Welcome to Womanhood

Coping With The Hand She Was Dealt

Young Lady You Are So Grounded!

You’ll Grow Into It

The Fairies My Children Think Clean Up After Them

Yes, It’s Not Fair

Be Brave, And Bring A Friend

“I decided to focus on my relationship with my mother for the Art League Gallery show. She died when I was 21 after a very long battle with cancer. I think about the things that she told me and taught me and showed me with great frequency, and I relished the idea of putting some of those moments into my art.”

Elissa Farrow-Savos’ website

Her SOLD gallery is drool worthy

‘Conversations With My Mother’ is on view at the Art League Gallery in Alexandria Virginia through May 28th.

Washington Post article about Elissa’s new work and how it came to be: Mother’s Wisdom Borne Out In Clay

Previous posts on DAM here and here

For many years, the former teacher and scientific illustrator traveled the world with her family, living in far flung places including Abu Dhabi, the Balkans, Skopje, Belgrade, Brussels with trips to Oman, Yemen, Iran, Syria, Jordan.

Places, as she says, where “there was pattern colour, texture everywhere…”

Along the way her passion for the natural world continually influenced her art.

Now living in Vancouver, surrounded by the ocean and mountains, Gourley fabricates polymer forms and places them in natural settings – creating artistic landscapes that are lovely, uncomplicated and dripping with color and texture.

Interested in purchasing a print of one of her images? Drop her a line. I’m thinking living room or bedroom walls would welcome a Rachel Gourley, yes?

I first became aware of Gourley’s work last year when a friend sent me a few pictures of her work. My first response was “Love it!  I want to write a post about her. Does she have a website?” She didn’t.

Imagine my delight a few months later when Rachel signed up for my Artist Online Seminars class – she wanted to learn how to create her own website. She did a great job and her new website truly showcases her art. Enjoy your visit there. ..

Rachel Gourley’s website

This mixed media artist’s cast of jointed characters tug at my heart with their melancholy expressions. I’m drawn in and my imagination goes into overdrive wondering about the little charmers.

Gillian Lee Smith’s Studio

Gillian Lee Smith in her studio

Smith also creates a line of embroidered brooches she calls Nature’s Fragments.

Gillian Lee Smith’s website

More of her clay characters here

Facebook page

Hang In There

With no formal training as a sculptor, animator David Kracov began sculpting the characters in the films he animated as an experiment and found that he had a real passion for sculpting. His medium of choice is a polymer clay specially formulated for him. The results, which he often puts in shadow box settings that enhance the characters, are amusing and endearing. Sure to bring on a smile – maybe even a little chuckle?

Hang In There, detail

Kracov is now the exclusive licensed sculptor for Warner Brothers, Looney Tunes, Hanna-Barbera, Betty Boop, Peanuts and Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride Characters. The artist also creates OOAK sculptures for Disney.

Thinking Outside The Box

Moving on to the promise of color in todays post, Kracov’s hand painted metal sculptures are vibrant, joyful statements of living life out loud. Back in 2008 we visited the story behind the metal  sculptures and today we look at Book of Life, one of his most recent.

Book Of Life

Kracov working on Book of Life

The artist shaping and bending the steel butterflies for Book of Life

Do take a peek at the wonderful video clip of Book of Life in it’s raw, steel form before it was painted. Each page was curved by hand, each butterfly hand bent: David Kracov’s studio

Previous post about Kracov on DAM here.

David Kracov’s metal sculptures and shadow boxes with polymer clay figures. Read why he adds one butterfly to each metal sculpture here.

End Of The Week, polymer clay, copper, wood

Primarily a metalsmith, Reaves also works with a variety of media including polymer clay. His life long love of science fiction and toys clearly influence his work.

Obsolete, polymer clay, 17″ tall

Adam, polymer clay, 18.5″ tall

Expendable Youth
copper, brass, silver, acrylic, polymer clay, plastic, steel, 19″ tall

Exit, polymer clay, copper, wood

Bellicose, copper, brass, bronze, wood, 7.5″ tall

“I use robots to create a narrative, representing people in society performing tasks or caught in situations with serious connotations. My goal is for people to look past the facade into the mirror and establish an understanding with the figure and its plight.

Sculptures are presented with recognizable items such as school chairs to allow the viewer to make connections to real world experience. The pieces are approachable, derived from simple design and geometric parts.”

Hornet Ring, copper, brass

Check out this ring – it consists of 75 parts that he connected using silver solder – the helicopter blade spins.  He calls it a “finger riding automation.”

Kevin Reaves website