Monday, November 29, 2010

Nov 29, 2010 Commodity

When shopping, I find it frustrating when I can't find a price tag. Seeing a huge price tag on a holiday tree made me think about how the price of art is often hidden--both literally and figuratively. And can we put a price on art or nature?

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Nov 27, 2010 Set

Multiple repeating images are sometimes used in art to achieve abstraction, call attention to form or pattern, or call attention to a subject. These are four of hundreds of pods I found beneath a tree after a wind storm--the immediate landscape was full of artful repetition.

Friday, November 26, 2010

Nov 26, 2010 Public Art

It's fun to stumble upon spontaneous, temporary public art. Here the carefully sculpted forms are complemented by found objects. The upraised arms create a joyful mood. 

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Nov 24, 2010 Poke

The tension in this form is the blades of grass bursting from the burden of the snow. It could easily be reduced to a 2-D drawing that takes advantage of the many linear lines.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Nov 22, 2010 Snow

The accumulation of snow on a bush creates a new landscape. Monumental forms are created as the snow builds and then bridges the gap between leaves. It's the sculptural equivalent of painting over an old work.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Nov 21, 2010 HIdden

The almost perfectly square parting petals of this camellia reveal a hidden cedar needle shard. In art, sometimes you need to observe from inches away in order to see the surprising elements.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Nov 18, 2010 Infrastructure

After a recent storm this seed landed on red maple leaves. The veins of both the leaves and the seed are very evident. It's a reminder that sometimes it's nice to see the infrastructure of forms.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Nov 17, 2010 Junction

The thin gnarled branch meets the overlapping cone scales at a crusty junction. While it wouldn't seem that combining two forms in this manner would work visually, here it does. Sometimes in art you need to try something that doesn't seem intuitive.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Nov 16, 2010 Glossy

Among a pile of brown leaves a golden one shines through. The color is enhanced by the glossy sheen of rain water.  The form is ever so slightly convex.

Monday, November 15, 2010

Nov 15, 2010 Topography

The texture of tangerine skin isn't just a field of pits, its a topography of elongated valleys. The variation of the indentations is hardly noticeable because of the intensity of the form's color.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Nov 14, 2010 Tension

The negative space between the avocados helps to create a strong composition. There is a good sort of tension between the texture of the skin and the stem nub.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Nov 13, 2010 Red

There's a saying about getting art viewers' attention, "Make it big, make it red." But small and red is good too. The repetitive forms of this small, dried, red corn cob would translate well into a large sculpture.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Nov 9, 2010 Drop

Clear water drops under low light on top of a gray car.  The otherworldly texture is the result of lighting and background.

Monday, November 8, 2010

Nov 8, 2010 Outside

Some of the moss has stayed inside the lines created by the bricks. But it is the moss that has strayed outside the lines that has a more interesting form. Like art, it is sometimes better to color outside the lines.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Nov 7, 2010 Jumble

A jumble of red leaves on green grass. With the pile and the perspective it might take a moment for the eye to decode photo.

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Nov 6, 2010 Open Studio

Come by my studio this weekend 10am - 4pm.  Today (11/6) and tomorrow (11/7) Tacoma artists open their studios for visitors.  See elements of my last four installations. I'm #6 on the tour map.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Nov 3, 2010 Gold/Blue

Another take on the gold on blue topic. This time a live tree replaces a transported stump and the sky replaces the water. The saturation of the colors is reversed (see Nov 2 post).

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Nov 2, 2010 Golden

Stripped of its bark, this stump is luminescent every time I see it on the Tacoma waterfront. It is as golden and imposing as a memorial sculpture.