Almost done with the maquette

Just found out that my previous blogger name sucked....Thanks, Steve Banks

So being very new to both reading and posting in blogs, I found out that I need to do a more generic blog and then put the projects within that blog.  That will be my approach going forward.  Also, is it ridiculous to assume that people care about what I have to say?  

I consider myself a sculptor struggling to become an artist.  Being a sculptor in Iowa has let me know that most people consider those two things to be mutually exclusive.  To quote a friend at our gallery opening for David Zahn last Friday - "Sculpture is that thing you set your drink on while looking at art".  I have a long road ahead of me.  :-(  But I'm willing to put my big boy pants and my welding sandals on and get rockin'.

"The Desecration of Adam"...On to the next obnoxiously big thing for me.

So I am moving on to the next sculpture.  I have been busy doing other art, but I didn't feel motivated to do this blogging thing until today.  I just found out about an hour ago that I received the Iowa Arts Council Grant.  So I figure today is as good as any to get back into it.  Here are the starting images for the maquette that I am working on.  I am glad that I have already started it as my grant requires that I finish by June 30.  So I need to be hammering it right now.  The big sculpture will be about 10' wide by 7' tall.  I will be doing it on a trailer so that I can drive it to different events and work on it in public. Here is a description of what the piece is about as well.

Desecration of Adam:  From beauty to tragedy

With this work, I challenge the viewer to confront issues of both human rights abuses and religious persecution using a widely accepted example of religious iconography.  One of the most famous paintings in history, Michelangelo’s “Creation of Adam,” depicts the beauty of man brought into existence by his creator.  While the creation of man is a wonderful thing, the subsequent abuses we inflict on each other are a tragedy.  From slavery to genocide, from retaliation to persecution, we have come up with countless ways to inflict pain on our fellow humans.  Whether we do this in the name of religion or nation-building or self-preservation, it is still an abuse of the opportunity given to us by the Creator. 

Wrapping up "Gravity" before I move on to the next blog

 
So I obviously finished the sculpture and delivered it to Grand Rapids, MI.  It was a ton of fun and I had a great showing.  The first pic gives an example of what it looked like around my work most days.  I was in the courtyard of the Gerald Ford Museum.  One of the best outdoor venues for the whole city and the best location on the courtyard.  These guys were wonderful hosts.  My host family was also wonderful.  3 weeks at their house and they are willing to have me back.  Crazy, right?
 

Nighttime was great.  There is always a lot of activity and it is fun to talk to everyone in a more casual atmosphere.  Being outdoors was great to allow people to see the work longer than just business hours that the other venues had to offer.  My host even provided me lighting.
 

Pics 3 and 4 were actually taken by a viewer.  She really liked the piece and came back a few times to take different pictures.  She even printed them out and brought back me the prints.  Man has it been a long time since I've actually held a photo in my hand.  Ha.

Wrapping up.  Here is where the piece finally landed.  This is a pic of the ribbon cutting ceremony at the Rivercenter in Downtown Davenport.  I will give a brief description of the show so that you know what happened and why the sculpture was still in my possession after ARTPRIZE because, had I won, they keep the artwork in Grand Rapids.

I had a great location and great weather.  I was talking to hundreds of people a day and thousands came by to see it.  Public voting happens in 2 rounds.  The first round is 1 1/2 weeks and the second round is 1 week.  I was in the top 25, out of 1500 artists from around the world, for the greater part of round 1.  But two days out from the final voting for round 1, the weather turned REALLY bad.  I went from talking to hundreds a day to talking to 6 people.  Anyway, I fell out of the finals just before the announcement on Sunday.  Very bummed.  As an aside, out of all the outdoor pieces in the top 25, not one went through to the final round.  The weather killed all of us.  Gotta love Lake Michigan and Michigan weather in general.  So I have to decide if it is worth the risk for me to be outside again this year.  Oh well, I had a great time and it was a great learning experience.  ON TO THE NEXT ADVENTURE.

Back in the saddle again.

 I moved the sculpture back to the Figge and am working on it when I can.  They have been very accommodating to my schedule.  I took the last week off in order to get ready for my show at Quad City Arts.  The opening was last Friday and it was a lot of fun.  But now it is time to get back on track with Gravity.  I have started to request housing for when I am up there.  I am looking to stay on 9/20 and 9/21 in order to install.  I am then going back for the next 3 weekends in order to meet people and discuss the work.  That connection with people really helps them understand your thoughts about the work and may help get them to vote for you.  In addition, it is good exposure for me as an artist in general.

This is what it looked like when I came back from the shop and reinstalled it at the Figge.  There were many re-works and I am at about 120 cans of spray foam at this point.

This is Sunday afternoon just before rolling it in to storage.  As you'll note, he has a sweet goatee and afro.  I don't think I will keep those but don't rule them out.

Change of scenery

I had to do it.  I am now at my shop working again.  The foam mess was too much to deal with at the Figge.  In addition, my wimpy little canopy that I set up was ripped down Friday.  So I went back to my shop in order to get through the foam stage.

Tuesday last week.  This is the process.  Nothing fancy. 
 

Friday before I bailed.  Note the lack of a canopy. 

This is where I am as of Sunday.

 

Doing things in public places

Alright, we are live!  I am at the Figge and getting it going.  You really find out if you have any friends when you need someone to get up at the crack of dawn to help you get loaded.  Turns out, Greg is a friend.

 

 

Here is the setup I have in front.  Please note the sweet sign with sponsors on it.  They have been a big help in me being able to do this.  If you are local and want to support them, that would be great.

 

 

 

Starting to finally take shape.

 

 

 

 

After I cleaned up the site at the Figge, I went back to my shop and finished one of the wings.  This is the vertical wing and it is about 15'.