I’m not the only one . . .

20 June 2010 by pcNielsen 2 Comments

. . . who thinks that church is good for sketching. So does Lorraine Glessner. Her oh, what a world, what a world blog features a Sunday church drawing every week. From this morning’s post, an explanation:

i draw in church during the sermons. it helps me hear and retain the words. i usually begin by drawing the first thing i see-a piece of furniture, the shadows in the architecture, the pattern of someone’s shirt-and let the drawing take on a life of it’s own. most of the time, the object or pattern i started with isn’t recognizable. i only work on these drawings for one sermon and rarely work back into them. here’s one from a few weeks ago.

Glessner serves as faculty at Tyler School of Art Fibers & Material Studies.

Filed under Artist profile, Christianity

Karen Krull Robart’s textile storms

6 March 2010 by pcNielsen 1 Comment

Yesterday evening I made it to the Prairie Winds Art Gallery during an opening for a show titled Spirit of the Cranes. While there I was excited to see Karen Krull Robart‘s fiber works, depicting storms on the prairie, for the first time. One of the works, Tempest Brewing, even includes a tornado.

It’s crafted from hand painted and hand dyed cottons. From Robart’s website:

    Much of the inspiration for her work comes from the sunsets seen from
    the front deck of the home she shares with her husband, Bill.

    Karen’s landscapes combine the arts of painting and textile construction. Each sky is hand painted on either
    cotton, silk, silk satin, or rayon; the result is a truly unique piece of cloth. Most of the other features in her
    landscapes are pieced using fabrics that have been hand dyed.

Maybe I’ll get one of her smaller works for my birthday (hint hint). Of course, I also still want one of Jane Flanders’ ceramic bones.

Filed under Artist profile, Central Nebraska, Fiber, Painting

Thomas Lauerman’s clay clouds

27 February 2010 by pcNielsen 3 Comments

The MudBucket Blog featured Tom Lauerman’s ceramic clouds last week. From Lauerman’s website:

    During a residency at the Kohler Company Arts/Industry program in 2005 I began thinking about using a very durable material in a form adapted from something ephemeral. I worked through a series of cloud forms and formations, looking at representations of clouds in science, in art history, and in various cultures.

The storm form below looks a lot like an idea I’ve sketched but haven’t had the chance work on (story of my artistic life). The clouds here are well modeled, although many of the peaks (so-to-speak) seem a little more angular than what I’ve actually observed in the prairie skies. Not that an artist must replicate in exact terms what we observe in nature.

I’d like to own this piece.

Filed under Art, Artist profile, Ceramics, Sculpture

Painter puts down brushes, mission trips

11 May 2009 by pcNielsen 2 Comments

Painter and graphic designer Kendra Baird is putting down her paintbrush to participate in an eleven month mission trip according to the Charlotte Observer. Baird began painting a few years ago after forays into graphic design and photography. She turned to the brush while taking pictures of geckos with a friend. Her first painting “turned out really well,” so she thought, “Why don’t I try to sell these?” She talked to Green Rice Gallery in NoDa, which took three of her paintings. Two of them sold.

Kendra baird painting

The Observer article implies that Baird is giving painting up in order to go overseas as a missionary. “Baird will leave for the World Race in August, carrying only a backpack. She’s packing a small sketch pad and watercolor palette, but she’s prepared to leave the rest of her art behind — forever, if God asks her to.” My question — to Baird and to the missions community — is this: Why did she have to give up painting to be a part of Adventure’s in Missions’ World Race? Baird should be made aware of opportunities (as new and few as they may be) that put her God-given talents to use. Operation Moblization’s ArtsLink offers mission trips designed specifically for artists.

Baird believes she can sell paintings after returning from the World Race, but that’s beside the point. Sacrifice is an important part of character, and giving up her craft for a year may be entirely intentional on the part of the artist. However, if a person is gifted in a particular craft that shouldn’t be ignored. God doesn’t gift each of us as part of the body just so we can say we are good at this or than and then box it up and put it on at shelf.

Image from Kendra Baird’s Etsy store.

Filed under Art, Art and Missions, Art and faith, Artist profile, Christianity, Painting

Anna Keiller smoked ceramic sculptures

27 April 2009 by pcNielsen 1 Comment

Via Twitter (and thanks to searches I’ve set up in TweetDeck) I’ve become internetly acquainted with ceramic sculptor Anna Keiller. The most recent post on her blog, Fire and Earth, details her smoking process, which is much more exciting than using an electric kiln (as I do).

anna-keiller-smoking

She also has an older post that talks a little more about smoke firing titled Smoke Firing. I talk about my process in this post from last July. The following is one of her recent works titled The Abduction, after a Swedish fairy tale. I quite like the coloring on the piece, and give her props for the use of salvaged materials in the base and post.

anna-keiller-abduction

I think I’m going to have to find myself a barrel and try this smoking method out. It looks much more fun and is probably cheaper than running the kiln to smoke. The only trick to barrel smoking for me could be locally enforced burn bans we suffer from in Northwest Arkansas on a fairly regular basis.

Filed under Art, Artist profile, Ceramics, Found objects, Salvage, Sculpture

Dennis Gerwin’s ceramic cities at NCECA

21 April 2009 by pcNielsen 7 Comments

I saw photos yesterday in two places of Dennis Gerwin’s extruded clay cityscapes and had to share them. They were a part of the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts’ (NCECA) Juried Student Show.

dennis-gerwin-city
From Eva Funderburgh‘s Flickr Photostream

dennis-gerwin-city-2
From Priscilla Mouritzen’s blog Pinchpots

At first I was trying to figure out how you hand-build something that large and delicate and fire it without all kinds of problems. According to Funderburgh, the sculptures were pieced together after being wood fired. That’ makes more sense. One way or another they are amazing.

Filed under Art, Artist profile, Ceramics, Sculpture

Mad potter in Arkansas

8 April 2009 by pcNielsen 1 Comment

A month or so ago I dug a hole in my front yard for a new mailbox post. The dirt looked a lot like clay, so I saved a few hunks and fired them in the kiln.

arocks

They came out a bit soft and quite crumbly, not surprising, but they more or less turned into Arkansas rocks. They look very similar to the stones found on a lot that’s just been graded for construction.

George Ohr, the Mad Potter of Biloxi, dug a lot of his clay locally in Mississippi. My father told me recently that Ohr sometimes took dirt out of the middle of the road. He’s one of a few historical characters I’d like to meet (another off the top of my head being G.K. Chesterton). The bisqued, scroddled Orh pot below shows off some of his raw materials.

georgeohr-pot

Image from Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art.

Filed under Abstract art, Art, Art vs Craft, Artist profile, Ceramics, Craft, Found objects, Handmade, Sculpture

Meagan Chaney on the business of art

2 April 2009 by pcNielsen 1 Comment

Ceramic sculptor Meagan Chaney posted part 1 of 2 in a series on how to promote yourself as an artist today. It’s worth reading via this link.

megan-chaney-1

I’ve been a fan of Meagan’s work since I discovered her blog last year. She uses low-fire clays and most of her works are small abstract (or non-representational) sculpture. Her glazes are pretty nuanced for low-fire works. She lives and works in Ocala, Florida.

meagan-chaney-2

You can purchase her sculptures on Etsy or giveArtfully.

Filed under Art, Artist profile, Business of art, Ceramics, Mixed media, Sculpture

R.I.P. Andrew Wyeth

16 January 2009 by pcNielsen 4 Comments

This isn’t something I normally do, mark the death of a significant artist (Of course, I’ve only been blogging for three years or so, and perhaps there haven’t been very many notable artists who’ve passed in this time.), but I thought I’d make a note of it this morning.

christinasworld

Andrew Wyeth died today at the age of 91. Wyeth was an American realist known for Christina’s World (1948, above) and a series of studies of his neighbor Helga (below, 1971-1985). Critics have long complained that his work is little more than illustration, although shows of the artist’s paintings often draw record crowds.

Not knowing much more than I’ve already stated about the artist, I still disagree with this recurring criticism. There is, in my opinion, a depth of content by means of his composition and subject matter that I don’t generally associate with mere illustration. While not quite as surreal and evocative as, say, contemporary realist works by the likes of Patty Wickman, Wyeth’s paintings draw out a contemplative emotion far beyond a Rockwellian nostalgia — who’s works aren’t really contemplative at all. Wyeth’s painting was, probably, poorly received simply because he happened to be a realist in a Modernist world.

andrew_wyeth_helga

Filed under Art, Artist profile, Criticism, Drawing, Illustration, Painting, Realism

Friday Fare: Instant art grants, installations

10 October 2008 by pcNielsen Leave a Comment

ThinkChristian points out a post at the Urban Prankster which elaborates on The Federation of Students and Nominally or Unemployed Artists’ instant art grants of $10-$60. From the Federation’s website:

    The FSNUA aims to re-inspire creative thinking and action in everyday people by removing a small barrier and providing encouragement. We give small, unsecured grants in the form of $10-$60 for creative projects thought up on the spot by everyday people. In the past this has included a merchant marine, two 10 year old girls, a US soldier on leave from Iraq, an accordion player from Alaska, and around 40 others. We funded their new paintings, drawings, knitting, and photojournalism projects, and the repair of one accordion. Projects that may not have happened had they not come across 10 people in the park to support and inspire the thought.

    Beyond the small amount of money, the project encourages people to see themselves as something other than workers or consumers even if it just for the length of time required to apply for the FSNUA grant. We also hope to re-inspire dormant desires to create while presenting an example of generosity without an ulterior motive.

I’m pretty fond of the idea, especially the last paragraph’s hope that they are encouraging people to “see themselves as something other than workers or consumers.” Here-here!

A friend forwarded me a link to photographer Magdalena Bors’ website. As much as a photographer she appears to be an installation artist, turning common household objects into miniature landscapes. The following image from her photo-installations is for my knitting wife.

She was born in Antwerp and has a photography degree from Melbourne, but there isn’t much other information about the artist on the website.

Filed under Art, Artist profile, Business of art, Fiber, Found objects, Installations, Modern culture, Photography, Sculpture

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