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battista’s sideshow reminds us that we are all living curiosities

Written on December 21, 2010 by Susan Lomuto in Archives-Protected, Featured, Glass

Carrie Battista’s glass circus tents represent the sideshow performers that she feels most connected to as a glass artist who is often observed while she manipulates the hot, molten medium.

The Elephant Tent, blown glass, verre eglomise
16” x 11” x 11”

The Elephant Tent, back

Battista gilds the interior wall of the glass tents with precious metal leaf and scratches drawings into the surface. Each tent also houses a mirror that distorts the viewer’s image. Spectacular.

The Itty Bitty Lady Tent, blown glass, verre eglomise
12” x 8” x 8”

The Itty Bitty Lady Tent, back

“Traveling sideshows have always fascinated me. I feel that living the artist’s lifestyle parallels that of the performers on display – alienated, nomadic and continually on exhibit. I frequently find myself being the subject of observation as I make my work. With the hot shop as my stage I am forced into the role of the performer, leaving me feeling self-conscious and exposed.” Carrie Battista

Come and See!, blown glass, 22k gold, paint, fabric
18″ x 12″ x 12″

Come and See Too!, blown glass, 22k gold, paint, fabric
24″ x 12″ x 12″

Come and See Too! detail

“My intention is for viewers to see themselves inside the tents and realize that we are all living curiosities.” Carrie Battista

See the entire circus series here and her bio here

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meet linda behar and linda behar

Written on December 2, 2010 by Susan Lomuto in Archives-Protected, Featured, Fiber, Glass

After I posted Cayce Zavaglia’s embroidered portraits last week I found Linda Behar’s miniature textile art and knew I wanted to share it with you. Then the fun began. As I was researching Linda Behar, textile artist, I discovered Linda Behar, glass artist. Both artists create compelling work worthy of your attention.

Linda Behar, textile artist

Combining photography skills with her love of textile art, Behar first prints a photograph onto cotton broadcloth and then stitches the image with colored threads.

Autumn Leaves I

Each piece of art is no larger than the 4″ x 6″ photograph it represents and includes images of the salt marshes she is drawn to; her favorite time of year and cultural glimpses from her travels.

A Linda Behar original – at first glance it looks like she is holding a photograph.

Salt Marsh II, 3 7/8″ x 5 3/4″, Cotton Embroidery

“Since 1993 I have been taking photographs and then rendering them in embroidery. My pieces are small – often about 4” x 6”, a size and format that echoes the photos on which they are based. I build the image stitch by stitch, criss-crossing and overlapping thousands of flecks of color. My colored stitches, laid side by side or atop one another, are like the dabs of paint of Monet or Seurat – pointillistic color mixing. But the Impressionists wanted to portray a fleeting moment in time, whereas I want to convey a sense of timelessness.” Linda Behar

See the full portfolio on her website and her Flickr site.
More on the Mobilia Gallery website.

Linda Behar, glass artist

Trained as a civil engineer, the Venezuela native always wanted to be an artist. Eventually she switched careers, studying photography, blacksmithing and metal casting before finding her niche – glass.

From the series “Houses With Soul”
Tree House, pate de verre, mixed media

Behar studied at Pilchuk Glass School and the Penland School of Crafts to learn the glass casting and pate de verre techniques that dominate her work today. All of her previous training – in school and life – show up in her glass and mixed media art.

From the series “Two To Make A Home”
Leaf + Flower, cast glass, 20”x12”x12”

From the series “Houses With Soul”
Nest House, pate de verre, mixed media

“Considering that art is somehow a reflection of our society, I feel that my main objective as an artist is to create pieces that communicate a positive message. My work emphasizes that even in this troubled world, life is still full of meaningful things and joy. I want to show the precious and the beauty of our existence, contradicting some of the actual tendencies of the contemporary visual field.” Linda Behar

See Behar’s work from 1998-2009 on her website.

More current work here.

Two artists, two talented individuals, two voices, two mediums, one name. Time for a collaboration? Linda Behar, meet Linda Behar.

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mariko kusumoto’s magical metal worlds

Written on November 17, 2010 by Susan Lomuto in Archives-Protected, Featured, Metal

Mariko Kusumoto captures remnants of her memories of Japan and sets them to motion by assembling these fragments of everyday life into elaborate fabricated metal box constructions – many resembling pop-up books or miniature stage sets with movable parts, gears that rotate and detailed imagery.

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{click images to enlarge}

Self Entertainment Kit, open: 17″ x 34.5″ x 3″

Self Entertainment Kit, detail

“Within the relatively small size of my works, I am striving to create a world of shadows, light, silence, spirituality, and my personal memories.”

Doors, drawers and compartments open to reveal jewelry or tiny metal sculptures that move – both figuratively and literally. Kusumoto’s brilliant imagination is pure magic and the combination of wit, humor and masterful craftsmanship will have you under her spell.

Mobilia Gallery created a series of stop motion animation videos of her work – watch all of them (really, you must!) and you will understand why a photograph isn’t enough to get a sense of the details and intricacies of each piece.

Racine Art Museum is currently hosting Kusumoto’s Unfolding Stories, a traveling exhibit of her work organized by Mobilia Gallery. You can see these utterly exquisite pieces through January 23, 2011 at RAM.

Tokyo Souvenir: Wearable pieces in individual containers
open, 7.5″ x 35″ x 20″

A bracelet from Tokyo Souvenir
One of many, many wearable pieces from this vignette

From Mobilia Gallery’s website:

“A brilliant technician, Mariko Kusumoto masterfully fabricates and embellishes box constructions with a myriad of metalsmithing skills including etching, electroforming, and patination. With astounding attention to detail she explores interior spaces, deftly transforming each compartment into interactive miniature theatres, revealing figures and objects with movable parts, rotating gears, and musical mechanisms.”

Ryounkaku, closed: 27″ x 9″ x 1.5″

Ryounkaku, detail

From Mariko Kusumoto’s artist statement:

“My father is a Buddhist priest, and I grew up in a temple that was founded four hundred years ago. While living in the temple, I took the place for granted and didn’t think anything special of it. However, the more time that I spend living in the United States – with its diverse cultures and varied ethnic groups, the more conscious I become of my identity as a Japanese. As the yearning for my temple grows, I gain a greater sense of appreciation of it, as well as of Japanese culture in general. As time goes by, my memories become stronger and more vivid. This feeling is the inspiration of my artwork today.

Metal has been a familiar material to me since I was a child; polishing the elaborate metal ornaments in the altars in my temple was one of my chores. When the gleam of the gold-colored ornaments would emerge from the darkness, I could sense the spiritual world and its eternal silence.”

Many thanks to Racine Art Museum for alerting me to this wonderful artist. Visit RAM to see Kusumoto’s work in action.[/private_archives]

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christian burchard’s words and wood

Written on November 10, 2010 by Susan Lomuto in Archives-Protected, Featured, Wood

Part of my process as I write the posts for DAM is to look for an artist’s words: words that add another layer of meaning to the work; words that reveal something about the artist’s life, philosophy or inspiration; words that explain or describe. Their words.

[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]Sometimes I come across an artist whose words move me as much as the art. Christian Burchard is an example of an artist whose words and wood share the same powerful, graceful beauty.

Song Of The Bones

“I have been working with wood for most of my life. We are comfortable with each other, have a close relationship and I value the connection immensely. I am curious what is inside, how it works. I am always looking for the gifts it has to offer.”

Tall Torso
more torsos here

“Like a lot of my other work, I use bleach to expose what is within. I compare this to Black and White photography: I remove most of the color to simplify, to focus on the structure and the undulations and textures that occurred through the drying process. Sometimes it feels obvious how a particular panel wants to be used, at other times it takes me a while to read it, feel it, ask what it wants from me, so that I can do my part.”

Courting

“I allow my relationships and my need for connection to flow into and inform the work. It is different now than it was ten years ago. There used to be lot of fear in my work, a rush to succeed and a fear of failing. Life has changed and I have slowed down, and my work has gotten simpler and quieter. The difference is that I am not looking for something new all the time. I have gained a deeper understanding of the wood that I am using, there is more breadth in our relationship. I have learned to trust the process, to give it the time and confidence it needs and deserves. That in turn is stretching my creative abilities, strongly affecting me and the work.”

The Bridge

At times I am awed by its beauty and the story of its history, the tracks that the passing of time have left. I am driven to expose this beauty, to make it shine. At other times I am more fascinated with its inner structure, its more subtle form and spirit.”

Fierce Angels

“To be working this closely with nature is a blessing, but also often overwhelming. It is a struggle. At times I find myself needing to put my foot down, to control the outcome of my work, only to find that I trampled something beautiful. At other times I feel overwhelmed, scared: what is needed of me here, how can I match the beauty of this living thing? How am I to know when to be loud and when to be quiet…? Maybe this stuff just matches my personality, something to wrestle with, something that stirs my imagination, something to control. That nature versus man made thing, that struggle, that tension, that conflict. My work is about my relationship with nature, my desire to connect with it on a deep level. Trying to get under its skin and be part of it. Searching, finding something sacred, adding my touch, wrestling with it. Showing the beauty of it under a different light: exposing, transforming. I make things out of a deep urge to create and out of a driving curiosity. I need to do it. I don’t really have a choice in the matter.”

Humble Beginnings of a Literary Dynasty
more books here

“I do take a lot of chances and I fail a lot. Many ideas just don’t turn out after all. I burn a lot of my work. It can feel at times as if I was holding a whole lot of strings and am weaving them together. I push and pull till it sings. And I am learning to ask more of the right questions, to set things in motion, set possibilities in motion. At times I am even patient!”

A Long And Winding Road

Burchard won the Society for Contemporary Craft’s 2009 Elizabeth R. Raphael Founder’s Prize – SCC’s video about the artist brings us into his studio, gives a sense of scale to the sculptures and shows us the stature of the man – a joy to watch.

[/private_archives]

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jane burton’s figurative sculpture

Written on November 1, 2010 by Susan Lomuto in Archives-Protected, Ceramic, Featured

Female figures seem to be calling me lately. I don’t know if it is my current state of mind, a shift of consciousness, maybe a heightened awareness of my femininity as I forge a new path, allowing my creativity to give birth to the ideas I have been nurturing for months?

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Old Soul, 111” x 19” x 10”, ceramic, inscribed writing, cast iron, steel

Whatever the reason, I have been exploring wonderful female figures- so alive, with many stories to tell, responsible for so much beauty in this world. Jane Burton’s larger-than-life, hand-built ceramic figurative sculptures “explore the vessel as a container shaped by the life within.” Oh, yes…I want one of these spectacular women to guide me on this part of my journey. Such strength and grace. Read what Burton says about her work in the quotes below. Powerful.

She’s Fabulous, 93”H x 12”W x 10”D
ceramic, inscribed writing and drawings, gold leaf, concrete, steel

The Journey, 86″ H x 13″ x 10″, ceramic, concrete

“On much of my work I write stories, poetry or journal writings. Many of the writings reflect on the perceptions we develop about who we are, about the importance we put on “surface things”, our clothes, our looks, our money, and how they can define, and at times trap us.” Jane Burton

Abundance, 78” x 62” x 10”
ceramic, inscribed writing, steel, concrete, Tibetan singing bowls

“In my large-scale pieces, I work in stages usually on more than one at a time. The initial stages are like the beginning of relationship, dealing with surface issues and structural problems, technical and conceptual issues. As they grow and become closer to my height, my relationship with them changes, becoming highly personal, even intimate. And as they tower above me, I feel the respect and power of a spiritual being in my presence.” Jane Burton

Day Dreamer, 92″ x 15″ x 15″, ceramic stoneware, concrete, steel

Do Wah Ditty, 64”H x 15”W x10”, ceramic, steel dress-form

New Beginnings, 78″ x 16″ x 12″, ceramic, concrete, steel

“I’m intrigued with objects that hold life… the shell of the hermit crab, the cocoon of the butterfly, the human body. Over the layers of time, they hold the story of the life that resides within. The vessels remain as life moves on.” Jane Burton [/private_archives]

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