Dec 16, 2010 Shimmering

While this poinsettia appears to be shimmering, it actually has white pigment along the leaves' veins. Sometimes heavy handed coloring looks awkward and fake, but somehow poinsettias can carry off a variety of "unnatural" color combinations.

Dec 14, 2010 Fiery

This lit tree seems out of place among the larger, less symmetrical trees. Taken by itself, the form created by the lights looks like a torch flame. The fiery lights create an interesting contrast to the surrounding scene.

Dec 13, 2010 Tangle

These Pt. Defiance Park trees fell from a hillside and landed across a pathway and into the sound; they were then cut and left to drift away. The tangle of branches forms an interesting network of intersecting, diminishing lines.

Dec 12, 2010 Place

There are some places that are an inspiration to me, among them is Tacoma's W.W. Seymour Conservatory. These Poinsettias show the shadow of the conservatory's window panes. The colors and forms at the conservatory are ever changing.

Dec 8, 2010 Distraction

With a diagonal, circle, Y and V lines, this is an interesting composition; however, the reds against the green distracts from the lines. Sometimes in art you need to look beyond the distractions.

Dec 7, 2010 Austerity

These flowers had golden petals a couple of months ago; now they have transformed into sentinels of black stamens and caramel stalks. There is strength in the austerity of the forms.

Dec 6, 2010 Turbulence

Sometimes art, by its very existence, creates turbulence. This stone creates a beautiful flow of diversion.

Dec 5, 2010 Interplay

These lemons, tangerines and limes have subtly different shapes and harmonious colors. I am transfixed by the interplay of the oblong and spherical shapes that create a series of arcs.

Dec 2, 2010 Arts Ecology

Here's three artists' views on sustaining an art practice. Artist Trust Blog: I Am An Artist: Tacoma Tends to its Arts Ecology: "The City of Tacoma diligently tends its arts ecology. Art at Work: Tacoma Arts Month takes place each November to illustrate Tacoma’s collec..."

Dec 1, 2010 Sections

The sections of this acorn squash radiate from the center into great elongated bulbous forms. A few of them have a bit of a crease. This subtle variation heightens the overall sense of sections.

Nov 30, 2010 Form

One form reminds me of another. The petals radiating from the center look like tiny canoes. The starburst pattern is always a winner.

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?

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

Nov 20, 2010 Article

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/11/19/1430640/elegance-irony-honesty.html
Here's a link to the News Tribune article about all the Spaceworks installations; mine is mentioned in the last paragraph.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.