Faux bois Wedding gift ❤️❤️#5

For Griffin and Alex- 

Today is overcast and drizzly, my favorite weather. As I work on the kid's bench, I take a picture every hour, then every thirty minutes, then every fifteen minutes of our night blooming water Lillie. It is normally closed up and underwater by mid-morning. Due to the overcast sky, it is lingering exceptionally long and gives me time to absorb every stage of its closing. I know that Griffin and Alex will enjoy knowing the Lillie as well. The dogs are hanging out with me while I secure lath to their gift.  

 
Today’s lesson number one for a happy marriage and life is always have a dog or two in your family. Man/woman + animal + plant = A sustainable life 

Goose and Tobi my faithful helpers. 

The last time I worked on the bench, I covered a limb from the right side foot clear across to the other side of the bench.

Lesson number two is about looking at both sides. Take the time to step out of your preset opinions and listen to your partner’s thoughts and opinions. To stay balanced, seek out each other’s unique views. See life through your partner’s eyes. :) 

Lesson number three is to give each other flowers. They don’t have to be store-bought or delivered. They can be beautiful weeds hand-picked, or in a photograph texted.

Here are the lillies.  

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Faux bois Wedding gift ❤️❤️#4 Keeping the bench from rusting

Keeping your marriage/bench from rusting-
It is a fact that concrete will get hairline cracks, water will penetrate hairline cracks and water will rust steel and rusted steel breaks. During the lifetime of a marriage you will have differences, the surface of your bond will crack. If you plan ahead, if your relationship is strong and you talk your differences out, your marriage will not rust. It will be restored and stronger after you work through your problems.

In order to keep Griffin and Alex’s bench from rusting, I am painting a coat of Restore, a rust retardant on the the armature. 

The restore is a bluish color. 

Both their marriage and bench should last forever.

What does sound look like? installation problem solving #3

Before I can dive deep into this installation, I need to work out a few problems.

1. How to hang the wire elements from a concrete ceiling. Drilling holes for anchoring would be very difficult and nasty, and would ruin the ceiling- not an option. 

 
2. In addition, the ceilings have 8 double concrete beams that run across the room. The space between the beams varies.

the space between the beams varies from 1/4”-3/4” . 

Small tension rods would be optimal. After a few hours at a hardware store, I have decided that a small wedge of PC-Crete between the cracks will work best and will be the easiest to remove when the project is finished.

I am 5’4” 12’ is a stretch even on a ladder. 

 3. How can I safely reach the 12’ ceiling. My current ladder is not tall enough. I was lucky to find a little Giant ladder on sale at Lowes. 

The little giant is a LOT of ladder, and I am not going to step on it until I watch a YouTube video and thoroughly and read the instructions.

 It is a LOT of ladder, and I am not going to step on it until I watch a YouTube video and thoroughly read the instructions.

The ladder is back a Lowes and Aztec has rented me this small scaffold for 2days. Onward! 

Faux bois Wedding gift ❤️❤️#3

For Griffin and Alex-

I have added more vines to create a stronger back to the bench. The back of the bench is the metaphor for the strength of their marriage.  Curtis has always been there for me and I know Griffin and Alex will always be able to lean on each other.

Supporting the seat and the back of the bench are the legs. If the legs are wobbly and weak, the whole thing will collapse. Respect for each other is what gives our marriage strength. To make this a respectable bench, I am going to add more support to the legs.

 There are many ways to strengthen the legs and all are equally good. In our home I do things one way and Curtis often does things another way. What is important is that we both help out, we both try to carry our own weight. With this in mind I will build the support for the right legs and the left legs differently. 

right legs

The right front and right back legs have a vine that runs between them for additional support. The leg on the left back will be supported with a branch from the seat and the front left leg will have several vines running down it, making a double leg anchoring it to the seat.

The double left front leg supported by extra vines.

I think that the most important change I added was a branch that reaches across from one side of the back of the bench to the other side of the bench. I suggest throughout your marriage you reach across and hold hands as often as you can.

Curtis testing the leg strength and back stability. He said it was a respectable bench. 

I have decide to double up on the front piece of rebar. Above I am tacking it to the first piece of rebar. (Thank you Sage for taking the pic.)

Where should the birds sit? It is always good to consult with your partner. I checked with my whole family and this is the winning location. Alex suggested this spot. I wired it on just to make sure it is the right place. I added a little piece of rebar set back a bit so the birds will not poke anyone in the back.

welding the birds on.

Close up of me welding the birds to the branch. 

Wahoo! the bench is structurally sound,

and the love birds are very comfy. 

I am always looking ahead and already thinking about the texture of the concrete for this piece. 

Here is a chair I did several years ago. The Concrete the lovebird bench will have a similar narliness with a much lighter patina. 

Faux bois Wedding gift ❤️❤️#2

To build a strong bench, you have to build into the structure reinforcement. I have welded (connected) numerous small pieces, of rebar, to the legs for stability. To build a strong marriage, you will have to work at staying connected, have date nights, hold hands when ever possible. Talk to each other about your connections and how you can build more. You can’t have too many.

legs reinforced (connected) with small pieces of rebar. 

The top of the seat will be covered with pig wire. Pig wire is super strong  

Picking a piece of pig wire big enough to cover the seat.  

The pig wire fits.  

In order to protect the feet of the legs I weld a stainless steel washer underneath the rebar. Every marriage needs a strong footing as does every bench. 

The Nasher Sculpture Center- methods of displaying work.

Typically I do not like pedestals but sometimes they are a necessary evil. The next time I have a piece that can not stand up on it’s own I will remember these.  

What does sound look like? installation day 1 #2

Materials ✅ 

More materials ✅ 

Experimenting with height and materials.  

What does sound look like?

Using the Schlieren Flow Visualization method of photography, scientists photograph sound vibrations (even with them moving at 761.2 miles per hour.) NPR does a beautiful job of explaining this complicated process that scientists use to see sound. See link below-

https://www.npr.org/2014/04/09/300563606/what-does-sound-look-like

It is amazing and inspiring to see photographs/videos of sound. With this additional visual inspiration and  conversations with art critic Laura Wellen and curator Kimberley Davenport, I have decided to create an installation in my new studio. 

I have moved my “score” (working title) sculpture to my new studio.

Everything else is in a temporary storage facility 

I will miss my dogs 😒

With some luck by the end of the summer  my new studio will be filled with a 4D installation of the voice of the violin. 

New studio

these vents are obnoxious 

painting my vents 

Faux bois Wedding gift ❤️❤️#1

January 3, 2018, our son Griffin married his soulmate, Alexandra Groome.

After the wedding at the Houston Arboretum.

As a wedding gift, Curtis and I gave them one of my early bronze sculptures “lovebirds”.

Bronze lovebirds welded to rebar.

The lovebirds are inspired by my grandparents Imogene Young Travis and Robert Francis Travis, (Granny Gene and Bob-pa). They were married in high school and remained married for 70 plus years. In their El Paso High School yearbook, their senior pictures faced each other and lovebirds were placed in the corners of each of their pictures.

photo of copies of the yearbook pages framed in my house.

The second part of the gift is to make them a faux bois bench for the love birds to sit on.

I am going to make each piece of the bench thinking about the two of them and the lessons I want to pass down from my grandparents and from my own marriage. It will be a reflection of the qualities of the love Griffin and Alex committed to each other that day on January 3rd, and will be a symbol of the characteristics needed to maintain a marriage for a lifetime. My plan is to have it completed by their first anniversary. 

Design Considerations: 
1. Griffin and Alex are both environmentalists, so I will recycle as much rebar from other projects as possible.

2. No marriage is ever perfectly balanced, so I will make the bench asymmetrical.

3. It will have arm rests for support - symbols of both of their families. 

4. When things don’t work out exactly as planned, I will keep an open mind and make the best of the situation. The beauty will be in the imperfections as is life.   

5. I will listen to their wedding playlist on Spotify as I work. 

6. Griffin and Alex are very playful. The piece will reflect the joy they embrace life with. 

I started on Thursday, June 15th. Griffin and Alex are both people-people. They are always reaching out to others and welcoming them into their home and world, they love to entertain. So I decided to make the seat of the bench the shape of open arms.

rebar welded into the shape of open arms that will eventually be the seat. 

Next I need to set the seat on jack’s the correct height for comfortable seating. Every couple needs a good support group. 

Marriage should be comfortable -  The front is slightly higher than the back for comfort. 

 equality - I use a level to make sure the seat is level from side to side.  

Grinding the tip of a piece of rebar cut for a leg. 

With small taps I use a sledgehammer to make a gentle curve to a leg.

Next is to creat the armrest and back of the bench. 

Four legs and two arm rest are welded to the seat.

Griffin and Alex are very fun loving and not inhibited at all to have a good time. The vines/branches that make up the back will embrace this side of them. 

A little sketch of the armature and how it will look with concrete on it so far. 

I might need to prune the crazy branch on the left side. 

Photos 🙏🏽 title of work? and artist statement ?

photos by Nash Baker 

Earlier this week I received the images taken of my sculpture. There is great satisfaction seeing this piece finally photographed. Many many  thanks to Nash Baker for taking the time to get the perfect lighting and angles. 

I am struggling with the title and the  artist statement. This is where I am presently on the Artist statement for the piece. Some possible titles follow. I would appreciate any suggestions 

 ”___________” A three deminsional depiction of the the passage of time through energy, produced by playing contemporary classical music.  I was inspired by a long exposure photograph of my cousin, Arkansas Symphony Concert Master Andrew Irvin, that captured multiple images as he played his violin. I was struck by the simple back and forth movements of a bow, composed of horse hair, drawn across strings that create emotionally charged sounds. In this piece, the music radiates off the musician as he plays, as well as off the strings of the violin, sometimes like a painfully slow waltz, and sometimes with the sharpness of a quickstep. Working on the piece during the last weeks of my father’s life I examined each movement of the bow and the wire/sound that comes off the violin. Some warble and then end sharply like a tear running down a cheek. Others gently twist into a whisper that fades into a broken heart, and some linger and then pivot like a murmuration of birds and is set free, each movement triggering a unique emotion. I applied the concept of seeing multiple images, and seeing music as emotional energy in three dimensions. The piece is built on a steel armature covered in plaster, recycled wire cloth, and baling wire.

possible titles 

Documents of Time’s passage

Rhythm

Oscillations

“Lost in time”

Sonata

Rhapsody

Movement

Interval

dimensions of time

Intervals in time

Sonatas of time

Scores in Time

score  

Artspace111 Regional Juried Exhibition

I am so very fortunate to have work accepted and thrilled with the opportunity to show my work in the beautiful Artspace111 Gallery in Ft. Worth. It is a beautiful old warehouse, with really cool features. Christina Rees was the juror. 

The following pieces will be in the Exhibition.  

shake shake shake chocolate lV

shake shake shake chocolate II 

Soaking up Montmartre- day 1 part 2

 "Museums in Paris Behind  Scenes: From Impressionism to Contemporary Art" Study Abroad ARH323 - day 1- part 2 Musée de Montmartre and Van Donge 

Once the home studios for many artists notably Auguste Renoir, Suzanne Valadon and Émile Bernard as well as the fauve artists Emile Othon Friesz and Raoul Dufy. The museum is splattered with vintage posters that feature chats (cats in French) and French cancan dancers. 

The contemporary dancers of the day inspired many of the artist.  

 the French Can-can 

Dancing with chats 

love this dog

This is hysterical. He could careless about those cats. 

 The studio of Suzanne Valadon, this is the most charming home studio you can imagine. 

Gardens dedicated to Auguste Renoir surround the Museum of Montmartre. Such a pleasure and treat to imagine all the artist hanging out and chatting about shows and exhibits. A very intimate place. 

I was still jet lagging and didn’t get enough good picks of the Van Donge exhibit. 

Seeing faces at Dachau -

We recently toured the Dachau concentration camp. It was known as the S.S. “school for violence.” The facility is now a memorial to those who suffered and died at Dachau. 

After seeing a few of the images in the memorial; I had to turn away. That is when I noticed that the immense suffering that was inflicted upon innocent people inside the walls of Dachau is not only told in the photos; it penetrated and lives in the structures of Dachau. The walls are scarred with the suffering. In every wall I saw the faces of pain, misery and stories that can not be ignored. Below are a few words That the images in the walls inspired. 

                               Dachau 

In the walls of Dachau  

the sunken eyes of starvation still cry.

Through it’s cracks,

faces of fear still hold their breath.  

In the walls of Dachau

the contorted faces of torture still moan. 

Through it’s scars,

calls for tolerance plea to be heard. 

In the walls of Dachau

the stripes of prisoners are held in respect.

Through it’s survivors,

stories are preserved and true heros are honored.

In the walls of Dachau.  

Below are are some photos of the images I saw in the walls when I turned away. 

sunken eyes of starvation 

The fear seen in eyes of those confronted with the evils of humanity watch helplessly through cracks in the cement walls.

  contorted face of  torture

an emaciated body 

face contorted in pain

human figures bent over in pain and suffering. 

After you walk through the tortuous halls of the Dachau maintenance building and walk around to the front of the building there is  a magnificent sculpture.  It is an abstract figurative piece that beautifully  expresses in monumental style the bodily harm endured by those who threatened the ideals supported by the S.S. . 

In front of the sculpture is an additional memorial: The foundations of the 30 barracks that housed the prisoners of Dachau are each marked with a tombstone style market and numbered. 

Soaking up dreams in New Athens, Paris-day 1-

"Museums in Paris Behind  Scenes: From Impressionism to Contemporary Art" Study Abroad ARH323 - day 1- Musee Gustave Moreau 

As I entered the late 19th century home studio of Gustave Moreau in the New Athens neighborhood of Paris, I imagined the artist greeting fellow artists, friends, curators and clients in the paneled, small and stuffy foyer and inviting them up the amazing winding staircase to his vast studio of dreams. 

Gustave lived in his parent’s home and had a large studio on the top floor located in Nouvelle-Athènes (New Athens). 

portrait of Gustave in front of the winding staircase. 

Gustave is an artist of dreams, and as dreams go, some are clear and crisp while others are blurred. But as you look closer at his monumental works, he not only tells the stories of his dreams in exacerbating detail, he abstracts parts of the paintings while drawing on top of them with ink. His techniques are very interesting for an artist of his times. I really admire him for the beautiful job he does of connecting man or womankind with animal-kind, something that is lacking in the world I live in.

Notice the movement in the abstracted bulls head, The blurred horns and ears.   

both figures are abstracted

see the elephants drawn over the abstract shapes giving them movement and detail. 

You have to love anyone who dreams of unicorns.  

This running horse almost Japanese  

a man an his goat

After soaking up Gustave you can tour the tiny living spaces in the home. and get a good idea of how Gustave spent his time daydreaming when he was not painting or maneuvering paintings in and out of the windows.

We are all art sponges.

Curtis and I signed up for the course, "Museums in Paris Behind  Scenes: From Impressionism to Contemporary Art" Study Abroad ARH323. 

Yesterday was our last day. It was such an intense immersion that I have not had time to recap the trip. I will do my best to recount the experience over the next several weeks.

There is truly no educational art history experience that can compare with a trip to Paris with art historian Anna Tahinci, PhD, Professor and Head of Art History at The Glassell School of Art, MFAH The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

Anna Tahinci, Curtis and me in Monet’s kitchen in Giverny. 

Not to mentioned the group is made up of artists who are addicted to art (many from the BLOCK studio program) some of their partners, docents of the museum, teachers Patrick Palmer, Dean of the school, and enamel teacher/Artist Jan Harrell. Everyone was heavily focused on the where, the when, the why, and the how. We were all sponges eager to soak up some art history.

We started the class with a fabulous dinner at the opulent Le train Bleu. It was an opportunity to talk with the other artist on the trip and learn about their work and interests. Our group ranged from minimalist sculptors to abstract and surreal painters, ceramicists, architects, and digital photographers. We came from many areas, such as Venezuela, Taiwan, California, the Midwestern US, West Texas, and New Orleans Just to Name a few. 

Here are some of the art sponges and partners at dinner. 

photo courtesy of Lynn Sullivan via Facebook

More art sponges exiting the Pompidou- Patrick Palmer, Ginny Hart, Karen Minich, Michelle Matthews, and Shangyi Hua.  

curtis, me, poet Andy and painter Ellen Ray, Gary and painter Genie Jones discussing the day’s exhibits. 

as spibges together, we were egar  to soak up the how, the why, the when, and the who and then mold, paint, cast, fabricate, minimalize, gesturize, carve, digitalize, and create our own Houston bouillabaisse of artisti expression.

The next to the last day I saw this Jean Dubuffe. Why do I love him? It is great to see how expressive Jean Dubuffet a unique material. I love the little foot kicking out expressing the movement of Dance, and the expressive little dancers arms.

Monday we would start early.  

Critters of Musee Gustave Moreau

My favorite- such beautiful movement 

look closely for the elephants

Unicorns are all over Europe 

I know this feeling 

Picasso Museum in Paris

Three of his and a few of mine.  

Dove/pigeon - bronze 

Doves/pigeon and a fish 

Dove/pigeon

Two of my Herman Beak trumpeter pigeons with leg muffs in charcoal 

Two frill back pigeon is one in Talc powder  and one in charcoal. 

Jumping into the next phase.

Last week was the last critique  and the end of my term in the MFAH Glassell school BLOCK studio program. It took four days to move all my work out of the Nabisco building. It is all in storage except for 1 large piece that is stored in the lobby of the Bermac Arts building. I will jump into my new space mid June. 

“score” photographing and moving

I can’t wait to see how these photos come out.  

Nash Baker and his nephew take care of every detail in order to get the best photos. 

After the photo shoot Act crates came to crate the sculpture. .  

The crate is so big it barely fits in their moving truck. (Is this over kill for a short local move?)  

Loading him up  

  notice the size of the crate and the size of the doors. 

The crate waits In the lobby of my new building,  Bermac Arts on San Jacinto until my space is ready.