Darla Jackson Sculpture

More Zombie Cat...

2012-01-24T13:20:00.000-08:00

Getting there...slowly but surely getting there...need to sculpt some teeth in sculpting epoxy and get them into the clay to make sure it all looks right...but today was good...I think he looks waaaay less gremliny and way more cat like. Still some major tweaks to finish up, and then some minor ones but definitely closer...

Zombie Cat continued...

2012-01-18T07:34:00.000-08:00

Ok, ok...got in 45 more minutes on this guy...getting somewhere but still needs a lot of work. I am trying to find the right balance of how evil I want this cat to look...maybe this is too much? Too gremliny? Does he need to be so evil? Is he a 28 Days running zombie or an original Night of the Living Dead strolling zombie. (I am scared of both but zombies that run scare the shit out of me...) Hmmmmm...

Me on the Interwebs...

2012-01-12T17:41:00.000-08:00

Click here for the article from the examiner.com about Inliquid's Benefit, look for my name around the middle of the list of mentioned artists.

And here for an article mentioning my last year win of a Knight Arts Challenge Grant.

I also recently rejoined Inliquid, a fabulous website for artists in the Philadelphia area. Click here to see my new profile.

And last, but certainly not least, I was recently asked to be in the All Alone Together artist collective. I think the above logo is currently being redesigned but click here to check out the beginning of what I think will be a fabulous group.

30 more minutes...

2012-01-10T12:08:00.000-08:00

30 more minutes on this guy today. So no real progress, but did flesh out his body and head a bit more. Still need to play with the pose...something is not quite right yet...I need a good few hour long session to make a dent. I still have time but don't want to slack...

And here we go...

2012-01-06T09:28:00.000-08:00

I started sculpting this piece this week and these photos document only about 30 minutes of progress...(Olivia was having a nap while the light was good on our 2nd floor, but ended up waking up earlier than I thought...) So it's nothing too exciting but its a start nonetheless... And I got to work with this amazing black clay (more of a dark brown really) that my friends Homer and Nora gave me for Christmas...I LOVE IT. Aside from the sexiness of black clay, its so nice to work on the piece in a color that is very close to the actual color it will be when its finished. The pose will change some and the piece needs to be filled out a bit more but its the very beginning so I'm not too worried at the moment...

West Collects

2012-01-04T07:44:00.000-08:00

Check out my profile over at West Collects. If you are feeling so inclinded, download their app and vote for my work!

Armature

2012-01-04T07:33:00.000-08:00

While I was in the studio yesterday (freezing my ass off), I also started an armature for a piece I've been wanting to make.

My workspace is pretty full of...everything...

First a dive into the armature bin...Justin and I keep all of our armatures and repurpose them over and over again. We are still using armatures we made while in school, adding new ones when the old ones aren't quite right. Luckily I found an old figure armature that would work with some tweaking.

We also have a collection of pipe nipples (who decided to call them that?) and flanges and connectors, which is great because when the armature I found had a 3/8" nipple (rather than a 1/2" one, which I normally use), I was able to find a 3/8" flange to match it in our stash, instead of having to go to home depot.

I did a quick sketch of the rough pose to bend the armature to...the pose will inevitably change (as they always do once I start sculpting) but this was a place to start.

Next I selected a board to mount the armature on.

I marked the placement of where the holes should be and then drilled them.

The flange was a bad casting so all the holes were filled slightly blocked with excess metal, so I drilled that out too so the machine screws would go in smoothly.

Each hole got a machine screw, a washer and a nut. You just have to make sure they aren't too long and extend past the runners on your board.

Once everything was in, I tightened it down.

And then screwed the armature piece into the flange. This was used for a figure in the past, so I turned it around and the wire that would normally be used for the head, I used as the tail. The arms and legs were just re-bent to work for this application.

I added an extra piece of armature wire to the front, so the cat will have a head.

When the wires feel a little loose, I put a screw in the hole...the aluminum wires are soft enough that the screw threads into them a bit, locking everything into place.

I then wrapped that wire with some thinner wrapping wire, which helps the clay hold on better.

See?

And here is the finished armature...I've already started putting clay on it...photos to come soon.

In the Studio: Fixing Stuff

2012-01-03T16:14:00.000-08:00

Sometimes things break...such is life. Sometimes coming out of the mold, sometimes while chasing them, and sometimes your daughter just breaks something that's already finished (see the squirrel). Today while in the studio I fixed a few pieces that were in need of a little love. I used PC 11, a two part epoxy that is great. This version is especially nice because if things are wet (freshly cast plaster) the epoxy will still set up. It will even set up under water! Anyway, its easy enough, just an equal mix of each part, blended until the color is consistent throughout. I put a little on each side of the break, press them together, wipe away any excess and then put a little blue tape around the seam to help secure the pieces/apply a bit of pressure. Sometimes I use a pin to secure two pieces together if its a break in a larger area, like the squirrel's tail. I then let it set for 24 hours and once its ready, cut away any residue that seeped out. Then I'll chase/patch/paint as usual and all is right in the world.

New Year! New show!

2012-01-02T08:03:00.000-08:00

Scott Listfield 'RV Dusk' - 18x24 inches - oil on panel (2011)

‎

I am excited to be included in 'Picks of the Harvest 2012’ at Thinkspace Gallery in Culver City this March! And even more excited that we'll actually be in LA for the opening! Details on the show are below and check back for some upcoming process photos of the piece! Happy New Year!

Reception with the artists: Saturday, March 3rd from 5 to 8PM
On view March 3rd through March 24th

From Sourharvest.com... Picks of the Harvest 2012 will showcase numerous artists we've had our eye over the past year exhibited alongside new works from several of our Thinkspace family members.

Adam Caldwell www.adamhuntercaldwell.com/
Anthony Clarkson www.anthonyclarksonart.com
Brooke Grucella www.phoenixartspace.com/members/504
Caitlin Hackett caitlinhackett.carbonmade.com/
Christina Mrozik christinamrozik.com/
Craig "Skibs" Barker www.skibsart.com
DABS MYLA www.dabsmyla.com
DALeast www.daleast.com
Dan Lydersen www.danlydersen.com/
Darla Jackson darlajacksonsculpture.com/home.html
David Cooley www.davidcooleyart.com/
David MacDowell www.macdowellstudio.com/
David Walker artofdavidwalker.com/home.html
Drew Young dyoung.co/
Elliot Brown elliotbrownstudio.com/
Emma Tooth www.emmatooth.co.uk/
Erik Siador www.eriksiador.com/
Euth hauntedeuth.com/home.html
Frank Gonzales frankgonzales.net/home.html
Glenn Arthur glennarthurart.blogspot.com/
Hugh Leeman hughleeman.com/
Jason Thielke www.jasonthielke.com/
Jason Yarmosky jasonyarmosky.com/
Jeff Ramirez jefframirez.com/
Jeni Yang www.jeniyang.com/
Jeremy Enicio jenecio.com/
Jeremy Hush hushillustration.blogspot.com/
Jessamyn Patterson www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.149019655111286.26291.1...
Jesse Hotchkiss www.jessehotchkiss.com/
Jessica Hess jessicahess.com/
Joey Leung Ka-Yin www.leungkayin.com/artwork.htm
John Malloy johnmalloy.com/
Jolene Lai www.enelojial.com/
Julie West www.juliewest.com/
Katherine Brannock www.katherinebrannock.com/
La Pandilla www.la-pandilla.com/
Laura Bifano laurabifano.com/
Linnea Strid www.linneastrid.se/
Liqen liqen.wordpress.com/
Luke Kopycinski koppa.carbonmade.com/projects/2184226
Mari Inukai www.mariinukai.com/
Matt Doust www.google.com/search?q=Matt+Doust&hl=en&client=s...
Megan Wolfe megwolfe.net/
Meggs houseofmeggs.com/
Michael Ramstead www.michaelramstead.com/
Michael Shapcott www.michael-shapcott.com/
Nathan DeYoung www.nathandeyoung.com/#home
Nicholas Bohac nicholasbohac.com/
N.S. David nsdavid.livejournal.com/
Pedro Matos pedromatos.org/
Rodrigo Luff artofrodrigo.blogspot.com/
Sarah Muirhead cargocollective.com/sarahmuirhead/
Scott Listfield www.astronautdinosaur.com/
Sean Mahan seanmahanart.com/
Serge Gay Jr. sergegayjr.com/
Soey Milk milkbomb.blogspot.com/
Stephanie Buer stephaniebuer.com/
Tony Philippou www.tonyphilippou.com/
White Cocoa dearcatherine.com/
Winnie Truong www.winnietruong.com/

Inspiration: Zombie Cat

2011-12-18T20:42:00.000-08:00

This crazy zombie cat has got me thinking about making something new...

In the studio...

2011-12-12T18:42:00.000-08:00

Thank you!

2011-12-01T17:44:00.001-08:00

Thanks to everyone who bought a piece (or pieces!) during my black Friday sale....I really appreciate it!

Black Friday Sale on Etsy!

2011-11-25T09:35:00.001-08:00

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!!! So sorry to be neglecting the blog...I've just been super busy casting bunnies and starting a business!
Just wanted to let everyone know that I'm doing a Black Friday sale in my Etsy shop today through Monday, 11/28! (And you don't even have to wait in line!) Enter the coupon code 'FANCYFREESHIPPING' for free shipping.
Yay to supporting artists, crafters, designers, and small business this holiday season!!! ;)

Baby bunny continued...

2011-10-26T06:11:00.000-07:00

This is from a Philadelphia Sculpture Gym blog post I just put up but I wanted to share it here too!

I have been dying to start this mold, but since the rubber I had on hand didn't fully set up, I had to order a new kit (The rubber I had was leftover from a commission I got in 2008 so it really didn't owe anyone a thing...I was surprised it lasted as long as it did...) Because it hadn't arrived before I left for the studio (sometimes Polytek's turnaround time is ridiculously fast) I decided to do a blanket mold instead of a paint on mold. Below are some of the process photos.

Baby bunny before the mold (I still have a few things to tweak before he's fully finished, but like to do that after making the mother mold...just in case.)

I covered him with a thin sheet of plastic to protect him from the clay blanket.

This is me cutting slabs of clay to use for the blanket...which is not easy to do while simultaneously trying to take a photo.

Covering the rabbit with the slabs of clay.

Fully covered. (It looks like an ugly potato.)

Now for a flange around the bottom and a strip of clay along the length of the piece.

And 2 pieces of clay that will end up as a pour hole and a vent.

I then added some metal shims along that key that runs the length of the piece so I could do both sides of the mother mold at once. I Vaselined the board and the shims and then mixed up some plaster, threw on a splash coat and then one layer of burlap. I thickened up the edges so I'd have something to bolt through. Because I did this in about 12 minutes (I was running late to pick up Justin for a meeting at our new space!) and had plaster on my hands, I didn't get any photos of me making the mother mold.

After our meeting at the new space, we stopped at Rocket Cat for some coffee (and an apple for O'Rae). Then back to work.

I pulled out the metal shims...

...then carefully removed the first side of the mold...then the other.

He survived!

I cleaned out the clay from the inside of the mother mold, placing it all in a multi mix bucket to measure roughly how much rubber I'll need to pour into the mother mold.

I then cleaned up the edges a bit and put it back together.

Once the rubber arrives, I'll finish the mold, so stay tuned for Part II!

Almost Done!

2011-10-10T09:21:00.000-07:00

This baby bunny is sailing along and is almost ready for his mold...Just some more tweaking on the feet, fur and the crow mask. Anyone who's interested in getting a great deal on this piece, check out our Kickstarter page and donate at the $50 level. This little guy is the piece I made for the sculpture reward at that level! After our Kickstarter is over he'll be priced at $250 in my Etsy shop, so this is a sweet little deal for a sweet little guy!

And thank goodness I have a daughter who thinks sculpting is cool and lends a hand from time to time...

Sneak Peek: Baby Rabbit

2011-10-05T08:00:00.000-07:00

Here's a sneak peek of the baby rabbit piece in progress...

Still needs a bunch of tweaking but so far I'm liking it...

And this guy is something I worked on last night at Fleisher...One of my students, Nikki, brought in her dog, Sammy and a bunch of us had a great time sculpting him...so adorable and so well behaved!!

Baby Rabbit for Kickstarter!

2011-10-04T08:24:00.000-07:00

I started sculpting this piece last night. I knew I wanted to do something special to offer as the reward for the $50 Kickstarter level (which offers a choice of either a small sculpture from Justin or I or a 1 week membership to the Philadelphia Sculpture Gym when we open) but I didn't know what. Then yesterday it hit me that I'd like to do a piece that worked with What are you afraid of?, one of my favorite pieces I've made to date (hey, I like rabbits!) I imagine this guy to be that piece at a young age (is that weird?) and am loving it so far. (Clay photos to come...right now the piece is in the car under a horse skull...don't ask.) The pieces always change atleast a bit from sketch to finished piece but I expect he will be in the 5-6" range. After the Kickstarter run is over I'll offer the piece for sale in my Etsy shop but for $200-$300, depending on the finished size. So if you are interested in getting a fancy piece while the gettin' is good, check out our Kickstarter page at the $50 level before October 19th! And check back for more photos!

Check me out at McArt a la Carte

2011-10-03T11:03:00.000-07:00

Hey hey! Check me out over at McArt a la carte!

PSG on Flying Kite Media.com

2011-09-27T08:17:00.001-07:00

Check me out over at FlyingKiteMedia.com in today's featured article about how to make it in Philly as a sculptor!

Photo by Michael Persico

Tiny troubles...

2011-09-26T05:05:00.000-07:00

I'm working on a piece that I am having some trouble with...its a life sized sculpture of Olivia wearing a wolf mask. I just kind of dove right in, forgetting how hard babies/children are to sculpt. I think I'm going to restart the piece (seeing as how my first attempt dried out during the move to our new studio) and this time I'm going to make a few maquettes first. Usually I just get to the piece, working from a model and sketches but I think I need to play around and make a few decisions before I go big. Here's hoping I'll have some time to get to that this week. Just in case here are a few reference images for the wolf mask.

Image from here

Sopie Blackall: Missed Connections

2011-09-23T10:56:00.000-07:00

I first saw her work in Mugshots Coffee House here in Philly and loved it...they were illustrations of Missed Connections. I recently saw that she has a book of the collection available online and it looks great. You can read a bit of the backstory in the book preview on Amazon. Check it out here.

Philadelphia Sculpture Gym Kickstarter Project Launch!

2011-09-19T09:06:00.000-07:00

Finally! We've launched our Kickstarter page for the Philadelphia Sculpture Gym, which has been a major reason for all the silence over here. The Philadelphia Sculpture Gym is a major undertaking that we (my husband and I) are super excited about but need to raise funds to have it become a reality. We are using Kickstarter to raise $8,000 (in 30 days!) that will go toward purchasing a Saw Stop brand table saw and a Millermatic 350P MIG welder, the major tools of our wood working and metal working shops. Please check out the Kickstarter page at http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/philasculpturegym/philadelphia-sculpture-gym
and feel free to tell anyone you know who may be interested in supporting our project!

Earthquakes, Hurricanes and Studio Moves...Oh my!

2011-08-29T07:32:00.000-07:00

Wow! Last week was insane! Between getting home from vacation on Monday, multiple natural disasters (my biggest rational fear....zombies are my biggest irrational fear) and moving my studio, I have been feeling crazy crazy crazy. After a vacation I usually need a few days to relax, decompress and get everything back in order. Not so this time... We decided to move our studio space so we came back to a week of frenzied packing, only to be interrupted by hurricane Irene! We wanted to get everything out of the studio this weekend but with the rain, wind and threat of awfulness everywhere, we decided to wait until today. Thankfully we didn't get hit as bad as anyone thought and all is well in our hood. That said we still have 3 days of moving ahead of us and all the biggest stuff is the most daunting. We have a big truck so that's not the problem...it's the weight of said heavy things and the fact that the hub has a bum elbow and his wrist has been bothering him...AND the fact that O'Rae, despite being the awesomest baby ever, does not have super human strength yet (I'm hoping it kicks in soon though...) so it's a pretty motley crew we have going on here...Here's hoping we get through the next 3 days in one piece and can get all our pieces in one place.

Image from here

Animal Sculpture at Fleisher Art Memorial this Fall!

2011-08-23T06:07:00.000-07:00

This fall I'll be teaching Animal Sculpture at the Fleisher Art Memorial on Monday nights! If you are interested in taking a class please sign up at www.fleisher.org. Need tuition assistance? No problem! Fleisher has a great tuition assistance program that is very easy to apply for. More info here.

Right now I'm loving...

2011-08-05T07:32:00.000-07:00

...this little face.

My Husband is Awesome

2011-07-21T11:15:00.001-07:00

Justin works as an art handler and is co-branch manager of Crozier Fine Art's Philadelphia branch. He and his co-conspirator, I mean, co-manager, Eric McDade do all kinds of crazy things with art...moving it, installing it, packing it, shipping it... You might not think that any of these things would be crazy enough to involve forklifts but you would most certainly be wrong... Take, for example, the 13 foot long crates of Ai Wei Wei's 'Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads' that they had to move this week...

This is just one of two flatbeds that came bearing crates...Yikes!

Yup, those are big crates...

Justin taking the crates off the flatbed with the forklift...

and backing it into the loading dock.

Then he and Eric switched the crate from one forklift to another...

...so Eric could put it up onto the dock...

...and it could then be transported through a hole not much bigger than the crate itself... Whew!

Only to be done all over again for the other crates...! I'm not just saying this because he is my husband but Justin is AMAZING at packing, moving, installing, etc artwork, especially big and seemingly impossible projects like this one. So if you are like Ai Wei Wei and need your stuff moved and stored somewhere, give these guys a holler!

In the studio...

2011-07-12T15:12:00.001-07:00

Summer...

2011-07-11T09:36:00.001-07:00

Busy busy busy

2011-07-08T16:46:00.000-07:00

This is just a quick hello to assure you I haven't dropped off the face of the earth. I am just having a super busy summer between studio work, the forming of the Philadelphia Sculpture Gym and just life in general. As a family we are trying to have a bit of a life this summer and have already taken a bunch of vacations with a few more to come (nothing too fancy...weekends here and there and a few longer spells away). I've also started a piece in the studio (a life size portrait of my daughter Olivia...photos to come...eventually) and once I see how this goes I'll see if it will develop into a full body of work. I'll be sure to post updates, as exciting things are happening. Happy summer to all!

image from here

hello...?

2011-06-16T13:44:00.000-07:00

Again, I've been busy...so busy. In the studio and at home, working on starting my new business the Philadelphia Sculpture Gym (!!!) Please feel free to click on the link and check out our website/blog. I also have some fun things going on in the studio and promise to post some photos!! I'll be back soon....I promise!

Knight Arts Challenge WINNER!!!!!!!!

2011-05-10T19:05:00.000-07:00

I am super excited to be named as a Knight Arts Challenge WINNER!!!! Please check out www.philadelphiasculpturegym.com for more details. And here are a few fabulous links:

Knightarts.org
Newsworks.org
Laura Graham's Journal
Flying Kite Media

The full list of winners is pretty amazing and I had the pleasure of meeting quite a few of them last night. So many great ideas...congrats to everyone!!!

Who does she think she is...

2011-05-09T10:16:00.000-07:00

Any artist/mothers out there, check out this link to a film that the fabulous and wonderful Savannah sent me: http://www.whodoesshethinksheis.net/

Studio Tau: Inspiration of the Month

2011-05-02T10:43:00.000-07:00

A huge thanks to Tau for having me as inspiration of the month over at her blog Studio Tau. Please check it out!

How to pack a baby deer...

2011-05-02T10:19:00.000-07:00

I may have posted photos last time I shipped one of these out but here it is again for all who are interested in how to cavity pack a baby deer sculpture...

Step 1: Have husband build you an awesome double walled cardboard box. (See box below)

Step 2: Have Courtney (intern extraordinaire) cut many pieces of gray foam to fit inside the box.

Step 3: Place 1st piece of foam in box.

Step 4: Place 2nd piece of foam in box. This piece has been cut so the deer will fit into it.

Step 5: Place 3rd piece of foam into box. This piece was also cut so deer will fit into it.

Step 6: Line cut pieces of foam with Tyvek...This protects baby deer from scratchy foam (which I'm sure would be itchy).

Step 7: Nestle baby deer into his little Tyvek nest. Awww...

Step 8: Place another layer of foam. This piece is also cut out to fit the baby deer but the piece that touches his legs is covered in Tyvek.

Step 9: Add another piece of foam, also cut out to fit baby deer (notice as there is less of him to cover, the deer sized hole gets smaller and smaller). Tuck him in with some acid free tissue to cushion and protect him. The small white lump to the right is a bird that was included as a bonus.

Step 10: Add another piece of foam, also cut to fit the last part of the deer that still sticks up. Fill extra space with more acid free tissue so piece doesn't jostle around during shipping.

Step 11: Add top layer of foam and a note to the buyer.

Step 12: Close box.

Step 13: Tape box shut using brown packing tape. Label with directional arrows and the word FRAGILE as many times as it will fit.

And you'll be happy to know that this guy made it to his new home safe and sound. Yay!

Installation Assistants

2011-04-19T05:50:00.000-07:00

A shot from when these pieces were installed...the lovely Courtney Coolbaugh, intern extraordinaire and Olivia Rae, baby extraordinaire.

Hello???

2011-04-17T21:36:00.001-07:00

Holy crap...Its been one of those months...where I'm hugely busy but feel like nothing is getting done...and I'm behind on everything (Hellooooo taxes?). Well I'm trying to catch up and wanted to share some photos I've been sitting on from the Animal Show. I have no idea which work is whose, since there were no labels but I loved alot of the work. I'm sure a simple google search would easily point out which work belonged to which artist but I just finished my taxes and my brain is moosh. Sorry.

Oh wait...here are some easy ones...I made these two:

And I know who made these too! The fabulous Katie Henry!

No idea who did this piece but I loved it...

I was a big fan of this one too...

And to whoever made these prints, they are amazing...

And this piece was Olivia's favorite...The fluffballs slowly vibrated their way around the floor and O kept calling them "Doggies! Doggies!"

This has hardly been an eloquent review of this show, but forgive me, as I mentioned above, my brain is "post taxes" fried. It really was a great show. Thanks to Pterodactyl Philadelphia for having me!

Animal Show Opening Rescheduled

2011-03-28T20:17:00.000-07:00

Yay! I got this email from Pterodactyl today:

Hello from Pterodactyl!

Last Saturday's opening of Animal Show was canceled at the last minute because of a 4 alarm fire across the street. See more info about the fire here. We are rescheduling the opening for THIS SATURDAY, April 2nd at 8pm. Hope everyone can make it!! Details for the show are below.

Animals become a canvas onto which we humans project our
myths, fantasies and ideas, making up our own meanings.
Animal Show explores ways in which animals are transformed
into such unwitting actors.

March 26-April 15 / Opening Saturday March 26 8-Midnight
3237 Amber Street, 5th Floor, Phila, PA 19134

With work by
Katie Henry // Ann Klicka // Emma Meetz // Darla Jackson
Matthew Lucash // Oranit Solomonov // Amy Scheidegger
Skuds Mckinley // Kevin Galloway // Kristen Solecki
Caitlin Carouge // Sarah Goodreau
Eleanor Grosch

Yikes! Opening Cancelled due to Fire across the street!

2011-03-28T10:16:00.000-07:00

Photo from Pterodactyl Philadelphia's Facebook Page

Saturday's Animal Show opening at Pterodactyl Philadelphia was canceled due to a scary fire across the street from the building. As soon as I saw that on Pterodactyl's Facebook page, I asked Justin to drive over and check on our space (our studio is in the same building as Pterodactyl). He couldn't get in as the street was blocked but he atleast saw that the smoke was blowing away from our building and that the fire seemed to be contained. But still...super scary and made me imagine what would happen if it had been our building?! Too scary to think about! Stay tuned for the new opening date for the Animal Show!

Featured Artist: CFEVA 9th Annual Benefit

2011-03-23T17:52:00.000-07:00

I'm excited to have been chosen as one of 10 featured artists for the Center for Emerging Visual Artists 9th Annual Benefit on Wednesday, April 6, 2011 at The Center for Architecture in Philadelphia! Should be a fabulous and wonderful event, benefiting an amazing organization!

Below are the 10 featured artists. For more information or to purchase a ticket, call 215-546-7775 x10 or email julia@cfeva.org.

Rita Bernstein

Noah Addis

Greg Brellochs

Danielle Bursk

John Karpinski

Maggie Mills

Ron Tarver

Benjamin Volta

Darla Jackson

Kimberly Witham

Flip

2011-03-22T19:24:00.001-07:00

Coming soon...Some short videos of what happens in the studio via our little Flip video camera thing. Yup. That's it. For now...

Fancy lady style

2011-03-17T09:36:00.001-07:00

So I've been cleaning up, throwing out, hanging up, sorting, stacking, unpiling, etc in the studio, all in the name of making it a nicer place to work and to make the space make more sense now that Justin is in there with us. One of my sidebar plans is to make my sculpting area an amazingly beautiful and fabulous place to be, so that when I walk in I want to throw down all my bags and run over and start sculpting immediately. And here is one little piece of that, my new fancy sprayer, which is oh so much nicer than a shitty old Home Depot spray bottle, no?

Julie Buffalohead

2011-03-08T06:29:00.000-08:00

I love when art I like finds me...I got an email from Julie Buffalohead with a link to her work in it and as I said in an email back to her, I feel like we were cut from the same cloth. Weird animals doing weird things, check. Strange baby undertones, check. Love it!

Kiddie Pool Scandal, 2008

The Placenta Eaters, 2009

Hostage, 2008

Surprise Party (Crow) goes abroad...

2011-02-23T07:27:00.000-08:00

Surprise Party (Crow) has safely landed overseas and his new owner kindly sent me these photos of him once he got settled in. Thanks so much Isabelle!!

Home...

2011-02-19T15:38:00.000-08:00

This is a photo of a sculpture I did my last year at Moore in 2003. It's a life size self portrait and in the hands was a little bronze dead bird. The piece has been outside in my backyard for 5 years or so and despite the patina flaking off (It's plaster and not meant for being outside) it still looks pretty good (if I do say so myself...). A funny thing is that after that big snow storm we had recently, a pigeon laid beside the piece and died there... I wonder if it knew I was a lady who was fond of birds, alive or dead. My wonderful husband took some photos for me once some of the snow melted...

Darla 3.0

2011-02-18T14:38:00.000-08:00

I just celebrated my 30th birthday (!) and despite not feeling much different, I have been trying to get my ass in gear for all that is to come... What might that be, you ask? I have no idea at the moment but whatever it is I hope to be ready for it! So my filing cabinets are getting purged of excess papers, my studio is getting a serious overhaul, my ideas and ways of working are being looked at and tweaked...basically a reboot... Because once in a while you just need to shake life up...yes, even your art life...heck, especially your art life! I've got some upcoming shows that I'm getting ready for and a new series that I am hoping to work on soon (Once the studio is less chaotic...)...and not to mention that its been quite nice out this week and its making me look forward to getting to the studio and making new things (Spring always does that to me!)...
So here's to Darla 3.0 ...and go!

Year of the Rabbit Sale!

2011-02-03T07:29:00.000-08:00

It's no secret that I love rabbits...so I am (of course) excited that we are now in the Chinese New Year, Year of the Rabbit! To celebrate, I'm offering 25% off all sculpture in my Etsy shop from today, until February 13th (my 30th birthday!!!) To get the discount, just enter "YEAROFTHERABBIT" in the coupon section of the checkout screen! Yay Rabbits!

Snow....AGAIN?!

2011-01-28T14:39:00.000-08:00

My backyard, all a snowy...

This snow is really starting to get to me...! All week its made things either difficult or impossible! I clomped through it in giant boots to get to my lecture at Drexel this week...had to cancel 2 lady dates AND had to shovel packed down icy hot-messery! I was hoping to get to the studio today/tomorrow but its snowing AGAIN, so I'm not sure that I will....our studio's street never gets plowed and is nothing less than treacherous! I have been, atleast, able to dream up new ideas...and one of them involves making tiny beds...mmmmmm....tiny...

WHYY!

2011-01-20T09:23:00.001-08:00

Hey, look! It's me on WHYY's homepage! So exciting! Click here for the article.

Bigs UPS!

2011-01-19T14:45:00.000-08:00

Here's a snip from the article that Carolyn Huckabay wrote for today's Critical Mass above and the link to the full article is here. Thanks so much Carolyn!!!

Knight Arts Challenge Grant Finalist!

2011-01-18T19:37:00.000-08:00

I'm super excited to announce that I am a finalist for the Knight Arts Challenge! 63 finalists were chosen from the 1,752 applications submitted (!!!) Among them are the PMA, The Barnes Foundation, The Fairmount Park Art Association, theartblog.org, the Philadelphia Live Arts Festival/Philly Fringe, Vox Populi and many more!

Here is a link to the article listing the 63 finalists and their project descriptions. I'm looking forward to alot of these projects going through and making the Philadelphia Arts Scene even more awesome!

Yay! Kiley likes Darla!

2011-01-12T21:53:00.000-08:00

Click here for the article!!! Thanks so much Kiley!

New Home for "You Can't Take It With You...(Fear)"

2011-01-04T12:38:00.001-08:00

This fabulous photo is by Mike of Mudpuppy...He recently purchased the piece and I am so happy it's in a new home. Thanks again Mike! And BTW, Mike makes amazing ceramic pieces, many of which hold air plants...a favorite of mine!! Check out his Etsy shop: Mudpuppy

Happy New Year!

2010-12-30T09:29:00.001-08:00

Here's wishing everyone a happy, healthy and productive 2011! xoxo Darla

Laura Graham

2010-12-21T09:39:00.001-08:00

It just so happens that one of my most favorite photographers is also be a dear(deer) friend. Laura Graham makes a mean french macaroon, takes amazing photos AND now also is a fabulous actor as well. She doesn't like to wear shoes but likes to make them and has done just about everything there ever was to do in this world. I think the fact that she is the female version of the Dos Exquis guy helps her create such beautiful and eerie photos. Am I rambling? Yes. My point is? To tell you to follow her blog and therefore have a shot at winning this fabulous print. Win win situation if you ask me... Check her out at www.theeggcollectors.blogspot.com and look for the Birds of Fortune post to enter to win the Birdtree print...Yay!

Gerhard Demetz

2010-12-16T22:01:00.000-08:00

Married to myself (Detail)

Your monsters are just like mine (Detail)

Your monsters are just like mine

Can we talk about how effing amazing these are? Wow. They are so creepy and fabulous. His use of color against the blonde wood makes me swoon, along with his eye for knowing when to leave areas rough and when to make them finished. Also the fact that you can see gaps where the pieces are put together adds to the overall spooky vibe. Not to mention the titles...le sigh. This is the kind of stuff that makes me want to drive to my freezing cold studio at 1:11am on a late snowy night and just make things. Amazing things...

See more of his work here: http://www.geharddemetz.com/

Etsy, Winter and Me

2010-11-30T21:02:00.000-08:00

So my little Black Friday Sale was really great on Etsy...I sold 3 pieces and am really happy about it. I also discovered a fancy little thing that is a coupon code that people can enter in and get a percentage off of the final total. So I decided to make one that will allow any readers 5% off of any sculpture, which will work even when there are sales happening. To get the discount type in the coupon code: FANCYSCULPTUREBLOG That's it!

Also Aubrie Costello and I are at it again. We are curating a show of Winter themed work for the next exhibition at Barefoot Doctor Community Acupuncture, which opens this Friday. Come check out work by Karol Baker, Misty Bourdess Wilt, Adam Cohen, Aubrie Costello, Gretchen Diehl, Drew Falchetta, Lisa Haskell, Thomas Homer Jr., Kelly Kozma, Kaitlin Mosley, Katie Van Vilet, Ali Williams and more! Join us from 6-9pm at 618 E. Girard Avenue, Phila, PA! Wine and snacks provided!

And I am wrapping up my semester at PAFA. Fleisher is done for now, but starting up again January 10th (If you want in on the Animal Sculpture Class, there is still room! They also offer tuition assistance!! Easy to apply for!!!). I plan to continue on with the planning of my next series and finishing up the bust of Olivia to model animal head masks on...Yesssss! More photos to come once I get my act together...

Philly Black Friday Fanciness!

2010-11-25T22:10:00.000-08:00

Lots of fabulous Philly ladies are having Black Friday Sales via their Etsy stores. bloodmilk, adelina mictlan, & the black spot books are having a 15% off store wide sale on black friday in their shoppes on etsy with an extra 5% to you readers with the coupon codes listed below pictures. fleathers / rabid fox is having a sale right now in their shoppe until black friday. I'm offering 25% off all sculptures through Monday. Check it all out.
Screw Walmart and Best Buy... support fabulous local artists and give something special that will most certainly NOT be regifted!

bloodmilk coupon code: beetlejuice7

a.mictlan coupon code: doom5

fleathers/rabid fox 20% going on now thru black friday!

the black spot books coupon code: littlesilas

25% off darla jackson sculpture

Here we go...

2010-11-17T11:35:00.000-08:00

So I got to spend about an hour and a half starting on the above piece today. It still needs alot of work, but its an ok start considering that O was climbing on me while I was sculpting it (!)... After finishing this piece, I'm going to cast it and use it as a form to create the animal heads on for my next series on (baby bodies, scary animal heads...yeah!). I'm still in the process of deciding what animals heads I'll be using but so far a wolf, a pig, a shark, a falcon, a crocodile and a few others are in the running. We'll see who comes out on top...but for now I am happy to be starting something, even if my model is climbing and peeing on me while I sculpt it...Such is sculptor mom life...!

Found this and liked it

2010-11-07T08:09:00.000-08:00

An in progress shot of the baby bunnies from a miniature ocean

Love is evoL

2010-11-03T22:16:00.000-07:00

Clicking and whirring...that's what has been happening at late hours for me these days...and I can't just hop off to the studio at such times for multiple reason, the biggest of which is a fear of bad guys lurking about at said hours... ANYWAY, I can sit and think and plot and plan...which I am now doing and so far its working out well...The idea for my next body of work has gone from initial crazy starter idea phase into figuring out the underlying meanings to the crazy starter imagery and I am now starting to move into the research and planning phase, after or during which I plan to do some fancy drawings of the soon to be pieces...the drawings may or may not end up finished pieces themselves but I am excited about them...It will be different than my "normal" (HA!) work but I think that's a big part of the excitement, I think. More to come...

Rarely are they perfect...

2010-10-28T20:53:00.000-07:00

Rarely are they perfect... opens Friday, October 29th at Le Cochon Noir. The reception is from 6-8pm. Le Cochon Noir is located at 5070 Parkside Avenue, across from the Mann Music Center. Hope you can make it!

And here is a sneak peek of the installation...

Backlog...

2010-10-27T22:40:00.000-07:00

Below are some images of the million things I've been up to lately and too busy to post photos of...until now.

Stripped to the Teeth at The Toothless Cat

There is a great deal I do not want to know... at Art in the Age

Studio during POST

Trophy at B2

It's NOT always sunny in Philadelphia...

2010-10-14T14:55:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting on the couch with miss O thinking about all that I should be doing right now but am not...have just one show left to finish getting ready for and then am taking a couple months just to make some new work...it's been a while since i've had time to just make, so this will be great. Olivia has also started walking, which is forcing me to use studio time more wisely, though the added combo of Justin moving in to the studio (tag team!) and the new baby jail that Sheila, Radha and Uma got O for her birthday (thank you!) will both help me keep my sanity. I'm also super excited about making new work because teaching at the Academy has really got me looking at things more closely than I have for a while...its totally refreshing and has me excited! Anyway....a slow, rainy day was needed to catch up on normal life stuff...back to normal tomorrow...

This Weekend!!

2010-10-05T07:55:00.000-07:00

Wow! How is it already October?!?!? Well this weekend is full of fabulous and exciting things! Saturday and Sunday I'm participating in POST (Philadelphia Open Studio Tours) and will have my studio open both days from 12-6pm. And it will be a triple threat of fabulous, as there will be art by Justin Grant, Aubrie Costello and me! The address is 3237 Amber Street in the Post Richmond Section of Philly (It's a block in from Frankford and Allegheny Avenues) and we're on the 3rd Floor, North Side (Look for all the signage!)

AND, Saturday night I'll have work in a show with the other members of The Other Woman Collective at The Toothless Cat Gallery in the Piazza at Schmidt's! 6-10pm!

Art that I love by people that are awesome: I

2010-09-20T19:02:00.001-07:00

My friend Jed made this. Check his blog for the process photos... I told him that if I weren't a spoken for lady I would marry this piece.

My friend Laura made this. Check her website for more egg photos. I would also marry this piece...does that make me an art two timer? Hmmmm...

A bunch down...a few more to go...

2010-09-18T18:19:00.000-07:00

So I feel like I am maybe at the halfway point of crazy with all the shows I've had/have...I have 3 immediately upcoming ones to get ready for before I'm in the clear... There is a Great Deal I Do Not Want to Know at Art in the Age with Margaux and Walter Kent, Stripped to the Teeth at the Toothless Cat Gallery with The Other Woman Collective and an as yet unnamed solo show at Le Cochon Noir...The work for AITA is done...I may make a new piece for the Toothless Cat show and I am still working out my ideas for the Le Cochon Noir show, but expect it to be a blend of new and remixed old work. Luckily the animals all lend themselves to fitting into new scenarios quite nicely...
My plan after this gauntlet of shows is over is to hibernate in my studio over the winter and create a few new bodies of work...some are newer ideas and some are older ideas that I've been sitting on for a while...
Oh and POST is also coming up and my studio will be open to the public on Oct 9th and 10th...Oh my...I feel like this weekend is the calm before a storm of craziness/productivity...!!!

Tomorrow Night!!!!

2010-09-16T12:26:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow (Friday) night from 6-9pm!!! Come see some fabulous drawings by Anne, Aubrie, Justin and Sarah!!!!

This Thursday! Graffiti Shoes + My brother DJing!

2010-09-14T20:17:00.001-07:00

A combination of people I love are making this event happen! My brother (Eric Jackson aka DJ Akshun) is DJing, my fabulous friend and studio mate (Aubrie Costello) is planning and organizing the event and my other fabulous friend (Sam Meyerson) is bombing people's Toms. Come on out for a good time, good music, and cupcakes!

Don't Forget To Write! TOMS + Graffiti

Thursday, September 16th 5:30pm-8:30pm

Bus Stop Boutique, 4th and Fitzwater Sts.

Come get your TOMS bombed by Samske and his crew of graffiti artists!

For one night only, choose from our selection of Natural or Ash TOMS Classics for both blokes and chicks and get personal with a hand-drawn graffiti piece on your new kicks while-you-wait!!

Colourful art by talented local graffiti artists on you feet to the streets!!

Free BUS STOP tote cotton bag to the first ten customers to buy a pair of TOMS!!

Music by Philly's own DJ AKSHUN. Toms Collins cocktails and Buttercream Cupcakes!

Also on the horizon...

2010-09-12T12:55:00.001-07:00

On the Horizon...

2010-09-09T10:37:00.001-07:00

Art in Bars

2010-09-09T06:29:00.000-07:00

So I've come up for air to let ya'll know that I am the latest artist in the Art in Bars Ask an Artist series! In case you haven't read Art in Bars before, its a great blog that showcases the art in nontraditional spaces around the city, along with reviews of bars and drinks...art, bars and booze, yay! Anyway, hope you like it...it's not every day that a lady gets to say "motherfucking" in an interview...! Thanks to Tshombe and Sequoia!!

Click here for the interview.

Inliquid Benefit v.11 September 30th, 2010

2010-09-08T07:08:00.001-07:00

I've donated a piece to Inliquid's benefit this year. I've wanted to for years and finally got it together in time (which is amazing counting all the other crazy stuff I am doing at the moment...!)
Just wanted to post the info here in case anyone was interested in coming!

TROPHY at B2 September 11 - October 7, 2010

2010-09-05T20:07:00.000-07:00

Above is the card for an upcoming show at B2. My ideas for this show changed about a million times, until I came back around to some older work that I never really felt like was quite resolved...I reworked it a bit and put a different spin on it. I'm still not sure its resolved but it's got an interesting thing going on... We'll see...

Crazy Husband

2010-08-10T16:35:00.001-07:00

Today Olivia (Baby), Courtney (Intern Extrodinaire), and I went to go visit Justin at Rowan University Art Gallery, where he was putting together 2 GIANT (10ft high x 12ft wide x 2ft deep!!!) rolling walls that he built for the gallery. He and Walter Kent were working together (at last!) to put the pieces together and it seemed to be a match made in heaven as those walls (or that wall, rather) were looking damn good when we got there.

Courtney inspecting and Justin list making...

So big...

Walter and Justin...

Profile view...

2nd Wall, ready to go...

Happy to see Da Da...

A little Daddy daughter dance interlude...

Olivia consults her Dad's plans and gives approval!

Holy Crap I'm busy...

2010-07-30T20:54:00.000-07:00

I just updated the front page section of my website and realized how busy I am (or am about to be)...I have 2 shows up right now and 5 on the way, 2 of which are solo shows...Throw in a week of camping where I will not be working on sculpture and less than a month to get ready for my new teaching gig at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (!) and "holy crap" does not begin to describe how I'm feeling...Oh AND I *might* move my studio during it all...Yeah, I'm a nutcase...
Hopefully lots and lots of photos to come of all the crazy I am working on right now...

Photos from the Stephen Starr Pop Up Restaurant Curated by Eileen Tognini

2010-07-24T09:37:00.000-07:00

Here's a link to the photos from the Stephen Starr Pop Up Restaurant curated by EIleen Tognini!

Eileen Tognini Pop Up Photos

Photos by jpguila

Whats up with these sharks lately...?

2010-07-16T19:47:00.001-07:00

So I heard two crazy stories about sharks this week... Whats going on? Is it something having to do with the oil spill? Or are they just havin' fun causing drama? Either way, it made me want to sculpt another shark...mmmm shark sculptures....

1,035 lb Great White found in Maryland (Yowza!)

9 1/2 ft long Thresher Shark found on LBI in New Jersey

Darla's Animals Take Over a Stephen Starr Restaurant???

2010-06-28T09:33:00.000-07:00

I was recently asked by the fabulous curator, Eileen Tognini, to include some of my work in the first installment of Stephen Starr's New Pop-up Restaurant Series, where my animal sculptures will be among artwork by Susan Benarcik, Tom Judd, Margaux and Walter Kent (yay!!!), Warren Muller, Greg Nangle, Lenny Wilson, and Summer Yates! The restaurant will be in place for 3 days, June 29th - July 1st and is located at Washington Square Restaurant at 210 Washington Square, Philadelphia, PA. Aimee Olexy of Talula's Table will be running this pop-up restaurant and the menu sounds amazing...From what Eileen told me they were going for a farm to table kind of thing...mmmm....so if you check it out, be on the lookout for some rouge squirrels, a hiding little mouse, a sneaky raccoon and a hawk!
Photos to come...(was sick today so Justin handled the install...what a guy!)

The Menu:

Collectively Speaking, Then and Now...

2010-06-24T21:56:00.000-07:00

Lorie Mertes contacted the ladies of The Other WOman Collective a few weeks ago and asked us if we're liked to do a show comparing the work of our collective to the work of The Philadelphia Ten, a collective that began showing in 1917! We all thought this was an amazing opportunity and were super excited to have been asked to participate!

Wednesday was a long day that started at 6:30 am when we all woke up to do a group photo for the show, as we didn't have an existing one that anyone deemed suitable. After the shoot in the woods was over there were pancakes. crawling, naps, gathering, trips to Home Depot and alot of back and forth to the car for lots of things...but around 6ish we all got together for a second time that day and started installing our work on the walls and set about creating an installation in the space...It went really well, despite our long day and I think we're all really happy with how the show came out. Below are some installation photos...

The installation:

Collectively Speaking, Then and Now:
The Other Woman and The Philadelphia Ten

June 25th, 2009 - September 7th, 2010

The Galleries at Moore
20th & the Parkway
Philadelphia, PA

What I did at 6:30am this morning...

2010-06-23T10:29:00.001-07:00

Mayor Nutter + Surprise Party = Inquirer!

2010-06-17T06:21:00.000-07:00

Photo by David M Warren

I woke up this morning to find a bunch of emails and Facebook messages about this mornings article in the Inquirer about the new gallery at City Hall, with a photo of Mayor Nutter with my work!!! Olivia and I went to the opening last night and it was really great. Tons of people were there and Olivia, of course got attention from just about all of them!

Here's the link to the article: Debut of New Gallery at City Hall

Photo by Jeffrey Bussmann

My husband wrangles (strangles?) sculpture for a living

2010-06-15T20:51:00.000-07:00

Justin is the kind of guy who can do everything except remember where he has to be that day...Build giant walls, check. Rewire our house, check. Help me make crazy molds, check. Move giant Calder sculptures down the Parkway, check. Remember our dinner plans with his mom, not so much. I feel like forgetting such things is a small price to pay when he can make stuff like this happen:

William Penn needs a new home...in steps Crozier Fine Arts Philly

Just gonna move you over here...

And your little base too...

Justin and Dan with Mr. Penn levitating between them...

New digs for Billy Penn

Shoutout to my crazy husband who can make the impossible happen...I love you.

June....Already?

2010-06-07T10:14:00.000-07:00

How is it not only June already, but officially a week into June? How the hell did that happen?
Anyway, looking forward to getting into the studio this week and will be deinstalling The Other Woman window installation at Trinity Framing on Thursday (I sold my two silhouettes...yay!).
Also looking forward to finishing ripping up the carpet in the first floor of our house and moving Justin's studio in with mine so our house is really just a house. Yes, we are back to sharing a studio, which I like and he doesn't seem to like quite as much...I like it because then all of our tools are in one place and I know where it all is. He isn't usually as excited as I am about all of our tools being in one place because I tend to be a bit of a whirlwind when I work and end up in a pile of dirty tools and mess. (Though I always clean up after!...eventually...) Justin is more methodical and meticulous about his tools and surroundings, so this will be an exercise in compromise for sure. We plan to reconfigure the whole studio, which will be great and chaotic. The sculpting and mold areas will shift and we may make room for a shop area (shop as in a place to build stuff, not a place to buy cute things.) Stay tuned for photos.
Also keep your eyes peeled for info on an upcoming show at Moore with my fellow members of The Other Woman. It will be a show of work by The Other Woman and The Philadelphia Ten!

Deer + Bike = Art

2010-05-27T14:05:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love these:

antler handlebars by sung kug kim

It's Who You Know...

2010-05-26T19:51:00.000-07:00

Hey hey! I was invited to be in a show at Projects Gallery by the fabulous Ashley Flynn. The opening is Friday, June 4th from 6-9pm. See below for details!

Mia Rosenthal "General Mills 8 Pack"

“It’s Who You Know” - June 4 - 26, 2010

The Philadelphia artist community is a complex but tight-knit social entity. To demonstrate just how important networking is to this nebulous stratum of our society, Projects Gallery presents “It’s Who You Know”, a non-juried, quasi-invitational exhibition. Projects invited five young artists, all of who have previously exhibited at the gallery, to in turn invite five artists each to come together. With no prevailing theme, the work will represent the taste and artistic expressions of the initial five. It will be illustrative of overlapping styles within social groups while highlighting the schisms that exist between the groups themselves. Relyingon the eye of the artist and honest in its dependence on social networking, this exhibition reinforces “It’s Who You Know.”

Freeing the boundaries of the traditional exhibition experience, this show relies on the artists themselves to present both the experienced and the novice. Host artists Distort, Conor Fields, Ashley Flynn, Brooke Holloway and Mia Rosenthal, although familiar with the work of the invited artists, have challenged the gallery to create a cohesive display through a veil of mystery until the moment of installation. The resulting exhibition is a choose-your-own adventure documenting separate artistic pockets of Philadelphia, as well as an attempt to break free from those insular groups for a more inclusive showing. In the end, this exhibition will certainly prove the necessity of social discourse.

Artist reception First Friday June 4th from 6 - 9 p.m. The reception is free and open to the public.

Folks, she's done it again...

2010-05-25T15:13:00.000-07:00

Margaux of The Black Spot Books and Peg and Awl manages to constantly reinvent herself and her things and I love her for this. Here is a shot from her blog of a bunch of book necklaces as a tiny library, which I want in my life..desperately.

Enisle : Opening June 4th

2010-05-22T16:12:00.000-07:00

This is the card for a show that the fabulous Aubrie Costello and I curated for Barefoot Doctor Community Acupuncture. Enisle (meaning to make an island of, to place on an island or to isolate) features the photographs of 3 amazing artists, Ray Abary, John Francis Peters and Elizabeth Santry. Please come by for the opening reception on Friday, June 4th.

Sidebar: Want it

2010-05-18T06:31:00.000-07:00

1961 Airstream Bambi

In a totally unrelated to sculpture note, I want one of these... (Or maybe it's not totally unrelated...it could be a mini travel studio...)

Deinstalling sucks...

2010-05-06T20:39:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately I've been too busy to write for the past two days because I was at the Art Alliance deinstalling my show, "While you were out..." This sucked for three reasons, the first being that I had a baby strapped to me for most of the deinstall, which made moving some of the things just about impossible to do without squashing Olivia. The second because I had to move ALL the furniture back into my house, which was looking very nice without the cat scratch fever line of furniture as an eye sore... And third, because I had to take the show down!! That always makes me sad! I never feel like its been long enough or that I'm ready and this time was no exception.
Anyway, aside from the suckery, the good bits were that, first, deinstalling with O'Rae wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. And moving things with a baby on me the first day made me able to do insane displays of human strength on the second day..."THERE'S NOT A BABY ON ME! LET ME PICK UP THIS TABLE BY MYSELF! HOW ABOUT THIS GIANT PLATE GLASS MIRROR? NO PROBLEM!" Justin was wondering why I needed him to come help if I was moving everything by myself... And about the house, well I think I'm going to just teach myself how to reupholster using the chairs that my cats scratched the 'ish out of as guinea pigs. AND my fabulous mother in law GAVE me the sexy desk that she loaned me for the exhibition. Thanks Ms. B! And despite being sad at seeing the show come down, I am really excited that I got a chance to show there, so thanks so much to the Art Alliance folks! Yay!

Oh! And the Flock birds winner is lucky #7 Ms. Sarah Hunt of Mouse Trap Vintage (picked by the random number generator on random.org)! Thanks so much to everyone for their comments!!!!!! And I really had fun doing that and love giving things away so check back during the first week of next month and maybe I'll have another fancy something to give away....!

OK...I am deliriously exhausted and must go to bed now....!

Up next...

2010-05-04T12:01:00.000-07:00

I have 2 shows coming up in September that I'm about to start working on...The first one is at B2 in South Philly and the idea behind the work is based on trophies...both kinds...the one you got for being a team player in little league kind and the dead animal head on a wall kind. What I'm doing is what it might be like if these two types of trophies had a weird emo baby...I think. Going to be taking actual trophies and sculpting things onto and over the pre-existing forms. They will still be trophies but for things slightly more bizarre than 2nd place in a pie eating contest...

Sketches and in progress photos to come...probably next week, as I have to take down my Art Alliance show tomorrow and Thursday :(

And don't forget to comment on yesterdays post if you want to win 2 Flock birds...Yay!

50/50

2010-05-03T12:51:00.001-07:00

No, I'm not selling raffle tickets...I'm just reminding myself of the fact that art is really 50% creative work and 50% at a desk, emailing, making resumes, price lists and the like kind of work...which for me isn't such a big deal because I actually *like* doing that kind of stuff but some people abhor it (It's always a good day when you can use a word like abhor in a sentence...yes! And did I really quick just look up the definition of said word to make sure I was using it correctly in said sentence even though I already knew what it meant? You bet your ass I did ;) Anyway, I really think that the business part gives my brain a break from the creative part and the creative part gives my brain a break from the business part...and sometimes for me one fuels the other....making lists of projects I want to work on makes me excited to get in the studio and working on pieces gets me all excited about updating my website and whatnot (nerd much?).
All that said, today has been a business day that has made me super excited to get into the studio this week...Will be posting progress on two projects I have coming up. Yay!

Flock

Also, in case anyone was really excited about the chance of there being a raffle (though I doubt it)...no no no, make that to continue on the generosity and excitement of winning things (I won two things last week...2 THINGS!...Exciting!) I'll send 2 Flock birds (they get lonely if there's just one of them) to a randomly picked winner who comments below about their thoughts on art making vs. art business...(You need not be an artist to win...Check back on Friday for a winner...Be sure to include your email address so I can tell you if you are a fabulous winner in case you forget to check back...Commenting will close at 11:59pm on Thursday, May 6)

Stay Tuned

2010-04-24T18:57:00.000-07:00

I am not a lazy bum, I swear. I've just decided to take the month of April to lay low and play with O'Rae and make scones and catch up on laundry...I expect to be back in the studio in full force come May, with the littlest intern ever (is it possible to teach babies to mix plaster???...kidding!)
So stay tuned for more stuff coming up....have a few shows in the coming months and lots to make to get ready for them!

O'Rae, baby intern, drooler extraordinaire

2010-04-10T18:22:00.000-07:00

This Wednesday - Stuffed at the Wagner Free Institute of Science

2010-04-05T12:02:00.000-07:00

My Fleisher Art Memorial Animal Sculpture class has their work in a show at the Wagner Free Institute of Science this Wednesday, April 7! Please come out for the lecture and check out the show! And if you have never been to the Wagner you don't know what you are missing!!!

Info:

A History of Taxidermy
Wedensday, April 7th, 2010
5:30pm

Wagner Free Institute of Science

1700 W. Montgomery Avenue

Philadelphia, PA, 19121

The Wagner Free Institute of Science presents “A History of Taxidermy,” an illustrated presentation by Dr. Pat Morris, retired London University professor and taxidermy historian.

Dr. Morris will explain why people find taxidermy to be so interesting, tracing the history of taxidermy from its roots as a business in the 19th century, while exploring the diverse and amusing uses of this preservation technique. This includes major museum exhibits, stuffed pets, hunting trophies, animal furniture, and squirrels playing cards.

In conjunction with the lecture, there will be an exhibition of work created by Animal Sculpture students from the Samuel S. Fleisher Art Memorial on display in the museum.

Come early to explore the Wagner’s historic building and unparalleled collections. Dr. Morris will speak on Wednesday, April 7th, at 5:30 PM. The museum will stay open late (4-7 PM) for this event.

Still Life

2010-03-29T09:10:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading Still Life:Adventures in Taxidermy by Melissa Milgrom, and have to say, I really loved it! From all the history, including Carl Akeley and Walter Potter, to talk of all the innovations that have changed the art (the craft? both?) over the years, to the descriptions of the process, the people and the events in Taxidermy, the whole book was really great and very inspiring for me, as an animal sculptor. If you have any interest at all in taxidermy, you should check this out.

TONIGHT!!!

2010-03-26T07:40:00.000-07:00

Animal Show!

2010-03-23T19:49:00.001-07:00

Animals become a canvas onto which we humans project our myths, fantasies and ideas, making up our own meanings. In Animal Show, 9 artists explore ways in which animals are transformed into such unwitting actors.

where: Pterodactyl Philadelphia, 3237 Amber St., Fifth Floor North, Philadelphia, PA 19134

work by: Eric Fausnacht, Danna Ray, Jen Ray,
Mat Tomezsko, Katie Elia, Katherine Kaminski,
Mike Bukowski, Darla Jackson, Melissa Zetts

opening: 8pm April 3rd

closing: 8pm April 24th

opening night music by: Steve Goldberg and the Arch Enemies, The Josh and Pete Band, SuperGoose

closing night music by: Dangerous Ponies, Conversations with Enemies, Pony Pants,
Algernon Cadwallader

Amazing Video

2010-03-03T14:35:00.001-08:00

Friday, February 26th! Play mate at JOG

2010-02-25T15:51:00.001-08:00

Phila Weekly

2010-02-24T12:28:00.001-08:00