Galleries

Recently I had a bad experience in a gallery because of what I consider an important reason.  I always supply not only a biography to my galleries but also my artist statement and sometimes a story that goes with a piece. This particular gallery is in a heavy traffic area during the tourist filled time.

If you ever want to know what your gallery is doing for their 50% or more, have a friend go and inquire, just basic and listen.  The statement was "nice piece", "do you know anything about the artist?" "No nothing, you know people are so into texting and using their iphones they just aren't buying."

Now is that not a marketing ploy? Confuse the poor patron so badly that they forget what they asked about.

You know what I wish galleries would do is realize they should know everything they can about each artist in their gallery.  Yes, I realize there are those that do and I applaud them but this person was as interested in selling art in that gallery as I would be watching paint peel.

You know if you are a gallery owner reading this I am sorry but we give you our work to exhibit and expect some type of accountability (as with us). 

We as artist should work hand in hand with the gallery in doing demo's, art walk nights etc. to keep visual in the patrons mind.  Exposure is exposure but what is the difference in being in my home versus in a business that has forgotten it is a gallery.  Pay a visit to galleries you wish to be in before you make a commitment then offer help in any way to aid in marketing your gallery.

I have a gallery I love to visit in Ft. Collins and I am never disappointed when I inquire about the artist...who ever is there always gives me verbal background on anyone and then goes to get a brochure.  She also shows such pride in explaining all the artist are local.

Other options are doing a variety of marketing venues, a combination of online sites, 3 day shows and galleries leaving you in a sweet spot all year round. Granted I am still adding to my venues, daily but hopefully I am spreading myself like a good rash.....all over.

Artist Living Boldly

"What is the single illuminating thing which shines its light on all the elements of the best parts of your life (the sound of which makes your heart sing and your feet dance)? Answer that and then know, that is the thing you must do." Mary Anne Rademacher

As books before have inspired me Live Boldly by Mary Anne Rademacher
has sent me off to my clay after finishing one (the moose) and sharpened me for another round. I often turn to books for inspiration just as I do the outdoors and it always refuels my passion.

"Every child is an artist.  The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up." Pablo Picasso

"Every morning when the alarm goes off, we have a totally new opportunity to do what we want with the hours we have been gifted.  And we are gifted with that clean slate everyday for the rest of our lives". Hyrum Smith

Always remember:  "we should walk into life as if we are carrying a candle that only illuminates where we are and only lights up what is ahead of us as we walk, enjoy the journey and keep walking forward."

Wax work

I realize that I have mentioned this before but wanted to go over some of the finer details of working your waxes because I feel that it is so important for an artist to do her own wax work if possible because no one knows your work better than you.

This is one of my most textured pieces and I decided it would be a great piece to explore the wax cleanup process.

Keeper of the Sacred Spirit

This piece is one that went fast in production and was produced using blue contractors foam underneath and then warm Chavant clay used to form model, especially in the hair area.  I really had it warm almost soupy where I could use my scratchy wash cloth to create the hair.

You must always think of how your patina will look on the surface chosen also, some patina's do not take well on a textured surface.


       

classic case of awful!

This is the time that you will look at your task at hand and panic because you think that you can not save your piece...relax. This was an example of a mold that deteriorated on me and I had to pour the remaining waxes so that I could salvage the edition. Notice the silicon stuck in the negatives of the wax. It was liquid but you could not wash it off and even when you used a wax tool you could just scrap it off very slowly and very carefully. It  was the consistency of syrup.
 

 

Some of my wax working tools, favorite are dental tools.

 

This shows the wall left during pouring between the two sections of the mold, it is best to not melt a lot of wax in this area because of the texture and only do minimal work with a tool to eliminate the thin wall of wax and repair area.

You definitely have to keep your sense of humor, some come out of the mold missing vital parts, such as this tail, you just have to refer to pictures of your completed ones to copy the tail in wax and replace.

 

This shows the bottom of the wax which was actually the top when pouring so it is never clean. I have a flat piece of steel that I place on an outside grill (very low) and put my wax onto the warm grill just long enough to level the base and make it suitable to sit flat on whatever base you have chosen, wood or stone. One thing that is important when laying it down on the warm grill make sure the entire bottom hits the grill at the same time or you will melt too much off one side. KEEP IN MIND THAT IT IS ONLY SECONDS THAT YOU LEAVE IT ON THE PLATE OF STEEL.

 

Just another view of the seam line left from the molding.

 

Sometimes as in this picture you will not have a wall you will have a ditch instead. This you have to gently fill with a minimum of wax.

 

These two are typical examples of tiny holes that are hollow and holes that have a fine layer of wax hiding them, both have to be done with minimum  damage to the surface. The tiny holes all over this hip area were terrible and only had one turn out that way, it was a major drag of your hot iron over the surface and repairing with new hot wax.  The second type were easier, just insert your hot tool into the covered hole to expose the cavity underneath then refill it with hot wax.

 

These last two examples were the worst that I have had in a given area and it could have been because of the change in wax temperature or the speed at which they were poured. I have learned when pouring my small pieces that some require that I pour 200 degrees for the first two pours and then almost 170 degrees for the second two pours then always check for any thin areas that might mean using a spoon full on a spot. (This is a trick to do also after you open your mold and have held it up to the light and find a hole or thin area, just be careful or you will bust through and leave a larger hole).

 

Hey also I was told by my mold maker that I could use rubber bands instead of the tape I was using to hold my molds together while pouring and it has been fantastic idea. They have large ones at Office Depot for cheap!

Inspiration! Tama Kieves

If you have followed me for very long you know I love to read as much as I love to sculpt.  Recently I purchased a book by Tama Kieves called Inspired and Unstoppable and thought I would share some parts or thoughts with you.

The dictionary explanation of inspiration is "the creative impulse of an artist to be inspired is to be stimulated to have a motivating power".

Impulse...the sudden desire to do something

Create...to bring into being.

What inspires me to work on an animal, I either love that animal, its movements have caught my attention to detail or its grace, stealth or action.  I have a passion for animals and even its ugliness sometimes can be beautiful.  I at the same time feel a peacefulness or challenged depending on the difficulty of the piece.

Start each day with a plan, a positive attitude and a gratitude for the gift you have been given...the day  the talent and the passion. One day I began work and had the music flowing and the creative juices going and actually accomplished quite a bit that day...what was the trick...go figure.

Artist are enigma in their attitude.

Are you jerked around by outside influences or do you have a plan each day?

Tama has such great thoughts:

"Let go of proving, striving, panting and always...needing to win".  "I am succeeding just by being on this journey".  If anything Tama knows how to use words to give you a visual like no other for instance..."we keep looking for the brownies, but this is a path of bread, sustenance in the everyday activities, rising in the task at hand". Also "tending even the pieces of lint in the belly button of my business", I would love to have that on a tee shirt.

Best quote pertaining to artist in her entire book though is..."you have to unzip your ducksuit, that waterproof layer that insulates you from allowing in praise and recognition."

Thank you Tama, for an ex-lawyer you are a fantastic mentor.

Snuggle Bunnies

This is actually a piece that I had sitting around for quite some time trying to decide the constant question of...is this art or is it just cutesy.


top view of bunnies

front view of bunnies

I decided that some people might like cute and not have an attitude about the controversy.

A few summers ago I found a tiny bunny in my back yard and knew instantly that I had to do a piece involving rabbits.

I was quickly reminded of a time long ago when our family collie used to bring up little baby rabbits in her mouth very gently depositing them on the steps. She was a natural mother and did not realize that they would die being almost hairless at that time.



shows wax of bunnies

This was like a lot of my pieces, it was an act of love and went very quickly and lesson learned is to trust your instinct on what will be attractive to patrons and what will not.  It has done rather well even though it has not been on the market but a few months and many patrons have even picked their own patina which makes it even more personal for them.

Snuggle Bunnies Ed 5/15

traditional patina

showing without the base which could be an option for patron

my favorite

This shows the unmolded wax ready to be sprued and poured at the foundry. This is also a good view of the wax piece and the mold I had just taken it out of which would also show the high ridges that are in the negative (mold) which you have to deal with when pouring.  You pour the first time with 200 degrees to pick up detail and then thereafter you get cooler and cooler until you actually have to spoon pour the edge of the ridge to get it to adhere. Just remember you do not want your wax too thick 1/8th of an inch is fine....about 3 or four pours.

This also shows the versatility of the patina and the change in the affect. There is such a difference in the opaque and the translucent patina.  My favorite is the last Snuggle Bunnies in the close up.  This just goes to show that you can not only produce cute art but you can enjoy and have fun with it also.

Moose, moose, only a mother could love!

I have been working hard on finishing a moose and doing the research on this animal was just as much fun as doing the actual clay work.

desktop armature for Moose

This is the armature I have chosen for the piece I am currently working on, as you can see I have surrounded myself with not only my own research photograhs but anything I can get my hands on with a moose shown. 

As my son says though you can not take bits and pieces of each you have to decide exactly what season it will be and at what point in time you are depicting. Also with moose they differ so much in each region that you have to be careful not to use the wrong example.You can use your pictures for reference but have to create your own sculpture, otherwise it may look as though you have taken pieces of different puzzles and tried to glue them together.



moose without horns

I first decided that I wanted a mature bull, Alaskan or upper 65th parallel, they are 7 to 8 feet at the shoulder there and the horn formation is quite interesting and can be almost bazarre. I also wanted it to be walking among river rocks which I myself love.

Researching Moose for Piece



This would be a small guy compared to Alaska Moose



Recently in my research to do a moose piece I came across a wonderful book "Moose Behavior, Ecology and Conservation", text by Valerius Geist and photography by Michael H. Francis.

Besides the wonderful photography I found the text so educational that I thought I would pass it along. "A century ago American wildlife was all but gone" "overshadowed by World War I was the birth of North America's continental system of wildlife conservation...wildlife flourished...species once barely alive flourished."

learning to use my Canon digital

"Science was enshrined as a guide to proper public wildlife management".  Thereby entered a unique profession, the wildlife biologist, restoring through intelligent management and for most I have met a passion for the wildlife they conserve. I have had the wonderful pleasure of working with these professionals as a volunteer and have never met a biologist that was not passionate about their work.

Another team to watch in their wonderful photography and reading are Erwin Bauer and wife Peggy, artist or just wildlife lovers have ultimate books to refer or browse through and enjoy

Hopefully any one reading this blog realizes the importance of game management  and continue the legacy begun by our great grand parents. Next time you are buying pesticides or cleaning agents there are numerous new products out there that will not harm our environment or our wildlife and children...leave the legacy in tact.

Thanks to all the wonderful authors that enlighten us and remind us to treat the earth and its wildlife with respect and to also remember John Muir's quote:

"When we tug on a single thing in nature we find it attached to everything else." John Muir