Monthly Archives: January 2011
elly mackay: the creative process in plain sight
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Canadian artist Elly Mackay’s three dimensional paper theater art is evocative of long-ago childhood dreams. On her Process page Mackay shows us how she combines illustration, photography and imaginative storytelling to create magical worlds.
Tranquil Morning
The cranes taught lessons to the girls on topics of both grace and beauty.
However, the cranes could only be found at their teaching post
on the most tranquil of mornings.
Mackay’s husband, a cabinetmaker, builds the tiny theaters and diorama boxes. The artist then layers hand-cut illustrations and sets them into the miniature theaters, with lights and filters creating the almost mystical atmosphere. Have a magical weekend.
He marked the day
He marked the day as he drew through snow to the thin layer of black ice below.
She wove her crown from the flowers that grew around her…
Shadow Play
“I have a fluid process. With layers to create the setting, individual characters, lighting, filters, camera height and settings, there is lots of play prior to getting the shot I am looking for and many surprises.” Elly Mackay
Flickr site here
Mackay’s blog here
And she has an Etsy shop
amy brier: sculpture that makes sculpture
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Sculptor Amy Brier, who holds both a BFA and an MFA in sculpture, began her career as a traditional limestone carver at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in NYC.
Gods and Goddesses, bronze
Brier’s love for limestone has continued throughout the years, and evolved into her signature work – the interactive Roliquery series.
Prague, limestone
A Brier Roliquery begins as a hand-carved limestone spherical sculpture. But that’s not where it ends. The artist wanted to create sculpture that makes sculpture – each sphere becomes an interactive art experience for the viewer when it is rolled in sand to create impressions, patterns and images that are ever changeable. Each Roliquery is carved in limestone and also offered in limited edition casts of bronze or resin.
Koi, limestone
Snowflakes, resin
Display
“My art is unique on many levels. For example, in the Roliquery series, I follow the basic semiotic premise of binary oppositions, which defines much of our language. Every image carved is either in the negative, which when printed becomes positive, or vice versa. Viewers complete the creative process as they roll the Roliquery and create images in the sand. The carved stone is a tool in the creation of an image, rather than being simply a singular art object; it impresses the fluid and fugitive sand with an image from the fixed and permanent stone. Even though this final act is playful, it often leads to serious aesthetic investigation of how forms are made, and what it means to be an artist. By interacting with my carvings people are moved from passive consumption of art as commodity to an active contemplation of contemporary art with a playful touch.” Amy Brier
Brier also carves large-scale sculptures and commissions
Labyrinth, marble, steel, 40″ x 20″
