I didn’t get to say goodbye

memories - unequaled  

I stopped by Sloan/Hall to give the sales staff my artist statement talk about my memories body of work.

https://sloanhall.com/

This is my first experience letting someone else sell my work. It has always been one of my favorite Houston stores. The staff is very friendly, attentive, and very knowledgeable about the products they carry. I they will do a good job of representing “Memories”. I talked about my work and about the pieces they are carrying and then Shannon Hall handed me an envelope. It was a payment for the the big piece “Memories- unequaled”, and I am still shocked. I didn’t expect anything to sell so quickly. -  I didn’t get to say goodbye. Clearly, I have some separation anxiety with regard to my art.

“memories”

Driving home from Austin, I was stuck in traffic and very stressed. My whole body was tense and I was gripping the steering wheel tightly. I looked up to see a giant billboard for one of the Hill Country lazy river family resorts. On the billboard was a stick with roasted marshmallows on it. Instantly, the tension melted away as I was overcome with happy memories. I thought, "Wow! That imagery is so powerful, it drastically changed my mental state. I have to share this." Working on the pieces I felt a little silly, but the more I thought about my bronze sticks with marshmallows on them, the more I realized that the American leisure time tradition of roasting s’mores is a story not only worth sharing but worth telling: families and close friends gathered around a toasty campfire, roasting marshmallows on a stick, telling ghost stories, and making warm, sweet memories.

Peace pigeon #22

Last fall I started a project - an experiment with new materials. I made a new sculpture every week, with a new material. My subject the German beak - trumpeter pigeon. He is graceful, interesting and conducive to expressing energy. Picasso drew this same pigeon and called him a the peace dove.

http://www.arttimesjournal.com/art/reviews/May_June_10_Ina_Cole/Pablo_Picasso_Ina_Cole.html

I can't seem to stop the project. Here is another pigeon, I found him on our afternoon dog walk.  

Healthy herds

 A few summers back I drew three monumental  elephant drawings. Enlight of the recent national news I repost these. We need  protect the elephants, we can not risk a mistake, conservation and healthy herds a are a necessary fact to sustain life. 

“Score” #14 armature of the face and head

11/15/2017

And just in time as I have a studio visit tomorrow with Patrick Palmer the master of heads. 

full face frontal. 

Below is the head and body from every angle  

Front right  

front 

Front left  

left 

back left

Back  

Right side 

Front right  

close up 

“ Score” #12 armature/fingers to hold the violin.

Here is a pattern I made to Help me gauge how big each finger section should be. 

Here I have tacked the first and second joints.  

Once I decide if I like the placement of each joint then I will strengthen the welds.   

The fingers on both hands seem to be ok. Hopefully when the lath and concrete are added I will still be happy. 

“score” #15 artist statement

11/15/2017

As I work on a piece I start tinkering with what the artist statement should be. Many times both the piece and the artist statement take on unexpected directions and meanings. Below is my latest rendition. 

“score”  

artist statement  

From the beginning of time music has been used as a powerful way to influence human emotion. Modern scientists report that music has the ability to change brainwaves that control our emotional energy.  It is presently used not only as an artistic expression, but also in physical and emotional therapy.

“score” was inspired by a slow shutter release photograph of my cousin, Concert Master Andrew Irvin, that captures multiple images as he plays his violin.  Applying this concept of multiple images with the raw materials recycled wire, steel, and white concrete  “score”  embraces both the primal impact, music has on our emotions  and the contemporary elements of music. ”score” not only expresses the energy of playing the violin but also the raw energy expressed through music. The application is raw, emotional and visceral

“ Score” #13 armature/tails

11/14/2017

The figure is wearing a tux with tails. 

View from the backside of the piece- I added the  back of the pants leg and jacket tail on the left side of the figure.   

full body view

Both jacket tails welded in. 

“ Score” #11 armature/fingers to hold the bow.

This piece is abstract but, in order to capture the gesture I really have to understand where the musician is exerting his energy in regards to how he holds the instrument. I found the below link online that talks about the proper way to hold the bow. I also researched how to hold the violin. It is held with the chin and chest leaving the fingers the ability to move up and down freely.  

 http://www.singingwood.com/violin-bow-hold/HowToHoldTheViolinBow.html

The fingers that hold the bow.  

The left hand is missing all the fingers. That is the palm and back of the left hand. I will work on the fingers tomorrow.  

“Score” post #10 right arm

I have attached the right upper and forearm, hopefully in the right place. I am welding the armature for the concrete part of the sculpture. Attached to this armature will be the metal lath that the concrete rest on and the additional wire that will extend outside of the Concrete showing the energy of the music created by the violinist. I see the violinist as a pedestal for the sculpture. A very specific pedestal. 

Right arm and torso

front view 

View or right side

View from back  

Left side  

the bayling wire head head is a stand in. It was laying in my studio. 

“Score” post #9 repositioning the left forearm....

....to hold the muIcal instrument. 

I need to repositioning the left forearm to hold the violin. I have a bailing wire face attached to you he neck of the armature to help me visualize where the head would be. 

front view

left side of front

left side 

backside

figures backright side 

Front right side of figure

I am excited that the piece still balances on it’s own, however it is starting to want to lean forward. In order to keep it balanced I will add the right arm next. 

Why are some people ready, why do some people know the moment?

People ask me all the time where  do I get my ideas. And I too am fascinated by where creativity comes from. I do not believe it can be taught and for most part it is not easy to describe as creativity, it is one of the great mysteries of the brain. However the Eudora Welty quote in Glasstire this morning beautifully states how I often find inspiration, or how inspiration often finds me.

 “The title That Day underscores the viewer’s sense of being there beside the photographer and the way in which the captured moment remains ever fresh in the image, some of which were made as early as 1979. That was the year when Dallas-based Wilson began assisting Richard Avedon with his own six-year photography project, In The American West. Describing Avedon’s portraiture process in her 2004 book, Avedon At Work In The American West, Wilson noted that he would wait for what Eudora Welty called “a story teller’s truth… the moment in which people reveal themselves. You have to be ready, in yourself; you have to know the moment when you see it.” “

                                                         - gene Fowler 

-http://glasstire.com/author/gene-fowler/

I guess the question should be why are some people

ready, why do some people know the moment?

a moment caught by a "gust"

“score” post #8 winging it.

11/09/2017

I decided to weld the arm pieces onto the torso. I started with the left arm and the palm of the hand. I am totally winging this. Since the piece is in motion I want the arm position to reflect movement. The left shoulder dips and the elbow digs into his side. The left forearm has to be free so the fingers can to move up and down the violin. The violin will be held in place between his chin and his shoulder/chest. 

Next I decide to trace my hand to determine how long the finger pieces of steel should be. Then I draw in the bones and measure how long each finger bone is between the joints. My hand is smaller than the figures would be but by the time I add the lath and cement it should be the right size. 

My hand pattern with bone measurements.  

The hand pattern  with two pieces of the palm of the hand bones cut.  

Detail of the left arm and the palm of his hand.  

The bones in the palm of the hand.  

Now I need to see if I am anywhere close on the angle of the forearm and back of hand. I will do this by holding up a violin to the figure.  

No, I missed it. Tomorrow I will cut the forearm off and reattach it with the wrist right under the violin. Then I will look at the angle of the hand. That might also need to be altered. Totally winging it.   

New piece post #7 “score”

I am ready build the armature for the head. I find this terrifying for some reason. I have this wire fac I made last spring. I have attached it to the neck in order to experiment with the size/and shape  of the head. 

“Gust” artist statement tweaking

I continue to tweak new versions of possible artist statements for “gust”, looking for the perfect words.  

How does this sound?  

“Gust”

Woven in felt, every hat tells a story, shaped with memories, recording beliefs, and veiling sorrow, some eloquent and some twisted. Cradled in our imagination, they blow in strange, wonderful ways, spinning from past generations that are inhabited by our respect to balancing our present responsibilities and fears. In generations past, in fable and in legend, hats sheltered spirits, represented people and occupations, and defended against the elements.

“gust” In my kitchen after applying the patina.  Living with this hat for a few days making sure I am finished with the patina in it. 

Work in progress 8-19 More bubbles

shake shake shake - anna 

Today I am experimenting with a "shake shake shake " of a golden retriever named Anna. Anna is so loved she was in her owner Sarah's wedding. I didn't think black ink would work for a golden so first I tried coffee then I added a little walnut water color for the darker areas. These need to dry then I will add more bubbles and shakes. Then I will send the best one off as a wedding gift to a beautiful bride. 👰🐾

Works in progress