Tools of the Trade

In order for any sculptor to be able to complete a piece they must have proper tools even though I have seen amazing work done from stone with no pneumatics.

My work is very detailed and it is due to the many tools that I use,

This tool is so versatile that it is a great choice

 but honestly 90% of all my work is done with one tool I have had over fifteen years. The one is shown above and has a rounded flat tip and the other a pointed end (the wood is soft so it does not scar an area it smoothes it just as your finger might if it could reach that spot.)



when you are working it helps to keep clay warm

nice for adding a crisp straight edge



I use anything for texture, here lava rock

At the beginning of a work your most constant tools are calipers.  You will end up with several different sizes and use all of them.



great for tiny eye detail

You are constantly forming and measuring the piece in its infancy.   Your clay is kept warm so it is easily worked. I show a picture of a heat box that I warm my Chavant with in order to keep working.  This is easily constructed out of an old box with a hole cut into the side and the little heater you see sitting in the box. Chavant is great when warm to get texture and detail and also strong enough when cold to hold a fine edge when being molded.

I have also used non-tools, what I consider my unique texture tools.  It has so far consisted of waded up foil, lava rocks, tooth brushes and scratchy wash cloths as well as anything else I happen upon that leave an unusual pattern.

When you find the style and size of the work you like to do then adapt the tools to meet your needs.  But keep an open mind not all tools need to be purchased....even the rough edge of a bottle cap can work!
 

wire cutters are a have to have

magnifying device used for tiny details

Pedestal I use and lazy susan

This is my traveling pedestal my little brother made this  easy to throw in my Subaru forester and demo at shows

I

all sizes will be used

Just remember anything can be a tool, if you see the need just put your thinking cap on and more than likely it is in the garage or somewhere just begging to be used (even if it was not made for that reason, just don't tell the husband).
 

Entering Show (Requirements)

 Kenai Crossing

Rimrock Muley

 

Many shows now require more than one shot of a particular entry therefore you should plan in the very beginning  putting your portfolio together to meet this requirement.

 

We talked earlier in another post about the requirements of the size of pixels  and this just further references the ongoing changes in the demands of shows.

 

 

This is another example of the type of requirement for the shows, it is a view of exactly what they can expect from my booth.  The only thing missing is the tall studio chair that I place in the back row that places me on the same level as my patrons so that I can actively participate in any conversation without moving into the patrons space. I actually have 12 pedestals that I re-arrange to complete the needed arrangement for my particular space. The arrangement is completely determined by the number of pieces I take to a show.

You don't want to overwhelm the viewer but you want them to feel welcome and able to explore the inner tent and your work.

Sad Past Week

As some of you may know I was to be in Estes Park for their Art Festival this past weekend. Thurs. morning it began raining terribly and I communicated with one of the organizers of the show to get some feedback.  She decided that possibly she would contact especially those coming from out of state since they would be in the process of leaving if not already headed our direction that she felt that it was going to be too wet to even set up our tents much less have the traffic expected.

Luckily we did not make that journey up the Big Thompson Canyon that next day and also woke to find Greeley and surrounding area a virtual lake.  We watched as it crept closer to our hill we reside on and wondered about those unfortunate enough to live along the Platte River which was already well beyond its banks.

It has been so sad to see the homeless, the destruction and the death of several people caught in this completely unexpected experience.  We had been experiencing so much drought this summer that I don't feel anyone could have anticipated what has happened.

Today is the first bit of sunshine we have had since last Wed. but all it does is let us see the destruction around us.

The canyon I love so much is destroyed in places and people are dead, missing or have had their homes and all belongings wiped away....it is almost too much to comprehend.  I pray that the people in small towns like Lyons, Estes, Evans and even Orchard and beyond can come together and let those of us that did not feel the lose help....right now though it seems so massive.  Those that were on the flood plain will probably not be allowed to rebuild and a lot did not even have flood insurance.  A count updated today was that it damaged 19,000 homes.

Please pull up the newscast on internet and even on Facebook for the pictures taken from the air, it will blow you over but hopefully it will also make you feel grateful....not for the possessions that you have but for the loved ones you have.

Look, look and look again!

I have probably spoken about this before but it warrants repeating many more times.

It is one of my worst faults, that of creating as if I am on a time slot and not paying attention to some of the most important rules - measuring then re-measuring and keep re-measuring until a piece is done and even then re-measuring.

I don't care how good you are, measuring takes all doubt away.

Often when you are working on a piece you get so lost in tunnel vision you forget the entire piece and just focus on the eye or neck or antler that you are interested.

Recently one of my "who" people that I love dearly went down to see what I was working on and "kindly put" explained how I had two different animals going on in one body. (If you missed my blog about the "who" in your life go back and read "another great powerful read".)

I realized I had been so intent on getting my favorite part just so that I had neglected to continue to re-measure to give it a balanced look.  Your eye is fickle when it comes to your work and convinces you all is well and all is perfect.

This goes back to what I have said about taking photo's of your progress (often photos make you admit something isn't right).  Use your mirrors in the corner (one on one wall opposite another on the other wall) so you can see it in the round.  Often just covering it each night can also spring the truth on you the next day.

This reminds me of the old saying "do what I say don't do what I do".  Why do I hurry, who knows, I think our world rushes so therefore.....

WHY CREATE IF YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE TO TEAR IT ALL DOWN AND START OVER AGAIN!

More good reads!

Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart by Gordon Livingston

"The three components of happiness are something to do, someone to love, and something to look forward to."

How many of us are living with all three??Those of you that are doing some type of creativeness I know are full filling at least two of these, hopefully...something to do and something to look forward to, if you are not then you need to re-think your creative outlook. You should get up every morning with an intention...something you are going to research, something you are going to create or something that you are passionate about that you are going to turn into an object of art.

"we are responsible for most of what happens to us"

"Happiness is not simply the absence of despair.  It is an affirmative state in which our lives have both meaning and pleasure."  Bruce Poon Tip

Living Big, Pam Grout

"What would I do if I knew I couldn't fail?"

"Not to dream more boldly may turn out to be , in view of present realities, simply irresponsible" George Leonard

Patch Adams "don't live in other people's ruts".

"we are visitors on this planet...during this period we must try to do something goo, something useful without lives" Dalai Lama

I am fortunate to have all three, something to do, someone to love, and something to look forward to and I wish that for all of you.

"There is no greater waste than to live an ordinary life.  There is nothing more tragic than a person who has lost their magic" Mark Eberra

All of us have a choice to be Happy, it is choices, choices, choices......make them wisely.

What and why do people buy?

I recently was reading Fine Art Connoisseur and there was an article from B. Eric Rhoads, publisher and he hit on some very basic facts.

"Though it is impossible to specify exactly why an artwork sells, I do know that when you buy a piece of art, you are usually buying what author Malcolm Gladwell calls the tipping point - the accumulation of 10,000 hours of experience.  You are buying the artists personality and passion, years of mentorship, study and experimentation, thousands of failures, moments of frustration and joy, and worries about how to make a living".

"Today more than ever, we tend to get caught up in status and resale values, when we should actually focus on the fact that art is personal, reflective of the person who created it, and appropriate for the person buying it.  Unlike most non-essential purchases, artworks are forms of expression and intercommunication that live on long after the maker and the consumer".

"You are also buying what that artwork does for you.  Its stimulation of an emotion or a memory is surely worth more than its investment value, though it is nice to imagine that someday your heirs may benefit tangibly from that value."

"So what are you buying, really?  I am not sure it can be articulated definitively, but you'll know it - feel it - when it happens."

Rimrock Muley

Quite often I find an animal that is just fantastic in every stage of life that you just want to do it over and over again celebrating each stage.

I have loved mule deer ever since we moved to Colorado and I saw my first one.  It was up in the Rocky Mountain National Park and it was only a brief, fleeting moment but it was enough to tempt me to search for them frequently thereafter.

There are so many ways to depict an animal, at young stage, in the early stage of development and muscle and antler growth but then as you watch the animal development in years to come the antler development is awesome.

There are often antlers that develop after injury in a young animal and create a particularly unusual shape that stays with them their entire life every time they develop that years antlers. There are particular animals that their antler development is influenced by diet or environment.  You find a six or seven year old deer that has been feeding well and developed naturally and you will find a prize worth a thousand pictures, paintings, and cries out to be sculpted.

 This particular muley had a nice set of antlers with stickers and added points to give him royalty and dignity.