Sculptorsam

This Blog Has Moved!

2011-12-05T09:52:00.000-08:00

I moved my blog over to my new website. Wander on over, check out all the cool new stuff, and stay current with what I'm working on. Thanks!

http://www.sculptorsam.com/blog/

Plaza Art Fair

2011-09-20T07:12:00.000-07:00

This weekend I'll be at the beautiful Plaza Art Fair in Kansas City, MO. If you're in the area, stop by booth #110 and say Hi. There's going to be some great work there and the weather looks very promising as well.

September 23, 24 & 25
Friday: 5 - 10pm
Saturday: 10am - 10pm
Sunday: 11am - 5pm

Hope to see you then!

Dryad IV Completed

2011-02-08T20:42:00.000-08:00

I meant to take a nice studio shot of this piece in progress with the picturesque disarray of work in all it's glory - extension cords strewn everywhere and the floor covered in grinding dust. The problem is, I just got too involved and before I knew it the sculpture was complete. So I'll just have to settle for posting these freshly fabricated images.

Margaret Wall-Romana

2011-01-21T08:28:00.000-08:00

Drop everything you're doing and head straight to The Minneapolis Institute of Arts to see the new MAEP exhibition of Margaret Wall-Romana's paintings. Try to go at a quiet time when traffic in the galleries will be at a minimum - solitude is best to dive into these works properly. I arrived at the opening early enough to spend some time alone with them and was actually moved to tears. This is what Art is.

UIU Exhibition Opening

2011-01-17T10:48:00.000-08:00

I just returned from installing a solo show at Upper Iowa University in Fayette. Well, perhaps not that little... I brought 15 works in all and they filled out the space beautifully. The hospitality and response was great, just a wonderful trip.

Bios

2010-12-29T19:29:00.000-08:00

I actually completed this piece, Bios, a few weeks back. My memory is so shot that I can't remember if I began it in my old studio or not, but it's definitely the first sculpture finished in the new space. Turned out quite nice. Better yet, a beautiful new piece is already well underway...

Elmhurst Art Museum

2010-11-24T09:24:00.000-08:00

Last week I dropped off Nighthawk at the Elmhurst Art Museum for the Chicago Sculpture International exhibition. Named the “Best Suburban Art Museum in Chicago” by Chicago Magazine, it is a beautiful little museum located in one of the only three houses in the US designed by Mies van der Rohe.

The show will run until March 19, 2011 with a reception being held on Friday, January 14, 2011. Below is a quick snapshot I took after delivering my sculpture.

Jarvi Bench

2010-09-16T13:11:00.000-07:00

I came across this and felt the need to pass it on to others. Beautiful video of some beautiful work, what more can you ask for?

New shop/studio

2010-05-10T07:07:00.000-07:00

By request, here's my new workshop, in all it's disorganized glory. The space measures 40' x 50' with a nearly 16' ceiling, but as you can see I've already managed to fill a lot of it. It will take me some time to settle in, but already it's feeling quite comfortable. Every day I unpack and improve a little bit. Slowly, it begins to feel like home.

A long overdue status report...

2010-04-17T18:34:00.000-07:00

I knew it had been a while since my last post, but I had no idea it was all the way back in mid-November. An explanation is in order.

A couple of weeks later, on November 30th, we closed on our new house. It was a foreclosure which had been vacant over a year - I guess you could describe it as a diamond in the rough. But we saw potential. It was 20 nice acres in the country, had a good size newer workshop, and a unique earth home. The next several months were spent trapping mice, renovating, and undoing years of neglect.

A couple weeks back we finally moved in. Already it feels like home. The seemingly endless work and wait were worth it. Now, life can begin again...

Before:

After:

Collector image...

2009-11-16T07:03:00.000-08:00

One of the nicer treats I can receive is a picture of a sculpture installed at a collector's home. If I've delivered the piece myself I often have an idea of how it will be displayed, but in the case of shipped work I may never get that opportunity.

I received this image of Trios installed in a back patio a while ago but just got around to sharing it now. Night shots are great (I don't know why sculptors don't shoot their work like this more often). Thanks for the image, Ron.

Daphne

2009-10-05T07:11:00.000-07:00

Taking perhaps longer than anticipated, Daphne is finally completed. The detail and level of finish of this one is perhaps beyond anything else I've done. Needless to say, I'm happy with it.

The Precious Object

2009-09-16T07:18:00.001-07:00

This Friday is the opening reception for The Precious Object, a group exhibition I'm a part of at the Minneapolis Central Library organized by the Walker Art Center and mnartists.org. Bringing together a diverse group of artists, it looks to be a really interesting show. Stop by later in October for some panel discussions on issues relating to the work as well. See the larger poster below for more info.

Pflipsen Glassworks

2009-09-04T16:46:00.000-07:00

The whole family drove over to River Falls, WI for an enjoyable visit with Steve and Katia of Pflipsen Glassworks the other day. I briefly met them at the Madison Art Fair a few weeks back and we immediately saw a connection in our work. The pair collaborates to create simply beautiful jewelry and sculptural objects. Steve is in charge of creating glass with a wonderfully ethereal quality and Katia creates these beautiful organic, and yet almost architectural (think Gaudi), soldered constructions. Their work is top notch and I can't recommend them highly enough.

SI09

2009-07-21T14:17:00.000-07:00

I took a little road trip down to Chatfield for the Standard Issue Iron Pour, brain child of Karl Unnasch and perpetrated each year (this was the third) by a host of various and sundry characters. After the pour was over, they like to let down their hair a bit... below is a shot of some of the after-hour festivities.

Progress

2009-07-01T17:04:00.000-07:00

To say that raising a child is time consuming is understating the matter. Progress is still being made in the studio, however. In fact, I have two pieces underway at the moment, unusual for me. The vast majority of the time I begin and complete a single sculpture before starting another one. But I was carried along a wave of energy after getting the basic framework for the one finished and so I moved on to the next, smaller piece right away. Below is the larger of the two.

When talking about starting a piece, painters often complain about the difficulty of making a mark on a clean, white canvas. As soon as you begin, the multitude of options available begin to diminish. Each mark limits the next, and these limitations build on each other as the work progresses. It can be incredibly difficult to make those first few marks in the void.

Making a sculpture is no different, except that you are dealing with three dimensions, not two, and the resulting void of space is that much larger and intimidating. While later stages of a sculpture may be more physically tiring, there is nothing more psychologically draining than the beginning.

SculptureWalk

2009-05-11T20:26:00.000-07:00

The whole family at the installation of Nighthawk for SculptureWalk in Sioux Falls, SD.

Art in the Garden, NC

2009-04-26T08:48:00.000-07:00

It's that time of the year again for Art in the Garden, the Fifteenth Annual Sculpture Invitational, in Hillborough, North Carolina. If you find yourself near the Triangle Area the weekend of May 2-3, stop by, say hi, and check out some great sculpture. Rain or shine, a great time is always had by all.

New Sculptures

2009-04-24T12:36:00.000-07:00

Check out the first two Transitions galleries on my website for a number of new sculptures as well as new images of existing pieces. Due to the size of some of the pieces, I had to wait for the weather to cooperate in order to photograph them outside. That meant not only waiting for the right diffused light, but for Spring to arrive as well. Thank goodness it has. Winter has passed and the green is returning once again!

Traveling sculptures

2009-04-05T17:22:00.000-07:00

My first real sculpture trip of the year was to pick up Portal (seen, or rather, not seen, in the crate in the back of the truck) from the Plains Art Museum in Fargo, ND and then head down to Northern State University in Aberdeen, SD to pick up Nexus. I arrived home very early the following morning, just before an all-encompassing fog descended...

Art for a New Era

2009-03-09T08:27:00.000-07:00

There is understandably a lot of pessimism out there today. By "out there" I mean most anywhere, but specifically outside my studio doors. Because inside, I remain surprisingly, almost unnervingly, optimistic. For someone (mistaken, I would argue) perceived to be a bit of a curmudgeon, this is an unusual state to be in. What hope could I possibly have in an art world undergoing rapid capitulation by many individual artists and art organizations?

Put simply, I believe much Quality, meaningful and well-crafted work will not only survive this Grand Purging, but will thrive in an era more skeptical of exuberant claims and glitzy sheen. Work grounded in Nature, history and our human desire for meaning will continue to be valued because it satisfies an expressly human need for self-creation. Work which looks beyond the navel of its creator, which connects on an intimate level with the viewer, will communicate in a way that hype and market forces never can. I am optimistic because I think these difficult times will lead people to search out the type of authentic and insightful work which I value. It is also the type of work I aspire to create, and the type of work created by other artists who I admire.

Once such artist I recently discovered is Andy Paiko. Check out his site and spend some time exploring his heart-breakingly poetic work. Paiko's glasswork is like alchemy to me. I understand steel and its resiliently fluid nature, but the fragile fluidity and structure of his glasswork is a mystery me, in the best possible way. I find myself mesmerized looking at them, captivated by their detail, form and execution.

Touche

2009-03-01T05:45:00.000-08:00

I tip my hat to you, Mr. Alzamora. You have won this round, but I'll be back...

Artist A Day

2009-02-27T08:12:00.000-08:00

If you haven't already discovered it, check out Artist A Day. They profile some really fine work and the site is beautifully designed. A nice community has sprung up to discover and discuss a wide variety of great art.

I'm honored to be today's artist, #732. Check it out. If you're so inclined, you can rate my work (a simple 5 star system) or go one step further and leave a comment. (Not that it's a competition, but if I could top my good friend and outstanding fellow-sculptor Emil Alzamora, that would be a feather in my cap!)

A Sunday Meditation

2009-02-08T09:17:00.000-08:00

After Australia

2009-02-01T07:17:00.000-08:00

Though a lot of my time these days is consumed by taking care of Little Zoe, I did manage to finish the sculpture I began several weeks before she was born. Here it is in its freshly sandblasted state. Thankfully, it has warmed up a bit here so I can begin the rusting process properly. I washed it off on Friday after I set it up and the water froze immediately on contact with the steel.

This piece is tentatively titled After Australia in honor of the David Smith sculpture. It wasn't a direct inspiration, just one of those times I noticed a similar sense of drama/movement/poise during the design phase of the work. In the end, my piece diverged quite a bit, and will in all likelihood get a new name, but I do sense a connective thread between the two.

A new addition to the family...

2009-01-01T15:48:00.000-08:00

Please join me in welcoming to the world our daughter, Zoe Elizabeth. Born on December 26th at 6:22pm and weighing in at 7 lbs. 4 oz., she is by far the greatest creation I've had the pleasure of contributing to.

Art in the New Economy

2008-12-18T21:06:00.000-08:00

If you read one essay on the challenges of creating, selling and buying art in these difficult economic times, I suggest Art in the New Economy by Alan Bamberger.

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T15:16:00.000-08:00

Instead of eating turkey and watching football, I've been updating my website. Check out the new Transitions gallery along with some additions to the Press section.

SCSU Opening

2008-10-28T18:14:00.000-07:00

Before the opening at SCSU this afternoon, I took some installation shots as well as images of a few pieces that were so new that I hadn't even documented them yet. The large white piece you see in the foreground is a good example. I finished it only a couple weeks before I had to install the exhibition - which wasn't nearly enough time to weather it to its final patina. Instead of leaving it hidden in my studio, I thought I'd exhibit it in its freshly sandblasted state.

Art in America

2008-10-27T18:20:00.000-07:00

Check out November's Art in America for a review of my solo exhibition Midwest Gothic at St. John's University this past spring.

St. Cloud Times article

2008-10-23T21:09:00.000-07:00

To coincide with the exhibition at SCSU, you can read a profile of me in our local paper here, the St. Cloud Times. I always find it difficult to read articles about myself (truth be told, I still haven't read this one all the way through), but the images are quite good and (most of) the information is correct, so I'm quite pleased with it.

SCSU show installed

2008-10-20T19:42:00.000-07:00

Today was the day to deliver and install the works for my solo exhibition at SCSU's Atwood Memorial Center Gallery. After several trips to the gallery, I got them all there and we even had the layout and most of the lighting done by the time I left. The show is a nice mix of free-standing sculptures (I was ultimately not able to use any of the larger wall works because of the necessity of drilling holes in the wall to do so) and my burned reliefs. I didn't have a camera on hand to snap a pic and it may be a couple weeks before I can spare the day to take some installation shots, so you'll just have to stop by and check it out for yourself. I'll be on hand for the opening on Tuesday, Oct. 28 from Noon - 2pm.

I don't believe I ever posted the image below taken at the dedication for my sculpture at the Benson Sculpture Park in Loveland, CO so I thought I'd add it here. Thanks to Julie Fay for the image.

Chicago Sculpture International - 2008 Juried Exhibition

2008-10-09T21:48:00.000-07:00

If you're in the Grand Rapids, MI area, check out the group exhibition, Chicago Sculpture International - 2008 Juried Exhibition, that I have a piece in at Calvin College. There should be plenty of other sculpture-related activities in the area to coincide with the International Sculpture Center Conference going on there.

Nighthawk finished

2008-10-08T21:55:00.000-07:00

I put the finishing touches on Nighthawk today (title may change, we'll have to see), and I have to say it turned out beautifully. I won't have enough time to weather it properly for my SCSU show coming up on the 22nd though. It seems a shame to hide it in my studio through the winter... so I've decided to exhibit it pre-rust but post-beadblasting. The almost luminescent quality of the bare, white metal should compliment the patina of the other works quite well. It'll be interesting to see.