Exodus

Seeing the final phase of these pieces: final resin casts, the LED lighting location, additional airbrush detail, sanding, engineering hardware to attach the steel rod to a base.

Flying and hovering and strange night lights all part of the story of Exodus. Freedom is the theme of the Exodus and wings provide a unique freedom. I often have dreams of flying or hovering outside my body. Freedom is a spiritual feeling and is associated with light. 

The cast resin pieces become a lens diffusing LED light through the wing and surrounding area. It’s a soothing light, a light you might see in the distance of the desert wilderness. Exodus is a story of a flight to freedom through a desert wilderness. The journey is illuminated at times with a column of fire or clouds for the masses to follow during the day and during the night. A journey in the desert at night avoids the heat of the desert day and the stars of the night illuminate the desert floor.

New pieces-Cast Resin Wings: 34″-38″ wingspans. LED light-wood and resin bases. Series of 12 available this fall. More at: Online Gallery Website 

Cubes and Terraforms

As the seasons change, I am transitioning into the hot summer days and nights. My spring work included some of my largest pieces including “Lost Memories” a 7′ casting into the live edge of a Sycamore slab.

 

 

Late spring and going into the summer has me working on a series of cast resin cubes. I have describe some of my pieces as “terraforms” …worlds within worlds and “other worldly”. I see vast desert and ocean wilderness areas that have been part of my entire life. Dry clouds over a horizon, light dancing off the morning water and a millions stars illuminating the night sky.

The desert has played a pivotal role throughout history including the flight of a group of immigrants redeemed from slavery and promised a” land” of milk and honey. A visible sign of an invisible God is seen in the distance.The column penetrates layers of clouds lighting the sky for all to see and never leaving them-strengthening the promise made long ago. Exodus 13:20-22

Set on lighted platforms or as a stand alone piece in a garden window and sills. The cubes absorb light energy and exchange it as luminescence, eerie illumination produced.  StoryBox-creations as An Obliq Artist 

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Holy & Healing

 

A lost memory recaptured on recent trips to Taos, NM and Barcelona, Spain. A spiritual journey began with visits to churches and basilicas in Barcelona, Spain. Sagrada Famila is famous worldwide a church that has been under construction for over a 100 years and complete by 2025…they hope.

Mission church Chimayo, outside of Taos is one of the best examples of an early Spanish Colonial mission. In this case, it is a “healing” place, like Sedona, AZ and other healing places in the southwest.  Chimayo mission is the site of physical and mental healings, some say miracles. We often mistake problems that require a spiritual solution-not a financial one.

Inside mission Chimayo are 2 separate rooms-in one, crutches hang on every wall, a testament of physical healing. From this room, you enter another room-low slung and no bigger than 10’x10′-central to this room is the small well in the middle of the floor of this room filled with the “healing” dirt from the land. Visitors are encouraged to take some of the dirt…Sandra did.

My traditional view is that church buildings were built to inspire us to focus on God. Spires, stained glass windows, and items on the altar were created to depict religious themes and to point our lives away from the earthly realm and focus on a heavenly realm.

A limited series of work, I created with my favorite mixed media-Wood-Resin-Steel & Light and bringing into existence my own version of a “monstrance”.My vessels display something holy-fragments and I choose the land, sky, water and an unseen world.   There is a place where beings in the Rio Grande gorge ascend seeking a light from a wooden shard hovering above them and containing the healing power of the land. Light emitted from the piece breaks the darkness surrounding it. I think of the opportunity to spend moments of meditation during this period of light… a time of prayer and being thankful for all that God has created. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Myopia”…Art Detour

A “show” was just a  passing thought one late winter night among unfinished pieces in my new studio space. My new work needed to be shown; Obliq Art had not put on a show in 16 months. I thought of all the good times we had and miss so many of the artists and collectors and just friends who made Obliq Art a regular stop on First Friday…and that thought was sown into the universe that night. “The right people will show up”. “The right space will show up”. Sometimes you have to walk in faith. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My work was about restoration of wood and about adding  a different dimension to wood. Clear and colorized resins were pour into termite caused borings. Phosphorescent resins casts were added as well as casts with pearlescent powders. Lost Memories was created this past winter. A  termite infested, crooked, twisted and weathered Sycamore slab that spent much time in the Arizona desert sun. A perfect piece to restore and reclaim. Another thought…Lives are like that.

 

Pete Deise and I have become friends over the last year. He reminds me of the surfer who first surfed Mavericks alone for years-a lonely pioneer living a pioneers life. I’m infatuated with his new work and personally I want to see his work integrated in some of the downtown buildings and projects I am involved with, like the Jackson Street Properties I selling. And I love helping him show his pieces. Its a little different installing and showing his pieces.

Lunar

Justin Queal and I have been hanging about a couple of  years. Our first time showing together. We have had some lunches and times together talking about art.  Again another artist that I admire and getting to know him and his lovely artist wife, Abbey. Its a rich life when you have relationships like this. Flourish comes to mind when I think of Justin’s future.

Radiant Energy

 

 

 

 

 

Cheryl Brandon

 

 

 

 

Constance McBride and Cheryl Brandon have been in my consciousness for a while, especially Constance whom I first met at Obliq Art at the Arizona Center. Met Cheryl at the Fred Tieken’s Az 45 show in his gallery in Paradise Valley. Two very distinct ceramic artists with a wonderful following. Great contrast to the large pieces.

Constance McBride

Someone asked me, “When are your shows”? I guess the short answer is “When I want”.  Look forward to seeing how Obliq Art evolves. The Myopia show has allowed me and the other artist to experiment in the space.

The show opens again on Third Friday, March 18 at 7 pm and from noon to 5 PM on Saturday. Lots of parking behind the space as well as street and park parking.

New City Studio- 1300 N. Central Ave-across the street from the main Library and adjacent to Margaret Hance Park. 

 

 

“Ancient Memories…Refuge”

I saw the deep borings in the wooden slab of White Oak and began exploring the notion of “refuge”.  Something was attracted to live within this part of the tree, something sought refuge and existence in this fortress, I could see the microcosm when looking closely. At the same time, the pattern in the wood and its DNA reminded me of desert landscapes from the southwest; the vast areas of wilderness.

I began to create layers of air and sky by casting resin layers, relying on lost memories of desert sunsets above a remote beach. There were memories of clouds in the early morning and light at the golden evening hour. The various translucent layers, some with pearlecent and phosphorescent powders mixed with resin, emit an “other world” atmosphere. Immersed within the sky are spherical planets  that, provide an “other” world dreamlike hallucination .

“Every moment of light and dark is a miracle” says Walt Whitman and I wanted to create and capture  these moments.

The work “Refuge” is cocooned in light; a light created with LED lighting that I call the great light and phosphorescent  light, the lesser light. The lesser light is “charged” by the LED light and continues to radiate “stored” energy as “light” long into the darkness.

Light provides healing according to popular studies. Light is an element and theme in my work while I explore the idea of the spiritual powers of healing and light. Healing became an influence in my work while researching and understanding healing. Embedded in all my recent work is earth from mission Chimayo outside Taos, New Mexico. Chimayo has been called “a place of healing”, http://taospueblo.com/ . I saw thousands of prayers posted as photos, hundreds of crutches hung on a wall and realized this too was a place of refuge. Many prayers are answered but many times it is not “God get me out of this” rather God get me through this. The more I meditate in prayer, the more I know that healing is much about surrendering.

There is something special about the wilderness-the quiet and solitude, marveling at the beauty created by God. It is a spiritual experience for me. The same with creating art, a spiritual discipline for me, much like  prayer.

I often think of the quote;

“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.”― Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

The process of creating this piece allowed me to reveal the mysterious realms of native folklore and culture.  In this piece, the elements of sky, fire, earth and air are my way of capturing the essence of God. God is in the very nature of each element.

“Ancient Memories”…Refuge” 65″ x 20″ x 2″ White Oak, cast resin layers, LED lighting. I had many ideas, wishes and fantasies creating this piece of refuge and prayer.

www.stor-ybox.com  AnObliqArtist

“Ancient Memories are…in the Cloud”

Progress shot

Beyond but beneath the obvious, a story emerges from a cutting  of alligator juniper, a lifeless slab of wood “beached” in my studio for over a year. I often looked at this piece of wood, imagining a design that never took place. Something else had to be released and it was an image created millions of years ago and now being revealed through the DNA of the wood and the mind and hands of a artists craftsman.

The whale has been released from its captivity, the DNA of eons of memories and layers of times ancient forests and a shallow sea filled with life. My imagination took over, remembering the times spotting whales against the backdrop of an expansive and seemingly empty sea, many times framed by the dramatic horizontal image where sky meets ocean. The composition of the piece with its long horizontal lines reminds me of the vast wilderness places; secluded mountains and beaches, the heat of the summer and the solitude the wilderness provides.I have had intimate moments with this creature in the wilderness and that was my direction and approach.

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First 3 resin layers

I feel as if I am “hovering” over the scene, exploring what might be here, looking for waves, or fish. I realize I have flown over these coves, physically and meta physically. Maybe there is a connection for this piece of Arizona wood and the desert landscape. I think of the past life of this tree, musing over the DNA, perhaps dating back to the Jurassic period, when great whales and fish inhabited a  large inland and shallow sea that once was here in Arizona.

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I cast the 67″ horizontal edge, vertically, allowing me to create layers of sky from my imagination. Distant green lights the color of an aurora borealis, contrast with the brilliant reds of sunsets and twilight times. The clear cast layers and multiple “spheres” describe a place of planets and distant stars. Thin blue and white layers reflect an ancient ocean where it meets an ancient land.

More musings to come as I continue to create the story of this piece.

62″x24″x3″ Alligator Juniper, cast resin layers.

http://www.stor-ybox.com

http://web.photodex.com/embed/9bd2a2x4?autoplay=true

“A Refuge”

“A Refuge” is nearing finished, which is a magic moment for me and many artist I know.Some type of small animal sought refuge in this piece of White Oak. The refuge was carved out by some type of bug, and the hollow became large enough to provide sanctuary to some type of bird.

A mixed media work incorporating resins, colored with opalescent and pearlecent earth powders. Resins mixed with phosphorescent powders and cast in layers to produce an internal illumination when charged with ordinary light and super charged with UV lighting. Illumination is a key element of the work and each piece takes on a different look when viewed in a darkened setting. The translucent layers glow in the spot lights from underneath. The elemental themes of Earth, Water, Air and Fire are present… but there is an emphasis on the “fifth” element; the element which describes matter beyond the material world. An invisible realm in existence before existence began.

I’m inspired by the deserts of New Mexico, Arizona and Mexico, connected to the cycles of life and the seasons.  I am exploring the panorama of desert skies, the interaction of light at sunset, sunrise and twilight. At times I see water-less clouds teasing a parched land, or violent storm clouds bringing ranging floods. Desert sunsets are a gift and one that I experience from my studio every day.

Water is a renewing element, water cleanses and brings new life and it is very precious in the desert. And yet,  I keep returning to the sea and as I explored this piece of White Oak, I could feel the edge of the wood and imagine a beautiful wave cresting and breaking on some imaginary beach I’ve created in my mind. I imagine beautiful things in heaven and I am exploring beautiful things on earth. I’m reminded how blessed I am.

More art work on my website http://www.stor-ybox.com

On Earth as it is In Heaven

A new body of work emerges using my favorite media: Cast resin, opalescent earth powders, steel, and self illumination. Illumination is a key element of the work and each work piece takes on a different atmosphere when viewed in a darkened setting. The elemental themes of Earth, Water, Air and Fire are present… but there is an emphasis on the “fifth” element; the element which describes matter beyond the material world. An invisible realm in existence before existence began, present at the beginning. The ” On Earth as it is In Heaven” series, is an artistic depiction of a “realm” of time, space and the omnipresence relationship of the Creator. I visualize ancient seas and reefs, rugged mountain ranges, and translucent skies with imaginary dry clouds.These are recurring themes in this new body of work. My color palette is derived from the desert southwest where it meets the ocean, places well known to me.  My color palette consists of rust, ochres, turquoise, blues, greens, deep russet red, pearl white and shades of violet.

Phosphorescent powders mixed with resin are cast into a live edge of white Oak and provides an eerie glow.Wood-Patina Steel-Resin Casting and Light

“Remember Me”-Even When Surfing

Somewhere along the journey, I transitioned from life around the sea to life in the desert. You see,  I grew up around the ocean in So Cal; surfing, fishing, boating. Next stop was Hawaii, where I to to support my family as a full time artists and live a surfers lifestyle and dream.

The major transition in my life was moving to the desert Southwest. What was a sea goer like me doing moving to the desert?  Looking back, I know why I am here and have been here for 35 years, it was a divine appointment.

I have remembered surfing every night since I have lived in Arizona. Not physically but mentally…every night before I go to sleep, I re-surf waves from the past from CA, Hawaii, Mexico, and Central America. I cannot get the images of the ocean out of my head. Nor the moments of stillness on the water, light dancing across swells in early morning or that last minute flash of light at sunset. Now that I look back, God was more in my mind, was more present on the ocean than perhaps anywhere else. The ocean cast a spell on me and has never let go. So did God.

Last year, I focused on a series of artwork entitled “A New Earth”. I remember being very sad reading there will be no sea in the New Earth. Bummer!

Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also, there was no more sea.       Revelations 21 

At first, I was saddened at the comment. No sea, I thought heaven might be a place where I could have my own ocean, my own surf location far from the maddening crowds where I could share waves with my friends, where maybe a wipe out did not exist. But without an ocean, where was I going to surf? Then I realized, we will be surfing waves, waves that my limited mind could not fathom.Maybe I will be surfing light waves or sound waves?

So, here is a photo featuring my artwork; A Communion Station, A Table, and miniature glowing surfboards, all reminding me of a command…. “Do this in remembrance of Me”…its a mystical experience.