Alexandra Underhill

5401 Storer Ave.

Cleveland, OH 44102

716-860-2676 (cell)

www.artofxan.com

Xanadu23@mail.com

 

 

Education

 

1993                            BFA, Fiber, Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland, OH (5 year BFA)

 

Awards

 

2001                            Individual Artist Fellowship, Ohio Arts Council

1999                            Individual Artist Fellowship, Ohio Arts Council

1993                            Wenda Von Weise Memorial Scholarship for Achievement in Fiber Arts

1992                            Wenda Von Weise Memorial Scholarship for Achievement in Fiber Arts

 

Recent Experience

 

2007                                          Footprints, ISH Dance Company, Nederlandse Dansdagen, Amsterdam, Netherlands.  Designed and constructed original one of a kind costumes for ISH’s interpretive performance inspired by Jiri Kylian’s Stamping Ground, for Dutch Dancing Days, the national annual dance festival.

 

    Mind The Gap, ISH Dance Company, Circus Circolo, Liempde, Netherlands.  Costume design and construction, as well as styling and reconstruction of recycled clothing to provide ISH with an original visual style for this modern Circus venue.

 

2007                            Alternation: Transform. Customize. Embellish, North Light Books.  Co-author (with Shannon Oakey), a book designed to teach sewers how to make unique, one-of-a-kind garments from old clothing, thrift store finds, fabric and other recycled materials.

 

1994 - 2007                 SAFMOD (Sub Atomic Frequency Modulation Overdose), multi-media performance ensemble, Cleveland, OH.  Performance of stilt acrobatics and dancing.  Also, as Visual Arts Director, responsible for design, set construction, special effects and costumes for performance troupe.

 

2005                            Hero Tomorrow (feature film), Swinging Cane Productions, Principal Costume Design and Construction, stylist, Asst. Set Design.

 

2004                            Christmas at Maxwell's (feature film), Lauferfilm Productions, Costume Design and Styling

 

2003                            NIKE (King James Version) TV Commercial, Oil Factory Production Company, Wardrobe Assistant.

 

2002                            Cirque Du Soleil "Quidam", wardrobe assistant, Cleveland, OH and Tampa, FL.  Responsibilities included laundry distribution and costume repair.  Also managed dressing preparations and repairs during the show.

 

Arts in Education

 

1997 - Present           Ohio Arts Council, active member in the AIE (Arts in Education) program, facilitate  residency art projects in collaboration with elementary, middle and high school students.

 

2003 - 2004                 Art House, Artist in Residence for 2 - 4 weeks. Led sculptural mask making workshop with Denison Elementary school students.  April and October 2003, and July 2004.

 

2006                            "Building Your Own Inner Super Hero": Body Decoration and Extensions (Workshop).  Ravenna Middle School in collaboration with the Akron Art Museum.  Conducted workshop exploring identity through alter-egos manifested in costuming, body sculpture and adornment.

 

Recent Performances and Installations

 

2000 - 2006                 "Burning Man Festival", Stilt Dancing, Black Rock City, NV

 

2006                            "Evolution of Light", October, Not Quite Theatre Series, SAFMOD performance ensemble, Cleveland Public Theatre

 

2005 - 2006                 "Ingenuity Art and Technology Festival", Stilt Dancing, Downtown Cleveland

 

2005 - 2006                 "Sparks in the City", cultural events series, Downtown Cleveland Partnership, strolling/Stilt Dancing

 

2005                            "Imbue", Danceworks Series, Cleveland Public Theatre, SAFMOD performance ensemble

 

2005                            "Moments Captured", Random Acts Series, Cleveland Public Theatre, SAFMOD performance ensemble

 

2004                            Spencer Tunick mass nude photograph in Cleveland, subject/participant.

 

Radio, Television and Internet Media

 

2007                            WCPN, "Around Noon", Book review of Alternation (by Alexandra Underhill and Shannon Oakey)

 

2007                            WVIZ, “Applause”, interview segment with Dee Perry featuring footage of imaginative make-up and costume work, and a UV lit, full costume, stilt dancing performance taped in the WVIZ studios.

 

2006                            New York Times Online, slideshow: Highlight from the Burning Man Festival, featured as photo subject, stilt dancer, in review of Cirque Berzerk

 

2006                            Groovy U.V., www.cleveland.com/slideshows, online multi-media slideshow and interview.

 

2006                            WVIZ, City of Cleveland publicity television commercial, stilt dancer

 

2006                            WCPN, "Around Noon", interview for "Brick City" academic arts summer program

 

2002                            Paul Okenfold music video, "Starry Eyed Surprise", costume designs

 

1998                            WCPN, "Around Noon", interview for "From Whence She Came" dance performance, SAFMOD performance ensemble

 

1998                            Channel 5 News, "Parade the Circle" interview, JunePrint Media

 

2007                            Cleveland Magazine, "Cleveland's Most Interesting People", January issue.

 

2006                            The Plain Dealer, subject of feature article called "Room to Glow", April 17

 

2006                            Ohio Magazine, "Hot Times in the City", stilt dancing as subject of main photograph for article covering Ingenuity Festival, June

 

2006                            Herb Ascheman, photographic subject, used as publicity for photography show, various publications. 

 

2006                            Balanced Living Magazine, photographic subject (stilt dancer) for article on Sparks in the City.

 

2006                            Artist Review Today, photographic subject for article on SAFMOD performance ensemble, Issue 4

 

2006                            Ingenuity Festival, photo subject (stilt dancing) used in various print (and television) publicity for the festival.

 

2003                            Circus Center, photographic subject for yearly curriculum description and publicity.

 

2005                            The Plain Dealer, newspaper preview of "Imbue" called "SAFMOD Moves Forward Despite Departures", March

 

2003                            Angle Magazine, "You Had to Be There", review of "Sparks in the City", stilt dancing photograph.

 

Travel Experience

 

2005                            Nainital, India.  Spiritual retreat and research of cultural forms of style, color, architecture and geography as background for future projects

 

2004                            Cornwall, England.  Aesthetic research of spiritual sites, including Stonehenge and St. Michael's Mount.

 

2000                                        Tai Pei City, Taiwan.  Participated in the Chinese New Year closing ceremony, The Lantern Festival, which was the inspiration from which a series of lantern designs were created upon return.

 

1996                                        Wollei Attoll, Micronesia.  Invited by chief, through sister’s work in the Peace Corps.  Spent three months with close involvement with community life.  Learned cooking techniques and basic day-to-day village life.  Taught sand painting and beading to children.  Participated in singing, dance, and night scuba, which furthered ongoing interest in the underwater realm as an aesthetic space.

 

1996                                        Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Honduras.  Hiked through vast and verdant rain forests, explored the varying terrain and vegetation at high altitudes while climbing Mount Cerro Chirripo.  The impact of these intense visual and visceral experiences inspired and informed my subsequent body of work.

 

1992                                        Thailand and Malaysia.  Traveled exploring the Thai culture and landscape.  This investigation inspired a body of work for final thesis project at the Cleveland Institute of Art.

 

1991                                        Mexico and Guatemala.  Explored the Central American jungles and studied the variety of palm trees, trunks, roots and surfaces in their various habitats.  The tactile experience influenced future projects.

 

1990                                        Egypt and Israel.  Examined contemporary and traditional tapestries and surface embellishments of the various cultures in these areas.  Lived and worked in a small nomadic village in the Sinai Desert which led to the understanding of cultures of Middle Eastern societies.

 

1989                                        Liberia, West Africa, and the Ivory Coast.  Provided community services as a part of Crossroads Africa, a Volunteer Peace Corps preparatory group.  Projects included rebuilding a primary school dormitory and maintaining vegetation fields.  This experience developed the skills in roofing, construction, building fish traps and baskets, and making dugout canoes.  All this was done within the adopted hunter/gatherer lifestyle.