WHISPERS OF A SHIFTING DIVIDE

Whispers of a Shifting Divide is a polished bronze sculpture that imagines the unimaginable. It was inspired by my children's 1997 discovery of a crustacean fossil lying in the desert of West Texas just before we moved east to semitropical Houston, Texas.

The sculpture symbolizes the U.S. 100th meridian, the demarcation between the arid western US and the humid eastern US since the early 1800s. Since 1980, this demarcation between arid and humid has shifted 140 miles eastward from the west side of Austin, Texas to the east side of Austin to the 98th meridian. Another 140 miles — another 40-50 years — and Houston, known for its semitropical humidity will be on the arid side of the boundary.

The polished bronze material nods to Houston's future and industrial character, particularly the polished steel street signs in its minimally landscaped commercial tourist area, Uptown Houston.

By imagining the unimaginable, this work fosters a dialogue that calls for environmental consciousness of the possibilities of our actions.

Recording natural history - ”Mute Testimony”

Recording natural history

Mute Testimony.

3” X 6” X 4”

bronze

phot by Nash Baker

A fossil is our planet’s recorded history, the memoir of a life in a place, time, ecology, and evidence of global warming. It is Endangered Knowledge.

Many processes in art and the natural world lead to fossilization, including casting or mold making. I crafted a mold of a fossil that one of my children found at my son Griffin’s 8th birthday party in El Paso, Texas. It was a fossil hunting party at Cerro de Cristo Rey. (The intersection of two countries and three states, a special place.) A prehistoric relic, now a family treasure, I thought it would be meaningful to make a mold and cast it in bronze for each of my two children, a reminder of their childhood. A mold-of-a-mold a fossil-of-a-fossil. I found the redundancy poetic.

My son is now 31 years old. I have probably walked by the fossil once a day since Griffin was eight years old and did not think twice about it. Casting, it has forced me to think about the form and its value as an object of art. Evidence of aquatic life resurrected from the middle of the Chihuahuan desert— This poetic symbol of desertification will find meaningful ways to wander across disciplines into future environmental works.

Hearing, “this desert was once an ocean.” did not use to phase me. Thinking about the mineral remnant of a sea creature surfacing in one of the driest terrains in the US gives me pause; it makes me consider how we can live our urban lives and preserve natural systems.

I cast three additional fossils to share with others who are interested in natural history; two are finished in a natural patina and one in a contemporary finish — polished stainless steel.

Traces of ancient life tell story of early diversity in marine ecosystems

Stainless Steel finish changes everything 🤔 more to come

Sapling #8 to kindling - finishing touches

It needs a light sanding, a patina on the bronze and the concrete.

Sapling #7 - lath, 1st coat and second coat. (Copy)

My daughter special requested this piece. She asked if I could make her a sapling. My response was I could try, but the pencil size steel limits how thin I can make the tree limbs. Long story short, the sapling grew old fast. After the first coat the sapling limbs we're no longer sapling thin.

Covered in lath

Keeping an eye on my mix

The first coat - the bronze leaves are covered in green plastic to protect them.

First, I paint on the bonding liquid.

The piece is now ready for coat number 2.

Coat number 2 ✅

Here is the image edited super light in order to show the texture.

More details

Detail of upper branches

A little more concrete need under the bird.

Detail of trunk

The lower trunk and base.

The abundance of knots is evidence that this tree is the host of many insects and good bacteria. Bees and other insects use trees for nesting and receive antiviral properties from the fungus and bacteria that grow on the tree.

Sapling #6 - restore and lath

The only good thing about quarantine is it provides time to finish projects. I need to get my welding area cleared of these faux bois pieces.

Today I am starting back on the faux bois sapling. It has bronze leaves and 1 bronze bird. It is a special request for my daughter Sage. I started it two years ago and had exhibitions that came up that interfered with my completion. Oops-

She is now engaged to be married during the pandemic June 12, 2020. This is little sapling will now for both Sage and Cameron.

I put protective coverings over the bronze pieces.

My assistant Tobi is ready to help.- sarcasm

Here I am painting restore on the steel. Restore prevents it from rusting.

When you pour it is pink, it turns purple on the steel.

purple and bubbles.

After the restore dried I started attaching the lath

The lath th is sharp like a razor blade.wearing protective arm wear, I cut strips of the lath and attach it to the steel with stainless steel wire with airplane safety pliers. The lath can not wiggle. The concrete liquifies with movement so the lath has to be tight and firm.

Family fossil patinas

Ready set torch

One for Griffin and Alex, one for Sage and Cameron one to $$$$

Each one us individually signed

I applied a darker patina on the chipped edge.

Heritage- impressions

Turning challenging circumstances into opportunities.  

The human ability to start over.  

understanding the hardship and struggles of another people. 

Resilience and having a dream and perusing that dream.

Molding and changing a dream until we reach our dreams.   

lifes struggles  

dedication and passion  

a connection to the earth

compassion that drives us

courage to carve your own path  

quiet strength

laugh lines 

hope for a better life through hard work  

Sapling #7 - lath, 1st coat and second coat.

My daughter special requested this piece. She asked if I could make her a sapling. My response was I could try, but the pencil size steel limits how thin I can make the tree limbs. Long story short, the sapling grew old fast. After the first coat the sapling limbs we're no longer sapling thin.

Covered in lath

Keeping an eye on my mix

The first coat - the bronze leaves are covered in green plastic to protect them.

First, I paint on the bonding liquid.

The piece is now ready for coat number 2.

Coat number 2 ✅

Here is the image edited super light in order to show the texture.

More details

Detail of upper branches

A little more concrete need under the bird.

Detail of trunk

The lower trunk and base.

The abundance of knots is evidence that this tree is the host of many insects and good bacteria. Bees and other insects use trees for nesting and receive antiviral properties from the fungus and bacteria that grow on the tree.

Hat day - and finding my voice as an artist

 This sculpture began my journey to find and define my voice as an artist.

 I inherited a family treasure from my grandfather Bob-pa, Robert Fleming Travis. This inheritance is not an object it is an impression of a human spirit. With this object I tell the story of the pain and challenges the harsh west Texas weathers imprints on a soul through tears, rips and holes in a satin lining. I see evidence of daily habits necessary to survive alcoholism, and diabetes through the creases still living in the felt. I see a love between two people committed for life in the tattered remnants of a gross grain ribbon. I see financial hardship that shapes character in the frayed and moth eaten edges of the brim. This well-worn inheritance quietly mirrors my grandfather’s life and character.  Shaped by growing up in the Depression, he knew hard times as he later farmed cotton and raised cattle in the harsh West Texas desert near El Paso.

Photo by will michels.  

Acid rain patina - 3 little Muensters

These bronze pieces are bronze with a liver of sulfur patina under a gold leaf. The problem with gold leaf is it looks gaudy until it ages. When it rains I put them outside to speed the process.  

"forgotten soul s.erickson"

The Roundrock art space show closing today.  

I have missed this guy.  

Accepted -

A few weeks ago I noticed that Artspace a non profit gallery  in Roundrock, Texas was having a call for art. The curatorial theme - "celebration and Rememberence" a sort of day of the dead celebration.  I immediately thought about a bust I sulpted in 2014 and how nice it would be for the inspiration  of my sculpture (Mr. S.Erickson) if the piece was selected. "Celebration and Remembered" is not a juried Show and I had decided to only apply for selective juried shows. It would be a away of paying tribute to a man who was forgotten in his time and it was a local opportunity to submit a sculpture. So I submitted the piece.  I am happy happy to report that "forgotten soul- S.Erickson" will be remembered and celebrated at Artspace in Roundtop Texas during the month of December.  Below is the artist statement I submitted. 

forgotten soul – S. Erickson

Was one of the thousands who died at the Oregon state mental hospital whose ashes were abandoned inside 3500 copper urns. I saw his picture in the newspaper and could not forget him. "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" was filmed at Oregon state mental hospital.His file stated he was a laborer and suffered from senility, he came to New York in 1883 from Norway. Mr. Erickson was one of the forgotten souls but I could not forget him.

"Gust" -7, 8, and 9

9/2/2016

Starting to sprue up another hat in my "gust" series. 

Cup and 3 1" sprues attached. These will create the cavities the bronze flows through to get into the sculpture. 

1/2" feeder sprues and primary vents added.  

Another view.  

9/20/2016

Started another piece of my "gust" series.  

#8

9-26-2016

The blind vents are added  

The blind vents will allow the gasses to escape when the bronze is poured into the shell.  

The first dip (slurry only) -All three together "gust" 7, 8 and 9

The slurry machine

The fine silicone powder.  

Medium silicone powder.  

2nd dip - slurry and fine silica

The last dip- slurry only.  #10

This marks the completion of the 3rd step in the process of making a sculpture and casting it in bronze.  

forgotten soul – S. ERICKSON

S. Erickson was one of the thousands who died at the Oregon state mental hospital whose ashes were abandoned inside one of 3500 copper urns. I saw his picture in the newspaper and could not forget him. He has a quiet presence about him that stayed with me.  I tore out his picture and put on my bulletin board.  S. Erickson's  file stated he was a laborer and suffered from senility, he came to New York in 1883 from Norway.  Mr. Erickson was one of the forgotten souls but I could not forget him. 

Picture from the newspaper  

Fyi- ​"One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" was filmed at Oregon state mental hospital. 

forgotten soul - S. Erickson  

Armature and wax 

I made the armature so that with a pull of the cord I could remove it from the wax. This way I can cast my sculpture without making a mold. You could never mold the beard I sculpted.  

Building up the facial features.  

Hay makes an awesome matted beard and hair.  

Sprue system for building a mold.  

The next step is to dip the piece creating a ceramic shell. The wax and hay will then be burnt out in a furnace. Then the bronze will be poured into the cavity of the shell. 

After the bronze cools I begin breaking off the shell. The beard is very difficult.  

.  

It is a very slow process to remove the shell from a heavily textured surface. This is why almost a bronze is smooth-ish. But I love texture so I have to do the work to get it. 

The shell is removed.  

The next step is to patina the surface. 

forgotten soul - S. Erickson 

11"X 12" X 9" 2014 

Up-cycled

When shopping for my home, I love to go to flea markets and garage sales. I often buy broken things. A crack here there does not bother me. When I first started making #fauxbois furniture, I was always checking out concrete objects. I ended up with two concrete chickens; one was minus its head, and its tail feathers were damaged. Instead of throwing away the broken chick, I hung on to both - something about “like a chicken with its head cut off” was intriguing. That headless chicken hung around my garage for years, it made a good weight. When I started working in bronze, one of the first things I did was up-cycle the headless chicken with a new bronze head and tail. I sculpted the head and tail feathers in wax mixed with grits and grass. I made a mold of them, and then burned out the wax grass and grits and then cast them I bronze. I like the idea of giving new life to objects no one wants. I think these chicken could be seen as my first environmental pieces. They are not only upcycled chickens, but all birds also play a critical roll in nature. Fowl keep pests numbers in balance. All living organisms are connected.