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douglas j fisher: life, reinvented

Written on October 8, 2010 by Susan Lomuto in Archives-Protected, Featured, Latest Posts, Wood

Are you struggling with the notion (or the reality) of reinventing yourself in midlife? As someone who has done that more than once – and is doing it again – I am uplifted by wood sculptor Douglas J. Fisher’s journey.

[nonmember]This archived post is for Members Only. Click here to become a member or to get a one day pass. If you are a member, please login to view the post. [/nonmember] [private_archives]Before dedicating himself full time to art, the Vancouver Island resident taught skiing and sailing, worked as an ironworker, an underground miner and delivered sailboats across several seas.

Finding Myself
free standing sculpture, big leaf maple, 15″ x 2.5″

“Using hand held gouges, the wood is cut as it spins on a lathe. After the basic form is made a number of techniques are incorporated to achieve the final results. Some of these techniques include carving, dyeing, ebonizing, texturizing, painting, bleaching and applying real gold leaf.” From the Qualicum Frameworks Gallery website

Even after becoming a full time artist in 1992 he continued to reinvent himself working in painting, stained glass, photography, pen and ink drawing. In 1997 the self-taught artist began to focus on the lathe-turned wood sculptures that he is best known for – and in this body of work you can see how all of his life experience has come together in glorious harmony. [Click on the images in this post to see them large]

Decay Of Progress
maple, 17″ x 2″, double sided table top sculpture

Peregrine Falcon
wall sculpture, maple burl, 28″ x 24″ x 2″, turned, carved, dyed, lacquer

Worthy Of A Deep Silence
wall sculpture, maple, 23.75″ x 15.5″

The Woven Past
wall sculpture, big leaf maple, 24.5″ x 2.5″, turned, carved, dyed, lacquer

Memories of the Future – Three views of one sculpture
maple burl, turned, carved, dyed, lacquer, 28″ x 7.25″ x 2.75″

On The Wings of a Dream
wall sculpture, turned, carved, dyed, maple burl with hammered copper insert
34″ x 22″ x 2″

“The rich deep colours are a result of layer upon layer of transparent dyes. One really has to look to see all the various colours stacked and blended together in one of my pieces. The time put into the carving process averages around 80% of the total time put into the piece. Applying lightfast wood dyes is when the piece really starts to come alive. Building layer of colour upon layer of colour to create an old world, timeless quality is what I am out to achieve. Finally several coats of lacquer are applied which deepens the colour and adds even more depth.”

Studio/Work In Progress

More of Douglas J Fisher’s work at Qualicum Frameworks Gallery.

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gwen murphy’s shoe fetish

Written on October 7, 2010 by Susan Lomuto in Archives-Protected, Ceramic, Featured, Latest Posts, Recycled

Gwen Murphy sees shoes as a kind of fetish, which she defines as “an object believed to have magic powers to protect or aid its owner.” Shoes hold a power we don’t often think of – to transport and protect us.

[nonmember]This archived post is for Members Only. Click here to become a member or to get a one day pass. If you are a member, please login to view the post. [/nonmember] [private_archives]The artist has always felt this connection and each time she looked at a pair of shoes she had the sense that the shoes were looking back at her – this series of sculptures is an attempt to bring out what she sees in each pair.

Sentinels, acrylics, ash clay, women’s shoes

T-Straps, acrylics, ash clay, women’s t-strap pumps

Foot Fetish #66, ash clay, acrylics, men’s shoes

Pairing acrylics and paperclay with wooden shoe lasts and recycled shoes, the sculptures are bursting with people personality, ranging from humorous to thoughtful to downright spooky. Murphy holds an MFA in Sculpture from Boston University – her work has been exhibited nationally and is part of the permanent collection at the Museum of Art and Design, NY.

Slims, acrylics, ash clay, women’s shoes

Foot Fetish #48 and #49, acrylics, ash clay, ribbon

Foot Fetish #15, acrylics, ash clay, wooden shoe last

Nudes, acrylics, ash clay, wooden shoe lasts

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robyn gordon’s south african wood carvings

Written on October 6, 2010 by Susan Lomuto in Archives-Protected, Featured, Latest Posts, Recycled, Wood

Carved wooden totems, doors and panels tell the story of Robyn Gordon’s life in South Africa. I am drawn to her niche carvings, resting places for symbols of the land she calls home and her British ancestry.

“The totems ‘speak’ of legends that have been passed down from one generation to the next. They are meditative pieces which bring me a great sense of peace.” Robyn Gordon

Prayers For Our Daughters
Carved in response the current crisis of genocide/gendercide in India

Robyn is also the author of the popular blog Art Propelled, where she shares her work in progress as well as thoughts on creativity, photos and links to art she has come across on the internet. The blog enjoys a large and loyal readership who comment regularly – a spirited bunch that feeds her creativity – do visit to see for yourself.

Sketch of totem

Door

Secret Portals, decorative door

“This door is my representation of a secret portal behind which ancient secrets are kept. In Africa there are many secret portals where objects used for rituals and ceremonies are hidden. Masks, reliquaries and sacred vessels are often only brought out during ceremonies and rituals. Sometimes sacred objects are viewed only by those who have proper rank and knowledge to do so.” Robyn Gordon

Tribal Secrets

“I strive to keep my work different to what is out there but I’m definitely influenced by the tribal art of Africa as well as tribal art world wide. On the one hand I want to convey a feeling of ancient tribes with stories to tell and on the other a love for gathering which I think is an instinct alive in most of us.” Robyn Gordon

You can read interviews with the artist here and here. Many more images on her Flickr site.

“The patterns, objects, symbols are all of this land. No matter what tribe we belong to we who were born in this country belong here and make South Africa what it is.” Robyn Gordon

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anne gant’s hot glass drawings

Written on October 5, 2010 by Susan Lomuto in Archives-Protected, Featured, Glass, Latest Posts

Anne Gant created her own process of printing and drawing with glass that is both fascinating and haunting. Gant, who hails from New York, currently lives in Amsterdam where she blows and sculpts hot glass into shapes and lines, pressing the glass into wet sheets of rag paper while the glass is still smoking hot.

[nonmember]This archived post is for Members Only. Click here to become a member or to get a one day pass. If you are a member, please login to view the post. [/nonmember] [private_archives]The process destroys the glass – all that remains is the mark it has made on the paper. She has a Master’s Degree in Glassblowing, a BFA in Sculpture/Glass and a BA in Writing and Art Criticism.

The Slings and Arrows of Outrageous Fortune, 120″w x 90″ h

“The soul of glass is its heat. These prints function as maps of that heat. They reveal a secret aspect of the glass normally known only to the maker.” Anne Gant

Watch the video below to see the artist at work and listen as Gant eloquently describes her process. Wonderful!

“The casual viewer may not instantly spot that these prints are made from glass, but no other material would be able to create these high-temperature, organic burns. They have a richness, translucency and liquidity that is an echo of the original glass form. The resulting burnt impressions have a high level of detail as the burns pass through layers of paper and also create embossed areas. They range in color from areas of rich, dense blacks to smoky sepias and watery yellows. The burns are full of light- they have a mysterious photographic quality; in some areas they look as if they are backlit.” Anne Gant

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jiro kamata: through the lens

Written on October 4, 2010 by Susan Lomuto in Archives-Protected, Featured, Glass, Latest Posts, Metal, Plastic

After traditional jewelry training in Japan, Jiro Kamata continued his studies at Akademie der Bildenden Kunste in Munich, where he began to experiment with different materials, including camera lenses.

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Momentopia Brooch, blackened silver, lacquer, camera lenses

Arboresque brooches, painted camera lenses, blackened silver

While Kamata explored camera lenses as a subject, his experiments led him to the discovery that painting the back of each lens resulted in “the deepest black and brightest white imaginable” while reflection and refraction of light gave the glass a rainbow of color.

Momentopia Necklaces, camera lenses, lacquer, blackened silver

Represented by Ornamentum Gallery in Hudson, New York, the gallery’s website describes the viewer’s experience this way: “While the observer studies the jewelry object, a reflection on the mysteries of the surrounding environment, not to mention the memories and experiences that have passed through the glass within it’s lifetime, become an intrinsic part of the encounter.”

The artist’s earlier work includes necklaces made from plastic sunglass lenses that have been laser etched and combined with blackened silver.

Sunny Pendant, plastic sunglass lens, laser carving, blackened silver

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