Daily Art Muse - Contemporary fine craft curated by Susan Lomuto » Recycled

michael demeng transforms the common into the sacred

Susan Lomuto — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 14:40:44 +0000

Michael deMeng is a mad alchemist. When the assemblage artist finds a discarded shoe or an empty sardine can he doesn’t see garbage, he sees a personal shrine. deMeng’s gift, transforming the common into the sacred, becomes clear when you study pieces like ‘Urning Rubber’, a mixed media reliquary meant to hold treasured objects, and ‘Hell Mask’, that boasts teeth made from a row of matchbook matches.

Urning Rubber, mixed media urn

Guadalupe of the Heeling Sole, mixed media, 12″x 16″x4″

deMeng dementing doll parts

Using mostly cold joins, deMeng deconstructs and reassembles various elements, adding flourishes of drama and painted details, allowing the story to unfold until close inspection makes you feel as though you are inside the dark humor of a macabre comedy.

A Strange Case, mixed media assemblage

Daughters of Lilith {click image to see large}

He does copius amounts of research when he is working on a piece and he shares some of his insights and process on specific assemblages, like ‘Daughters of Lilith’, pictured above. Read the story behind ‘Daughters of Lilith’ here. deMeng also describes many of the components of this piece and how he came to use them. Fascinating.

Hell Mask, mixed media

Heeling, mixed media

“These assemblages are metaphors for the evolutions and revolutions of existence: from life to death to rebirth, from new to old to renewed, from construction to destruction to reconstruction. These forms are examinations of the world in perpetual flux, where meaning and function are ever-changing.” Michael deMeng

Michael’s new book Dusty Diablos: Folklore, Iconography, Assemblage, Ole! will be available next month and his 2007 Secrets of Rusty Things: Transforming Found Objects into Art is still wildly popular. Next up for deMeng is a live 2-part Craftcast Masterclass beginning this Wednesday, February 17th, where he will demystify the process of creating an assemblage piece and teach you “how to stick it all together.” You can also follow deMeng’s blog and become a fan on his Facebook Fan Page.

Hipolite Rafael Chacon on deMeng:

“He characterizes his creative process as an arduous and hellish journey of self-reflection, but making art is also salutary, a cathartic release of internal demons. As in the ex-votos of Latin American altars, need and desire are balanced with belief and hope and deMeng’s works of art mediate between the ancestral past, the life of the living and an unknown future. In his shrines, color, pattern, texture, and repetition of form symbolize the cyclical nature of life and death. His process, evident in the work itself, embraces trial and error and reminds us of the resilience of the human spirit and the possibility of endless regeneration.“

jeremy may: bookish gems

Susan Lomuto — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 13:53:30 +0000

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

john brickels celebrates the hidden beauty of entropy

Susan Lomuto — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 14:08:23 +0000

Dilapidated barns, rusty old trucks and cars, factories on the brink of collapse – all are fair game for John Brickels who is inspired by “the hidden beauty of entropy.” The Vermont artist rescues rusted pedal cars and trucks, rebuilding the guts of the cars in stoneware. The tires (flat tires too!), dashboards, chassis, steering wheels, engines – even old tools strewn on the car’s floor in his Claymobiles are all made from clay.

Green Mountain Barn, clay, 23 x 18 x 12

Old Betsy, bicycle body, clay, 32 x 24 x 42

Garton, pedal car body, clay, 36 x 18 x 36

Murray, pedal car body, clay, 36 x 18 x 36

Passaic Paint, clay 28 x 20 x 20

Brickels’ work is informed by architecture, automobiles, machines, nostalgia and all things that show the effects of time and weather. Before creating one of his buildings he takes photos of old barns and gathers images from the internet and libraries. Next, he cuts walls from clay slabs, inscribes bricks, adds texture, boards and shingles (extruded from a clay gun). Each building takes a month or more to dry before being fired. The attention to detail on Brickels’ buildings, claymobiles, robots and machines is astounding.

Read some of Brickels’ thoughts about work, play, life and making a living making art in Ceramic Arts Daily

More at Lazy Pear Gallery

via Ronna Sarvas Weltman

gustav reyes: simply wood rings

Susan Lomuto — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 15:24:47 +0000

Gustav Reyes salvages wood – from the neck of a violin, or a young boy’s baseball bat or the keys of a xylophone - and skillfully transforms the wood into rings – wedding rings, engagement rings, anniversary rings, rings that celebrate nature, life, love. Sensitive to the history of each piece, Reyes’ strives to “bring out the warmth and the honesty of the wood.” He has two websites – you can find them here and here.

Come back late this afternoon for my final post of the week – see you then!

The Purple Key, Ash, Maple and Rosewood from a xylophone key

Ring, Bog Oak and concrete inlay

The Key, Ash, Maple and Rosewood from a salvaged xylophone key

lisa and scott cylinder: accidental beauty

Susan Lomuto — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 14:21:06 +0000

Lisa and Scott Cylinder, partners in life and art, see beauty in unexpected places. The artists share a love of and a commitment to confident exploration with materials: found, manufactured or hand made. Each Timeflyer bird brooch below starts with a face made from the reverse side of a vintage enameled pocket watch face – turn the piece over and the back of the brooch reveals the watch face.

{click on the images to see them large}

“Our jewelry occupies an odd space somewhere between logic and intuition. Sometimes an idea dictates which path we follow and, at other times, materials lead us.” Lisa and Scott Cylinder on Velvet Da Vinci

Wood Stork Brooch

The couple crafts their Musical Instruments collection by choosing a part from a carefully deconstructed instrument and then reconfiguring the part by adding metal, resins and wood to give it a new life as jewelry. They call the results to their approach ‘accidental beauty.’

Bing Clarinet Key Brooch

See more at Velvet Da Vinci and read their entire artist statement here (scroll down to the bottom of the page)

margaux lange re-members barbie

Susan Lomuto — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:59:39 +0000

As a child Margaux Lange was obsessed with Barbie, using the doll as a tool for “acting out and exploring the human relationships in my own life, as well as the fantasy lives I imagined.” Now 30 years old, Lange is still obsessed with Barbie and it has served her well. The Brooklyn artist, who has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Maryland Institute College of Art, uses Barbie doll parts in her widely collected jewelry line, “Plastic Body Series.”

SMACK! Brooch, doll parts, pigmented resin, sterling silver

The Kiss, doll parts, sterling silver

“Whether revered or despised, there are few who feel neutral about the plastic princess. I am fascinated with who she is as a cultural icon and the vast impact she has had on our society.” Margaux Lange

Goosebumps Hand Brooch, doll parts, sterling silver

Lange takes Barbie’s best bits and combines them with resin and sterling silver, creating whimsical, nostalgic, humorous configurations that offer collectors a unique way to remember their childhoods.

Quote Bubble Brooches, doll parts, pigmented resin, sterling silver

She began using Barbie in her art in high school, but it wasn’t until 2001 that she started to deconstruct (or re-member as she likes to call it) the iconic doll and use the parts in her jewelry.

If The Shoe Fits Bracelet, doll shoes

Senses Bracelet, doll parts, pigmented resin, sterling silver

Fun. Fashionable. And a trip down memory lane. Do go and take a look at her whole portfolio and be sure to visit her blog where you can get a good sense of the work that goes into this jewelry.

Winged Neckpiece, doll arms, sterling silver

Margaux Lange and friends

I also enjoy the funny juxtaposition of wearing the body, on the body. Barbie has become the accessory instead of being accessorized. I take pleasure in the contrast and contradiction of mass-produced materials transformed and revealed as handmade, wearable works of Art.” Margaux Lange

When I was researching Lange I was surprised to see that many people find the jewelry creepy and ‘out of a horror movie’. Really? Lange has a great eye, appealing sense of humor and all of her skills blend beautifully. What’s creepy is how long women have held on to the idea that Barbie had the perfect body. THAT’S creepy. Lange’s jewelry? Smashing and fashionable!

Lange’s Etsy shop here.

Lange’s blog Midge’s Mind where you can see many of her pieces in progress – the resin, the metalsmith details, the bins and bins of Barbie bits and pieces. Wow…

Read an interview with the artist here. Another interview here.

Couldn’t resist including Lange’s Barbie coat hanger ornament. Click on the thumbnail below to see more ornaments.

elizabeth frank: tiny monsters and other characters

Susan Lomuto — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:46:10 +0000

I’m having one of those days when up means down, left means right and order turns into chaos. It’s one of those days when things are crazy enough that you start to think there must be little monsters underfoot, hiding behind doors and under beds, giggling at their handiwork. No other explanation seems plausible. Elizabeth Frank knows just what I mean. The Arizona artist carves tiny trouble-making monsters from reclaimed wood, sets them in vintage casters and sends them on their way. The only problem? They’ve rolled on over to my place.

“In my studio I combine the aspen with broken, discarded and distressed materials. I use found materials as visual metaphors, often choosing objects which speak to me of decay and resurrection, cultural trends, history and myth. Through the combination of organic and found elements I allude to the human impact upon the environment, the transience of earthly things, and the process of change.” Elizabeth Frank

The image above is one of Elizabeth Frank’s wall pieces from her Union series – love the way she uses those old hinges to represent the union of two people! Frank’s found object art is whimsical and charming. Just what I needed on this topsy-turvy day.

Quote from the Lanning Gallery.

susan etcoff fraerman: narrative shoes

Susan Lomuto — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:41:58 +0000

I have a small collection of vintage shoe forms – they are part of a larger collection of objects that provoke my curious nature and provide silent companionship in my studio. I started collecting the shoe lasts more than a year ago and continue to be charmed by the character of the wood, the variety of shapes, stretching mechanisms and range of sizes.

Bound For Glory III, glass beads, semi precious stones, found object

Susan Etcoff Fraerman used several vintage shoe forms in her beaded Narrative Shoes series, 14 different shoes that each tell a story, ranging from well-worn toe shoes to Chinese slippers. They are all lovely, but the shoe forms are what pulled me in.

Bound For Glory III, detail

The Blues

Fraerman works intuitively and you won’t find looms, patterns or graphs in her studio. She explains that, “the beads, varying in texture, size, degree of translucency and hue, are woven in a free form interpretation of a classic stitch – right angle weave.”

Lotus Shoes

My work often speaks of contemporary issues that have touched me deeply: children in need, mutability of the body, the vicissitudes of life. Susan Etcoff Fraerman

Bound For Glory I, glass & metal beads, nylon thread, found object

Shoes are not the only objects that Fraerman transforms with her intricate, tactile beadwork. Be sure to check out Bra Books, “intimate repositories of dreams, thoughts and poetry” and her latest work, The Language of Hands, where the hand in closed fist, open palm and other gestures is used to express a metaphor of universal signals.

More about Susan Etcoff Fraerman at WomanMade.

I’m headed down to NYC to spend time with my daughter. I think the weekend calls for sensible shoes – no heels or beads for me. Have a cozy, comfy, art-filled weekend!

jeremy mayer’s re-assembly line

Susan Lomuto — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:46:54 +0000

Typewriter key jewelry is all the rage these days. I’ve often wondered what happens to the rest of the typewriter once the keys have been removed. Jeremy Mayer offers one option. Mayer disassembles the machines and reconstructs them as life-size, anatomically correct human and animal figures. He’s got a great eye for detail; for determining which curve of the body lends itself to a specific piece or part of the typewriter.

Nude III

With no formal art education, he uses CAD and 3D programs to create studies for the sculptures which are joined using only cold connections. You won’t find any welded or soldered metal holding these bodies down. Mayer says that each full-scale figure takes about 1,200 hours to complete.

Cat X

Cat X, detail

Nude

Nude II

The artist at work in his studio

Watch Mayer at work here

jan huling, the beadist and the social experiment

Susan Lomuto — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 14:22:28 +0000

Don’t stand around Jan Huling for too long. She will bead you. The New Jersey based beadist and her intricately beaded, found object collages recently became part of a successful social experiment.

Shoe of Denial

When Huling heard that Chelsea based Lyons Wier Gallery had a new approach to a declining economy, she jumped at the opportunity to show her work. Lyons Wier took advantage of the slow summer months to try a social experiment and in a bold move, started the weekend Art Bazaar. The bazaar was an open call to artists during weekends in July and August, offering space to about 20 artists on a first come, first served basis. No politics, no criteria. Just show up and sell. The artist who sold the most during the seven weekends of the bazaar would also earn a fully curated, month-long solo exhibit at Wier in 2010. Read the NY Times article here.

Huling showed up. She sold $10,000 worth of art in 10 hours. She won the month-long solo exhibit. For real.

Pretty Birds

Forgiven

Kewpie

Congratulations to Jan Huling on her success and to the Lyons Wier Gallery for their forward thinking approach. Here’s a time lapse video of the artists setting up a weekend exhibit.

henrique oliveira: tapumes

Susan Lomuto — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 13:15:15 +0000

In Portugese, the word ‘tapumes’ means fence or enclosure. As an art student in Brasil, the view outside of Henrique Oliveira’s room was a cheap plywood fence that surrounded a construction site across the street. Over a two year period he watched the wood decay, split and peel apart and thought about using it as an alternative canvas for his paintings.

Tapumes 2009, wood, 13.5 ft. x 38.5 ft. x 5.74 ft. Rice Gallery

Oliveira, who has a BFA in painting and a Masters in Visual Poetics (I love the sound of that), collected piles of the wood from the streets of São Paolo, initially using it as a canvas until one day he noticed that the thin, broken pieces reminded him of brush strokes. This discovery was a pivotal point and he immediately began using the colored wood as the ‘paint’ on a series of sculptures that took his two dimensional paintings into what he calls ‘tridimensionals’.

Tapumes, 2008, wood and pvc, 10.6 ft x 20.6 ft. x 3 ft.

The work is astounding and utterly inviting – full of movement with curves that mimic crashing waves and bulging organic shapes – any harsh lines are softened by a muted color palette.

Tapumes, detail

Trunk, wood and pvc, 7.5 ft. x 7.9 ft. x 15.8 ft.

He treats the wood with a color wash that allows the grain and texture to show through, then adds layers of the material to a basic structure that has been pieced together with screws.

Henrique Oliveira at work

In the video below Oliviera speaks about his process to a group of students at the recent Rice Gallery solo exhibit of his work.

Watch this time-lapse video of the installation coming together. Oliveira and four assistants worked 15 days, 12 hours each day to create this massive installation.

From Rice Gallery’s description of the exhibit:

“’Oliveira’s installations, which he refers to as “tridimensionals,” have evolved into massive, spatial constructions that combine painting, architecture, and sculpture. In some installations he uses walls as supports, attaching and shaping lengths of PVC tubing to create enormous, protruding forms over which he layers thin sheets of wood. In others, he arranges thousands of pieces of painted wood into gestural abstract “paintings” that spill off the wall into the viewer’s space.”

cathy rose: found-object figures

Susan Lomuto — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 13:29:32 +0000

Articulated figures make my heart go pitter-patter. Compelling found-object art has the same effect on my over-taxed ticker. And articulated figures made from found-objects make my heart race way too fast while my thoughts trip over each other, tumbling out of a head already saturated with ideas and desires.

New Song, porcelain, wood, metal, found object

Cathy Rose’s porcelain and found-object figures have found a place in my head and my heart. The figures, with eyes closed, heads tilting towards the wind and arms open wide, are a study in faith and a fierce acceptance of all life has to offer.

Adapt, porcelain, wood, metal, found object

Fleeting Moment, porcelain, wood, metal, found object

Wind, porcelain, wood, metal, found object

Fault Lines, porcelain, wood, metal, found object

The art is uplifting – the life journey even more so. Read her short ‘Artist’s Confessions’ page. I don’t know how far along Cathy and Ellen are on their journey, but I do know that we can all learn from their approach to the uncertainties we face in life. I’m sending healing energy and positive thoughts to them, to you, to all.

Have a grace-filled weekend.

You can see more of Rose’s work at Volakis Gallery

betsy youngquist’s sculptural mosaics

Susan Lomuto — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:12:39 +0000

Betsy Youngquist admits to a fascination with “the intersection of humans, animals, and mythology.” In 2004 her work took a critical turn when she moved away from beaded paintings and began creating the sculptural mosaic figures that have become her signature.

Milli, wallpiece

Youngquist, who holds a Master’s degree in art education from the University of Wisconsin, makes sculptural mosaic figures that are part animal, part human and all powerful. The figures begin as a form which she embellishes in a mosaic style using vintage beads, antique porcelain doll parts and other re-purposed objects held in place with black grout.

Norman

Central to the success of each piece is her use of antique human prosthetic eyes, antique doll eyes and doll taxidermy eyes that allow her to bring a degree of humanity to the animal forms. Listen to the artist speak about her work here.

Wink and Rocky

Buzz

Animals are as invested in our experience as we are in theirs. Sometimes I think we want to see ourselves in these creatures in order to hear the messages they bring. I know I do. Betsy Youngquist

bugged: christopher conte

Susan Lomuto — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 17:00:53 +0000

Christopher Conte has a cool history…very cool. Read about his story here and then take a look at more insects and other machine-sculpts here. You can read an interview with the artist on Dark Matter Magazine.

Steel Widow II, 2009
stainless steel, plated brass and aluminum components
6 ” x 6″ x 2″ high

Articulated Singer Insect
antique mechanical parts, vintage Singer sewing attachment
8 “x 6″x 4″ high

Steam II Insect, 2009
cast bronze with machined brass and stainless steel
2.5 “high x 6″ x 6″

jennifer trask: flourish

Susan Lomuto — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 13:02:53 +0000

Jennifer Trask’s latest series, Unnatural Histories: Flourish, begins with the following definitions of the word flourish:

1. To grow well or luxuriantly; thrive
2. To do or fare well; prosper
3. To be in a period of highest productivity; excellence or influence.
4. To make bold or sweeping movements.

The Hudson Valley, New York based artist, best known for jewelry that incorporates snake vertabrae, beetle shells, feathers, bone, pre-ban ivory and sea urchin shells, might have included her own name for a fifth definition. As her new work of removable jewelry mounted on encaustic drawings and paintings shows, Jennifer.Trask.Is.Flourishing.

Corona Imperialis, encaustic panel & brooch

Corona Brooch
palladium, 22K gold, champagne rose cuts, brown and white brilliant cuts

The ground-breaking work is described as “Drawings and paintings come to life, flora and fauna, mineral and vegetable thrive and outgrow containment.” Mobilia Gallery

Isn’t this what we all strive towards in life? To thrive and outgrow containment? Flourish’s mixed-media pieces are a beautiful representation of that concept.

Fructus Plumbum, encaustic panel & brooch

Fructus Plumbum Brooch
18K and 22K gold, moonstones, lead, aquamarine, rainbow moonstones

Apophysis: Acantha
encaustic painting with embedded silver and moonstones, brooch and earrings
found and altered ivory, palladium, 18K, 22k gold, rainbow moonstones, found frame

Acantha, detail

Trask holds a BFA in Metalsmithing from Massachusetts College of Art and an MFA from SUNY New Paltz. Read this 2002 Ganoksin article about the artist’s early work with unusual materials. All gold and palladium used by the artist are recycled materials and the bone and pre-ban ivory is either found in the artist’s local environment or purchased at flea markets.