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

Jazz Bracelet
recycled bicycle inner tube, flameworked bottle glass, sterling silver

Heilman, an award winning studio artist and flamework glass instructor, currently teaches a variety of workshops including glass beadmaking, glass casting, flameworking bottle glass and fusing window glass.

I first became aware of Bronwen’s work a few years ago when I saw a bead she painted using vitreous enamels. There was something so lovely about the expressive bead – the eyes kept me lingering on it, wondering about the story behind the face.

Bracelet
bicycle inner tube, flameworked bottle glass, spent 22 shells

Her current body of work has a strong focus on recycled glass. Heilman is passionate about this aspect of her art, explaining, “My thirst is to reuse unwanted and discarded items into something genuine and true to my being. I go out of my way to find the right materials before they end up in the landfill and repurpose them in order to create this body of work.”

Ring
flame worked bottle glass, bicycle inner tube, spent 22 shells, steel, sterling silver

Oh, how I wish I could show you her latest creations but she’s not quite ready to reveal them yet. Think bold statement. Think beautiful colors. Think flowers. Think glass and wire. They are quite different from what we’ve seen from her and really exciting!

Bronwen Heilman’s website

Next Up For Bronwen Heilman & YOU!

When I wrote to Bronwen asking if I could let DAM readers know she was taking the class she immediately wrote back with this response:

“Yes! I want people to know that I will be teaching workshops via the Internet. And I figure, why reinvent the wheel,? You have done a ton of research and figured out what works best. That is your genius work. Mine is to make my work. And taking your TAO class will afford me to do this!”

The lineup of artists who have registered include textile, glass, polymer, precious metal clay, metal, jewelry and fine artists  - I can’t wait to see the classes they offer after completing the course.

I look forward to helping Bronwen bring her classes to students around the world – and I want to help you too. Ready to learn how to bring your art class or workshop to large numbers of students? There are still a few seats left: Teaching Art Online

Class starts Monday, April 23, 2012. Students have unlimited, lifetime access to all course materials. See you in class!

P.S. Receive a $25 discount when you refer a friend and she/he signs up for the class!

Vally Nomidou uses these abundant materials in ‘Let it bleed’, a collection of life size sculptures that depict the strength and vulnerability of women and girls.

Nomidou builds a cardboard grid frame for each figure, covering it with ‘skin’ made of  paper – handmade paper, newspapers and paper towels. Wire, PVA medium and white glue hold it together. After each figure is constructed, the artist uses electric sanders to shape and further define the features, adding details by cutting, sewing and gluing.  She does not paint or pigment the sculptures – the colors of the papers and the bleeding of those colors creates the subtle shading of skin and clothing. Fascinating.

Vally Nomidou’s website

Circus Elephant

Domestic Bliss II

He often mounts the kinetic sculptures on vintage tins – an interesting and effective idea that adds to their charm. In recent work, Chedburn added paper mache to the wire (see Rhino, below – more on his website), which give the sculptures an entirely different feel – this sense of skin; alive at one time.

Rhino

Giraffe Wagon

Aviateur

Mr. Finoccini

Chedburn narrated this 13 minute video that shows him making an elephant from start to finish. Even though I don’t understand French the video was quite enjoyable – especially 10:30 minutes into the video. Don’t miss it.

If you don’t have time to scroll to the 10:30 minute mark on the video above to see how glorious these kinetic sculptures are, the video below gives a tiny, tiny glimpse of a Chedburn piece in action.

James Chedburn’s website

The Unanswered Question

Articulate and accomplished, the California artist’s skills and talents are numerous and noteworthy. Frame carves figures from small pieces of wood, adding found objects, sewing fabric bits for the clothing and sets a stage for the characters to come alive – almost every one of the latest collection of figures is partially or fully articulated. The level of detail in his work is a testament to what can be accomplished through dedication and drive.

Mr. R Shares A Secret

If you are an artist at a crossroads, ready to give up on your art, Frame’s story is a must read. His journey inspires and uplifts.

Waiting To Go On

“At it’s best I think art is a very high and rarified form of communication. We have it specifically so that we can deal with things for which other forms of language are either inadequate or inaccurate. ” John Frame

John Frame’s video interview

Easy to listen to, in the video above Frame explains the dream he had that led to this body of work. The sculptures are delightful to watch in motion.

Read an interview with the artist and an article about the exhibit Three Fragments of a Lost Tale.

John Frame’s website.The animation on the home page is wonderful. In addition to creating the sculptures, Frame composed the music and did the animation for his film.