Ponds and unleashing my creative side.

Two summers ago to celebrate Sage and Laura Burdine's college graduation my friend Linda and I took our daughters to France.  Top on our list was a bike ride to Giverney to see Monet's a Gardens. It was fun and worth dedicating the day. Linda and I have gone on the water garden tour in Houston and are both pond people. As a pond person Giverney  was on my bucket list. 

Monet's garden

Monet's garden

Monet's garden

Monet's garden

My water garden.

My water garden.


Lillie leaves come in many colors of green and purple.  

Lillie leaves come in many colors of green and purple.  

Goose, Tobi and Sparrow love to help feed the fish. 
Goose, Tobi and Sparrow love to help feed the fish. 

 

I officially became a pond person in 2007 when  we converted our 15,000 gallon pool to a water garden. Griffin was a senior and pretty persistent that we needed a pond. He was right.   It is full of water lilies, bull frogs, goldfish and koi. It is one of the joys of my day and great for unleashing my creative side. 

I have recently drawn my own version of a water garden - murmur of the water. But that is another post.  

First kiss

This Saturday afternoon I had one last errand to run and was running late. I dashed into the interspace  exhibit area at MFAH Glassell studio school and ........ 

“Victoria Aside”Bronze and gold leaf sculpture   30" W  x  20" D  x 10" T seeartist statement below.  

“Victoria Aside”

Bronze and gold leaf sculpture

   30" W  x  20" D  x 10" T 

seeartist statement below.  

.......there it was - my sculpture "Victoria Aside" on exhibit. I knew it was accepted in the SAO exhibit but I was not expecting it to be installed yet. I was taken by surprise - I just stopped in my tracks -  and absorbed the moment.  I can't  describe the feeling. Later in the day while  sitting in traffic I kept thinking about that feeling. It was not your everyday emotion or sensation. The only thing that came to mind that describes how I felt - is the surprise of  "a first kiss". 

 "Victoria Aside"

Artist statement  

This is one of my favorite pieces from my 2014 work. It first resonated with me purely from an aesthetic point of view, as I knew the aged leather would reproduce beautifully in bronze. What I did not realize, however, was that this sculpture would represent more than a stereotypical Texas western symbol. 

With the woman controlling the horse by only the reins and one foot in the stirrup, riding sidesaddle for hunting, jumping or herding cattle on the plains of Texas required a tremendous core strength and athletic ability. This strength in a generation of women primarily known for their refined sensibilities and social values is inspiring. 

The extremely weathered Victorian leather rendered in bronze reveals a rich Texas history in fragile relief. The white patina reflects the emphasis on chastity and the gold leaf detail was inspired by the rich ornamentation of the Victorian period. 

I hope my artistic interpretation of this Texas western Victorian sidesaddle will have meaning and be inspirational for all who view it.

 

 

Headstand sculpture - post #3 -accidents happen.

Time to start building the other two parts to this sculpture so that they will all work together.  

#2 headstand armature and first sculpture.  

#2 headstand armature and first sculpture.  

Estimating how tall to make the 3rd sculptures armature.  

Estimating how tall to make the 3rd sculptures armature.  

All three together.  

Playing with the positions of each piece. They will be mounted on one or maybe three concrete cushions. I will make the cushions like the happy dog sculptures dog bed (See my website under sculptures in the portfolio). They will be made after these …

Playing with the positions of each piece. They will be mounted on one or maybe three concrete cushions. I will make the cushions like the happy dog sculptures dog bed (See my website under sculptures in the portfolio). They will be made after these are cast in bronze. 

 

-while experimenting with the three armatures the first one fell to the ground.

It landed on it's stomach. This is how I found her. 

It landed on it's stomach. This is how I found her. 

Front view.  

With just a little work this may be a stand alone sculpture.  

With just a little work this may be a stand alone sculpture.  

I think she is a keeper. 

Headstand sculpture post #2 armature

I will build the armature with these Sprues. 

Sprues

Sprues

Sprues are red wax sticks used when casting in bronze. Typically you use sprues to build the channels to get bronze in the cavity of a mold.  They also function well for building armatures when you want to go from the wax directly to the shell and skip sculpting in clay and then making a mold. 

 

I use a soldering iron to melt the sprues together.    

I use a soldering iron to melt the sprues together.   

 

The brown wax is hard so I put it in a plastic bag and lay it on a hot pad to make it pliable. The difficult part is keeping the warmed wax from making the wax armature loose it's shape. 

Above I am building up the armature by pressing small balls of warm wax on to the armature one piece at a time.  

Above I am building up the armature by pressing small balls of warm wax on to the armature one piece at a time.  

Taking shape but not capturing the playfulness I am hoping to express.

Taking shape but not capturing the playfulness I am hoping to express.

The other side.  

The other side.  

More post to come.