Brittany Powell Parich

Sandwiches

2023-2024

Acrylic on MDF, wooden dowels, glue

Ham and Cheese

4.75" x 4.75" x 6.5"

Italian

8.5" x 4" x 5"

Egg Salad

7.5" x 6" x 3"

Club

16" x 7.5" x 10"

Turkey Cranberry

7" x 5" x 3.75"

Peanut Butter and Jelly

5" x 4.5" x 3"

Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Croissant

6.5" x 5" x 3.5"

BLT

9.5" x 6" x 7.25"

Veggie

5.75" x 5.75" x 4.25"

French Dip

7.75" x 7.5" x 3"

Grilled Cheese

8" x 6" x 2.25"

Foodstuffs

2023

Hand- and machine-appliquéd fabric, felt, thread, interfacing, sizes variable but most are a bit larger than life

Squeezers Juice Bar

2023

10.5’ x 9’ contact paper cut-out installation of a juice bar, created in my studio at the Vermont Studio Center.

Buckets (of food)

2022

Acrylic on paper food tubs, each 8” tall

Oregon Flora

2021-2022

Gouache on paper, 20” x 16” (or 16” x 20”)

Crustaceans & Mollusks

2021-2022

Acrylic on MDF sculptures, approximately life-sized.

Scrapbook Embroidery

2021-2022

Hand embroidery and hand appliqué on cotton fabric, various sizes.

Ice Cream

2021

Acrylic on MDF sculptures, approximately life-sized.

Guts

2021

Hand-embroidered fabric, hand-appliquéd onto backing fabric.

Guts: 25” x 39”

Brain: 16” x 13”

Respiratory System: 22.5” x 29”

Urinary System: 16.5” x 23.5”

Female Reproductive System: ?

Male Reproductive System: ?

Senses: ?

NFTSAC Coronavirus

2020-2021

Notes From the State Above California was a free monthly newsletter I sent to approximately 50 people from 2005-2008. Each one was in a different form. I decided to revive the newsletter for a (hopefully) limited run of Coronavirus editions, because it seems like a really good time to be in touch.

Issue 15: A card announcing the end of the Coronavirus edition of NFTSAC in June 2021, including a participation award patch.

Issue 14: Volcano Tissue Holder, wherein three sheets of cardstock contain the newsletter text as well as a cut-fold-glue volcano tissue holder

Issue 12: NFTSAC DIY Gallery, including one original artwork (3" x 4.5") and corresponding gallery tag, papers for the recipient to make two more artworks, and two blank tags

Issue 10: packet of good wishes for 2021, wherein each capsule contains an item symbolic of a positive hope for my recipients

Details of crystals, slug sculptures, smudge smoke, and sprinkles

Issue 9: Stitch-A-Beaver cross-stitch kit to depict the image on the reverse side of the Oregon flag (plus our family holiday photo)

Issue 8: booklet of facts learned through research for my World Apology Tour project

Issue 7: stickers of four food vote images

Issue 6: a map of things I learned about countries during my research for my World Apology Tour

Issue 5: each newsletter subscriber received a different hand-painted vacation postcard

Issue 4: pack of Oregon's Endangered Plant Species trading cards; each pack contains five of the 30 plant cards, a bonus Oregon endangered bird sticker, and gum

Issue 3: Cheez-It sculptures made from painted MDF hide the newsletter text underneath

Issue 2: Paint-By-Number kits featuring two scenes from my daily quarantine life

Issue 1: Spare pocket and paper bandana with newsletter text on reverse

World Apology Tour

2020

I wrote “I’m Sorry” letters to every country in the world, apologizing for the behavior of my country’s leaders. I believe in a healthy global community, but the US has distanced itself from other nations in recent years. This makes me deeply uncomfortable.

Each card is hand-painted and features Oregon’s endangered plant species.

Oregon's Endangered Birds

2020

Portraits of Oregon’s six endangered bird species: marbled murrelet, northern spotted owl, short-tailed albatross, streaked horned lark, western snowy plover, and yellow-billed cuckoo. Hand-embroidered fabric in painted MDF frames, 14.5” x 16.5” each.

On a Pedestal

2020

Acrylic on MDF cut out sculptures, approximately life size. There are five columns and 25 switch-out-able items with which to top the columns. Quarantine necessitated some weird photoshopping of these photos (sorry).

Banana Slugs

2020

Paper clay and acrylic paint sculptures, each around 3” long.

Patterned Candy

2019

Watercolor on paper. 18” x 24”. (last four from 2015)

Photos by Dan Kvitka.

Milk Duds

Junior Mints

Whoppers

York

Payday

Kit Kat

Haribo

Good & Plenty

Snickers

Around the Block

2019

Illustration of scenes from my block, hand-embroidered fabric and batting, 62” x 46”.

Purchased by the Regional Arts & Culture Council for the Public Art Collection.

Checkout

2019

Acrylic on MDF sculptures of every item in one checkout lane of my local Fred Meyer store on one day during the summer of 2018, approximately life-sized.

These sculptures were displayed in a checkout stand-width hall on shallow shelves at Sun Valley Museum of Art.

Crumple Paintings

2018

Gouache on paper. Paintings are based on crumpled fabric or paper, then the shadows are abstracted and patterns flattened. Horizontal pieces are 12” x 18” and vertical ones are 24” x 18”. (last three from 2016)

Photos by Dan Kvitka.

Florida Flora Quilt Squares

2017

Patterns made of cut and assembled plants from the Rauschenberg property at the Rauschenberg Residency with support from The Ford Family Foundation, 18″ x 18″ each.

Oregon's Endangered Plants

2017

Indigo batik flags of Oregon’s endangered plant species, each approximately 33″ x 44″, created at the Rauschenberg Residency with support from The Ford Family Foundation.

Watercolor Trumps

2017

Watercolor paintings, each is 12″ x 16″, created at the Rauschenberg Residency with support from The Ford Family Foundation.

Explosion Emporium

2016

Life-size contact paper cut-out installation of a fireworks stand, created in my studio at Yaddo with support from The Ford Family Foundation.

Ceramics

2017

Ceramic Crackers and Arches Mug (souvenir for Arches National Park) created at the Rauschenberg Residency with support from The Ford Family Foundation. For reference, cheez-its are approximately 4″ square.

2011

Set of three glazed ceramic mountains. The largest measures about 14-1/2″ long and 7-1/2″ high.

Rope Landscapes

2016

Dyed and coiled rope sculptures, created for lowcommitmentprojects.com.

Braids of Grass

2015

Site-specific temporary installation of braided grass, created for lowcommitmentprojects.com.

Pool Patterns

2016

Masking tape and painter’s tape on the pool fence at Yaddo, with the support of The Ford Family Foundation.

Quilts

2017

Ideas Quilt: small quilt hand-embroidered with some of my as yet unused ideas.

2016

Animals Quilt: horizontal couch quilt hand-embroidered with images of my lifetime of animals in the traditional American redwork style.

2015

Emergency Preparedness Quilt: queen-size quilt hand-embroidered with images of items from an emergency preparedness kit in the traditional American redwork style.

2014

Hair Cuts that Rock Quilt: queen-size quilt hand-embroidered with images of famous musicians’ hair in the traditional American redwork style.

2013

Oregon Quilt: queen-size quilt hand-embroidered with images of Oregon state symbols in the traditional American redwork style.

2012

IKEA Expedit Quilt: full-size quilt hand-embroidered with images from the Ikea Expedit assembly instruction booklet in the traditional American redwork style, backed with Ikea fabric.

2011

National Parks Quilt: full-size quilt hand-embroidered with images of 20 different American National Parks in the traditional American redwork style.

2009

Some Favorites Quilt: queen-size quilt hand-embroidered with images of covers of my favorite books in the traditional American redwork style.

2008

SkyMall Quilt: queen-size quilt hand-embroidered with images of SkyMall products in the traditional American redwork style.

2001

Condiments Quilt: queen-size quilt hand-embroidered with images of condiments in the traditional American redwork style.

Natural Foods

2015

Acrylic on rocks, bark, branches, and leaves, created for lowcommitmentprojects.com.

Cell Phone Photo Paintings: FREE

2015

I spent the month of May painting pictures based on people’s cell phone photos in the Portland Building Installation Space. Through the Regional Arts and Culture Council, I offered my services for free. The Portland Building is a busy municipal office building, so I happily received many requests for paintings.

Each painting is on a 4″ x 6″ piece of paper, and participants picked up their paintings during the final week of the installation (you can see some are missing in these photos).

Paper Chatter

2015

Site-specific installation of cut paper conversations hung with fishing line and secured to the walls with pins. First exhibited at Reading Frenzy, Portland, OR, then a larger version installed at Honolulu Museum of Art, Honolulu, HI (second installation not pictured). Collaboration with Tae Kitakata for lowcommitmentprojects.com.

Pray for Rain Cloud

2014

Painted papier-mâché on an umbrella handle modeled by Etta, created for lowcommitmentprojects.com.

Moss Patterns

2014

Temporary site-specific moss-removal sculptures completed at Djerassi Resident Artists Program with support from The Ford Family Foundation in a grove of mossy oaks on the (extremely steep) Hill Trail.

Native Dress

2013

Gouache paintings of animals with designs inspired by textile patterns from their native lands, created for lowcommitmentprojects.com, 12” x 16”.

Photos by Dan Kvitka.

Indian Hog Deer, India

Magellanic Penguin, Argentina

Rothschild's Giraffe, Uganda

Asian Elephant, Thailand

North American Beaver, USA

Polar Bear, Norway

Chilean Flamingo, Chile

Desert Hedgehog, Afghanistan

Panda, China

Japanese Macaque, Japan

Shetland Pony, Scotland

White Rhinoceros, South Africa

Softcore Apparel

2012

Contact paper cut-out installation depicting real American Apparel ads in a 6′ x 30′ gallery, The Vestibule Gallery at Disjecta, Portland, OR.

Floral Design

2012

Logos made of flowers, created for lowcommitmentprojects.com.

House Paint

2012

House paint on our own house, created for lowcommitmentprojects.com.

Sandwich Artist

2012

Food on plates. My first piece for lowcommitmentprojects.com.

Piet Mondrian Sandwich

Jackson Pollock Sandwich

Georgia O'Keeffe Sandwich

Damien Hirst Sandwich

Gustav Klimt Sandwich

Jasper Johns Sandwich

Marcel Duchamp Sandwich

Mark Rothko Sandwich

Christo & Jeanne-Claude Sandwich

Landscape Tents and Quilts

2011

Patchwork tents and quilts made at a Caldera Arts residency. One 8-person tent, one 3-person tent, one 2-person tent, and two twin-size quilts. First two images were taken at Caldera; third image is from the “Making Camp” exhibition at Sun Valley Center for the Arts, Ketchum, ID, 2012.

Guns n' Roses

2011

Part of a series of paper cuts based on Guns n’ Roses google image search results, for “Guns n’ Fucking Roses” exhibition at Monty Art Space in Antwerp, Belgium.

Victory Garden

2009

Life-size contact paper cut-out installation of a victory garden, Sun Valley Center for the Arts, Ketchum, ID.

West Elm

2008

Contact paper cut-out installation at the Kimball Art Center, Park City, UT. 9’ x 30’ x 60’

Notes From the State Above California

2005-2008

A free monthly newsletter I sent to approximately 50 people for four years. Each one was in a different form.

2009

A paid subscription newsletter.

Here are some highlights.

Issue 2: newsletter articles stuffed pillowcases hand-embroidered with the state of Oregon and an A to mark my hometown

Issue 5: dressable paper doll of my dog, Rufus

Issue 6: security kit with hand-painted NRA stickers, security company signs and stickers, and a dog head

Issue 14: beaver state valentines

Issue 7: film canister with hand-drawn paper "film" recapping my recent vacation

Issue 15: photo fridge magnets

Issue 16: a DVD with public radio-style pledge drive for NFTSAC and the obligatory pledge drive tote bag

Issue 28: apron with recipe

Issue 18: instructions for throwing an Oregon party

Issue 19: a CD of "Shadow Lover", a song by my mom and her college roommate

Issue 22: moustache cut-outs, each hand-cut from contact paper

Issue 23: Let's Sweat collection of Richard Simmons dance moves

Issue 26: Stitch-A-Rufus cross-stitch kit

Issue 27: What Would Notes From the State Above California Do decision wheel

Issue 30: card with photos of my new fridge with separately openable fridge and freezer sections

Issue 31: fabric potato with paper accordion butter, wrapped in foil

Issue 37: screenprinted kleenex

Issue 34: "10 Ingredients for Party Success" book, each with hand-cut origami paper accents

Issue 39: laminated cut paper Tonya Harding postcards

Issue 45: hand-painted SORRY banner apologizing for the poor prior issue

Issue 41: plush dolls depicting an acquaintance

Issue 46: "Brittany and the Newsletter" Little Golden Book

Issue 48: screenprinted seed packets

TP Teepee: a teepee sculpture that hides a roll of toilet paper, 2009. Part of the year-long paid subscription Notes From the State Above California.

Favorite Book Sculptures: hand-embroidered versions of subscribers’ favorite books, 2009. Part of the year-long paid subscription Notes From the State Above California.

Mucho Más

2007

Life-size contact paper cut-out installation of a Mexican restaurant in a 20’ x 30’ gallery, Boise Art Museum, Boise, ID.

Gone Sweatin'

2007

Life-size contact paper cut-out installation of a living room with a TV playing DVDs of me sweating to the oldies with Richard Simmons and the public was invited to come in and exercise with me, Tilt Gallery, Portland, OR.

Donut Shop

2006

Life-size contact paper cut-out installation of a donut shop for the Oregon Biennial, Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR.

Postcards From Here

2005

Postcards featuring everyday views of the Portland State University campus, available for free at the exact location the photograph was taken. Made as part of my 1% for the Arts residency at PSU, Portland, OR.

Goonies Was Filmed in Astoria, Oregon

2005

Contact paper cut-out of an Oregon Pavilion (as if Oregon had a booth at a World’s Fair), Adobe Backroom Gallery, San Francisco, CA.

My Bedroom

2004

Contact paper cut-out installation depicting my childhood bedroom. This was my masters thesis exhibition at California College of the Arts, San Francisco. The last two photos are of Dear Nora playing a “bedroom show” during the exhibition opening. During the rest of the exhibition, a song about my childhood played in the room, written, performed, and recorded by Sally Timms of The Mekons.

Thesis

2004

My MFA thesis: cut-and-fold models of buildings from my hometown with the thesis text on the back.

One Float Parade

2003

A collaboration with Jon Rubin’s Best Class Ever at California College of the Arts. We drove the float around San Francisco, invited one person at a time up onto the float, and cheered for their existence.