It has been a few years since I was three, but I think if I were, I could play with these blocks all day long. Random sizes, randomly painted, who could ask for more? I think it is pretty darn close to impossible to avoid creating a visual masterpiece, regardless of how they are stacked. The possibilities are endless.Each master piece is ephemeral, made once, never to be seen again, but who cares, the next will be better still. They are made with pine and milk paint. I had never used milk paint before so I was interested to learn more about it. It is completely safe, essentially edible, made with milk proteins, limestone, and natural pigments. They are the some of the oldest paints of human history, found on cave paintings. It acts more like a stain than a modern paint so there are no brush marks left behind. Surprisingly, I couldn't find any suppliers nearby so I ordered some samples from these very nice people in Maine. When I started using it I realized that I've seen a lot of studio furniture makers use them, like David Hurwitz and Mark Del Guidice, but didn't know exactly what I was looking at. I couldn't figure out how they avoided brush marks so impeccably. It is also compliments contemporary furniture by giving a contrasting old/antique-esque look to the work.
I think I should have made a set for myself. Maybe I'll get lucky and learn that three-year-olds find them useless.
I was at the Paradise City Arts Festival in Northampton, MA over the weekend. This was my third time going to this show and I have to say it has been my favorite venue. It is a well established show that always has good crowds with plenty of people who aren't afraid to spend money, even in this economy. I can't say all the artists are selling at the level they need or expect to, but people are definitely spending money. For me, even if I'm not selling, having a large audience certainly helps in that I always get good feedback. Luckily, sales were good, especially compared to the disappointing Spring shows. I sold the new piece, Peaches and Pears, as well as an older piece, Green Grass-Summer Day, and I know a couple of people are seriously considering additional work. That, along with the additional 27 email addresses that I collected, give me hope that I can eventually earn a living making art.
Booth Shot October 9, 2010
After the show I decided that I need to start taking notes to document what people say when they see my work. In particular, I need to count how many times I hear the exact phase "I've never seen anything like this." It is somewhat amazing to see a stream of random people walking by and hearing the first thing out of their mouths be the exact same phase. I estimate I hear it about five times a day but I'll start collecting data at the next show and then use the numbers as a gauge for evaluating success.
Other interesting comments included one person who was raving that they the work should be in museums. Unfortunately, he wasn't a curator nor did he have connections to any but I encouraged him to remember the work if he ever ran into one. Another artist stopped by and asked "Do people understand how beautiful these are?"
I also remember someone saying, "You must really enjoy making these." To which I responded, surprising myself, "No, actually I don't enjoy it." I enjoy the final piece, I enjoy thinking about them, I enjoy having a purpose to go to the lumber yard, but the actual process of making them I mostly don't enjoy. Rather, I find it to be a painful struggle that I'm compelled to complete. An endurance battle much like a marathon. Does anyone ever really enjoy running marathons? I've done them and I can't say I liked it either; still I would like to run more. I've hoped that making art would somehow get easier over time but I haven't found it to get any easier. Interestingly, I recently heard Philip Roth being interviewed on Fresh Air by Terry Gross and he said essentially the same thing. Writing has never gotten any easier for him, rather, it has always been a difficult struggle that he battles with every day. I guess I just need to get used to it (though, I'm sure, if it ever got easy I'd find something else to do -- the struggle keeps it interesting). Update Oct 22, 2010: I saw Frank Stella talk at Dartmouth College yesterday and, when someone asked whether he found more pleasure in making his art, looking at the finished piece, or looking at the work of others, he said that he doesn't find pleasure in making his art, that there are always problems that he is trying to fix which take all his attention, and that it is much more pleasurable to look at someone else's art.
In addition, I was surprised, and very humbled, to hear one artist compare my work to Agnes Martin's. I don't see it myself but have heard it enough times that there must be some truth to it. I hadn't known of her work until I made Silk Ribbons and Cherry a couple of years ago and had three people tell me that it reminded them of her paintings. Her work is so subtle that looking at images on the web is really pointless but finally saw one over the Summer. Like a whisper, it forces you to listen. If my work could do that, it would be a great accomplishment.
Another advantage of the show is meeting other artists and learning about their work. I especially like to see other people working with wood. This time I talked a bit with Mark Del Guidice, a unique and very accomplished studio furniture maker. He combines his own contemporary designs with his interesting, intuitive, hieroglyphs. They appear to tell a story but they are ambiguous enough that the viewer is drawn in and challenged to decipher them. He also adds text in morse code sometimes. I believe he creates pieces that work as an antidote to the ever increasing speeds of modern culture by slowing people down and getting them to look and think about what is in front of them.
Love Chest
Adornment
This chair has morse code on the back. It says, "Relax Have A Seat."
Sanfra Chair
I was glad to see this piece of non-functional wall art. The rocks are a nice touch. It seems a little altar-esque, something that promotes contemplation and prayer.
There is a fascinating show of wood sculptures, titled Afterward, at the Flynndog Gallery in Burlington, VT, Sept 30 - Oct 29, by Emiko Sawaragi Gilbert and Janet Van Fleet. Emiko's part of the show is titled Cornucopia and Janet's is All Aboard. Both artists have collaborated with nature to create the work. They haven't carved, painted, or significantly altered what is normally viewed as refuse and debris by most people, thereby helping the viewer to see the world in new and interesting ways.
Though not in a formal gallery, complete with gallerina or even a desperate and starving gallerist, this show is likely to be one of the best you will ever wander into in Burlington; the rest of Vermont; or just about anywhere. Better still, the work is also some of the most affordable you'll find anywhere (how often do you find something that is simultaneously the best and cheapest of any category -- the only other example I can think of is the hummus at the Mediterranean Bakery and Cafe in Alexandria, Va.) -- all but two of Emiko's pieces are available to a loving home as gifts from her and the Vermont forest from which they came (contact her at emiko.cornucopia@gmail.com) while all of Janet's pieces, which she vows are not returning to her now clean studio, have no prices because she is happy to accept offers (call her at 802-272-5956 and name your price). Hence, this is a great place to do early holiday shopping (Janet's work is available as individual pieces or as their current groupings).
In Cornucopia, Emiko has used "scrap" branches and trees, left over from a firewood collection event, that are reshaped into interesting forms. Each is made from a single, continuous section of a tree. They are so well crafted that you first wonder whether the forms are natural tree growths or caused by some other force of nature (bugs? wind?).
In this one, If I Dream, she has created a womb-like bulb.
If I Dream
Here is another view and closeup of the same piece.
If I Dream (closeup)
The title piece, Cornucopia, is the easiest to identify by its title.
Cornucopia
I believe this piece, Janice, is a portrait, but perhaps more a portrait of spirit than physical features.
Janice
With It she has created two delicate cocoon-like leaf balls. Has the tree curled up to protect itself from insects or have insects attacked it and drawn the branches together?
It
Initially, when I saw this single drawing (a series of vertical graphite lines that subtly forms a shadow of a figure) in the show, I thought it was out of place, but after thinking about it a while I realized that it was a metaphor for the rest of the show, a person present, but in the shadows, subtly influencing what is present.
Figure graphite on paper
In Janet Van Fleet's half of the show, titled All Aboard, she has cleaned out her studio and repurposed hundreds(?) of found object sculptures from the last 12 years to create a metaphorical and visual "train" that depicts life in all its beauty and ugliness.
Appropriately, The Eagle Points The Way To A Different Future, leads the parade.
All Aboard
Though old and decrepit, the eagle seems to have the wisdom needed for charting a better direction. With this closeup you can see his gnarly wood face and driftwood chip feathers.
Eagle Closeup
The show includes many of Janet's wonderful teapots. I love how they have their own unique personalities. It is fascinating to see how she has imbued them all with a touch of humanity.
Teapots
Several years ago Janet made a wonderful video, titled March of the Teapots, that shows just how much personality they have as they leave her studio in Barre, VT and make their way to a show in St. Johnsbury, VT. It is well worth watching.
There is also this great little piano dancer. The toy piano really makes the piece.
Dancer
Here is a reincarnation piece made with a poem by Janet's mother. You can read more about the making of the piece and the full text of the poem on her blog here.
Reincarnation
I like how these tiny nail/screw people seem to be picking apart the flesh like ants. Great found wood head.
Reincarnation (closeup)
Then there are these greedy Cowbirds (with their gold hands) that seem to be dancing around their trophies (Janet said she thinks they are surrounding slaves but like most of her work, it is open for interpretation). They also have a trail of dollars following behind them (lots of foreign currency with unknown value along with some greenbacks).
Cowbirds
They look rather happy, dancing around in all their hubris.
Cowbirds closeup
I find this funeral piece to be more fun and funny than sad.
Funeral
The musician seems joyous and I really like the guy in the cart on the lower level (titled Bring Out Your Dead) -- he makes me think of this classic "Not Dead Yet" skit from Monty Python's Holy Grail movie (amazingly, it is always just as funny whether you're watching it for the 1st or the 100th time).
I don't think this hangman/puppeteer is up to any good, he might even have some fascist tendencies with his fork hand (which I love) and all those military medals while standing above segregated/compartmentalized objects (broken glass, buttons, baby shoes, and a small collection of her wonderful nail people, among other things).
Hangman/Puppet
This piece is definitely in the "up to no good" category. Plenty of fighting and killing going on.
War
The Prophecy piece seems to be made from a series of self-important and condescending priests, each with odd heads that are nothing like the self image portraits they carry around. I don't normally think of priests or prophets as narcissistic but their lack of self-knowledge seems to indicate a high level of self-absorption.
Prophecy
This is the best head of the bunch, a grotesque rotting dead lizard(?) made from chicken bones and a tree root.
Prophecy (closeup)
Then, back in the fun/pleasant category, there is this surrealistic fish chariot piece.
Fish Chariot
Also in the happy category is this coupling piece. It is good to see a loving lesbian couple made the parade as well.
Coupling
There is also this burlap ash covered beggar. Very realistic, complete with polio-stricken and atrophied (though surprisingly still useful) legs. I'd bet if you left him on a busy street during the day he could actually earn his keep.
Beggar
And finally, there is this pair that Janet said were titled Adam and Eve for a show years ago. I don't think they have to represent the apocryphal primordial couple, they could be just any pair, or non-pair, but I like their exaggeratedly long legs and the courage they show in their armless existence.
As a follow-up to earlier comments on the Furniture Society Conference in June, I have a few more images to share.
Inside the conference center there was another exhibit. Even though it was open all members, and was non-juried, the quality was still very high (not very surprising considering hacks don't normally pay for Furniture Society membership).
Furniture artists commonly make furniture that is more sculpture than functional furniture but this piece by Jerry Spady, Air-Aquarium, takes this art form a step further by making a pure sculpture in the form of traditional furniture. Unfortunately, back-lighting from the large window made photographing it very difficult but it is still possible to see the impeccable construction and concept. Two large leafy sea dragon (Phycodurus eques) sculptures float in a 19th century style case. Very Victorian in execution but very contemporary in concept.
Air-Aquarium claro walnut, tiger maple, etimoe Jerry Spady
The back side gives a better sense of the colors. You can also see the marquetry "shadows" of the sea dragons.
Air-aquarium (back-side)
Derrick Method brought two discarded book pieces to the conference. I like his economical design concept. I have to conclude that, following eight years of the G. W. Bush administration's distaint and disregard of international agreements, using empty binders titled "United States Treaties and Other International Agreements" for this Treaties Table is probably more political statement than coincidence. Regardless, the concept is cool and at least someone found something useful to do with these discarded documents.
He also brought this SCB Bench made with books titled "Survey of Current Business." Not sure what he might be saying about current business practices but the piece has a retro 50's (maybe early 60's) look to it.
SCB Bench discarded books, wood Derrick Method
I also enjoyed Brian Gladwell and Jason Schneider's untitled collaborative submission. They have both developed a portfolio of cardboard furniture individually so it is interesting, and perhaps not very surprising, to see them team up on a piece. The texture and patterns they capture with cardboard is very dramatic and it also has a recycling theme.
Untitled cardboard, wood, wallboard compound Brian Gladwell and Jason Schneider
Also in the conference center was an exhibit of work donated for the live and silent auction to benefit the Furniture Society. Although there were a number of great artists who made very generous contributions to the auction (it is easy to become jaded when looking at one great piece next to another) work by two artists stood out the most for me. First, these exquisite horse andirons by Judy Kensley McKie. They help to increase my anticipation for her show of new work at Gallery NAGA in November.
Horse Andirons bronze Judy Kensley McKie
Finally, there are these two intricate pieces by Po Shun Leong. Given how well established he is as an artist (his CV is four pages of one impressive accomplishment after another), I'm surprised I hadn't been familiar with his work earlier but happy to have now become aware of it. They are both reminiscent of lace or paper giving them a light, fragile appearance, however, being made of wood, they are substantial and sturdy. They also make me feel tired just looking at every notch in the individual sections and thinking how long it took to cut each one. He must have a notch cutting machine of some kind. Update: unfortunately, the notch cutting machine doesn't exist, they are cut by hand on a band saw.
Table (unknown title) painted wood Po Shun Leong
Sculpture (unknown title) painted wood Po Shun Leong
Belatedly, I've finally found the time to post the final reviews of the exhibits on view at the Furniture Society Conference in Cambridge, MA a few of months ago. In addition to the Jenna Goldberg, Society of Arts and Crafts, and Historical Woods exhibits I've already written about, this post covers a juried show of New England artists,Six Degrees of Separation, and a juried outdoor furniture exhibit. The next and final post covers the members exhibit and a couple of silent auction donations. I have to thank the Furniture Society for giving me a press pass for the event. Having a blog does has its advantages every now and then; and getting to the conference was a good chance to meet a number of great artists and see a broad range of work by people I was not familiar with.
This piece, Tray, by Rich Tannen is my favorite from all the shows I saw as part of the conference. It is very minimalistic but at the same time fascinating in its technical difficulty. The form has the subtlety of being hand-made while having a fine repetitive pattern that, although appearing machine made, doesn't have the clunkiness that one would expect from a machine. It is a perfect combination man and machine to create something that appears impossible. I also like how he has taken a common piece of maple and created an extraordinary grain pattern. Because of its subtlety, I had a real hard time capturing a good image of it so check out Rich's website for better pictures here and here.
Tray maple 2" x 28" x 6" Rich Tannen
James Sagui's piece, Until Next Summer, is a great piece of trompe l'oeil sculpture. I often find that trompe l'oeil work looks better in photographs then in person but this one looks better when you are in front of it. Impeccably constructed, it requires very close inspection to find evidence that it is not what it appears to be.
Until Next Season handcarved bleached basswood James Sagui
After looking it over a while, I finally found evidence of wood by looking inside the mug and seeing that it was turned on a lathe.
Until Next Season (close-up)
The embossing on the book was also impeccable.
Until Next Season (close-up)
I have seen images of Mario Messina's Cephlapod lamp a number of times and found it to be every bit as impressive in person, although I was struck by how much bigger it was than I imagined. It is almost 4' long and without something to scale the image, the measurements can be easily overlooked. I placed my keys on the stand to help but because of how it was placed in the exhibit, I wasn't able to take a good image. It was actually pretty disappointing that it was placed in a tight space that didn't allow me, or anyone, to get a good look at it from the side. For a better image, look here.
Cephlapod hickory, bamboo, uuryu paper 26" x 47" x 21" Mario Messina
This was also the second time I've seen, and now the second time I've mentioned, Bart Niswonger's Textured Sideboard. It is a great piece so it deserves a second mention, but it is also interesting to see it next to Rich Tannen's Tray as they are both using common lumber to create extraordinary grain patterns rather than searching for lumber with extraordinary figure.
I also enjoyed seeing Thomas Shields' sculpture Support. Constructed with nine(?) found chairs, it creates an interesting contrast between the junky/rickety look of the materials and the fine craftsmanship that it took to assemble them into one piece. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find any links to his work on the Internet so his background is still a mystery to me. (Update April 29, 2011 - I've learned that Tom Shields now has a website, see it here. It shows an interesting perspective on using furniture as sculptural subjects as opposed to functional objects.)
Support found chairs Thomas Shields
The Conference also included an outdoor exhibit. I really enjoyed the playful/fun nature of this seemingly children's block inspired chair by Xiaoyu Bia. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any more links to Xiaoyu's work on the Internet either.
Colour Blocks Xiaoyu Bia
This Knit Hammock and Knitting Needle Stand by three artists -- Stephan Iino, Carol Sibley, and Janet Lord -- reminds me of Claes Oldenberg's work. Pretty cool. It really has the sense of having been created by giants.
Knit Hammock and Knitting Needle Stand Stephan Iino, Carol Sibley, Janet Lord
Dave Barresi's Pivoting Garden Bench looks to be a lot of fun also. Coincidentally, Reagan Furqueron had a similarly designed piece, Coffee Table w/Boot on view at the Society of Arts and Crafts at the same time.
Pivoting Garden Bench Dave Barresi
I also enjoyed Robert Rickard's inviting Conversation Bench. The way they lean back but are attached in the middle seem to give a sculptural interpretation of the push/pull nature of a good conversation.
Conversation Bench Robert Rickard
And finally, these hay bail chairs, titled Lazy Hay and made by John Tagiuri, are fun but not particularly comfortable unless you are between 10 and 15 feet tall. You also end up smelling like hay after sitting in them for a few minutes. Not that I'm not complaining, someone aught to market a cologne, Eau de Hay. (warning: I'm suing anyone who manufactures it without giving me a cut of the sales.) I like his sense of humor and large scale design sense, especially as with this table an chair set.
Random sizes, randomly painted, who could ask for more? 
I think it is pretty darn close to impossible to avoid creating a visual masterpiece, regardless of how they are stacked.
The possibilities are endless.
Each master piece is ephemeral, made once, never to be seen again, but who cares, the next will be better still.
They are made with pine and milk paint. I had never used milk paint before so I was interested to learn more about it. It is completely safe, essentially edible, made with milk proteins, limestone, and natural pigments. They are the some of the oldest paints of human history, found on cave paintings. It acts more like a stain than a modern paint so there are no brush marks left behind. Surprisingly, I couldn't find any suppliers nearby so I ordered some samples from these very nice people in Maine. When I started using it I realized that I've seen a lot of studio furniture makers use them, like David Hurwitz and Mark Del Guidice, but didn't know exactly what I was looking at. I couldn't figure out how they avoided brush marks so impeccably. It is also compliments contemporary furniture by giving a contrasting old/antique-esque look to the work.
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