Materials ✅
More materials ✅
Experimenting with height and materials.
What does sound look like?
Using the Schlieren Flow Visualization method of photography, scientists photograph sound vibrations (even with them moving at 761.2 miles per hour.) NPR does a beautiful job of explaining this complicated process that scientists use to see sound. See link below-
https://www.npr.org/2014/04/09/300563606/what-does-sound-look-like
It is amazing and inspiring to see photographs/videos of sound. With this additional visual inspiration and conversations with art critic Laura Wellen and curator Kimberley Davenport, I have decided to create an installation in my new studio.
I have moved my “score” (working title) sculpture to my new studio.
Everything else is in a temporary storage facility
I will miss my dogs 😒
With some luck by the end of the summer my new studio will be filled with a 4D installation of the voice of the violin.
New studio
these vents are obnoxious
painting my vents
Faux bois Wedding gift ❤️❤️#1
January 3, 2018, our son Griffin married his soulmate, Alexandra Groome.
After the wedding at the Houston Arboretum.
As a wedding gift, Curtis and I gave them one of my early bronze sculptures “lovebirds”.
Bronze lovebirds welded to rebar.
The lovebirds are inspired by my grandparents Imogene Young Travis and Robert Francis Travis, (Granny Gene and Bob-pa). They were married in high school and remained married for 70 plus years. In their El Paso High School yearbook, their senior pictures faced each other and lovebirds were placed in the corners of each of their pictures.
photo of copies of the yearbook pages framed in my house.
The second part of the gift is to make them a faux bois bench for the love birds to sit on.
I am going to make each piece of the bench thinking about the two of them and the lessons I want to pass down from my grandparents and from my own marriage. It will be a reflection of the qualities of the love Griffin and Alex committed to each other that day on January 3rd, and will be a symbol of the characteristics needed to maintain a marriage for a lifetime. My plan is to have it completed by their first anniversary.
Design Considerations:
1. Griffin and Alex are both environmentalists, so I will recycle as much rebar from other projects as possible.
2. No marriage is ever perfectly balanced, so I will make the bench asymmetrical.
3. It will have arm rests for support - symbols of both of their families.
4. When things don’t work out exactly as planned, I will keep an open mind and make the best of the situation. The beauty will be in the imperfections as is life.
5. I will listen to their wedding playlist on Spotify as I work.
6. Griffin and Alex are very playful. The piece will reflect the joy they embrace life with.
I started on Thursday, June 15th. Griffin and Alex are both people-people. They are always reaching out to others and welcoming them into their home and world, they love to entertain. So I decided to make the seat of the bench the shape of open arms.
rebar welded into the shape of open arms that will eventually be the seat.
Next I need to set the seat on jack’s the correct height for comfortable seating. Every couple needs a good support group.
Marriage should be comfortable - The front is slightly higher than the back for comfort.
equality - I use a level to make sure the seat is level from side to side.
Grinding the tip of a piece of rebar cut for a leg.
With small taps I use a sledgehammer to make a gentle curve to a leg.
Next is to creat the armrest and back of the bench.
Four legs and two arm rest are welded to the seat.
Griffin and Alex are very fun loving and not inhibited at all to have a good time. The vines/branches that make up the back will embrace this side of them.
A little sketch of the armature and how it will look with concrete on it so far.
I might need to prune the crazy branch on the left side.
Photos 🙏🏽 title of work? and artist statement ?
photos by Nash Baker
Earlier this week I received the images taken of my sculpture. There is great satisfaction seeing this piece finally photographed. Many many thanks to Nash Baker for taking the time to get the perfect lighting and angles.
I am struggling with the title and the artist statement. This is where I am presently on the Artist statement for the piece. Some possible titles follow. I would appreciate any suggestions
”___________” A three deminsional depiction of the the passage of time through energy, produced by playing contemporary classical music. I was inspired by a long exposure photograph of my cousin, Arkansas Symphony Concert Master Andrew Irvin, that captured multiple images as he played his violin. I was struck by the simple back and forth movements of a bow, composed of horse hair, drawn across strings that create emotionally charged sounds. In this piece, the music radiates off the musician as he plays, as well as off the strings of the violin, sometimes like a painfully slow waltz, and sometimes with the sharpness of a quickstep. Working on the piece during the last weeks of my father’s life I examined each movement of the bow and the wire/sound that comes off the violin. Some warble and then end sharply like a tear running down a cheek. Others gently twist into a whisper that fades into a broken heart, and some linger and then pivot like a murmuration of birds and is set free, each movement triggering a unique emotion. I applied the concept of seeing multiple images, and seeing music as emotional energy in three dimensions. The piece is built on a steel armature covered in plaster, recycled wire cloth, and baling wire.
possible titles
Documents of Time’s passage
Rhythm
Oscillations
“Lost in time”
Sonata
Rhapsody
Movement
Interval
dimensions of time
Intervals in time
Sonatas of time
Scores in Time
score
Artspace111 Regional Juried Exhibition
I am so very fortunate to have work accepted and thrilled with the opportunity to show my work in the beautiful Artspace111 Gallery in Ft. Worth. It is a beautiful old warehouse, with really cool features. Christina Rees was the juror.
The following pieces will be in the Exhibition.
shake shake shake chocolate lV
shake shake shake chocolate II
Soaking up Montmartre- day 1 part 2
"Museums in Paris Behind Scenes: From Impressionism to Contemporary Art" Study Abroad ARH323 - day 1- part 2 Musée de Montmartre and Van Donge
Once the home studios for many artists notably Auguste Renoir, Suzanne Valadon and Émile Bernard as well as the fauve artists Emile Othon Friesz and Raoul Dufy. The museum is splattered with vintage posters that feature chats (cats in French) and French cancan dancers.
The contemporary dancers of the day inspired many of the artist.
the French Can-can
Dancing with chats
love this dog
This is hysterical. He could careless about those cats.
The studio of Suzanne Valadon, this is the most charming home studio you can imagine.
Gardens dedicated to Auguste Renoir surround the Museum of Montmartre. Such a pleasure and treat to imagine all the artist hanging out and chatting about shows and exhibits. A very intimate place.
I was still jet lagging and didn’t get enough good picks of the Van Donge exhibit.
Seeing faces at Dachau -
We recently toured the Dachau concentration camp. It was known as the S.S. “school for violence.” The facility is now a memorial to those who suffered and died at Dachau.
After seeing a few of the images in the memorial; I had to turn away. That is when I noticed that the immense suffering that was inflicted upon innocent people inside the walls of Dachau is not only told in the photos; it penetrated and lives in the structures of Dachau. The walls are scarred with the suffering. In every wall I saw the faces of pain, misery and stories that can not be ignored. Below are a few words That the images in the walls inspired.
Dachau
In the walls of Dachau
the sunken eyes of starvation still cry.
Through it’s cracks,
faces of fear still hold their breath.
In the walls of Dachau
the contorted faces of torture still moan.
Through it’s scars,
calls for tolerance plea to be heard.
In the walls of Dachau
the stripes of prisoners are held in respect.
Through it’s survivors,
stories are preserved and true heros are honored.
In the walls of Dachau.
Below are are some photos of the images I saw in the walls when I turned away.
sunken eyes of starvation
The fear seen in eyes of those confronted with the evils of humanity watch helplessly through cracks in the cement walls.
contorted face of torture
an emaciated body
face contorted in pain
human figures bent over in pain and suffering.
After you walk through the tortuous halls of the Dachau maintenance building and walk around to the front of the building there is a magnificent sculpture. It is an abstract figurative piece that beautifully expresses in monumental style the bodily harm endured by those who threatened the ideals supported by the S.S. .
In front of the sculpture is an additional memorial: The foundations of the 30 barracks that housed the prisoners of Dachau are each marked with a tombstone style market and numbered.
Soaking up dreams in New Athens, Paris-day 1-
"Museums in Paris Behind Scenes: From Impressionism to Contemporary Art" Study Abroad ARH323 - day 1- Musee Gustave Moreau
As I entered the late 19th century home studio of Gustave Moreau in the New Athens neighborhood of Paris, I imagined the artist greeting fellow artists, friends, curators and clients in the paneled, small and stuffy foyer and inviting them up the amazing winding staircase to his vast studio of dreams.
Gustave lived in his parent’s home and had a large studio on the top floor located in Nouvelle-Athènes (New Athens).
portrait of Gustave in front of the winding staircase.
Gustave is an artist of dreams, and as dreams go, some are clear and crisp while others are blurred. But as you look closer at his monumental works, he not only tells the stories of his dreams in exacerbating detail, he abstracts parts of the paintings while drawing on top of them with ink. His techniques are very interesting for an artist of his times. I really admire him for the beautiful job he does of connecting man or womankind with animal-kind, something that is lacking in the world I live in.
Notice the movement in the abstracted bulls head, The blurred horns and ears.
both figures are abstracted
see the elephants drawn over the abstract shapes giving them movement and detail.
You have to love anyone who dreams of unicorns.
This running horse almost Japanese
a man an his goat
After soaking up Gustave you can tour the tiny living spaces in the home. and get a good idea of how Gustave spent his time daydreaming when he was not painting or maneuvering paintings in and out of the windows.
We are all art sponges.
Jean Dubuffet, Le danseur
M.N.A.M., Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (France)
Curtis and I signed up for the course, "Museums in Paris Behind Scenes: From Impressionism to Contemporary Art" Study Abroad ARH323.
Yesterday was our last day. It was such an intense immersion that I have not had time to recap the trip. I will do my best to recount the experience over the next several weeks.
There is truly no educational art history experience that can compare with a trip to Paris with art historian Anna Tahinci, PhD, Professor and Head of Art History at The Glassell School of Art, MFAH The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
Anna Tahinci, Curtis and me in Monet’s kitchen in Giverny.
Not to mentioned the group is made up of artists who are addicted to art (many from the BLOCK studio program) some of their partners, docents of the museum, teachers Patrick Palmer, Dean of the school, and enamel teacher/Artist Jan Harrell. Everyone was heavily focused on the where, the when, the why, and the how. We were all sponges eager to soak up some art history.
We started the class with a fabulous dinner at the opulent Le train Bleu. It was an opportunity to talk with the other artist on the trip and learn about their work and interests. Our group ranged from minimalist sculptors to abstract and surreal painters, ceramicists, architects, and digital photographers. We came from many areas, such as Venezuela, Taiwan, California, the Midwestern US, West Texas, and New Orleans Just to Name a few.
Here are some of the art sponges and partners at dinner.
photo courtesy of Lynn Sullivan via Facebook
More art sponges exiting the Pompidou- Patrick Palmer, Ginny Hart, Karen Minich, Michelle Matthews, and Shangyi Hua.
curtis, me, poet Andy and painter Ellen Ray, Gary and painter Genie Jones discussing the day’s exhibits.
as spibges together, we were egar to soak up the how, the why, the when, and the who and then mold, paint, cast, fabricate, minimalize, gesturize, carve, digitalize, and create our own Houston bouillabaisse of artisti expression.
The next to the last day I saw this Jean Dubuffe. Why do I love him? It is great to see how expressive Jean Dubuffet a unique material. I love the little foot kicking out expressing the movement of Dance, and the expressive little dancers arms.
Monday we would start early.
Critters of Musee Gustave Moreau
My favorite- such beautiful movement
look closely for the elephants
Unicorns are all over Europe
I know this feeling
Picasso Museum in Paris
Three of his and a few of mine.
Dove/pigeon - bronze
Doves/pigeon and a fish
Dove/pigeon
Two of my Herman Beak trumpeter pigeons with leg muffs in charcoal
Two frill back pigeon is one in Talc powder and one in charcoal.
Jumping into the next phase.
Last week was the last critique and the end of my term in the MFAH Glassell school BLOCK studio program. It took four days to move all my work out of the Nabisco building. It is all in storage except for 1 large piece that is stored in the lobby of the Bermac Arts building. I will jump into my new space mid June.
“score” photographing and moving
I can’t wait to see how these photos come out.
Nash Baker and his nephew take care of every detail in order to get the best photos.
After the photo shoot Act crates came to crate the sculpture. .
The crate is so big it barely fits in their moving truck. (Is this over kill for a short local move?)
Loading him up
notice the size of the crate and the size of the doors.
The crate waits In the lobby of my new building, Bermac Arts on San Jacinto until my space is ready.
“score” #40 - ✅
Sometimes you just cannot put your finger on it, but you know you are not finished. It has bothered me that the sculpture has very much a top half and a bottom half, which does not make for a beautiful composition. For some reason, I was not driven to fix it, but it did bother me. Last Thursday, artist Joe Havel generously spent some time with my piece and took the time to find me and advise me. His seasoned eye immediately picked up on the boring composition, a top half and a bottom half. He suggested I add some wires on the figures right side giving the right leg/hip more motion. He nailed it. In addition I added some white to the wire on his face as suggested by Francessca Fuchs and the wire on the shoes as suggested by Patrick Palmer. I have been very fortunate to receive advice from some of Houston’s most talented. I am done
detail of wires added to right hip area to integrate the torso to the lower half of the figure.
Friday, May 4th it will be photographed, crated and transported to the lobby of my new studio. My studio will not be available until June 1. Bermac Arts is allowing me to store it in the lobby until my space is ready.
“Heritage-dust to dust.”
“Heritage-dust to dust.” My dad was not part of the hat generation, he was a cap dad. He did, however, have the traits that are reflected in each of my Heritage pieces and I do see glimpses of him when I look at them. This is one of the two hats I worked on during his last weeks of life. The week after he passed with a large hole in my heart, we poured the bronze. When I broke off the shell I was not really surprised to see the large hole in the heart of the crown.
Last week I completed the metal work on the piece and this week my siblings and I will celebrate his life, as he requested, with a simple bar-b-que in the feed store warehouse. It won’t be your normal wake, with guest dressed in formal black jackets and pants. We will all be in jeans, boots, or tennis shoes and he would like that. My sister and I will decorate the tables with two of the things he loved: tomato plants and footballs. We will drink beer, eat texas bar b que, and share memories and his love. He may not have worn a hat but he did leave a hole in this one.
Gust- patina
before
Interesting Studio visit - Devin Kenny
Core fellow Devin Kenny http://www.devinkenny.info/Devin-K-Kenny-Works
was in my studio today to look at my progress. We were discussing my violinist and where I might be taking it or is this it. I told him that today, driving through downtown Houston, and having a bit of time to think at stop lights I found myself imagining suggestions of sculptures of contemporary dancers in an installation with the violinist. I imagine these suggestions of contemporary dancers forming a human chain. I know it sounds like a crazy idea, and creating a human chain with the violinist might just be too much, and I know it may not work, but Devin totally got what I was envisioning. I know, because he suggested I research Yo Yo Ma and Lil Buck. See the video below and I think you will see what I mean. That said, the human chain sculpture may be a separate piece, I think it could hold it’s own.
Installation day - “feminam”
“Feminam” is Latin for feminine. I gave this piece a Latin name because she was purchased by two physicians. Over a year ago I agreed to sell G.G., my female wire cloth sculpture, titled “January 21st, 2017” as she saw it in our 2017 Spring Block Exhibition. I was amazed that G.G. asked me if she could buy the piece because I was already anticipating the problem of where I was going to keep her. G.G. was the first person who came to mind. G.G. loves art, is a very particular collector and any artist would be lucky to have their work in G.G. and Mark’s collection. A year later I was still having studio visits with people that I wanted to see “January 21st, 2017." However, I had said I would sell her so it was time to give her up. I decided to make another one for my studio. I started the second piece and showed her to G.G. and the new piece is really a better fit for G.G’s collection. She has a beautiful run just off center down her middle and she has more whit plaster on the surface. I am really pleased with the new piece. I wanted G.G. to have her pick and it worked out GG. for both of us. When I first met G.G. I automatically liked her, I tried to channel her inner beauty into this new piece, “feminam.”
Diane and Nate of Level Arts were very patient as G.G. and I decided on the perfect height.
They were also extremely patient as we played with the lighting. And I can play with lighting all day, it is so much fun.
Job well done. I could not be more thrilled to work with Nate and Diane of level Arts.
G.G. And me- both happy
I
Gust - grinding down the sprue stubs
tools
