BLACK FRIDAY SALE

Black Friday Sale! For 25% off all sculpture in my Etsy shop, use coupon code 'BLACKFRIDAYFANCY'.

Filling cracks with gold

 

When the Japanese mend broken objects, they aggrandize the damage by filling the cracks with gold. They believe that when something has suffered damage and has a history it becomes more beautiful.

I saw the above quote tonight and it stuck with me...I feel like everything I hear and see lately has been informing this new body of work...that I'm seeing everything for a reason. Usually when starting projects things get sorted out as I work on the piece but this time everything is unfolding really quickly so I feel compelled to start the work as soon as possible, despite being busier than ever. This idea of "aggrandizing damage" really strikes me, because when making art I feel like thats what we are doing anyway, aggrandizing our emotions. Or atleast what I'm doing. I'm wondering how this will all play out...my goal is to do EVERYTHING myself....build all the armatures alone, make the pieces, make the molds alone (including one of an 8 foot tall grizzly), cast alone...Usually I have help from Justin or fabulous interns but this time it's been in my head that in order to be fully successful, I need to do it all myself...

wish me luck...

American Craft Magazine

Huge thanks to Walter and Margaux for the shout out during their interview with American Craft Magazine. The article, titled Grand and Mysterious, is a fabulous journey through their home, talking about the pieces of their lives that they love and collect. Be sure to grab a copy!

Party's Over...

Here is a great shot of this piece from the folks at Thinkspace Gallery. Check out the photos from the Wild at Heart opening here.

Hard Day...

I am simultaneously so happy and so frustrated...Happy because I am sculpting, frustrated because of life and its ups, downs, and curveballs...I've had a piece in my head for a while now and it seems fitting to have started working on it... Above is a study for Coup de grâce, a soon to be piece...


From wikipedia.com:

The expression coup de grâce ( /ˌkuː də ˈɡrɑːs/; French: [ku də ɡʁɑs], "blow of mercy") means a death blow intended to end the suffering of a wounded creature. The phrase can refer to the killing of civilians or soldiers, friends or enemies, with or without the consent of the sufferer. It is often used figuratively to describe the last in a series of events which brings about the end of some entity; for example: "The business had been failing for years; the coup de grâce was the sudden jump in oil prices."
In the context of an execution, it means shooting the heart or head (typically the back of the skull) of an already wounded, but not yet dead, person during a military or civilian execution. It can also refer to the near beheading that follows a samurai's seppuku.

Party's over...

 

Party's over...(Pygmy Rabbit)

Last week I sent this piece out to Thinkspace Gallery in Culver City, CA for their upcoming show, Wild at Heart: Keep Wildlife in the Wild, which opens this weekend. The show will benefit Born Free USA, a non-profit organization that advocates for the ethical treatment and protection of wild animals. I really struggled with another piece (a bat) that I had started for the show months ago. I just couldn't get it to feel right and went back to research other endangered animals. I found the pygmy rabbit and everything just came together in a cute yet dark little piece (Just how I like it...)

For more info, check out the Thinkspace Gallery website or the Juxtapoz preview.

More info from Thinkspace Gallery:

Thinkspace is proud to present “Wild at Heart: Keep Wildlife in the Wild,” an exhibition to raise awareness about the precarious predicament of wild creatures around the world, and to benefit efforts to protect them in their natural habitat. Featuring a stellar cast of more than 100 artists from all corners of the art world, this exhibition brings together some of the most profound and innovative voices making art today. In recognition of the imperiled state of much of the world’s wildlife, each artist will apply their own unique perspective to our relationship with the fascinating creatures with whom we share our planet.

 

As the natural world becomes increasingly impacted by shifting climate, human greed and diminishing resources, protecting those creatures that still roam free becomes ever more vital to the soul of humanity. For even if we could continue to exist without wildlife, the spirit-crushing sadness that our species would take upon itself would surely rob all joy from life. Those majestic, miraculous, elemental beings which we admire from afar are at the root of who we are as people — from the woodland protagonists of our childhood storybooks, to the metaphors we use to describe ourselves as adults, to the animal spirits that visit us in our dreams. As we take steps to protect them from those who would rob them of their freedom, we also improve our own species’ chances to persist far into the future, both by preserving the natural world we all share, and by cherishing the sacred genesis of our imagination and symbology.

In appreciation of the magnificent creatures with whom we share the planet, Thinkspace will donate 20% of the sale price of each piece of art to Born Free USA and the Animal Protection Institute, which operate jointly as a non-profit organization that advocates worldwide for the ethical treatment and protection of wild animals, and also maintains a large sanctuary for rescued primates. To honor the animals closest to our hearts, the gallery will be accepting donations of old blankets to donate to area shelters so dogs don’t have to sleep on cold hard concrete, as well as other used and new pet supplies. The opening will feature the release of a gorgeous limited edition screenprinted poster especially created for the exhibition by the incomparable Aaron Horkey. We hope you will join us on May 26th to celebrate and defend the wild things that fill our lives with wonder and mystery.

 

Wild at Heart: Pygmy Rabbit

Wow! It's been a while...so sorry for that. My life has been crazy at best recently. All good crazy but crazy nonetheless. Along with a million other things I am finishing up a piece for Wild at Heart, an exhibition that will take place at Thinkspace Gallery. For some reason I've been working on a bat piece for months...laboring over it...hating it...reworking it...and it still has not been right. So I decided to switch gears and find another animal that I could work with...a quick Google search turned up a list of endangered North American animals and there was the Pygmy Rabbit (!!!) I was simultaneously overjoyed and crushed that there is a rabbit on the endangered species list (Overjoyed because it meant I got to sculpt one! Crushed because who wants any animals to be endangered, especially one of your very favorite animal families...in my case rabbits (Big surprise I'm sure.)) I'm, of course, putting a twist on this so stay tuned for more photos...