WIP Wednesday

 Here's the face (and hat!) I got to sculpt this past weekend.

It was my first time working with this kind of clay (Chavant - NSP Medium), which is a very firm, non-drying substance. It was amazing to work with! Had a great time, and am super appreciative to Tim Bruckner for coming out to teach at TLCWorkshops.

(oh and this suspicious character now lives at my house!)

Workshop Weekend!

This weekend, the illustrious sculptor, Tim Bruckner is here teaching us! You can follow along with our adventures, starting here!

The Mysteries of Modern Art -

I'm still thinking about Western Washington's campus that we toured on Monday.
(Here are my cute tour-ee's)

The majority of Western's campus is much 'younger' than the UW and more modern in feel. There's lots of brick put to great use - both on the buildings and in the walkways. And apparently one of the things Western is known for is its extensive modern-outdoor-sculpture collection.

I've always been an unapologetic representational sort of artist. And while there is some abstract art that I appreciate (like local friend/artist Angela Wales Rockett), some of it, especially three-dimensional forms can leave me absolutely mystified...

(this piece is nick-named 'the Giant Orange Mosquito')

Stairs...to nowhere....?

Pieces of a wooden-beam pyramid...

Partial, holey cube.. (I do like this one - but it's something I can name..)

But this one... why???

And this big steel rectangular thing...?? Sculpture? I really don't get it.

Ruminations at the airport -

It was a long airport day. My flight and my daughter's were leaving at the same time, but since hers was an international one we had to be there very early. She met up with her lucky Great-Britain-going group and shooed me off...

...which gave me time to contemplate the various sculptures and installations seen in my concourse for this flight. Seatac airport has many -

-some of which are downright bizarre! (this one always reminds me of intestinal segments...)

This large window installation reminds me of Eastern European folk art...

- Folk art and mythology... It is lovely and even easier to see on a grey day.

Directly across from my gate, I could see the-daughter's concourse (although her plane was around the other side of it). I had to wave good-bye from across the drizzly tarmac...

...while the various airplane tails circled and moved over the pavement in a way rather reminiscent of shark fins in the grey water. (Maybe I'm just missing her, traveling "alone", for such a long way, for the first time. :-)

Excellent Eastern Adventure - sculpture

There was a nice selection of sculpture - not exactly Italian, but some lovely pieces non-the-less...




(the 'heroic-Roman-leader' busts of various American presidents cracked me up. This is Andrew Jackson - in hero mode.)

To answer Tom's question -

The feet in the Bologna sculpture post belonged to this concrete lion. (This was one of a number of 'violent' sculptures in this lovely, idyllic little park, surrounding a fountain...). The anatomy was so detailed, as you can see in the foot close-up, or the protruding tongue on this wildebeasty-critter, or if you walked around the back, you could also unquestionably determine that these animals were anatomically correct (and amply endowed) males... I didn't take a picture of that, however...

Big Cities - Bologna

One thing that was hard to miss was all the sculpture about, much of it water-themed (mermaids, Neptune, hippocampus, octopuses, etc...) - which was interesting given this is an inland city. Can anyone tell me why?

This particular sculpture was one of half a dozen surrounding a fountain - and all depicting fairly violent scenes - lions killing giant serpents or cattle or this one of one mermaid grasping another one by the hair, preparing to bonk her on the head with a conch shell..... (again -huh?)

The detail on them was astonishingly gritty and meticulous.

Another water-based sculpture - this one has been slightly 'censored' - a visiting illustrator taped his business cards to her and then had his picture taken next to her and them...

This Neptune fountain (the top of which you can see here) is in the main piazza. Lots of figures scattered from top to bottom. My publishers had seen it the night before and were commenting on how the women on the bottom made them feel kind of uncomfortable... I wasn't sure what they meant. Until we saw it in person...

There was a nice foursome on the corners of the fountain base, all in this same 'pose'...

Your response may vary. :-)