Sculpture and Writing

Winter by Patrick Gracewood ©2012

Here's what I wrote for this public art project. The art will be along a bike and walking trail. They wanted the cover letter to address my professional background and ideas:
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Wild birds, both large and small, love the 360 degree view from a good perch at the top of a dead tree. They watch us as we see them. My proposal is to carve a figurative sculpture that becomes a living totem pole with the arrival of birds. The art becomes a metaphor of the daily interaction of people and nature along the Trolley Trail.

The nature of wood is an important aspect of my carvings, I emphasize the grain, textures and tool marks left from carving. The trunk often becomes an integrated pedestal in many of my wood sculptures. The figure grows out of the raw wood as if to say we are part of nature,  For this project, this approach would also serve the practical purpose of elevating the art out of easy reach of vandalism.

I’ve been a professional sculptor for over 30 years and have worked in wood even longer. Creating sculpture, everything from film sets to  historic architectural ornament, has given me a wide range of skills and an understanding of what makes sculpture effective in a public setting.

I collect wood carvings from many cultures, these inform my own sculpture with their meaning and craft. The images submitted show both my finished work and several study maquettes for larger work. It would be wonderful to share my love and knowledge of wood carving with the public with a sculpture designed and created for the Trolley Trail .

Winter by Patrick Gracewood ©2012. He's an old man with a lantern and a raven.

It was so nice to be able to just write it down, revise twice, and be done with the application.

Sculpture and Writing

The little mother, detail, by Patrick Gracewood ©2012

Blogging just got me a $15,000 public art commission.

Did they discover my art by reading my blog?

No.

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Back story: I was editor for 2 and a half years of the monthly newsletter for the Pacific Northwest Sculptors. That's 30 eight page newletters. I researched and wrote almost every article. As soon as one was done, I started on the next month. It was exhausting, my own work suffered.

I did learn to write, and write regularly. Inspiration was not required, writing was. 
Funny, that's sort of like studio work, showing up daily is the important element of success.

After five people took on the job of producing the newsletter, I decided if I was going to work that hard, it would be promote my own sculpture. This blog Shadows On Stone began on my birthday in 2008.

666 posts later, I'm still committed to writing as if I'm sending you, dear reader, a postcard.
One or two pictures with as few words as possible while still saying exactly what I want you to know.
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Writing the winning proposal took me 30 minutes plus six years of regularly writing.

That writing practice allowed my public art proposal to be 242 words. That's half a page to describe my art and what it offers the public. You've got to produce AND be able to edit ruthlessly.

They call it a practice for a reason. 

Daily, weekly, year in / year out you show up and do your work, in your studio and in your office................ and some times, you get lucky.

Sculpture and Biophilic Design

I've been reading the book, Biophilic Design, the Theory, Science, and Practice of Bringing Buildings to Life"  and found this amazing video, Patterned by Nature.



The 90 foot long sculpture uses low resolution patterns to bring a sense of the natural world into the Nature Research Center at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.
Read about the sculpture here

Sculpture and Drawing

I'm doing my best to do as little as possible this summer. 

Ironically, it's an all out commitment to heal the last 7 years of chronic pain.  

That includes typing.  So it's time for orphaned and out of sequence posts.

I'm hoping that your summer has rest in it too.

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From all the paper cutting I've been doing recently, I'm learning about the power of pattern. 

That knowledge makes it easier to simplify the Solomon Seal border. 

Never be afraid to go back and revise and edit your work. 

Here's the latest iteration.

                          It gives more room for the portrait and still has detail.

The original drawing now looks like a thicket

Here's the cartoon using the Solomon's Seal as a surround for the commissioned portrait. photo by Mark Downing.

Another irony? This pattern never made it to the finished painting.

Sculpture and Shadows

photo by David Bales

"All material is nature, 

the mountains, and the streams, and the air, and we, 

are made of light,

which has been spent, 

and this crumpled mass called material casts a shadow, 

and the shadow belongs to the light." 

Louis Kahn architect

photo by David Bales

Is the quote by Kahn's is a prayer, an observation, or a design philosophy? 

photo by David Bales

I was delighted to read it. It sums up how I'd like people to understand my new series of paper cuts transformed into large metal screens. The metal is both object and a projecting pattern for shadows that create something constantly changing, ephemeral and magical.

Sculpture and Travel

Many people travel to distant lands to see sculpture,
................. some of us come home to make new sculpture about what we've seen.

The Balinese Mermaid by Patrick Gracewood ©2012

Going through my slides, I found my little Balinese mermaid. Wish I had better photos of her...

After visiting Bali, I wanted to create a small sculpture that had some of the magic and mystery of the island. The bust and tail are carved wood, the lily leaf is bondo and mesh, the golden hair ornament is just that.

She is a kinetic bouquet,  part of a series that blended the idea of the sacred, toys and bouquets with interaction.

As you hold her by her by the tail, her hair ornament and the water lily leaf move and tremble with every movement of your own body. It's a balancing act of calmness to hold her still.
 
More work to surface as I transfer my slides to digital images.

Sculpture and drawing

Chinese joss paper is an inexpensive and fun paper to draw on. Silver aluminum foil gets a quick wash that turns the silver to gold and the newsprint to bright orange.
It is used for prayers which makes it an ideal canvas for birthday cards.

Here's the most recent drawing, exploring the endless vine pattern.