Oil Paint and Cold Wax

Shielded Pod

This small piece got a face lift. The face lift began as an experiment at one of Rebecca Crowell's Cold Wax Medium Workshops. I continued with more cold wax and oil paint then toned it down with cold wax and marble dust. First, I made a paste with marble dust and a bit of water. Then I mixed it with a good amount of cold wax. Rebecca tells me that you cannot mix wax and oil, but it seemed to work. It was very slow to dry, however. The inside has oxides mixed with clay plasters-no oil paints. It was satisfying to scrape the paint over the surface textures that I created with the clay plater. This pod seems to have just released it's seeds. It seems more alive than other pieces which speak more of fall or winter colors.

Work in EAC

Slopes, clay, maple, wax, seeds, waxed linen.

Productive Day in the Studio

Today I started five new pieces. I sketched, formed pieces from willow, tied knots, and stretched temporary skin over one piece. Four are small wall pieces as I try to make some small pieces to start a momentum of production. Then there is one long pod piece that will hang on the wall. It is a much more bulbous pod than the recent long, narrow pods, Like Prairie Wing.

In addition, I have also been refinishing an old piece. Somehow, I feel like a cheat. I used oil paint on the surface of this piece. I love color, but all of my sculptural pieces have been the color of the clay or of clay related pigments that I have applied to the surface in various clay plaster mixtures. It is so strange, because, of course it is only my own rules I am breaking. And what is oil paint anyway, but a mixture of pigment and oil. Does it matter that someone else mixed the pigment with oil instead of me mixing powder and wax or oil in my studio? All pigments come from the earth somehow, somewhere. So where do I draw the line? What pigments are eco-friendly? Natural dyes and pigments have the same chemical properties as their synthetic counterparts. So the natural colors can be as toxic or as safe for people as the synthetic ones. On the positive side, tubes of paint help me avoid any dust particles in my breathing space. Did I mention, I love color. True to my own process, I applied the paint to the surface in a plaster-like manner. When the final wax layer dries, I will take a picture and post it. Before the paparazzi find it first. Ha!! some big juicy confession here.

EAC Show Announcement

Edwardsville Art Opening

The Edwardsville Art Center is a beautiful space that is possible due to the hard work of the local art community. I am showing with Raymond Yeager. His beautiful paintings based on tree branches making marks against the sky complement the branches in my own work. Raymond's family fell ill before the opening, so I did not meet him. Maybe we can meet on my next visit to Edwardsville.

FLOATING SCULPTURE by AVA BLITZ

I received this announcement from Philadelphia artist and friend, Ava Blitz.
I used to go on kayak rides down the Schuylkill river with the canoe club back in my post Tyler School of Art graduate school days.

• Philadelphia area sculptor and public artist, Ava Blitz will be floating sculptures on the river in conjunction with the Philadelphia Canoe Club Open House! She will be showing a work in progress, a part of a monumental floating sculpture garden that will grow year to year. This may become an annual tradition. Don't miss it!
  
  2pm-4pm
  

Supported by a grant from the Independence Foundation.

New Cob Oven

Puff, the magic bread oven, has been reborn. We reconstituted the cob at a workshop during the Arts Festival in downtown Eau Claire. We had help stomping and re-building from several young people and a group of elementary kids. Puff has different eyes and more spikes. He may look meaner, but a little bird perched on his tail testifies to his gentleness. The creativity of the group was exhilarating. Thanks especially to Elizabeth, Tom, and Simeon.

Green

I am participating in a group show titled "Green" at the Eau Claire Regional Arts Center Gallery, located on the main floor of the State Theatre in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Cyndee Kaiser organized the exhibit which interprets anything about the concept green - anything form ideas about the color to environmental awareness. I know a number of the artists and look forward to the opening reception on Thursday, January 15 from 6:00 - 7:30pm.