Exploring Air Dry Clay

      Took a class with the fabulous Lyn Belise in San Antonio this past weekend and further explored using air dried clay.  There are lots of types on the market and lots of uses and I will be exploring those in a future blog.  Meanwhile, this is what I created Saturday.  Really hard for me to work in such dark colors, but it is dramatic.  I want to experiment in some lighter colors and see how they turn out.  Meanwhile, enjoy your weekend!

 

 

 

Playing with Metal

     I have been furloughed from work for a few weeks so I decided it was time to try out some new media.  I have been admiring the stamped metal jewelry for sale; we saw lots at the Renegade Craft Fair as part of SXSW in Austin this past weekend.
    I took an art lab from Roses on my Table  and also purchased a book called Stamped Metal Jewelry by Lisa Niven Kelly, the creator of the website Beaducation.  I discovered it is not as easy as it looks and you sure need a lot of new supplies and tools but I forged ahead.
    I love the designing part and have a million ideas but the execution is going to need some practice and I sure do HATE those pesky jump rings.
But here are a few of the pieces I have created which will be on sale at my booth at the Austin Gift Company for $25.00  I am also working on a custom design for mother's day so look for that.  I hope you are enjoying this (finally!) spring weather.

 

Wall Art and Sol LeWitt at Blanton B Scene

      Recently I attended a fabulous B Scene event at the Austin Blanton Art Museum that transformed the space into a 1960's New York Loft Apartment in conjunction with a current exhibition "Converging Lines" featuring 50 pieces by Sol LeWitt.  LeWitt was a conceptual artist and part of the minimalist movement post World War II.  At the event people dressed in 1960's attire, docents explained LeWitt's work and wine, food and music were in abundance.  If you have never been to a B Scene I highly recommend it.
     I also happened upon a fascinating art form I was unfamiliar with called Wall Art which LeWitt was known for.  Basically, an artist creates a set of simple instructions for local artists to create a piece of art on a wall.  Museums accept these instructions much as they would any other artwork on loan.  After the exhibit is over the wall is destroyed.
     For example, LeWitt created a piece he called simply No 766.  It is a one sentence instruction that reads as follows:
                                 "21 isometric cubes of varying sizes and
                                   colors with ink washes superimposed."
You can imagine the possibilities! Above is one interpretation and here are two pictures of another:

It certainly raises some interesting questions about the ownership and the collaborative nature of art.
     Sol LeWitt was quite the interesting character; his autobiography consisted of over 1,000 pictures he took of his New York City apartment--every nook and cranny, and his experiences as he documented them.  What a way to interpret your life!
     Also on display were pieces of pottery from ancient Andes civilizations
in an exhibit titled "Between Mountains and Sea".  Much of the art had symbols and icons similar to those we saw on our month long trip to South America last fall.  Seeing them reminded me that I really want to dig out my photos and notes and create some art using the wonderful colors and designs we saw.  But that will have to wait for another time.