Beginning Metals!

I love teaching Beginning Metals at the ISU Workspace and I am so pleased with every group! This last group really worked on different techniques and I would like to show them off here with some pictures.

The last night of class and experimentation in foldforming also invloved air chasing and sewing!  I love how organic this piece looks. It has great line and color, I think it is fabulous!

This student mastered sawing and did lots of experiementation with texture.  The ring is cut from the textured copper in the back and soldered. The "J" is riveted.

Foldforming was a hit the last night. This piece is foldformed and riveted and patina is flame.

This piece was foldformed and then the student experimented with sinking and raising and considering we didn't have a nice depression in wood to work on, she did very well. Again, flame is a favorite patina.

Exploring Nature for Inspiration and Rejuvenation

Rarely taking vacations can really make you cherish every moment of your trip.  Our family took a real -longer than a weekend - vacation - the first in 11 years this summer. We drove to Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park via South Dakota and some dinosaurs and hot springs. It was wonderful. Everyone got along and it was precious time spent together as a family. Our children are getting to the age where we will soon be empty nesters so it was a last chance for us to travel together.

We hiked and explored and kept a tally of the wildlife we saw, which included TWO black bears. But as we traveled I tried to pay attention to the colors, and flora, and fauna. The landscapes and horizons. Views near and far can give ideas for projects. I took my sketch book along and also took over 2000 pictures.  I miss kodachrome but digital pictures sure save me money!!!

Flowers are a common inspiration for many and one of my favorite inspirations.

The shapes of flower petals and leaves constantly add to inspiration. One of my favorite artists is Monet who was an impressionist so his paintings used light, texture and shape but not in high detail. But when I draw for myself I want to have realistic images. Often wondered if I should have tried my hand at bio-illustration. So now when I work in metal, I am finding I want to do the same thing and obtain a realism in my shapes.

 

I am trying to challenge myself to become more abstract and stretch my creativity into an area I am not comfortable.  But still, nature is my base.

Simply being in this place is inspiring on many levels, not just artistically.

Get outside. 

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle!