did in this image.

And these are the pictures I took for this artwork. I’ve got some comments of people that couldn’t say what were those branches surrounding her, all those are bones, deformed and re colored. Some lost their shape completely, others I decided to left them as their original pictures.

I have to say the process of this one was quiet different from what I do usually since I was entirely based on the original photo as you can see, and then added the elements. Not like in most of my works where I assemble from scratch the background and objects. There’s no sketch either for this image, one thing that changed completely my view on this photo and inspired me to keep on working on it was to rotate it vertically, suddenly every element I had in my head fitted the composition.

I still feel last week as something unreal. Is so strange for me spending so much hours alone thinking and composing to then see all these images being shared and discussed by lots of people around me… is overwhelming. It also brings some nostalgic feelings when I remember the first ideas, sketches, and even the creation of this blog which had in first place the purpose of tracking my progress with this project.

The pics are divided in 4 parts, which were the 4 days the exhibition lasted.

First, some pictures of the opening, I know it doesn’t show (I didn’t take the photos) but there was a moment when the place was unbelievable crowded, heat raised and I met lots of people I wouldn’t expect being there. (I actually never expect that whole crowd being there) I’m immensely grateful and touched.

Second day was the academic part where I presented my thesis project to the jurors. I was very scared and I know for sure I stumbled in lots of parts… but I got good comments in general so nothing to worry. (I’m still waiting the “verdict”)

Third day was the meeting where I explained my concepts and process to public in general. And last but not least some more “clean” photos of the place and the framed artworks.

Wish me luck!

Click!

This was the first day (:

Now, one of the reasons for not updating and not stopping for a second is because I´m composing the book with all the images for this series, plus a long body of text. Everything was fine until my laptop decided to die on me. JUST NOW. Fortunately enough I did a thousand back-ups of all the thesis (this will never happen to me again) but even so, I didn´t had any computer to work on. Now I´m practically stealing my dad´s laptop (which barely can handle InDesign) and a great friend of mine lend me her old one to do the last retouches in Photoshop. Everything´s slow but steady now, I really miss my never-complaining Toshiba, but well, that was my luck at this last days of hard work.

Cheers! (It´s actually 8 am but my room is really dark. And I have no proper face to show these days :p)

Right now I’m assembling the book so the frenetic creative days are much lighter now. Funny thing is that after all these months of composing, sketching, taking pictures, placing textures, distorting shapes, I am completely unable to articulate a sentence with some sense. And all that, just now when I need to complete all these dissertations.

At the same time I feel a bit nostalgic. Sometimes I surprise myself looking at all the time and effort I put into each piece, sometimes without even wanting to, without even noticing or translating that into the final product. It’s been a year of lots of lost ideas, new ones on hold, unfinished concepts and so on, that this series have catalyzed in me proving that this is what I want to do for the rest of my life, this irrepressible impulse of creation I’ve had since so little won’t seem to stop soon.
Here’s the last part of the series. I’m showing the first complete ones very soon! Hope you like.

I need my bed now.  Bye!