The Tile Experiment Update

Last week I finished the second of my 2 tile pieces. I've decided that I like them, but there are so many repetitive actions needed to create even one piece that the process doesn't thrill me. Lots of cutting of the squares and drilling of the squares….then there's the jump rings one needs to make in (what seems like) massive quantities. However I'm glad that I gave it a try. Maybe in the future I'll pick up where I left off, but for now I'll move on.

The first set of pictures is the piece "My Creative Well". Representing how I feel that creatively I draw on everything: the emotional, physical, nature, the universe, the intuitive, the subconscious, my ambitions. There's a small hanging bucket that attaches to the well tower.

31x22x4"

This second piece is "Good Under Pressure 2". Instead of using a fair amount of color transfers like I did in the first piece, I fired up all the red, orange, yellow enamels and used the iron-based fired transfers exclusively. This piece is about my awareness that under stress I really want my physical body to hold up - I'm holding the thought that it is! Hanging from the top cross beam is a mini submarine, the best icon I could think of for good under pressure while going into the depths of me.

25x23x4"

The Ship Galapagos

"Galapagos"
Copper, enamel, brass, glass, mixed media
14x23x6"

Yesterday I finished a ship that I've been working on for several weeks. It is the most ark-like boat that I've made to date. I wanted it to represent the journey of my life so far. Along the way there have been memories and experiences that I have kept close to me, and they are represented by the bottled "specimens" lined up on the top deck. There are talismans too, etched in brass attached to the deck just below the glass vials. In my mind they protect and also bring good spirits. I've always loved the idea from generations past, that words / letters / symbols placed 'just so' within a circle can have such powers.

Glass vials with talismans below

The "bumpers" on the side of the boat are some kind of seed dyed red - I found them at the local florist. One of those things that sit around in the studio until, at last, you figure out how to use them.

Red seed "bumpers"

The big wheel cover is a photo I took of some local chamomile weeds, along with a tiny starfish and, of course, tiny vertical stacks of the planetary signs (for my hope that there will be guidance in the days ahead of my journey).

Copper & Enamel Riverboat

Last week I started playing around with making boats again. I think I have a love of boats that is here to stay. Yet each time I revisit my ship making, I always like to experiment with new proportions just to keep things interesting. This time around I found some images of old tin toy riverboats that called out to me. Then began the process of figuring out how I might assemble such a structure. Here in shorthand is my thinking.

First the hull structure (the long narrow piece) and the top deck. I like to use a card stock for figuring out the pattern because it can be taped together with scotch tape first to see how it works out.

The challenge with that long hull piece was making the curve just right for the stern and then torch-firing it. A pretty awkward piece to handle. Then I brazed it to the deck. Wheels are attached with a threaded rod through holes drilled in the hull.

Next were the wheel covers (the half circle with brazed sides). The graphics on the wheel covers are created in Photoshop and then output onto an inkjet decal paper. Tiny screws attach the wheel covers to the hull.

The white enameled top cabin came next. I cut all those windows out with a jeweler's saw (lord!). The cabin isn't attached yet, nor are any of the chimneys. I need to create 2 more smaller cabins. I just have paper place holders in for them in this picture, but the pieces for them are laying on the desk.

The brass caster wheel will be used in the stern underneath. I have a support in there now just as a stand in. I'm thinking the caster connection will get hidden under the small back cabin I have yet to make.

More to come... 

Photographing Artwork

First off, let me just say that I am not a photographer. I have come to the place of photographing my own work out of frustration that those photographers that I have used and loved in the past have all retired! Well, that's not all of it. Actually, there is the cost issue and the immediacy issue too (as in having to have a photo of a piece right now). Also, I do think with digital cameras these days and Photoshop, it's easier than it used to be to shoot one's own work.

So I thought I would show my very humble method and set up.

I bought a graduated backdrop last year from B&H Photo, which I go back and forth between really liking and then not so much. I'm liking it again right now, especially since I have white ceramic heads on most pieces and dark copper bodies. The gradient holds both.

I also bought a digital camera last year that I love. A Fuji X10. I got it on Ebay used and it's worked great! My lighting system is daylight and only daylight as you can see from the studio photo above. I have a white translucent window shade (Ikea) that I pull down and a tripod. In the case of some of my wall hung pieces, like this one, I hang it off of two wires mounted to the ceiling. Then, if needed because the piece doesn't hang perfectly, I attach a string to the base of the art and pull it forward until it looks the way I want and attach the string to a weight on the floor to hold it.

Overcast days work best for lighting. Easy to find that here in the Pacific Northwest.

I shoot the photos in RAW format using the 'Automatic' camera setting and bring it into Photoshop CS6 on my iMac OSX. My shots done like this are almost always pretty awful looking when I first bring them into the computer. An example of awful below:

YUCK!

See, very blown out. But after I open it in Camera RAW on the computer, I start adjusting. First I adjust Exposure, then Contrast, then Saturation, then Vibrance, and then Clarity. I have to say that the magic adjustments for me are typically Exposure and Clarity. They save my behind.

"This Light of Mine"
Copper, ceramic, enamel, brass, mixed media.
30x21x3"

Then I save the RAW image as a tiff and open it again in Photoshop to crop as needed, also erase my hanging wires and pull-string using the clone tool. Then I consider it done! 

I'm still wanting to buy a softbox for a light on a tripod and play with that, but haven't quite gotten there yet. Perhaps this year. It would also be nice to control my lighting on those little copper letters just a bit more too. So the journey is definitely ongoing...

Beginning a New Piece

This new piece is going to have quite a bit of detail. I thought I'd take pictures as I go through my process of assembling. I'm pretty loose about it as you'll see. Lately I haven't been sketching first, but sort of feel my way through the look of the piece by creating a very rough layout of it.

Pretty rough no? I'm starting with the ceramic head that I made a couple months ago. I work with thin white board and tape to figure out body and neck connections and proportions. I just want a loose idea at this point to see if it'll even work. The expression on the face is what I use to guide me as far as the concept/message of the piece. Yet I also don't really worry about what the concept will be when I start, I just let it come to me as I try out different ways it might go together. 

This concept appeared pretty quickly that it would be about trusting my gut. The words came to me: 

This is my place of knowing.

Oh, it calls to me.

I doubt.

It insists.

I love it for that.

 So I know I'll put those words on the piece, in this case around an outer frame that will surround the figure. I also want a visual of the 'gut', so I'm using an etched circle of the tree of knowledge that I made previously. 

Then I think about how the piece will actually hold together. Starting with the ceramic head, I know I will have to connect it with a copper surround. The main torso I want to be enameled copper so I can do some xerox transfers onto it. I want to create a "window" in the torso where the 'gut' piece will show through, so that needs to be a cutout. I'll connect the arms probably with screws over the enamel...I tend to get overwhelmed about this time, so it helps me to do a little sketch like this so I can remember all my intentions. Oh, and also there will be 2 sets of threaded rod; one that holds the head to the neck piece and one that holds the head and neck to the torso.

Then I start at the top and start refining. So far this week I got the hat/head/neck parts connected.

Then I got the torso size figured so it will fit into the neck lip (the lip has red enamel stripes on it). I drilled very small holes into that neck lip so that I can use small screws to attach the neck to the torso piece. I don't want the torso to shift, and sometimes even with a threaded rod holding it together it could. The torso piece has been cut to fit the medallion 'gut' piece.

Next I need to figure out my drill holes for the arms, so I need to assemble the arms first. After that I can enamel the torso. I'm thinking seed pods will come up from the base of the torso too (like I need more stuff on this piece), so the figure looks like it's parting the pods to show the 'knowing place'. Of course that could look awful, so I'l have to play it by ear. Onward!

Upcoming Show

This June I have a show at Patricia Rovzar in tandem with Joyce Gehl, an amazing encaustic artist. Here are a few pieces of mine going into the show...

"Karuna"
Copper, enamel, brass, pewter, mixed media

"Sitting Here Risking Being More Me"
Copper, enamel, brass, raku, mixed media

"Night Flight"
Copper, enamel, brass, ceramic, mixed media

Poppy seed pods

I love poppy seed pods. They're perfect little seed dispensers, but more than that, for me they are a symbol of illusion (due to their association with opiates).

It is amazing to me that how I perceive how my day is going is directly related to my mood, which is directly related to the noise going on in my head, which is directly related to my hourly illusion of good, bad or indifferent. So it makes all the sense in the world to change that illusion to something very upbeat and enticing, right? Well, there is the challenge in a nutshell for me!

"Into the World of Dreams"
Etched copper,  brass, aluminum, pewter, enamel, mixed media
12x6x4"

A Transformation

About 3 years ago I made a figurative piece called "Up, Up & Away".

It was never one of my favorites. So yesterday I took pieces apart, turned things around, edited and added parts. I like doing this kind of thing. My partner, Ken, calls it the 'Morgan Brig Organ Donor Program'. 

So afterwards the airplane below appeared. The new title is "Inner Voice Navigational System". Inside the plane body hangs a small tube that holds a piece of acetate with writing on it. I like the piece a whole lot better now.

Shadow Boxes

I've been using Ampersand cradled panels lately for my work as a base, the ones with the 2" sides. The other day I realized that the back of these panels seemed WAY more interesting to me than the front. I suspect there are many others that feel this way too, but it was the first time my own brain went there. I really enjoyed working with the dimensional quality. Here are my first two and I'm thinking there will be quite few more...

"She Started to See This Whole Vast Mystery Is Greater Than the Sum of the Parts"
Etched nickel silver, copper, enamel, glass, mixed media. 8x8"

"This Small Temple She Calls Home"
Etched brass, copper, enamel, glass, mixed media. 12x6"

Photo Tiles

More exploration with the photos transfered to enameled copper tiles that have been torch fired. I am thoroughly enjoying the Photoshop work - it all seems so magical to me still. The creative process hasn't changed however. I tend to layout all sorts of images and sketches first, and then just keep trying to mix it all in some different way. I see it as a collage with Photoshop verses a collage of found objects. I am always amazed how my subconscious can bubble up through it all and give it meaning to me. Something is working behind the curtain. I love that part.

"Below the Surface Swims an Answer or Two"
Copper, etched brass, enamel, mixed media

"Listen Said the Voice, Time to Fly"
Copper, enamel, etched brass, mixed media

She Is A Bride Married To Amazement

I finished this piece several weeks ago. It is about wanting to stay in the moment and appreciating all the marvelous things that are in my life right now. I seem to be challenged by that notion on a regular basis.



 I liked the idea of a woman being married to amazement and I wanted her to be in a rather 'showy' setting full of the wonderful things that dazzle her. The coral image (enameled) represents the undersea world, the field of stars (etched) represents the heavens, and the earth (enameled) represents all that lives here and just the wonder of the earth in general. The bunch of rose buds, fabricated out of copper, symbolizes love and relationships. There's also a flying fish in the small etched and enameled circle in the center of the coral area - I think flying fish are pretty amazing myself. And then I threw in two trained cats that are jumping on cue through the hoops on either side of her because I thought that would be Truly Amazing.

The bride is making her entrance through some etched brass imagery. I love the dress. The upper part of the piece has 4 talisman images in circles and then one central image of a pyramid which I see as a symbol for always striving for higher ground. The talisman images and the pyramid are all etched too with some transparent enamel on top.

 It makes me feel good having her around.

Etching & New Inspiration

Since mid-May I've been beginning a body of work for my upcoming November solo show at Patricia Rovzar Gallery in downtown Seattle. It is always a challenge for me to create 20+ pieces that somehow feel like new ground and keep the creative fires hyped up and burning.

It seems that I have several very strong sources of inspiration for this new body of work. First off, I took a class with Larry Calkins ( a WONDERFUL instructor) at Pratt Fine Arts Center in Seattle back in late March. It was a wire sculpture class that I thoroughly enjoyed. I have always loved the linear quality of wire and the way that an open 'container' can be made that I can then place something inside of. This fits in perfectly with my desire to explore internal/emotional qualities that can be found inside of us humans. Also in this class I learned that I can use brass rod to braze copper to steel. A bit of a break through for me since I always presumed that it wasn't possible.

The second big inspiration is Mariko Kusumoto (you can find her work at www.mobilia-gallery.com ). This amazing artist has actually been inspiring me for years, but I decided back in May that her use of etched metal pattern and imagery on her metal surfaces was an element that I wanted to bring to my work in a much larger way. In the past I have used enamel almost exclusively to bring imagery to the copper surfaces of my sculpture, so this is a bit of a departure. I also like the idea of working with the muted palette of copper, nickel-silver and brass as a main focus and then bringing in some color with small amounts of enamel.

The third inspiration is Keith Lo Bue (www.lobue-art.com ). I know I'm hardly alone with him as an inspiration source, but the man is amazing in how he fearlessly puts together all kinds of 'stuff'. And he always shares the process on his blog. His design sense, his playfulness, and his tenacity in exploring new materials and pushing himself are what I find delightful.

One of the first pieces that I've done below is titled "Relishing Her Late Bloom".

I've got a little bit of everything going on in this piece (what's new?).  The wire skirt has leaves and a lotus bloom fabricated out of copper, there's a small amount of enamel at the top of the skirt with the Venus sign on it, and the separate piece above her has etched brass imagery of the seasons, sun and moon. Off to either side of the etched brass imagery are smaller circles containing good luck talismans. Those, too, have been etched (in copper) that has then been enameled with a transparent enamel. The whole piece mounts off the wall about 3-9", with the skirt area sticking out the farthest, so there are quite a few cast shadows when it's lit with a spot light.

I am really enjoying the etched surfaces and looking forward to exploring this path further!

New Small Work

I've been working on a number of small scale pieces over the past couple of weeks. I primarily work in copper with some enamel fired onto the surface for color. Over the past year and a half I've also started including found objects that I've either collected or recently found at thrift stores. Seems I'm mostly attracted to brass and glass pieces. Some inspiring things have come off of Ebay, like a huge supply (277!) of antique porcelain doll legs from Germany that I recently bought. I enjoy working small at times because it allows experimentation versus my bigger pieces. All sorts of oddball things come out.


Photos from top to bottom:

"Truly, Deeply"
"The Dirt of God"
"Funny Bone"
"The Key to Question #078319