New Craft

In order to get ready for the Baltimore American Craft Council show next week I've developed a new series of geometric tea candle holders and flower vases. For quite a while I've been thinking about how to make a series of inexpensive items I could sell along side my shellac work so that I can have a wider range of price points. Though I have no idea how popular they will be, the price point is certainly within reach of anyone who walks in the building.

Still, the most important thing is that I find the work sculpturally interesting enough to make because if I get bored making something, it just isn't going to get done. Thankfully, I feel that I have covered that issue as well. If I were an art critic, looking "objectively" at them, I think I'd say that the random angles add a level of surprise to the pieces and the minimalistic flat surfaces play well with the contrasting complexity of the natural wood grain.

Most interesting for me, however, is how I find them to be an inspiration for non-functional sculpture. I think it would be fun to make something that is conceptually similar without having to worry about functionality. I can see making a much bigger piece that would have real presence without being overbearing. Maybe I'll play around with some ideas when I get back from Baltimore.

The piece below was the first of the series. I was thrilled to find a use for a small chuck of scrap lumber that was very close to becoming someone else's fire wood.

curly birch tea candle holder
5" x 12" x 6"

This one was made with a scrap I had been carrying around since somewhere around 1999. I remember I used the lumber for a couple of nightstands that I'm still real proud of.

curly maple tea candle holder

5" x 22" x 6"

curly birch tea candle holder

5.5" x 17" x 6"

This one (below) is currently available at Artisans Hand Craft Gallery in Montpelier.

curly maple flower vase

5" x 24" x 3"

cherry flower vase

4.5" x 19.5" x 1.5"

These last too were going to be made with just two sections but they weren't stable enough so I added the third. Sculpturally, I think the third piece works well.

curly birch flower vase

5.5" x 24" x 2.5"

curly maple flower vase

6.5" x 27" x 3"

Side Two

Back in 2009 I had experimented with cutting grooves and filling them with epoxy. I had made a series with two-inch thick boards that I resaw-ed and to create two 1-inch thick sculptures with the same rectangular patterns on both sides. Because one of the halves had holes all the way through, I filled some of them with tinted clear epoxy; the matching half was filled with just black opaque epoxy.

Although I finished, and had long since sold, the black opaque epoxy halves, the tinted clear epoxy halves remained unfinished, stacked in my studio, because I wasn't sure how to highlight the tinted epoxy. I had thought that I could build a light box and use LEDs inside but when I realized that the battery life was too short, I gave up that idea. Recently, however, I decided to paint their backside white so that any light would reflect back out, resulting in a little of the same effect.

Here are the finally finished pieces next to their older counterparts. Had I figured this out a couple of years ago, I'm sure I would have made them diptychs. Regardless, it is nice to finally have the inspiration to finish an older piece.

 One Green Rectangle (left)/Eleven Rectangles w/Blue (right)

shellac on curly maple, cherry, and epoxy

30.5" x 10" x 1"

2009-2012/2009

Pistacchio (left)/Gelato (right)

shellac on curly maple, cherry, and epoxy

26" x 11" x 1"

2009-2012/2009

 

 Anticipating Spring (left)/Green Grass - Summer Day (right)

shellac on curly maple, cherry, and epoxy

26" x 11" x 1"

2009-2012/2009

The story on these final two pieces is a little different. It took me about 1.5 years to finish the black opaque epoxy piece (rightside), and after I was done I was so frustrated with how long it took that I didn't want to sell it. As a result, I titled it NFS and didn't display it until recently when I had finished its matching pair, On Second Thought, which sold before I could capture a good image of it. Below is a booth shot, hence the greenish border.

On Second Thought (left)/NSF (right)

shellac on curly maple, cherry, and epoxy

15" x 11.5" x 1"

2009-2011/2009-2010

Clark Derbes' Shapescapes @ Helen Day Art Center

Since seeing Clark Derbes' wood sculptures this summer at the Burlington Art Hop, I've been a big fan. So I was really looking forward to his solo show at the Helen Day Art Center in Stowe, VT and I'm happy to say I haven't been disappointed. Clark calls this new series of wood sculptures "Shapescapes." I asked him why and all he said was that it is the name that stuck. I can see his point, their erratic, warped cuts, and random angles makes me think that the piece is changing form in front of my eyes. It is an uneasy feeling as if I'm looking into a world in which I have know idea what I'll see around the corner. Each movement creates a shift in perception so that you are continually looking at a new sculpture as you move around a piece. It is very different than any other sculpture that I've ever seen. As a result, I've needed to post many more images than I normally would so that readers can get at least a small sense of what the pieces are about. 

I'm particularly captivated by Time Traveler III. Being on a pedestal and being able to walk around it accentuates its dramatically different viewpoints.

Time Traveler III

carved and polychromed poplar

2011

Time Traveler III

carved and polychromed poplar

2011

Time Traveler III

carved and polychromed poplar

2011

Time Traveler III

carved and polychromed poplar

2011

Looking at these five images now, it is hard for me to believe that they are all of only one sculpture. If I hadn't been to the show, and known that there was only one checkered sculpture on a pedestal, I wouldn't believe that it is the same piece.

Time Traveler III

carved and polychromed poplar

2011

Though you can't walk around the wall pieces, they still playfully test the viewers perception of perspective.

Time Traveler IV

carved and polychromed poplar

2011

As you move to the left, the piece seems to warp in front of your eyes, as if light doesn't behave like you expect it to.

Time Traveler IV

carved and polychromed poplar

2011

Time Traveler IV

carved and polychromed poplar

2011

Another thing I like about Clark's work is its approachability and casualness. In addition to the playful approachability of the optical effects, the rough cuts, the wearing down/"antiquing" of the colors, and the natural checking/splitting of the wood result in art that creates a relaxed and fun environment. Though fun art can sometimes be saccharine, the abstract subject of these gives them a more cerebral quality.  

 Time Traveler IX (seated portrait)

carved and polychromed poplar

2011

Time Traveler IX (seated portrait)

carved and polychromed poplar

2011

The black and white pieces as well as the colored triangle ones have a Stella-esque feel in design if not aloofness. The triangles even seem to cause another perspective bending effect as with Time Traveler X, the point of the triangles conflict with the actual angles of the sculpture.

Time Traveler X (seated portrait)

carved and polychromed poplar

2011

 Time Traveler X (seated portrait)

carved and polychromed poplar

2011

Time Traveler VIII (seated portrait)

carved and polychromed poplar

2011

Time Traveler VIII (seated portrait)

carved and polychromed poplar

2011

Clark doesn't go to a lumber yard for his material, he gets it by chance. If he sees someone cutting down a tree, he'll ask for some pieces. He then cuts the green logs with a chainsaw. Because the lumber is still very wet, it splits as it drys. The effect creates and irreverent aspect to the work. It is another way of saying that fine art doesn't have to be precious to be appreciated.

Time Traveler

carved and polychromed poplar

2011

Again, it is hard to believe that these two images are of the same piece. I'm simply making an assumption based on their proximity from my camera download.

Time Traveler

carved and polychromed poplar

2011

I had seen this piece previously at the Art Hop show. Being ash, it is quite dense and heavy. Clark estimated that it weighed about 500 lbs. I think it is the most approachable sculpture in the show, perhaps because its unpainted and scarified surface. It seems to beg to be joined in repose.

Time Traveler XI

carved ash

2011

Time Traveler XI

carved ash

2011

And finally, I normally don't include non-wood art on my blog but I'm making an exception for this encaustic piece because it looks to be a painting of one of Clark's wood sculptures (earlier series). What a great subject -- a figurative painting of an abstractly painted abstract sculpture. Besides, I really love the texture and colors.

 

Concentric Hypercube

encaustic

Wonder

I just finished this piece, Wonder. It started as a "doodle" of sorts, with no plans, direction, or preconceived objective. I'd always thought it would be interesting to play with a board of curly ash but had never found any in the lumber yard, but then, I was looking at a scrap board that had been left over from a shelving project and noticed a little curl in the grain so I figured this was my opportunity. The left side is camferred at a real low angle, maybe 20 degrees? The other side is rounded, also gradually. I also left some of the light planning marks on it. Though I normally go back and clean up any marks I find though the shellacking process, I didn't see the point on making the surface of this one perfect, at least not in that way.

 Wonder

shellac on ash

38" x 8" x 1"

©Robert Hitzig

The difficult part about this piece was in dealing with the extremely open grain in ash. Granted, there are ways to fill the grain that aren't so time consuming, but I also wanted to fill the pores with color and if I filled the grain first, I wouldn't be able to, and if I filled the grain after adding the color, I was afraid the color would be obscured. I ended up doing a partial fill and then used shellac to do the rest, which requires a lot of polishing and then waiting a few weeks for the pores to open back up and then repeating the process many times. There may be a better way to do it but this is what I did this time.

Here is an image of it with a white background and shadows.

 Wonder (white background)

And here is a closeup image. You can see at least one of the planing marks on the far left side. It is interesting how tinted shellac will exaggerate even the slightest imperfections. I don't think it would have been noticeable with any other process.

 Wonder (closeup)

Great Museum Seating

I recently visited the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston to see Ellsworth Kelly's show of wood sculptures, however, in order to avoid getting thrown out of the museum for repeatedly violating their policy of no photography in the special exhibit, I wandered around the rest of the museum hoping that the security guards would rotate out -- which they did about every 45 minutes. In doing so, I saw a lot of great art, but what I was really excited to find were these world class benches and seats that the MFA had strategically placed in unassuming and surprising places.  The first that I stumbled across was this pair of Wendell Castle chairs in the ancient Asian art gallery.

Zephyr Chairs

walnut

1979

Wendell Castle

What an absolute treat! I'd never had the opportunity to sit in a Castle chair and I can now attest that not only are the stunning to look at, they are also quite comfortable.

As I left this spot I made a point of keeping an eye out for more great seating and in a nearby room of Asian horse sculptures (and paintings?) I found this fantastic Judy Kensley McKie bench.

Pegasus Bench

mahagony and leather

1979

Judy Kensley McKie

Though I couldn't find a label identifying the bench I think this is the correct title because it is how Edward Cooke referred to it his 2004 interview with Judy. As with many of her animal sculptures, Judy engages the viewer by designing these horses/pegasi with a little mystery. In looking at them, you can't be quite sure what they are at first, you need to look longer and think about it. It creates an appropriately mythical feel to the piece. Unfortunately, the bench engaged at least one visitor a bit too much given that one of the ears had to be reattached.

Then, not to far away, I think in a gallery of Greek sculpture, I came across this impeccably designed bench by Hank Gilpin.

Bench

curly maple and walnut

1999

Hank Gilpin

The top is a very wild piece of curly maple with the cracks and splits left naturally unfilled or repaired.

Gilpin Bench (top view)

But from the bottom side you can see the remarkable quality of the design and execution. For example, note the gentle curve in the stretchers, the through tenons that are left slightly proud, the pins in the leg securing the tenon are also slightly proud, and, most interesting, look at how he helped to make the bench top look lighter, as if it is floating above the base, by creating a half-inch(?) gap above the legs and by also camferring the edge of the bench. In doing it, he has given a very light feel to a piece that is very solid in its construction. 

Gilpin Bench (underneath view)

Though I continued to look for more great seating during the rest of my visit, I didn't find any more. However, in checking the museums inventory, it looks like there is also a Maloof in another of their less visited galleries (although the MFA has graciously decided to invite the general public to use these great works of art from their permanent collection, I don't think they want them to be subject to the kind of abuse they would experience in their more popular galleries). I'll definitely keep an eye out next time I'm there and will update this list as I locate them.