I’m back from a visit to my dear friend Carol – it’s becoming a great artquest to go to Colorado Springs, and it often feel like a spiritual home. I always bring back a huge store of ideas and joy and love. Thanks, Carol Sue!
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Straight out of this morning’s kiln firing, here are some sculptural pieces built as part of a small paper-and-earthenware assemblage. The first photograph is before the firing during the “thinking” stage. These have no surface treatment at all but I think the combination of paper and clay (much like I did for the Art League show) has a lot of promise. I hope my beloved studio partner has lots more cast and pressed paper for me to steal!
Surface treatment is still a question, but whatever it is, experimenting will be fun. Think Klimt. I see these pieces as both free-standing and wall hung . . they are definitely works in progress.
Visiting the Hill Country studio and gallery of my old friend and former sculpture professor, Phil Evett, is a special event for sure. This visit was even more special – we were going to meet Brella, a small, elegant wooden goddess whom we were taking back to San Antonio to become a treasured part of a private art collection. Author and professor Frank Kersnowski went with me, and we had a wonderful tour of Phil’s studio and then a fine lunch at the Redbird Cafe in nearby Blanco.The cafe is owned by the Briegers, potters and artisans, and their gallery is right next door.
Phil’s work continues to be astonishing in its scope and complexity – at 89, he is a legend and a delight. I’m sure all of his former students would agree as would Brella herself if she could talk.
Last week a group of us met at an artist friend’s house to discuss an upcoming herb garden tour. Marty, the homeowner, is a multifaceted furniture designer (check out the arrow table/bench), painter, and cactus sculptor. His garden is a fascinating mini-botanical arboretum with cactus and succulents and raised beds and structures. If you look at the last photo, you can see that he cuts stars on some of his cactus plants and they continue to grow like that as they reproduce. Wow. Marty has a new gallery in Wimberley, Texas – I haven’t seen it yet but I imagine it’s as interesting as his house.
I needed a way to display my Shard pin collages to make them look like works of art as well as personal adornment, so here’s the first idea: I used a Lucite picture frame from Michael’s, the kind that stands on its own. It has a second layer folded over the back to hold a photo, but that made it too thick to hold the magnet, so I snapped that layer off. It breaks very cleanly, thank goodness. Then I crafted a paper “sleeve frame” from good drawing paper with a circular cut-out – easier to show than to describe! See the photos:
Something new – a friend at the Open Studio choose two small earthenware faces from my collection and asked me to build a collage pin/pendant around them – here are the results. I really liked working like this.
The studio was open for visitors, but the action was in the living room where my friend Jan and I set up our work – it was a cold gray day, but brave friends came out to eat and visit and shop. It’s such a good, low-pressure way to share and sell art. Jan and I both did well. Her work is gorgeous, especially her metal clay creations. Surprises for me were the pins and the little cards, which sold out quickly – lots of scent shards sold as well, so the event was successful on all levels. Here are a few photos – my house *almost* looks like a real gallery! Jan and I are planning another sale in April – hooray! I may be recovered by then.
I’d hoped to get more done, but ran out of time – these are such fun to make, especially since I have a stash of new beads from a friend’s studio. These are lots of scent shards and votive cards, and my friend Jan Longfellow will have her glass jewelry, so we should be fine.
Sometimes you have to go with your instincts, and I had a strong nudge from that good old inner voice to have an open studio this Sunday. After all, we’re in the doldrums of winter, it’s almost Valentines Day, and I needed a reason to get going with some new art. Also, the new cards I’ve been working on would be perfect small gifts. I invited my friend Jan Longfellow, a wonderful glass designer and jeweler, to join me. It should be informal and fun – hope people show up!
