I’m working on a piece to enter into a show in which the pieces can only be black and white. I thought my table was interesting and artful.
Category Archives: Works in Progress
Little Unnamed Birds
I’ve been working on this series of little birds made out of parts of toys, broken jewelry, an old fur coat, and a few other scraps of things.
I’m working on a display for them next, and a name will come later as well, but they are fun little guys, so I tool photos of them individually before combining them into something bigger. They’re a work in progress.
Click on any of the images below to get a closer look.
Here’s the line up:
Bird A:
Unnamed Bird. 4″ x 4″ 2016.x 4″.
Bird B:
Unnamed Bird. 3″ x 3″ x 5″. 2016.
Bird C:
Unnamed Bird. 4″ x 4″ x 4″. 2016.
Bird D:
Unnamed Bird. 4″ x 5″ x 5″. 2016
Bird E:
Unnamed Bird. 4″ x 2″ x 6″. 2016.
Shots in the snow at a less-complete stage:
And at the beginning stages when you could see what they’re made of:
They move in a sweet and wonderful way that, unfortunately, can’t really be part of the final display. While I was photographing them, I noticed the way the wind would catch them and make them bob. Here’s a sample with chirping birds in the background:
Materials to Inspire
I’ve been working on some new art lately. I’m enjoying the array of materials on my table!
The Piece that Isn’t
This piece of art doesn’t exist, even though it’s the most recent piece I’ve been working on. With it, I learned that when you’re making art out of found objects, you’d best do your research.
The centerpiece is a beautiful little nest that I found on the ground last fall. I created a mass of glitter and googly eyes to surround it. Someone remarked that the glittery circle was reminiscent of Ezekiel’s vision of a wheel covered in eyes, which I liked. The inspiration for the piece hadn’t been the Bible verse, but I decided to make a reference to the folk song “Ezekiel Saw the Wheel” by titling the piece “Way Up in the Middle of the Air”.
I was about to deliver the piece to a local exhibit when it occurred to me that perhaps birds’ nests are included in the same regulations that forbid anyone from possessing feathers or other parts of wild birds. I looked it up, and they do.
I should have done more research first. I disassembled the piece for now, but you may see it reinvented later–minus the nest.
Revisiting my own art bundle
I have a couple art bundles hanging in my magnolia now. Here’s the second one after it’s had a little time to weather. I have seeds planted inside. Also inside are the remains of a planter lining and some fabric. I’m not sure what will happen, but I’m hoping for growth–even if it’s just the growth of mold.
Bundles of Art II
As I said in my previous post, my friend Jane Case Vickers and I have a show coming up April 3-28 in the Krempp Gallery at the Jasper Arts Center in Jasper, Indiana.
Our show will be made up of lots of found object sculptures, plus we’ll display some of our odd collections of trash and weird objects. As part of all this, we’re experimenting with the concept of bundles of found objects and assorted materials that are left outside for the elements to weather. The items included in the bundles may have special meaning and that meaning may be enhanced by the weathering process.
Pictured above is Jane’s version of this idea. As expected, it’s a little different than mine, but very cool. That’s part of what I like about making art with Jane. Similar ideas and materials interest us, but we have different approaches to them. Jane envisioned the bundle as more of a stack. Hers has an old chair seat arranged like book covers with a flat stack of papers in between. On the front cover are some bark and turkey feathers that she picked up last week on our journey to check out the gallery. I like the way it blends into the tree she tied it to.
Did you know that Boar’s Head brand turkey lunch meat originates with birds raised around Ferdinand, Indiana? We didn’t until we went looking for the reason why there were so many turkey feathers blowing around town.
Amy Rich 