"My Door" 2012 - New Piece up for Auction

This piece is in the show "The Art of Communication – 100 Artist Show" at the Mary Lou Zeek Gallery in Salem, OR. The auction starts February 2nd and ends March 2nd. Here is your chance to own a piece of my work at a very special price. 

***Note - This piece has since sold.***

Another artist and I exchanged quotations. My piece was based on the quote for Kahlil Gibran "When I wrote on my door: 'Leave your traditions outside, Before you come in,' Not a soul dared to visit me or open my door."

At first I wanted to do something other than the obvious - but after weeks of thinking about it, I thought it wouldn't make sense not to do a man that opens his door.

All the pieces in the show had to be less than 12" x12", so I started building the door and the window to fit into that space. I brushed the wood for the door with a wire brush to bring out the texture of the wood. I also designed everything to be a little wacky - slightly skewed, out of plumb. Only the top part of the door opens - I wanted to hide the mechanisms behind the bottom part.

The head, sculpted from polymer clay. I did look at a couple of pictures of Mr. Gibran, but I was not going for an exact likeness.

The wall and the window. I created a stucco texture using drywall mud mixed with paint. I love this look, I might have to do it again.

My paint finish - I love how this came out.

The finished piece - 12" x 12" x 4 1/2"

Detail of the door.

As the door opens, he leans over to check outside.

A closer shot.

The movie...

Behind the scenes......

This piece is a real step forward in my progression as an artist, and may be a sign of things to come......

Thanks for looking!

tom

"Bad Ideas" and "Claude" - 2011

Two new static figures, "Bad Ideas" and "Claude", are finished.

Bad Ideas started as a simple drawing in my sketchbook, but also came about from my continued fascination with collections. In my studio, I have many small collections of things - it's a way for me to keep all my found objects organized. But sometimes these collections become the springboard for an idea. In this case, a small jar of burned-out light bulbs becomes.......bad ideas.

I placed her on a small vintage tin.

I wanted to show the back of this one - something I've never done before with a static piece.

 Her lovely face, sculpted from polymer clay.

Her body, ready to be put together.

"Claude"- the title is sort of a play on words.

I decided to dress him as an innocent young man to contrast with the seemingly menacing steel "arm".

A detail shot of his claw, which has 2 moveable joints.

His head shot.

Pre-assembly.

 The apparatus on the bottom was his original arm until I realized it was WAY too big. This may show up on some future figure......

Until next time...................