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Author Archive for Susan Lomuto
noriko ambe maps the land between physical and emotional geography
“Using the five senses, perceiving the natural qualities of the materials, I found that I am concerned less about the end, and more about “doing”. The process of creating is equally as important as the finished work.” Noriko Ambe
A Piece of Flat Globe Vol.9, Yupo, acrylic medium
6 11/16″ x 8″ x 3 9/16″
Drawing with an Exacto knife, Japan’s Noriko Ambe laboriously alters thick stacks of Yupo, a white paper made in Japan. The resulting sculptures, rife with snaking curves and rippling lines, are meant to evoke not only the peaks and valleys of the earth’s landscape, but also the wrinkles and folds of the human landscape.
A Piece of Flat Globe Vol.6 (detail)
A Piece of Flat Globe Vol.4, Yupo
6 1/8″ x 8 5/8″ x 6 1/2“
Ambe’s art evolved from two dimensional drawings and etchings when she began to stack paper and work in three dimensions, eventually embracing the Yupo, a synthetic, translucent paper with an organic quality that makes it feel almost like skin. She also cuts books and catalogs from art exhibits as she reflects on the concept ‘what is art?’
Attention to Detail! 12 1/4″ x 14 1/2″ x 11 1/2″
Cut on catalogues of “Attention to Detail - Curated by Chack Close”
Flag Art Foundation
“When I am drawing or cutting lines, I am interested in observing the power of the changing growing shape. This dynamic shape becomes an entity in itself, “Another geography.” In a sense, the empty space is myself, and the materials represent the present world. Cutting book work is like collaboration for me. And it is important to choose the materials carefully because printed matter conveys a message automatically. The relationship between the linear actions and the materials is like the relationship between human beings and their restricted environment, a connection that is interested in me, too.” Noriko Ambe
alex gabriel bernstein explores glass
These bold cast glass, cut glass and steel sculptures look like glacial shards or crystal formations that have burst through their metal foundations. While North Carolina artist Alex Gabriel Bernstein grew up in the middle of the studio glass movement (his parents are glass artists Katherine and William Bernstein) he initially chose a career working with children in a psychiatric hospital after graduating from college.
Splintered Block, cast, cut lead glass, fused steel
Stance, cast, cut lead glass, fused steel
Compression, cast, cut lead glass, fused steel
Eventually Bernstein found his way back to the glass world, studying under Czech artist František Janák, and obtaining an M.F.A. in glass sculpture from the School for American Crafts at Rochester Institute of Technology. His website showcases an extensive portfolio - each luminous sculpture more exciting than the last.
Flesh Bridge, cast, cut lead glass, fused steel
Detail, glass
An explorer at heart, Bernstein describes his work in an artist statement found at Patrajdas Contemporary Art:
“I feel as if I am an explorer. With each piece I make I prepare for a journey, I have a general idea where I want to go, but I never know where the path will lead me. Each piece I work on I set out in the hopes of discovering something new and exciting. As any explorer my journeys are filed with ups and downs, disappointments and breakthroughs, however with each piece I am sure to gain knowledge and insight which is the excitement that brings me to my studio every day.” Alex Bernstein
make your own plastic sheet
Tory Hughes sent in a link to this cool video - make your own bioplastic with household ingredients: vinegar, glycerin, starch and water. You can even laser cut shapes from the plastic sheet.
New art material? If you try it let me know how it turns out!
Test sheets of bioplastic hanging to dry
via Shapeways
invincible summer
flickr find:
“In the depth of winter, I finally learned that there was within me an invincible summer.” Albert Camus
anna atterling’s pralines and bonbons
Who knew pralines and bon bons could look this delicious in metal? Anna Atterling did. I didn’t find much on the web in English about the Swedish artist except that she makes jewelry and loves it. That’s enough for me. The images of her silver sheet pralines are wonderful (click each to see a larger view) and a fine example of how good photography can enhance an artist’s work. Atterling’s portfolio is here.
hattie sanderson’s metal clay rings
These wild rings by Hattie Sanderson are part sculpture, part jewelry - and the combination works. Sanderson lives on a farm in Illinois that is home to corn, soybeans, cattle, hogs and a metal clay studio where the certified metal clay instructor creates one-of- a-kind jewelry.
Somehow this busy artist finds the time to travel around the world teaching workshops (the Magnetic Pendant Focal Clasp workshop caught my eye). Look at the sketch above to see how she takes the seed of an idea and fleshes it out.
Thanks to Lorrene Baum Davis for the link.
alice simpson: portrait of the artist as…
Look closely at these whimsical busts by sculptor and book artist Alice Simpson. She’s got a grand sense of humor but the art is seriously good. Each of these new sculptures are self portraits of the artist inspired by historical figures, history or great works of art.
The Great Wave, partially glazed stoneware, 9″ x 6″ x 5″
Inspired by the print, The Great Wave Off Kanagawa, by Kastushika Hokusai
Sarah Palin
In 2007 I wrote about Simpson’s Abundant Beauty collection of clay sculpture portraits. She just keeps getting better. You can find her whole portfolio - which includes figurative clay sculptures that range from operatic characters to ballroom and tango dancers in addition to her handcrafted artist books - on her website.
Marie Antoinette, partially glazed stoneware, 11″ x 6″ x 6″
“Imagining myself, as the whim touches my imagination…from history, fantasy, art and style.” Alice Simpson
Oh, what a wonderful imagination - now I want to see Simpson make a self portrait for her Hip Hop series - figures from the New York Hip Hop scene.
jeremy may: bookish gems
Littlefly’s Jeremy May repurposes old books by laminating hundreds of sheets of paper together and then cutting the pages from each book in the shape of rings, pendants or pieces to be used in a bracelet. After the “Literary Jewels” are carefully finished, many of them go back into the space carved out of the book. The book becomes both packaging and material for the product. Love it.
via carrotbox
claudia poser celebrates nature’s drive towards growth and change
Simple shapes altered, grouped together, wearing universally appealing textures and patterns - all add interest to Claudia Poser’s ceramic pods. Poser, who has a PhD in Polymer Science, explains that she uses “an abundance of repetitive, organic shapes to explore nature’s instinctive drive toward reproduction, adaptation and survival that thrives in spite of human efforts to impose order.” Many of her pod arrangements are large wall pieces. Click on the images to see them larger - Damage has my wheels spinning.
Kinetic Energy, terra cotta, 41″x21″x3″ as seen on Flicker here
Damage, terra cotta, 41″x22″x4.5″
“The tension between order and emotion, the rational and the organic intrigues me. I find beauty in both natural and manufactured detail. My pods grow out of my fascination with nature’s instinctive drive towards growth and change.” Claudia Poser
Contained Energy, terra cotta and monotype, 12″x12″x2″
Bounce, terra cotta, 48″x24″x3″
Holy, terra cotta, photographs, hardware, and finished wood, 9″ x 22″ x 1.5″, 2009
See more of her most recent mixed media work like Holy [pictured above] here.
“My sculptures evolve from a glimpsed shape, a scrap of clay or a half-remembered dream. I’m motivated by those moments of fusion with the clay when time and judgment drop away and there is only touch and shape, light, shadow, and the beguiling chocolate texture of wet terra cotta.” Claudia Poser
