Images for Pinterest

Alright, I'm going to do it, pin my work on Pinterest. Brace yourself world.

 

"Budgie" plaque

This piece features a budgerigar head atop the body of a dancer. Budgie are a popular pet to keep caged, perhaps this woman is too.

 

 

"Expectant Cassowary" plaque

 

This piece has a beautiful cassowary head atop the body of a pregnant woman.
The cassowary drifts through males during the mating season, leaving each egg with the male that fathered it. She's then off to her next adventure. 

Perhaps you know someone who fancies this kind of life. 

The Princess of the Galapogos - she's finished!

(This photo copyright of Lane Community College)

20x16.5x10"

Stoneware, oil paints

Lady Birds

These are my Lady Bird plaques. These were created in an attempt to represent aspects of human/albeit female nature of one vein or another. The Cassowary (on the right) has been sculpted on a pregnant torso and this fits as the Cassowary is renown for leaving her egg with the male and promptly heading out to find a new mate, with whom she will leave that egg with as well. The budgerigar (on the left) is a comment about the perfect little "pet" of a girl. This budgie resides, a bit ackwardly, on the body of a very lean female torso and she is a pretty little thing.
I am curious what others see in these figures. I have had people love them, feel moved by them, positively and even be disturbed by them. How do they make you feel?

The Budgerigar Lady Bird plaque handpainted in vibrant colors:

What is your story?

What are your fears?

What are your secrets?

With the Lady Birds I hope to reveal women from every angle.

Cute, innocent, angry, abused, motherly, abandoned, friend, respected, forgotten.

Which bird tells your story?

A Glimpse of Our Booth and Our Work

This post is for those events that need to see us in action.

At the Douglas County Fair in 2010:

At the Lane County Fair in 2010:

Several happy customers:

Birds of a Feather

My love affair with birds goes back as far as I can remember, well, maybe not quite that far. Anyone who has met me knows before too long that birds and I are pretty inseparable. I don't mean physical birds, like pets, as I do not have any right now. I mean the presence of birds in my mind and in my work. I possess quite a few bird-themed items, however, I am particular about exactly what kinds of bird work appeals to me. For one, I care that a bird is labeled correctly. For the record, the term "seagulls" is not accurate. Look them up in any bird identification book and these birds will be found under "gulls". There is a distinct difference between crows and ravens, no, we do not have Blue Jays on the West Coast (unless they are really, really, really lost). We proudly boast Steller's Jays and Scrub Jays. And my biggest soap-box topic is that birds are protected. Under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 more than 800 birds on this continent are protected, meaning they are illegal to possess in whole or in part. This includes feathers, birds found from natural death, nests that are still in a tree or building, etc. I had this conversation with a woman earlier today, she wanted to know if crows were protected, yes, were gulls protected, yes... yes... yes... yes... Game birds are exceptions when permits and other laws are abided by, also is collection for research purposes or rehabilitation (all of these for which there are special permits). If you find an injured bird please contact a rehabilitation center. A couple of local organizations include Willamette Wildlife Rehabilitation and the Cascades Raptor Center.

Okay, I'm off my soapbox, for now...

My point was to introduce some bird work that I did more than ten years ago (as proof that my bird infatuation now is not a phase, and will not pass quickly. *grin*)

Fischer's Love Bird - 1999

pastel

From a photo I took at the Fort Worth Zoo

Scarlet Macaw - 1999

graphite

Nymphicus hollandicus: Cockatiel -2000

graphite

Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo - 1999

watercolor pencils

Barred Owl - 1999

watercolor

(Before I knew it was a barred owl, and before I knew how to tell barreds apart from spotted owls)

A Dog, A Cat, and An Owl

It was hard narrowing my OCAC portfolio selection to just twenty images. Yeah, just twenty. So, I'd like to share some pieces of mine that did not make the cut, but that I love just as much.

"Bear"

Pen and ink

This piece is a bit older than I would have liked, which was one of the reasons it was removed from the selection. Remember Rapidograph? Yeah, they drove me nuts too. But I managed to pull this out of them before I flung those pens to the curb. I love this piece. Bear was my childhood dog. She passed away while I was in high school and the memories are bitter-sweet. She was such an amazing dog, so sweet, so loving. Tony and I are looking forward to the day we can bring home a puppy for our son to grow up with. It will be a couple of years at this point however, we need to get a yard first. *grin*



"Harley"

acrylic on canvas

This piece I painted for my parents for Christmas last year. Harley (because he was a "low-rider") left this earth last fall, too young. He was the most interesting cat I'd ever met. Of course he was special though, he was a munchkin.

"Young Barn Owl"

Acrylic, fabric and wire on canvas

I love this piece, however, my instructor (whom's opinion I sought) mentioned that it was difficutl to tell from the photo what exactly was happening with this piece. This was the first piece I created with one of my images from the Cascades Raptor Center (CRC). This young barn owl was one of eight that were in rehab at the center awaiting release. I had the pleasure of trying to catch this group from a large flight cage to weigh each one. Quite a unique experience, I will tell you that! When I first saw this photo after I got home I thought, "there it is, there's my muse" I had to do something. I created this piece as mix-media because I love putting materials together. In this case I sewed a pile of little leaves, wrapped wire around them, covered the wire and created small branches. The owl is pieced with a variety of patterned cottons. I glued and then sewed the owl and branch sections to the canvas (that I'd already begun to paint) and then painted the details on top of the fabric sections. Here are some additional images to help you see what is happeninng in this piece:



Denali - She's finished!

Here is the finished painting for your viewing pleasure:

"Denali"

36"x24"

Denali - Eagle painting, in progress

I have been volunteering at the Cascades Raptor Center since June of 2010. My time there has been so incredible. I had several reasons for choosing the raptor center as where I wanted to spend my time, one was that I needed volunteer experience on my resume, two was that I have been crazy for birds since I was in grade school and three was that I was hoping to find my muse. And you know, I found just that. I have been able to take pictures of some of the residents in the hopes of creating artwork from them. Whether they end up painted, sculpted or quilted, I have yet to find out. This is a sneak-peak at a painting that is very near completion, perhaps only days away.

This is a closeup only as the piece extends further out to the right. The canvas is 36"x24". I am anxious for this piece to be completed as it will be the third piece I will have created from my images of the raptor center. You can read more about this eagle here: Denali.

The fate of this piece has not yet been decided. My wheels are turning however and I will share the finished image as well as her fate soon.

Pursuing my dream - Oregon College of Art and Craft

About a month ago I submitted my application and portfolio to the Oregon College of Art and Craft (OCAC) and have been waiting on pins and needles since. This past Friday the admissions office called me up to tell me that my application had been accepted and that they would like to offer me a $6,000 annually renewable scholarship. What?? I was in shock. I missed most of the rest of the conversation at that point. When I got off the phone with admissions I shouted in excitement, then I cried. My son asked me if I was sad, I told him that I was happy. He looked a bit confused. Then again, he's 3 1/2 and tears usually mean sad to him. I was in shock, for three days. I scooped up my son, Vincent, right away and drove to meet his daddy at work. I had to tell him in person, and I had to tell him first. He was so happy for me. I think he was in a bit of shock too.

I'm sure that many others have received scholarships much larger than I have, but this is my first. I've never received anything of this magnitude for my work, for myself. I feel as though I have fought the world for many years for what I wanted. And now, the world was opening up her bosom to me and welcoming me. This is such an alien feeling. I have always been an artist. I can't remember a time when I haven't had art in my life in one form or another. Three years when I returned to school I told my father the news and he asked if I would be pursuing business. Business? Really?? "No dad, I'm an artist." Artists do need to know quite a bit about business, don't get me wrong, but art has not been seen as a viable career in my family. I am sure that most artists out there have experienced this in one form or another. Even my ceramics instructor, who has been teaching for more than a decade and has had his work shown in Europe still hesitates to tell people that he is a sculptor to avoid the looks that people give. Well, looks or not, I am an artist and I will die pursuing that dream. And on my journey I will be stopping off at OCAC for a couple of years. *grin*

Keep your passion burning, don't let anyone hold you down.

I know, I know, the burrowing owls are huge! Didn't you know? I just LOVE burrowing owls.

The Princess of the Galapagos - Figure Sculpture

I have been taking my sweet time in finishing this piece. I am casually calling her the "Iguana". The torso for this piece was made in class last term, but that wasn't enough, I had to get in there and do crazy things to her! The question of "what head should I use" seemed a simple one to answer, but as I rifled through my numerous animal books, it was anything but. I began sculpting a deer but didn't feel it, and then shifted to a rabbit, but that idea did not get very far either. Out of the corner of my eye a strange and intriguing face stared up at me. I have a book on the animals of the Galapagos Islands and on the cover sits a pair of marine iguanas. The scales, the spikes, even the curve of their lizard lips seemed to call out to me. Marine iguana then, done.

This piece is in-progress but I thought you might enjoy being kept up-to-date on her progress. I know I do! *grin*

Stay-tuned for more nuggets of goodness!

Pretty Bird - Update

Pretty Bird went into the heat a couple of weeks ago and I nearly turned blue from holding my breath. I handed her over to my ceramics teacher on a Friday morning and watched with a mother's eye over his shoulder as he loaded her into her own tiny kiln, closed the lid, and punched in her sentence. All I could do was wait. Monday morning I hurried over to the ceramics lab and made my way to the kiln room at the back. The little kiln stood with it's lid up. I walked up to it stretching my neck out like a stork bracing myself for a pile of birdy pieces. But much to my surprise Pretty Bird had survived! I reached into the kiln and pulled her free. The bisque-firing was a success! *exhale breath*

A week later my amazing figure teacher, Ellen Tykeson, made a special visit on Friday morning to demonstrate a unique finishing technique involving specific forms of wax to whomever wanted to learn. Two of us showed up. Only two. And here are the results:

Pretty Bird

I love taking before and after pictures of my work, although I don't do it nearly as much as I should. The images on the left have one day of classwork left on them. The images on the right show what the piece looked like after I spent several days on it at home. I took pictures of the fabric that was underneath the model so I could work on that detail at home. Being my third figure sculpture class with Ellen Tykeson I decided that I needed to really push myself this term. Prior to this I had never sculpted fabric and was determined to make it read. There is always room for improvements but I have to say that I am pleased with the results on this first attempt.

I have also been working on opening up to conceptual and contemporary work. I still have my beef with much of what is produced with the excuse of being "modern" art but I am beginning to have fun with the conceptual side. I am absolutely in love with birds and I do what I can to work them into my art. I took this opportunity to do just that here. The woman's head is a mourning dove. A bird I love. For years I thought they were actually called "morning" doves. So this puts a slightly different twist on this feathered friend. The wings on this piece are less accurate. I did use reference images however, they are shorter than a wing should be. Nearly half the wing is missing. Only the primary feathers are really represented here. But then that leaves open several different interpretations. Is the wing sprouting from the body or is it in fact receding?

After deliberation over several titles I ended on "Pretty Bird" for this piece. Is this a woman past her prime who is no longer "pretty" or does her beauty exist even now as she ages. Is she like a caged bird trapped in this body or does she sing with joy as she seemed to sit comfortably nestled in her own "nest".

The meaning is in your hands.

What do you see?

Open Studio Visit with Ellen Tykeson

If you haven't seen Ellen Tykeson's work, go check out her site now. Don't look later, look now. She is absolutely amazing. I have taken a year's worth of figure sculpting classes with Ellen and have learned so much. I will be forever grateful. At the end of this last term she opened up her home studio to her students for the first time. We were a very lucky bunch. Here are some pictures from that evening.

This is a piece-in-progress that is due to be finished and installed by summer of 2010. I can't wait!

The full-sized version of this pair is a kinetic sculpture that is in the lobby of the new River Bend hospital in Springfield.

This winged-women will be beating her hands on a beautiful piece of glasswork. Much as a bird caught indoors will flutter against a window.

For this piece Ellen was inspired by a photo of her, her sister and a cousin clothed in similar ruffled suits on the beach as very young children.

Ellen's favorite figure of the four that make up her newest piece. Being a bird person myself I am partial to this individual as well. I love her surfaces. Extremely well crafted and amazingly fluid and organic.

Me and Ellen at the end of the visit. Thank you for opening up your creative space!

Project Puppet 2009 Puppet Contest - Faye the Hyacinth Macaw

Faye is a hyacinth macaw with dreams bigger than the jungles of her homeland could contain. After a lifetime of hopes left unrealized and dreams only half awake she is breaking out and making her debut here with aspirations of stardom. She is witty, smart, flamboyant and with talent to spare. When asked if she was a "natural blue" she simply smiled and replied, "I'll never tell". Her greatest strength is her classical training as an opera singer, a skill which she practices daily. (Much to the chagrin of her neighbors) She is counted among the top students in her acting class which she attends at the local learning annex on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Her hope is to become an actress and star in a romantic comedy opposite Luke Wilson. Keep your eyes on this rising star as she will certainly be shining brightly in an off-off-off Broadway show near you.

I stumbled across this puppet contest about a week and a half. It really was an accidental stumble too! I had not intended to take on yet another new project with my already hectic schedule. But alas, I did.

Projectpuppet.com
The theme for this contest is "The Jungle". My mind went wild with what I could do with a puppet in regards to jungles! As I searched the internet for all types of animals and images from tigers to monkeys to leather-loin-cloth wearing men I found my thoughts swirling around birds. I am quite the bird enthusiast and I try to work them into my art whenever I can. I have been dabbling in soft-moving-mouth puppets for for only about one year to this point and wanted to push my skills! And before I knew it, Faye the hyacinth macaw was on her way in to this world!

The contest required that you choose one of their simple series patterns to be your jumping off point from which they hope you will revise the pattern as you need to and make it your own. Here is the first of two main pattern designs I began with from Project Puppet, the pinhead puppet pattern foam skull:

Added a crazy macaw-like upper mandible.

Didn't like it, cut it off.

Changed the pinhead completely, re-inserted new upper mandible, there, much more macaw-like.

Lower mandible placement test.

I happened uppon this wonderful body design from a demo-video on You Tube. Of course, I did'n't write down the puppeteers name and now that I need it to reference, I can't seem to find the video! Thanks anyway!

Testing the look of the major parts before moving forward.

The second major element I used from the Project Puppet pattern, the body sleeve. However, I did have to create a longer version right away because the body piece (on the left) would not fit the length of my macaw. I intend to use it to cover my arm through the body of the macaw and become the neck at the top. The re-invented body-cover is on the right.

Body cover and pink-head body-sleeve (now neck-sleeve) are assembled.

Fit test #2. Looking good.

I stitched the lower opening of the neck sleeve to the bottom of the body.

The top edge will receive the same treatment, leaving the neck un-attached which will allow the neck to move freely of the body.

It's time to fit the outer fleece to the beak. The upper and lower mandibles are measured.

Pieces are cut from black fleece and hand-sewn to the foam base.

I found some really stretchy dancewear material to use for the yellow skin on the side of the macaws lower mandible. You can see how closely my puppet resembles the reference photo.

Time to make a fleece pattern for the head. This was also a new technique to me that I picked up trolling websites. Amazing, amazing stuff! Saves so much time!

Pieces cut and assembled. Here I am pinning the fleece to the foam base to be certain of the fit before I hand-sew the pieces on.

A wing is cut and assembled ready to be fitted inside its fleece covering. I opted to leave out several photos of wing-assembly here only because I later opted to remove the entire two section on the right.

The pieces ready for assembly.

Here is Faye, nearing the end!

For the feet I am using a technique I learned from the Project Puppet website on making fingers poseable. It's a wonderful technique!

The feet nearing completion.

*My camera battery died shortly after this picture so I don't have any feet covering pictures until the completely piece.

Whew! If you've made it this far, you're a trooper! Thanks for your support!