Tag Archives: sculpture

More Work in Progress

The next steps in creating my art dolls depend on where and how the sculptures will ultimately be displayed. I have been working on both outdoor “garden dolls” and some new pedestal top pieces for gallery display.

A garden sculpture obviously needs to be constructed to withstand the elements, and live happily outdoors. The skeleton of the figure below titled “Tend” will be kneeling in a garden space tending to the plants around her. Her dress will consist of cast concrete that will fill up the chicken wire frame.

Skeleton form of garden doll "Tend"

Skeleton form of garden doll “Tend”

“Contemplate” is a gallery doll that is a reimagined version of an earlier piece titled “Driving in Reverse.” This steampunk styled doll has a padded wire skeleton and hand stitched clothing. A pair of boots and some additional mechanical elements will complete this piece.

Art doll "Contemplate" still under construction.

Art doll “Contemplate” thinking now about some shoes and accessories.

Next time… some finished pieces to look at.

 

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Works in Progress

Travels during July kept studio time down a bit, so I thought I’d share shots of art dolls in progress this week.  I’m busy working on a couple of outdoor “garden dolls” for a fall show, and building gallery inventory back up from recent sales.

Each face starts as a disk of copper that I cut from 16 oz stock, flame anneal, and hammer into shape. Cutting, sanding and polishing bring each face to completion.

annealed copper disk with face outline

Annealed copper disk with face outline

Hammering face into shape

Hammering a face into shape

Copper face after shaping and polishing

Copper face after shaping and polishing

Eyes are fashioned from copper or brass headed fasteners onto which I torch fire powdered glass enamels.  By mixing opaque and transparent colors I can achieve an infinite variety of colors.

Hands I shape from copper tubing hammered and cut to form the sculpture’s wrist, palm, and four of the fingers.  Wire brazed into a notch cut on the side of the palm forms each thumb.

Close up of the hands of "Whee!"

Close up of the hands of “Whee!”

Next week I’ll share a few more bits and pieces.

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Show Tonight

Just enough time this afternoon to send out one additional “hope to see you” for this evening, Friday from 6-9. All of the gallery rooms at the Hillsborough Gallery of Arts have been rehung so there is new work to be seen everywhere, not just my new art dolls and the wonderful new paintings by Linda Carmel, and Marcy Lansman. The show, Attention to Detail is bright and bold.

Attention to detail

A few sneak peek shots of Attention to detail

All of Hillsborough will be out and about during Last Friday. music on the courthouse steps starts at 6. And there will be lots to do and see as usual.

Got to go and get the second batch of cheese straws out of the oven for he reception tonight.

An Invitaion

Postcard for July Featured Artists at HGA

Postcard for July Featured Artists at the Hillsborough Gallery of Arts

It’s time once again to invite you all to the Hillsborough Gallery of Arts to see what I’ve been working on in the studio. Of course if you’ve been reading along here on the blog, you’re already quite up to date, but nothing is better than seeing the work in person. Not to mention, a mid-summer opening during the Last Friday festivities in Hillsborough always provides lots do do and see.

As you see on the postcard for Attention to Detail, my figure sculpture art dolls are featured this year along side the paintings of Linda Carmel, and Marcy Lansman. Stop by and find how we each attend to detail in our work.

The show installs next Monday, and will accompany an entire gallery re-hang, so there will be new work from all HGA artists.  The opening reception is next Friday, July 25th from 6-9 pm.

I’ll be keeping this post short, as I have just enough time to get out in the studio and finish up one or two pieces that I left unfinished while away traveling last week.  Check out all of the new work next week, talk to an artist or two, and enjoy some refreshment. See you there.

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Taking My Art Dolls on the Road

This is the week that me and my art dolls are traveling to our first doll show.  The “road” in this case is only taking us 30 minutes away to Durham, but even short travel requires planning. Since the vast majority of my creations end up on pedestals in the Hillsborough Gallery of Arts, I don’t often have to think about display and sales materials.

This weekend my gallery will be a table top. This limited space requires a bit of work. Of course the most important element will be the sculptures themselves.  Some of the art dolls I will be taking are already on display, so I will be pulling them for the weekend. I picked up Garden Girl II from the UNC Botanical Gardens gift shop where she has been one of several small sculptures of mine available. For my pieces currently still on their Hillsborough Gallery pedestals I’ve created tent cards with images to take their place when I remove them tomorrow..

Garden Girl II art doll and tent cards

Garden Girl II and tent cards for gallery

Some pieces require special hardware.  Three of my art dolls are hanging pieces with nowhere to hang them on a table. I solved this problem with a little time in my metal studio. I welded a little swing set type display for them to hang from. The challenge with this piece of hardware was to make sure it was strong and sturdy enough while still remaining relatively unobtrusive.

Display stand for hanging dolls

“Swing set” display stand for hanging dolls

Many other dolls have either custom stands I have constructed for them, or display blocks that they sit on.  Rounding out our travel preparation list will be sales materials, artist cards and promotional materials, information about the Hillsborough Gallery, and all my packing and transport stuff.

I think that I have everything together, but I may just check my list once or twice more.  As I wrote last week, if you would like to visit us on the road we will be at the R.O.S.E. International Doll Show Down East this Thursday through Sunday, June 18-22 at the Sheraton Imperial in Durham.

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Art Dolls New, Old, and Visiting a Show

Here are the latest two art dolls to emerge from my studio this week.

art doll Mia

Mia

art doll mystic

Mystic

 

Mia is a throwback to an earlier piece titled Mimi. As with the earlier piece, Mia is a simple figure seated on the ground that I have had a bit of fun costuming.  Rich fabrics and “jewels” are contrasted with her very steampunk aluminum arms and copper neckline.

Mystic is a seated figure that started out in one direction, and ended up somewhere else as a result of the fabrics I chose.  Mystic also gained quite the collection of jewelry as it seemed almost necessary to match her fabulous copper shoes.

As I wrote about last week, these two new dolls, along with my entire collection of figures currently available for sale, will be attending the R.O.S.E. International Doll Show Down East – June 18-22 at the Sheraton Imperial in Durham.  This will be an interesting experience for me as it is both the first doll show I am bringing my work to, and it is mainly geared at an audience that collects/creates sculpted baby dolls.  My pieces may very well be the only art dolls there.  Only time will tell if that distinction will be good or bad, but the fact that a doll show was being held 30 minutes from home seemed to beg me to at least check it out. If you are in the area and want to check  it out, I’ll be at table #36 on the exhibit floor.

 

 

New Work, Shows, and the Concrete

This week I am turning my attention and energy into high gear getting ready for a couple of shows.  The first will take place in a couple of weeks in Durham NC.  It will be the first time I have attended an art doll show.  Even though most of the dolls  that will be in that show are not the type of figure sculpture art dolls that I create, it will still be interesting to see how they are received by a non-gallery audience.  It is also a very different display format than I am used to, so my mind is full of table display ideas and projects too,

That doesn’t mean that I haven’t been busy in the studio as well.  I have two dolls that I have just completed this week.  The first is simply named Lily.  She is seated and appears to be thinking about something. She has an expression as if she is just about to tell you something very interesting.

art doll Lily

Lily

The second doll is Garden 1.  She is the first of a series of indoor or outdoor art doll sculptures.  I cast her torso in concrete using a discarded beverage bottle for a form. I think she would look as great sitting within a flower bed, as on some indoor display space.

art doll Garden 1

Garden 1

Both will make their debut in Durham at the Down East Doll Show June 18-22.

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Another Mask and a Bit of Concrete

I had started working on a second doll with an enameled mask even before the recent sale of her predecessor “Carnivale”.  Taking my hand hammered copper faces to a new place with the addition of torch fired enamel provides a multitude of new design and color options.

Mirro Mask art doll

Mirror Mask art doll

This doll, Mirror Mask, has an additional bit of intrigue for the viewer.  Where Carnivale was wearing her mask and only allowed a glimpse of her enameled eyes, Mirror Mask has pulled her mask slightly away from her face.  What the viewer glimpses behind is their own image in a mirror. With her hair piled high and bejeweled, and her peacock hued gown and walking stick, she’s obviously off to a very interesting ball.

The other piece I’ve been working on this week goes in a different direction.  While still technically an art doll, she will be one that can reside inside or out.  I have several shows coming up in the next few months, and at least one takes place in a garden setting.  I’ve decided to create some “garden dolls” for that show. the torso of the first is cast concrete utilizing a recycled plastic bottle for my form.  She is still curing in my outside workspace, so ill wait to share an image of her in my next post.

 

 

Not Quite Done

art doll Fly

Fly

I’ve been working on several projects in the studio this week. With copper faces and other “bits and pieces”, all of my art dolls have a steampunk flavor to them, but some obviously more than others.  “Fly” certainly fits into that category.

I find that I time and again return to the theme of details in these small figure sculptures, and that these sometimes lead in a direction not originally intended.  With “Fly”I began with the intention of creating an updated version of an earlier piece that was captured in the motion of taking off herself.  When I had Fly just about done, and was preparing to take photographs, she appeared unfinished.  She to need a job to do.  Apparently she is the steampunk fairy that helps newly emerged butterflies and moths to fly themselves.

art doll Lady of the wood

Lady of the Wood

This second art doll will be titled Lady of the Wood.  She was created in response to an art doll challenge.  I’m not quite sure if she is complete yet.  After looking at her photos I felt that there is still something she needs.  I’ll share a full length photo when I figure out what that something is.

For both of these dolls I think that I will be changing their positioning, as each seems to require a bit more animation .  I guess another photo session is in the future of both.

Posting and Sharing

art doll - Reading

Reading

I just finished setting up a Flickr feed as another place to share images of my art dolls.  Why? Like many artists I try to increase the exposure of my work to a wider audience.  Exactly the best way to do this online is a question I see raised often.  If I’m to believe the greatest portion of my blog comments and replies (spam) some people have Search Engine Optimization and web promotion all figured out, and they are only too happy to help you increase yours… for a fee, of course.

The fact that the landscape keeps changing, and what worked last year no longer does, makes it even more challenging.  Anyone with a separate Facebook fan page for their work knows that now even those who had taken the time to “like” your page probably don’t see your posts on their news feed.  You have to pay to “boost” your posts, or run ads for that to happen.  I got another such surprise when I went to add a new image to my Fine Art America page last week.  As a 3D artists I never had any reason to use their paid service to sell prints or canvases of my work.  Recently, they limited the number of images that free users could have to 25.  I have about four times that already.  I’d have to sit and delete 75+ one at a time to add just one new piece of work.  You can upgrade to a premium account to address the issue. Needless to say, don’t check there for my new work.

Hopefully, some of the new things I’ve added like Pinterest boards and a Flickr stream, or that I’ve done like changing the way I name and tag images will help.  There are some things I’m still researching like coordinated Instagram and Twitter usage. Others, like opening an Etsy shop, I just don’t think are for me.

Right here where you are on my blog will remain the best way to keep up with what I’m working on, like “Reading” that I photographed earlier today.  If you’re an artist friend, share what you do or are trying to get your work out. I’d love to hear.