Three New Santos Sculptures at Mary Lou Zeek Gallery

This is Amelia, with her wings I think she could be the patron saint of aviators.

She wears a striped scarf gently around her neck, antique text covers her arms and she stands on croquet stakes.

Her body is made out of an antique shoe stretcher with a beautiful patina as well as her wings being a bit darker.

I love her profile and cute little curves. The box she stands on is a old crank telephone box.

Close up of her hand and scarf.

Her title is " Trying to Fly" she is made from shoe stretchers and shoe forms. She leans forward a little bit as if just ready to take off. I personally think she will never get off the ground with those feet.

And finally this handsome and thoughtful fellow "Contemplating Realism".
Set on the weaving shuttle are antique letter press pieces spelling out his title.
Click on the photos for a larger view.

I'm happy to say that these three Santos are for sale at Mary Lou Zeek Gallery in down town Salem, Oregon.

Friday Desk Photo- Wire Sculpture

Since I started with the Fri desk photos I see how I really work in about a 6"x 6" square of tools and supplies. I think I will make it a goal to increase my real estate to 12"x 12".
This sculpture is going with me to Hampton, Va. as a class example, I just finished it this morning but now think the head looks to big and a bit like a bird, not my goal. The good thing is I can take it off and make a new one. I am pleased with the posture and general attitude of the figure.

I ripped up old linen for the inside of the body in person it looks light and airy. I'm off to the coast this afternoon and looking forward to doing some photography.
Have a great weekend everyone.

I'm Going to Hampton VA.

Here are the classes I will be teaching in Hampton VA for Art and Soul.
One of the classes is called "Can I do that Michelangelo?"This class is so much fun and the creativity that the students come up with never fails to impress me.

This piece was meant for an artist...

Here the sculpture was put in a tin can for a charity food drive to be sold at Mary Lou Zeek 100 artist show in Feb.

The Feather Inspector holds a magnifying glass....

"Where The Lost Balls Go" lives with a friend. You will be able to create one of these pieces in just one day and learn skills that go on and on......
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The other class is "Never Felt Better Bag"

We will start with roving....

add water, soap and knowledge....

more roving, some needles,.....

creativity.... yes you could make your bag into a hat.....great creativity!...

and don't forget fun....

I would love for you to join me in Hampton or Portland for these exciting classes. You can register at the Art & Soul website, see you there!

Home and back at it!

Home from Art and Soul !
I taught the wire sculpture crow class and what a fun time we had, the students were fantastic and made some very nice crows. Each one had a wonderful whimsical face and personality's to fall in love with.

Here a student concentrates on soldering a wing.

A finished crow drys after a paint job.

Lorna's crow was awesome, very animated!

This is a sneak peek at a new class being offered at Art and Soul in Madison WI. It's title is ART ON A HOT TIN ROOF, a cottage with a punched tin roof, paper cut walls that are illuminated from within. This will be a fun one and I just love little glowing lights.

The Inventor

Reginald Q. Wickham born to British parents in India was making great strides with the parallel circuit, he heard of Edison’s achievements with the incandescent electric light. But when he learned that Edison had overtaken him in the improvement of the dynamo he was utterly shattered. This is when he put on his light bulb hat and dedicated his live to time travel.

Reginald (Reggie to us who know him) stands on an 1886 cigar box. Gears, gauges, wires and an old light bulb help activate the magic ball he is holding. If it ever starts to spin Reggie will be off to the future, maybe.

Little known fact: Reggie coined the phrase "Damn the Dynamo"

I’m having fun getting ready for my crow class at Art and Soul. These are little bags made of clothpaper to hold all the goodies we will be using. I started out with the idea of making a plain canvas bag….but this is so much more fun.

I will watch your eggs!

It is always a surprise to see who it is that comes out of the clay, I never go for the elf cute look but that is who emerged. So what to do with this fresh face? I made the hair look like feathers and thought to keep the colors in earth tones. The base is the top of a piano stool, the nest sits on a tree made from a spindle with branches from old type writer arms.

I rusted the nest in the bathroom so I could dunk it in water every time I washed my hands. It had help with some vinegar and salt, Norm thought it was a bit stinky to have in there. What we do for art.

I think a sweet song is being sung to the eggs.

The little eggs came from a quail and are real. My next job is to make a paper cut with this sculpture as the vocal point.

Weekend Art Date

The best kind of art dates are when they last for three days. My art group Portland Art Collective has just returned from our spring retreat at Menucha Retreat and Conference Center. We all know how good it feels when we are with a kindred spirit now imagine it with 14 all in one room creating and laughing.

I spent most of my time this weekend listening and laughing. And that is an understatement we all laughed so much we held our cheeks and gasp for air. I'm happy to say silly prevailed.

I worked on a paper cut based on the sculpture "Going to Town with an Umbrella. Click here to see the sculpture. Each time I do one of these I learn something new in this case just how relaxing it is for me to cut on a predetermined line being able to listen to every little thing around me.

The Grosbeaks moved into the garden while I was away. This is an Evening Grosbeak, they are about the size of a Robin with a parrot like beak and lovely color brighter than in this photo.