Sushi At Three

Here is my first piece of 2012:

 Sushi At Three

shellac on curly maple

24" x 33" x 1.5"

January 2012

©Robert Hitzig

It really needs to be looked at from the side in order to get the effect I was experimenting with. I consider it a progression from my wedge series but in this case I'm cutting the wedge as a resaw rather than a ripsaw. 

Sushi At Three (side view)

Since this was the first piece using this style of wedge, I was a little nervous about how it would turn out, however, in the end, I was pleased with the effect. I'd like to see a large piece in this style, with many more sections, but I'll wait to get some reactions before committing to another. I especially like the overall outline it creates with the wall. It reminds me of Frank Stella's irregular polygon series, but I find this work much more interesting.


Update January 14, 2011: Based on a comment, I thought it would be useful to include images of this piece with a white background. Let me know what you think and if I should continue this style or the ones above. I know my photography still isn't the best. I think I need to get more lights to improve the accuracy.

 Sushi At Three (white background - front view)

Sushi At Three (white background - side view)

More New Work and New Titles

Here are some more images of new work. This first one is a continuation of my wedge series, being my forth. For what ever reason (perhaps the sub-zero temperatures we are experiencing in Vermont right now), the red in this piece reminded me of the redbud tree buds you see while driving around the North Carolina country side in April, hence the title. It was made by laminating a sheet of walnut veneer between two 2" thick boards of curly maple so there is a fine black line between the two sides. It hangs flat against the wall by resting on a cleat that sits inside a mortise.

Carolina Spring (left side)
shellac on curly maple and walnut
29" x 4" x 9"

Carolina Spring (right side)

The title of this piece is based on what I think is its celebratory feel, looking almost like confetti falling down. The maple is about the whitest I have ever worked with and is a dramatic contrast to the almost black of the walnut (hence, the different colored background). The thin diagonal lines running across the maple is a walnut veneer that I glued vertically between the maple quadrilaterals. It rests on a cleat that off-sets it one inch from the wall.

Forever Holiday
shellac on curly maple and walnut
41" x 25" x 1"

Along with the pieces above, I had professional images taken of work that I completed a couple of months ago. I retitled the one below (mentioned in a earlier post) A Tear of Joy and Profound Admiration because I decided that my work is much better with poetic titles rather than descriptive ones. The line came to me when I heard that Nelson Mandela was recently hospitalized and I thought, how sad, but an instant latter I thought, but he is 92 and we should be more happy about the life that he has led than sad he is nearing the end. It is a lot of pressure making work that has to live up to the titles but it is also better that the title add something to the piece than for them to just be an afterthought.

A Tear of Joy and Profound Admiration
shellac on curly birch and curly maple
52.5" x 32" x 1"

I also retitled this piece (mentioned earlier here) Green Chimneys, for the same reason. It is named after a Thelonious Monk tune because I feel it has a musical feel that is somewhat similar to the unexpected notes he would play. I also like how there is "green" only in the title, adding a little mystery to the piece.

Green Chimneys (right side)
shellac on curly maple and cherry
49" x 20" x 4"
Green Chimneys (left side)

Now that I have these pieces out of the way I'm trying to finish another ribbon (from this series) in time for the Baltimore ACC show at the end of the month. I went to the lumber mill last week and picked up a beautiful board of curly birch, 9" x 3" x 10'. I was planning on picking up a thick board of cherry but what I found was a third the price and much more interesting. I'm excited to seeing what comes of it.

New Influence/Direction

After having seen Frank Stella's Irregular Polygons at Dartmouth's Hood Museum and listening to him talk a few days later, I decided my work would be more interesting if I escaped the tyranny of rectangularity.

Five Randomly Tapered Planks
(Update 2/4/11: I changed the name of this piece to
A Tear of Joy and Profound Admiration)
shellac on curly maple, curly yellow birch,
curly/bird's-eye yellow birch
approx. 47" x 42" x 1"

Having milled these five planks many months earlier, I was having trouble deciding on how to arrange them, but as soon as my mind opened to the idea of adding random angles to the work, it fell together much better. It seems like such a simple idea but it opens up a whole new realm of possibilities. It will be interesting to see where it leads.

Alternate Orientation
approx. 58" x 34" x 1"

In addition to the unique shape of this piece, the middle plank is particularly interesting in that it is made with bird's-eye yellow birch. I had no idea that such a thing existed (and didn't know I had bought it until after I put it through the jointer) but now that I know I'll take extra care to look for it at the lumber mill.

yellow birch bird's-eye closeup

Paradise City - Northampton III Debrief

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.

Faith

The next show is CraftWestport, November 20 and 21.