My Art in Clients' Yards

Many of the folks who buy my art keep them indoors: on a shelf, a wall or hanging from the ceiling. I promise to do a future post which presents some  of these. Today I have chosen three  representative pieces to illustrate how my patrons choose display my work on their properties. I had a personal reaction as I picked them. They were executed more than twenty years ago and struck me as cruder than my current work. However, they are fun ( Bottle Heron, Blue Marlin and Farmer's Goat)!

 

 

 

 Human figures in brass assemblage

Brass parts collected from various sources and assembled using brass nuts, bolts and stainless steel lock washers. I have chosen four diverse examples. The top one is comprised of curtain hardware and portrays my dad in an angry state. The second I made for my mother to represent a Javanese dancer. Next a1950's traffic policeman was created from lock parts and a spring for  his hair. Finally, when it was requested that I produce work to display as part of a multi-media tribute to Dada, I fabricated the family at bottom and their pet. For this the elements were primarily lamp parts with plant pot bases.

 

 

 Non-Ferrous Assemblage: Mask Project

I selected parts of various metals to represent facial features. These elements were then placed on a selection of "heads". This is the design stage. By mechanical means these will be fixed to each other. All the examples below will be subject to alterations during the remaining process: the final look of each is currently undetermined. In a future post I will present some of the finished masks and share some of the challenges of connecting the elements.

Logos For Businesses

I have done many logos for my favorite establishments over the last 29 years. Most have been as gifts, some unsolicited. The reactions of the proprietors has been decidedly mixed and it has not been  lucrative.  Although my hope is for them to be displayed; several owners "lost" them. My vanity was affected by this lack of gratitude until about 10 years ago. Now I make them with no expectations. My greatest logo was probably one I made for a hairstylist that had a light in it and was on a main street until the studio closed. (see bottom photo).

                                   

                                                         

 Early Wood Carvings

While living in Anchorage for a year (1986-87) I had the opportunity to be in a woodcarvers club. Some old hands took me under their wing and after a fashion I made some OK sculptures. It was satisfying, fostered patience and sharpened my focus as an artist. The bas-relief salmon was early on and the grizzly "in the round" was my final piece with the club.

 Challenge of the Human Face

Human facial features are complex. Attempting to make the head of a famous or recognizable person is a challenge. When a coworker approached me to make a gift for her spouse who is a philosophy professor I was initially daunted. Socrates head? I freaked out, but accepted the challenge. I used a host of images, including in profile. It is a stainless steel armature, covered with silver colored copper wire and stands about 16 inches tall.

 

 Elephant Calf Project

An admirer of my work put a big box of grey sheathed wire on our porch. For years it languished until I was asked about elephants. Somehow I thought grey would be a good color and I remembered a heavy steel form which was lying about. You will also see the bottom airflow grill from a refrigerator that died in the series of photos which follow. Hopefully the progression of the work will be clearly shown and of interest.

 

 

This piece is currently on a bench outside a bakery near our home!