Lessons from our bullfrog.

Background -

About eight years ago we converted our small 15,000 gallon swimming pool into a water lilie, goldfish, koi pond. It was a family event Curtis Griffin and Sage all helped with the manual labor.  Like life, and beautiful art a beautiful pond is a matter of balance. For the pond all you need is  good algae (bacteria), green plants and animal life and the water will be perfectly clear.  Chemicals are not necessary. If you know me you know I really mean chemicals are not necessary. 

Back to the  bullfrog-

This little guy has lived in our pond for about six years. When he was just a tadpole I could get in the pond with my camera and photograph him from an arms distance. He is very wise and cautious now that he is older so we rarely see him. Today with the rain from hurricane Patricia he is out and about.  He is the perfect reminder that to have a balanced life you must embrace the moment and put yourself out there. Kind of like writing a bog I mean blog. 

"murmur of water" post I-Dealing with an uncomfortable drawing assignment.

I did this monumental for a drawing class. I am taking the class at MFAH Glassell Studio school. Brian Portman is the instructor as well as a very accomplished artist and I really like his work. His advice in class has always been spot on. I have immense respect for his work and his comments about my work. He has always given me a lot of freedom and I really like drawing whatever strikes me. 

This semester he gave me an assignment. (Not what I was expecting)

When I first read this assignment I wanted to find a way to get out of it. The assignment was to study the work of an established artist and then do a series of drawings. The idea of trying to be like someone else - literally made the hair in the back of my neck stand up. I just did not like the idea of drawing "like" another artist. The whole concept made me very uncomfortable. Very very uncomfortable. I have been working very hard to find my own style, trying not to have the trained look, trying to see if there is anything natural that is good about how I draw, trying to find out if I have a gift to express a feeling through a line?  That said (after a mental battle with myself)   I decided to roll with it (do what makes you the most uncomfortable is my new motto at 58 years old) - My way of dealing with my comfort level was to  learn about an artist whose work looks very different than what I am currently doing and see what the results are??????? 

I studied Sean Scully who draws/paints huge monumentals of stripes.

In case you are not familiar with Sean Scully's work I have attached below a screen shot of images that come up when you google Sean Scully.

Screen shot of Sean Scully images on Google.  

"murmur of water" is my expression of monumental stripes.  (I decided since I was doing a monumental that I did not have to do a series)

 I think I found a new me. Thank you Brian for making me try something new. 

murmur of the water  

charcoal,  pastel,  ink and paint 

79" X50" 

Tomorrow's post will follow my process step by step. Sign up to receive the post by email at the end of the blog on my website. www.cindeeklement.com

shake shake shake -Katrina

8" X 10" lenticular print for the Lawndale art centers 28th annual Dia de los muertos auction tonight.

Headstand sculpture #8

I cleaned up the tallest figure, shaped the fingers and feet and attached the cup that the bronze will be poured into.  

Me holding the cup checking for drips  

The shirt I am wearing is made from red mattress ticking. I found it at the antique mall in Austin. I think it is a 1960's Weatern shirt. I just love it.  

Detail of the back, neck and shoulders

I want these pieces to be expressive full of whimsy and energy so I have intentional left them what I call unfinished, unpolished. The red wax is armature peaking thru. 

Gust- post #1

In 2013  I had an idea for a sculpture composed of a series of bronzes hats caught in a gust of wind. As the hat blows, and tumbles it changes shape. I could visualize the cool abstract shapes the wind could force the hat into. I have a lot of experience with wind as I grew up in the west Texas town of El Paso and spent my early years on a Cotton farm in Dell City, Texas. I am all too familiar with the power the wind can have.  

The last piece of the series in wax. The last piece is completely  flattened. This last piece may end up flat against a wall. 

Here is the piece sprued up. I have attached the system that will create the cavity the bronze travels through to get into the sculpture.  

Blind vents in place  

Above I have attached the blind vents that will allow the gasses to exit when the bronzes is poured.  

Below I have added the return vents. When the bronze fill the piece the gases will exit the piece through the cavities created by these last two cents.  

Return vents added

To see how this piece develops  subscribe to the blog at the end of the last post on my website blog. Cindeeklement.com

Drawing experiment post #3 the abstraction

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#10

Drawing experiment post #2 the abstraction

Step #2 draw a few abstracts of the same object that I drew a rendering of.

Rendering of hat  

"Heritage rendering" 

48" X  50" 

The first abstraction  

"heritage - simple abstract"

30" X 22" 

ink

I also did a "scream" parady (not for public view), very goofy. 

I ended up drawing 16 plus abstractions of hats. I decided to change to the second hat in my sculpture series "Gust".  Some of these drawings are temporarily on exhibit at Glassell near the drawing class.

Glassell near drawing room. 

I will post a few of these separately.  It took me about 12 hats until I loosened  enough to get something I liked. Looking back at these drawings in  order you can see the gradual changes I made in strokes and materials. When I compare the first with the last  I realize why abstract art is so interesting. 

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From wax to a bronze sculpture I

It will take several post to cover this topic. 

Wax sculpture (still thinking of names but for now I am liking sweet serendipity).  

 Step 1- I will make a ceramic shell of the wax sculpture. Then I will burn the wax out of the shell and pour in the bronze.  But first I have to add a system  of wax channels to the piece in order to have a way to get the bronze into the ceramic shell.  I made a wax cup and attached a 1" wax sprue to the bottom of the cup. The sprue is used to attach the cup to the sculpture. The cup will be the opening the bronze is poured into. I  inserted a hanger into the cup to use to hold the piece while building the ceramic shell.   Now that I have a channel to get the bronze in the sculpture I need  channels to get the gases out. If you don't get the gases out you will have air pockets and the bronze will not fill the piece. Since the bronze will push the gases through the piece I will attach sprues at the bottom and attach them to the top of the cup. I attached small sprues to tiny areas like fingers to make sure gases do not block the bronze from filling the shell. 

This piece is ready to start dipping and building up the shell. The Glassell foundry is having growing pains and it will be a few weeks until I can start dipping this piece. You can sign up at the end of  the blog to get emails if you want to make sure you do not miss any steps of this blog post.

Drawing experiment

Drawing assignment - experiment with rendering and then abstraction.  Step one  - draw a rendering of a common object. Not my favorite thing but I have decided to embrace new ideas even when I am not fond of them.  

I drew  a black and white MONUMENTAL rendering  of one of my bronze hats "heritage".  I drew it from a photo Curtis took of the piece  while it was on exhibit at Kinder Morgan last 2014.

Photo of "heritage" on exhibit at Kinder Morgan

In my drawing I decided to exaggerate the shadows - as the photo is very well lit and there are few shadows.  I do not really enjoy rendering and it was all I could do to not draw it in a more spontaneous style. I guess experiments should make you feel uncomfortable............................. 

Sadly I fudged from a realistic rendering- just could not make the beast in me  just - render.  

A day after I drew the hat I took a long look at the drawing   -   I think it already looks abstracted probably because the hat is about 3' tall and the exaggerated contrast is harsh.  I have maybe failed the 1st step of the experiment. 

The class instructor Brian Portman very subtly suggested I add a touch of color. My experience with Brian's suggestions is that he is knows what he is talking about. I decided to add a touch of walnut oil. I think it was the perfect add.  Brian is not only a gifted artist but a great instructor. 

 "rendering of heritage"    With the walnut oil

 Step two will be in an upcoming post. You can sign up to receive post in your email at the very end of the blog. 

Headstand post #7 more armature

I have had problems with gravity making the legs sag. Now that I know how I am going to arrange them they can not change. In order to insure they don't sag I am going to add sprues supported by dowels between the extended parts of each piece.  

Me reinforcing the armature at the new temporary foundry/sculpture studio at Glassell. I love this place and the people. 

Headstand sculpture post #6

Thursday I decided on a composition of the three pieces that I like. I apologize for the horrible picture  I was working at Glassell and there was not a great place to take a picture of the composition. 

Composition of three pieces together.  

Taking time - to ponder the right title of work.

Coming up with titles for art can be a circuitous activity for me. Some titles are easy but some are not so obvious. I struggle over what I should name each drawing, sculpture and series. I ask everyone for their opinion, I make lists and study them, I google everything that might be associated with a title, I ask for suggestions on Facebook and Instagram. I search   until I am satisfied I have a title that is meaningful for me and suiting for the piece. Many artist use the title "untitled" and I sometimes wonder if it is better to let the viewer see the piece without the influence of the label the artist chooses. When I saw the title of the above piece

"Caballo montado por el tiempo" Salvador Dali 1980 simply translated is "Horse ridden by time"

 I  was disappointed. 

A bronze galloping horse with a melting clock - I expected it to be as artfully titled at a minimum as "The persistence of Memory". The feeling of disappointment is not what I want people to take away after viewing my art. As time consuming as it maybe -  the time it takes  contemplating  the right "title of work" in my opinion is time worth taking. 

Headstand sculpture post #5 -third piece

I finally made progress on the third character. When completed the sculpture will be a composition of 3 young children attempting to balance on their heads. I am hoping to be able to capture how the energy and balance of each child effects the others. I took many years of ballet and gymnastics when I was younger and I found it interesting to see one person loose balance  and then everyone loose their balance  without anyone touching. The force or the energy between objects that you can't see is what I am hoping to capture with these playful pieces. 

I I will post the day to day progress on my website blog. At the end of the blog there is a place to sign up for the email.  

shake shake shake - chocolate IV - Tank

shake shake shake - chocolate IV

walnut oil, and ink on Stonehenge  

30" X 22" 

Headstand sculpture post #4 -second piece.

I started this project this August and was sidetracked, however today I made some progress on the second headstand. When completed the sculpture will be a composition of 3 young children attempting to balance on their heads. I am hoping to be able to capture how the energy and balance of each child effects the others. I took many years of ballet and gymnastics when I was younger and I found it interesting to see one person loose balance  and then everyone loose their balance  without anyone touching. The force or the energy between objects that you can't see is what I am hoping to capture with these playful pieces. 

I love little girls with pigtails.  

I will continue to post the progress of this sculpture on my website blog under headstand sculpture. At the end of the blog you can sign up for the email.  

shake shake shake - chocolate III

shake shake shake - chocolate III

walnut oil and ink on Stonehenge  

30" X  22" 

Headstand sculpture post #6- solution to sculptures falling

I have had problems with these headstand sculptures falling. I have to work on each piece separately and also with them as a unit tweeking  them here and there. And sometimes they fall breaking arms, and necks. It is very irritating. Today I figured out a way to work on them individually and as a group and still be able to move them around. I stuck tooth picks in their heads and glued them firmly with hot sticky glue. 

Then I took a styrofoam ice chest and stick the toothpicks into the styrofoam. This allows me to work with the positioning of the three pieces.  

Ice chest

Now I can play with the placement of the three headstands. Below are a few trials but none that I like. 

I will continue to post the progress of this project. To receive the post by email go to the very end of my website blog.  

Armature

Yikes! another head stand incident. You can't under estimate good armature

Back to work.  

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Houston's arts plan-

Houston should be leading the country in arts grants. See the link below to a great article and must read for artist in Texas. 

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/City-arts-plan-calls-for-boost-in-financial-6569396.php

These numbers are  interesting but unimportant if they are not apples to apples.   - the full graph is in the article 

shake shake shake - chocolate II

shake shake shake - chocolate II

walnut oil, and ink on Stonehenge