Rabbit Zodiac Sign for Chinese New Year Project

A month and a half ago I was selected to be one a over a dozen artists in a collaboration piece to create a totem of the Chinese zodiac symbols for City Hall here in Las Vegas. The work will be on display from November to February. The twelve zodiac signs will be displayed as three totems.

I was chosen to create the symbol of the rabbit. I drew my inspiration for this project from Chinese calligraphy work and fabrics as well as Beth Cavener Stichter's sculptural work. I began by acquainting myself with the anatomy of rabbits by drawing them from every angle. I found myself drawn more towards hares for their strength and musculature.

One of the many phases of the face.

Once I decided to jump into the sculpting of the rabbit it has been a roller coaster ride of highs and lows. For every thing I have been successful building, I have rebuilt it dozens of times. I have had the whole back end fall off, the legs fall off repeatedly, and have redone the face at least three times for every time I have worked on the sculpture. Whew! Yes, it has been and fight and a struggle. This piece is the largest sculptural work I have ever made. I have learned SO much by building this rabbit! I have definitely been learning how paper clay works. I've also been improving my building and sculpting techniques and processes.  You're constantly having to reevaluate the steps in which to build something of this scale. It has become a wonderful puzzle that has to go together in a specific order to make all the pieces fit.

Adding the cloud to the belly.

I'm currently in the home stretch of the building process and will hopefully be finishing it this week. After that it has to dry for a week or so to be ready for firing. Once it is fired, I'm going to paint it with oil paints.

I fixed the ear after I took this photo, but this pic shows off the upper cloud.

I love the line this ear creates! Finally starting to resemble a rabbit!

Sculptural Progress

As I was putting the final touches on my sculpture yesterday I was approached by a fantastic couple who were admiring her. We spoke of the inspiration and thought process of her creation. They had a lot of great questions and I thoroughly enjoyed talking with them. I don't know that I have ever had such an amazing conversation about my work with someone before. I'm still basking in the afterglow. Throughout the evening they came to check on my progress and to speak more about my art and of her. Both husband and wife spoke of a spiritual connection to the piece, which is more than any artist can ask for. Needless to say, they were completely enamored and offered to purchase her as soon as she is complete. She has about three weeks to dry before I will be able to fire her in the kiln and then she will be painted. My mind is still reeling that someone would want to buy my piece before it's even completed!

Here are some more progress shots. She is dreaming and has a landscape of a forest, cabin, and river running across the top of her hair and fading off into the distance. These are photos of the addition of the trees. The river and cabin came after these photos were taken.

Back in the Clay Studio Again

Bisque ware getting ready to be glazed.

A few weeks before school started I returned to my happiness: my clay! I started taking a wheel throwing class at Clay Arts Vegas and have been practically living there ever since. Nothing makes me happier than working with clay and being surrounded by amazing people to share in the experience. I've been making new friends and finally feel I belong some place. I look forward to seeing the people there as much as I do working on the art. For an artist, it is so important to have a nurturing community to inspire and encourage. I have been deprived of this for so many years and can't express how much it means to me to be back in such an environment. I found my way back home!

I started getting back into wheel throwing with its highly addictive nature, but have recently been side tracked with sculptural projects. I have been asked to create a totem bead of the Chinese zodiac sign of the rabbit for exhibit at City Hall. I have been doing so much rabbit research that I have started seeing them every where! I was driving the other day and saw a series of clouds and thought it looked  as if it were four rabbits running across the sky. As soon as I finish the sculpture I am currently working on, I will begin work on the rabbit. It is going to require me to push myself out of my comfort zone and try a whole new technique to building. I am so excited and can't wait! I know how obsessive I get and am forcing myself to complete my current project so that I can dedicate all my time to the rabbit. My current piece is a continuation of the ambiguous fairytale theme I've been playing around with for the last year or  so. I am surprised with how well the piece is coming together.

I haven't done sculptural work since I graduated college in 1998. A return to the studio has also become a return to myself. I have also been losing the weight I've collected since becoming an art teacher and feel this also adds to the feeling of returning to myself. I have felt so lost and trapped in a place and body that doesn't feel like me for so long. It has been so freeing to begin the process of coming out of my chrysalis. I can't wait to share with you my new voice, new self, and new work.  All this has been made possible because of the amazingly supportive people of Clay Arts Vegas. Thank you for taking me in, nurturing my soul, and accepting me for all that I am.

Here are a few preview pics of experiments or works in progress that I have been playing with.

First project practicing faces. Learned a lot and still needing more practice!

Lots of work to do! 

(She's dreaming.) I had just finished the first eye and was about to start the second when I took this progress shot.

Switzerland Day 3: Old Town Bern revisited and the Kunstmuseum

Kunstmuseum doors

On our third day of exploring Switzerland we started with the Kunstmuseum of Fine Art. I was introduced to two artists that have become new favorites, Albert Anker and Ferdinand Hodler. I appreciated the figurative work and techniques of both artists. Anker was more traditional and softer with his lighting and subject matter of everyday life. As a knitter, you can see why I also fell in love with the painting pictured below. Hodler's pieces dealt with religious themes and was much more contemporary in style. I appreciated his style, color pallet, and stylized human figures. My jaw hit the floor when we came upon their old masters collection in the basement. They had pieces from three of my favorite Italian Renaissance artists: Fra Filippo Lippi, Fra Angelico, and Sandro Botecelli.  I studied these masters in college and to have the honor of seeing them in person was truly awe inspiring.

Albert Anker (Swiss artist, 1831-1910) Christine Knitting 1887

Ferdinand Hodler: The Chosen One 1893-94

Following the museum, we walked the streets of Bern until we came to the open market held in the Barenplatz where we had the most amazing lunch. We chose a restaurant that served traditional Swiss food. My sister and I shared a dish of rusti (potatoes) with macaroni and chess with bacon all mixed into one delightful dish. YUM! After lunch we continued our tour of the town. We explored more of the streets and ended back at the river Aare. There we cooled off my sticking our feet in the refreshing cold water. Our sore feet appreciated the relief! We ended our day with returning to the market to buy fresh strawberries and ingredients for dinner.

The beauty of the water still astounds me with its perfect color.

The Munster in the distance. I really liked the buildings in the foreground next to the bridge.

Cooling our feet in the river watching struggling baby shrimp wash up on the steps we sat upon.

Bundehause, Federal Assembly building as seen from across the river Aare.

Across the river looking back at the top of the construction on the Bern Munster gothic cathedral.

I love the wood raving and architectural details!

More details and ornate carvings on the buildings.

Coming Back to Center

Finally over the shadow box marathon I've been stuck in for over a year now, I have had the time to get back to making art for me. This summer I've been practicing the basics of drawing and painting since I have been feeling out of touch with it all. Making art has become so forced that I have lost inspiration, creativity, and the freedom to express myself through my own art.

I went home to Monterey last week and was able to separate myself from technology and get back into simply sketching and doodling again. It was so freeing to start with random paint blobs and turn them into something fun. Some of my favorite sketches were of the trees and foliage I drew for use as references in other work. Although there was still a part of me I could tell I was still fighting.

On Friday, I went to the art openings of First Friday here in Las Vegas and was blown away by the caliber of work I saw. I needed to pull my head out, roll up my sleeves and get to work. I needed to focus and stop trying to be someone I'm not. Nothing like a good ol' fashioned reality check to make you come to your senses!

Saturday I researched black and white photos of women's faces to use as references for shading and perspective. Yesterday as I scrolled through the photos one jumped out at me and I immediately knew what she wanted to become. Inspired by both the photograph and the Lone Cypress of Monterey, I created the following piece. Although feeling a little flat, I think it came out much better than I had hoped.

Lone Cypress: watercolor 2014

Hummingbird Dioramas

The studio is filling up with hummingbirds!

Here is a peek at what I was up to this weekend. I have to confess that the watercolor backgrounds are my favorite part in making them. The puzzle of putting them together in the different layers and folding them to look more realistic comes in at a close second. I am running out of frames and need to go pick more up today after work. Fingers crossed for them being on sale!

NEW Portfolio Website

Always on the search for improvement and better ways to show off my work, I have done it again and redone my portfolio website. I still have a lot more pictures to add in addition to taking photographs of my latest work to be able to upload them. So stay tuned for more!!

Stop by and check out the remodeling and new face to my portfolio site!