Sculpture and Hughes Water Lily Festival II

I'll be demonstrating architectural sculpture again at Hughes Water Gardens this Thursday, 7/30 as part of the Water Lily Festival.

Thursday is Bloom Night, the nursery stays open late- 6:30 to 9 pm, so people can see and smell the night blooming Victorian Water Lilies.

Here I am, at Hughes, working on a new panel. I hope to be started on the opposite side by Thursday. If this heat continues, though, look for me in the big pond with the koi and the frogs.

Sculpture and Creative Time.

People think that if you're an artist you do whatever you want, when ever you want. If only that were true.

Granted I haven't punched a time clock in years, but I have to buy my time to create just like everyone else. The rent and paying gigs take priority over what I'd like to do.

The trick is after the rent is paid, while actively searching for the next commercial sculpture job, is to remember not to panic if it's not immediate, and go to my workbench and get to work.

I began to carve again on the little queen. It's been 3 months or more. The little girl it's based is now 6 and is changing physically so quickly that it is now or never to finish it. Right after this next two paying jobs.....

Sculpture and Hughes Water Lily Festival

Hughes Water Gardens is a destination nursery. Once you're there surrounded by the sounds of water, it's a delight. From lotus to the enormous Victorian water lilies, they have everything a water lover could ask for.

I'll be demonstrating relief sculpture for tonight's Artist's Reception. Stop by and say hello.

Heidi Wastweet and Bas Relief Sculpture

Combining her love of sculpture and drawing Seattle sculptor, Heidi Wastweet excells at bas relief sculpture. She created this time lapse video of the sculpting of one of eight St paul church door panels. It follows the process through clay, plaster, to the final bronze and shows the installation in the church doors.

For more information visit www.wastweetstudio.com

Sculpture and History = Paleoartist

Way back in June, the New York Times ran an article on Viktor Deak, paleoartist.

What is a paleoartist? It's someone who combines archeology and art, using a scientific approach with bone fragments to reconsturct what our ancestors might have looked like. Deak has just finished a massive 78 foot mural that is the setting for the exhibition "Lucy's Legacy." Mr. Deak’s work can be seen on his Web site, www.anatomicalorigins.com.

Check it out for a little science fiction, a lot of science fact.

Sculpture at Hughes Water Lily Festival

Just finished setting up my sculpture and fountains.I will be the featured artist at the Water Lily Festival at Hughes Water Gardens in Tualatin. There will be lots of art inspired by the beautiful gardens, including large relief sculptures and the premier of a new carving by yours truely. I designed this paper cut after last year's festival.

Janet Riehl - A Creative Life

Susan Gallacher Turner is interviewing artists about their lives and work, posting on her blog. The latest interview is with artist and author Janet Riehl.

Riehl describes how when she moved to Lake County, CA, a sparsely populated, breathtakingly beautiful, poor, rural locale, she made it her mission to promote arts and culture within the county, in every media possible: writing, visual art, and performance. She sponsored poetry readings, a monthly writing circle, as well as creating outdoor celebrations-performances-installations in both state parks in the county.

A creative life is often perceived as solitary and self involved, Janet Riehl shows how often art grows into activism and community involvement. I love how she sums up her life, "In other words, my life was not unlike the lives of most practicing artists: I did what I could, when I could, as well as I could."

Those are good words to live by.

Sculpture and Animation

New media means new way of seeing.

The new tiny jerky videos we're watching on our comuter now exploit the limitations of the medium, evoking a cartoon flip book or silent movie. The jerky animation makes one watch more closely and allows for more playful fantasy. Inanimate objects begin to live and move. Pillows become clouds or stairs. Socks become fish, bubbles, a little pet.

So nice to see humor, tenderness, play and ambiguity in a music video by Oren Lavie.

Sculpture and Drawing

When did drawing become performance art?

This young woman tells a moving story wordlessly. (Good thing since any information is all in Russian.)

The power of this presentation comes from the almost magical immediacy and flow of the images. They bloom in a gesture, evolve and vanish into the next. This art evokes rather than depicts, allowing us to participate as we fill in the details. The music soundtrack supports and tells the story too.

In order to be this spot on and fast, she's practiced and choreographed every gesture to literally have her art at her fingertips.

A Visit to Master Cabinet Maker Michael McCallister at BoxHaven

I visited woodworker Michael McCallister, aka "Mel", of BoxHaven to see his marquetry studio and lazer cutting machine. It's in a well organized basement, desk, computers and lazer clustered in one area, the rest of the space has finished projects and walls hung with stacks of colored and natural veneers.

For demonstration Mel used a Japanese design that had been translated into vector patterns. He said that paper is actually harder to cut than the veneers because of the cross linked fibers. The lazer was quick and fairly quiet. (How noisy can light be?) It quickly cut the intricate pattern, and works to thousandths of an inch tolerance. It's a wonderful example of the machine freeing the artist from hours of painstaking cutting, allowing him to focus on the art.

I was so engaged watching that I forgot to ask about the machine itself and what the cost would be to hire it out for custom designs. It's worth a second visit. If you have any questions about your own projects, Mel can be reached here.

Sculpture and the Voices of Living Creatively

Susan Gallacher-Turner interviewed me recently on what it means to live as a working artist. It was very casual, we talked for over an hour about my art and how I've used it to earn a living. We covered everything from my first art job, films I've worked on, to what i've learned from 30 years as a sculptor and how that influences my current work.

It was good to take stock of my life and art. I didn't quite know what to expect from the interview other than it was good practice to talk about my art. She and Michael Turner took the recording and turned it into a very professional podcast and web article.

Susan Gallacher-Turner is an artist, writer and teacher. Michael Turner is a writer, professional voice talent and audio producer. Putting their interests and talents together they've created "Voices of Living Creatively" to tell the stories, struggles and successes of people living creativley.

Their mission is to listen and learn, then share these stories with as many people as possible in publications, iTunes podcasts, their website,,"voices of Living," their client's websites, and the blog, Voices of Living Creatively. They will listen and produce a web article and podcast that anyone can use on their website and blog.
Contact Susan here.

Sculpture, Clothes, Stop Motion Wedding Invitation

Some things delight because they are such skillfull play.
So much work, such delight in making a magical invitation to family and friends. Created by Corey McKenna.

Contact Improvisation at Performance Works NorthWest

Martha Ullman West reviews the Alembic Series, part of thePortland Project on Art Scatter.

She writes of our dance, Special Alembics, "The performance was at once sensual and intellectual, and downright suspenseful. My God, what are they going to do next? I thought at one point, as they entwined and re-entwined their bodies on the floor, becoming at times a single body that appeared to have eight misplaced limbs. Nobody “wired for skepticism” can dance with a partner blindfolded, it seems to me, particularly one on whom she depends to shape the next step in the dance."

The review also cover Tere Mathern's Phase Phrase and Gregg Bielemeier's Tracings

Sculpture and Virtual Living

There are many online support sites for artists: Alyson Stanfield at ArtBizCoach, the Unconventional Guide to Art and Money. Fine Art Views, and as many more sites as you have time and money to spend on their books, webinars, etc....

But it's good to know your limits. I've just met mine. Art Calendar, the Business Magazine for Visual Artists is running a series called The Artist's Guide to Marketing and Networking in Second Life. That's right, you can be marketing yourself in a fantasy game world.

The article says there are many SIMilarities with real life when it comes to presenting yourself to the inworld audience of curators, collectors, and other artists.

Really? The idea of creating and participating in an online game version of myself seems like a special level of hell.

The article, sounding like Seventeen Magazine, goes on the tell you how to trick out your virtual personna, I quote:
"First things first, you’re going to need to make your avatar look cool. The more thought and fun you put into it, the more memorable you will be. SL has an “appearance” mode in which you can shape and model your avatar’s size, shape, color, gestures, clothing and facial expressions. Many well-known SL artists have interesting avatars. These artists realize that it can be a great extension of their artistic, philosophical, comedic and creative principals. Go nuts, or try to make your avatar look like yourself. It’s up to you, but remember to take your virtual identity seriously. This is how people will get to know you."


This is how people will get to know you.