Each year around Christmas the Indianapolis Arts Council hosts a show titled “TINY” and each year I think I’ll enter something, then don’t get it done. This year I was in the midst of creating the WOOD|STONE|METAL artwork when the call came out so I actually created some pieces to submit!
All these use some combination of natural stones, painted stones, driftwood, balsa wood, metal, paint & ink. Basically the exact same materials I was creating larger pieces from. I don’t really have any step–by-step images of their creation so I’ll share with you images of each individual piece so you can get a better idea of the details.
The wood bases that hold these stones were shaped and carved from balsa wood, making them much lighter than they look.
The stones were arranged and more cutting/sculpting done for them to fit snuggly in the center of the wood. (Okay, yes, they were also glued quite well in one of the final steps, I’m not that talented with wood working yet!)
As you can tell, the stones and were rearranged quite a bit before the final steps were taken.
I decided to use stones that had been colored with ink as the accent stone for each of the sculptures, from this selection:
Once the wood pieces were carved they were sanded, sealed and then colored with inks to get their patina. The center of each piece was painted black and then the stones were all glued into place. Here are two more images of the finished pieces from a different angle:
I really enjoyed working with wood again to created these, and discovering the right sizes and pattern for the stones was quite a challenge. I hope you enjoyed the peak at their creation!
One of the first pieces I created in my newest series “Wood|Stone|Metal”, this is “Serendipity”. The entire series could have been named that, it just came together in a delightful way! For many years I’ve collect bits of driftwood, sticks, stones and other items as I’ve traveled through life knowing that “someday” I would do something with them. With that stash of fun things around I was posed the question “what did you really enjoy doing as a child?” and immediately my love for collecting rocks in a shoebox popped into my mind. Even if they were just small pieces of gravel from our driveway adorned with paint, I spent many happy hours with rocks, as well as playing in nature with whatever I could find. But how to incorporate all that into works of art? That was when the exploring began. Sorting, stacking, painting, and arranging I began to gather/create items that might work together in a natural way. With the plasma cutter I started a collection of steel and copper shapes to use.
From my newly gathered stash of scrap balsa wood pieces I began to shape organic, rock-like pieces.
Rocks were pulled from jars, boxes and storage spots…as well as the landscape!
Driftwood, collected on my travels, was unearthed and more sticks gathered in our woods were stripped, cleaned and bleached to add to the pile.
I also began experimenting with paint on stones.
Over the course of several weeks I gathered, created and prepared. Then it was a bit like solving puzzles, choosing which pieces went with which, how they should be arranged and what made me happiest. Here are images of the process for this piece as it evolved:
Although I ended up with more wall art than sculptures, it was fun to express myself in a more dimensional form. Look for both types to be featured over the following weeks!
On Monday, July 2nd from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. I will be holding a “Mixed Media Wall Sculpture” workshop at my studio. What a nice way to get a little creativity in your summer!
All materials are included but if you have found objects or other treasure you’d like to incorporate into your sculpture you are more than welcome to bring them! Cost per person is $95 – sign up with a friend and you will each get a discount. Class size is limited to 6 participants so be sure to sign up early!
“Art Into Poetry” returns as local Boys and Girls Club members write poetry inspired by the art in this month’s shows with in a workshop with Ivy Tech students. Also back by popular demand is wine tasting by Big Red Liquors.
A Randomly Creative Blog 