Ginny Narthcott
Zella Bardsley
Kelly Sullivan
Kelly Sullivan is the founder and creator of FingerSmears; life-size
canvases co-created under Kelly’s direction using smears of paint
from hundreds, sometimes thousands of people on one canvas. She has
enjoyed great success over the past decade as more than 70,000
people have been involved in her works including the Rolling Stones,
Bruce Springsteen, Wilem DeFoe, dozens of major league sporting
figures, and even a few politicians. Her FingerSmears have been
commissioned to commemorate events such as The 50th Anniversary of
the United Nations in San Francisco, International Jazz Festivals,
and Major League All-Star baseball and basketball games. Her
FingerSmears have raised more than $100,000 for charities across the
United States including the Red Cross, the Boys and Girls Club of
America, The September 11th Fund, the San Francisco AIDs Foundation,
and the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation.“Touching Time” is a collaborative art project being created across the state
of Idaho to symbolize the values that Idahoans have long lived by, and the
principals the Sullivan campaign is based on: Working together with vision and
focus we will move forward to create a more prosperous tomorrow for Idaho, and
the country.
The project is spearheaded by Kelly Sullivan, a nationally
known artist, and wife of Democratic Nominee for United States Senate for the
State of Idaho, Tom Sullivan. Touching Time will be a 10’ x 10’ functioning
clock, co-created using “FingerSmears” of thousands of people across the State
of Idaho. Residents will be invited to choose a color from the palette, stick
their fingers in the paint and make their mark as this piece travels around the
state. Kelly has been creating collaborative works of art around the country for
over 15 years. Her list of corporate clients boasts many household names, but
more important to the spirit of her work, are 70,000+ people that have stuck
their fingers in paint to participate in her works. Kelly has also enlisted the
talents of Boise based metal artist Zella Bardsley, and Teton Valley based Ginny
Northcott to collaborate on the project.
The time piece will be
constructed of 4 FingerSmear panels depicting visions of a brighter future for
Idaho, surrounding a metal centerpiece constructed of found/donated metals
relevant to Idaho’s past. Participants from across the state are invited to
participate in the FingerSmear panels, as well as donate small metals for the
‘Idaho’ centerpiece and hands. Anyone interested can bring their small metal
pieces of Idaho’s history to any of the FingerSmear locations. Pieces can also
be left for Zella at the Art Source Gallery, 1015 Main Street in Boise.
The project will be captured on video as it travels throughout the state by
Aidan Sullivan, with daily vlog posts about the project. Participants and Idaho
residents can further interact with the Touching Time project by following the
daily blog posts on Kelly’s website, www.sullistudios.com and the Tom Sullivan
for Senate site www.tomsullivanforsenate.com