Another new creature in search of a name..

Hurricane Irene changed my plans for a trip to NYC last week.
It seemed wiser to stay at home where new creatures were
asking to be completed. So...as winds and rain whipped around,
this creature came to life. Seemed appropriate to be working on
a water avian of sorts. I'm thinking it must possess a little bit
of magic since amazingly our electric power never went off.
Considering the number of trees next to power lines in our
neighborhood, this is remarkable. A few major limbs snapped
in our trees:





But a few branches pales to the damage in so many places
all over New England...and this for a storm "not as bad
as expected."

Back to the new avian...Here is the beginning work on
his head (with myself reflected in the window...).
Spokes are sea urchin spines from a necklace which
used to belong to my mom. Beak is an antler tip:



I used rawhide for the wings - wet formed and painted:



and beaded the legs, of course:



He/she was finished yesterday. Here he/she is posing in
the sun for a few snapshots!





No name yet. I had such fun hearing the names suggested
on facebook for my previous creature...I'll try that again...
also open to hearing suggestions here!

Now off to finish another figure before heading to
the photographer in NYC next Friday. Hope to get
some good new photos.

Adventure on! Wendy

Creatures march forward...

Back from VA where I spent a wonderful 10 days with
grandkids...did a little stitching of eye journals there, but
creatures had to stay home and wait.....They were patient.

Muslin is on most of the new armatures:



It's fun to see the form change as bulk and
wrapping is added. You might remember this
guy from my previous blog:



Here it is with complete body shape in place:



I played with some new head and tail decoration :



Added leather and textile (a piece from an old Japanese Obi) , beads and
paint and a creature emerged! Name? He/she hasn't told me yet.
Anyone have any ideas?



Next Monday I have an appointment to work with a new
photographer in NYC. Am taking the guy above and a
few others to "play" with. I'll share what we come up
with....and demonstrate the difference between casual
and professional photography!

One last note: Thanks to Toby Froud's facebook page,
I heard about his mom's beautiful blog: http://realmoffroud.blogspot.com/
and from it about the show Wendy, Brian, and Toby will
be having at the Animazing gallery in NY, opening
this December: http://www.animazing.com/gallery/pages/2011FROUD/index.html
I met them all several years back at Mythic Journeys in Atlanta,
have been wanting to reconnect. Definitely plan on trying to be
at the opening!

More creatures are calling from the studio...so off for now...

Adventure on! Wendy

Sculptures at transformed elementary school in Orinda, CA

Last week on our way to our nephew's wedding in Northern
California, we dropped by Orinda, just over the Berkeley hills,
for a jaunt down memory lane. I lived there from age 1-6 1/2 .
Last time there, we discovered my old elementary school had
been turned into a community center, but didn't stop by. This
time we walked up the steps, walked in to find this sculpture:



Outside, I was thrilled to find the building and connected
library plaza surrounded by sculpture.



The sculpture below is the one at the top of the
steps pictured above. It's made from nails!



Did you see the jumping frog in the photo with the
library? Here are a couple views from the bottom of
of those stairs. Steel sculpture is by Gale Wagner,
entitled "Outtahere" - www.galewagner.com Putting
it in the waterfall setting is ideal!





I loved the range of sculpture...from joyfully jumping frog
to intense "Truce" by Albert Dicruttalo on the path to the
side of the library - website: www.albertdicruttalo.com





To a fun whirling motion filled peacock by Patricia
Vader which can be seen through other steel sculptures...



and close up - Patricia's website www.patriciavader.com
has more information on the sculpture.



There was even a little yarn bombing present..
Bike racks decorated thanks to the group behind
with the blog: streetcolor.wordpress.com



Orinda has always meant live oaks, windy, hilly streets
and memories of a wading pool with a waterfall (sadly
no longer by the swimming pool we used to go to)...
now it means a vibrant, appreciative art community
as well! My apologies for not getting all of the artists'
names. Kudos to Orinda's Art in Public Places Program.

This week I'm off to spend some time with granddaughters
in VA so their parents can spend a week in Paris. I'll be getting
some stitching done while there and some feedback on a story
I'm writing. Creatures in last post have moved forward...but
aren't not ready for more photos quite yet.

Hope everyone's summer is going well..

Adventure on!

New creatures begin...

And so begins a new season of creatures. The guys above
began when I spied the antler tips in the studio and realized
they'd be perfect beaks. Each also has hidden rocks, part
to add story, part to add ballast.



I enjoyed my "Tadaah" figure who could stand on its
head so am playing with a few more figures who see
from different angles.




And...more heads,hands, and feet of clay are needed to keep
more storytellers wandering forth:



Lined up and ready to fire in the kiln:



Fun to think of the places these creatures will see!
Next post...more process photos..

Adventure on! Wendy

Storyteller travels to St. Louis

As promised in my last blog entry...here are images
of "Clocamo, the Storyteller", shipped to Mirroz Gallery
in Creve Coeur, MO (just outside St. Louis). I met the gallery
owner, Zina Gelman, at ACC Baltimore. With a customer in
mind, she made specific requests...the storyteller was to be in
black and white. O.K. - I admit, I let a little bit of color sneak in.
I couldn't resist including the border on the old cloth (handwoven
by the Chin of Mynamar) which I used for the cape and carpet.
She requested three masks - a cat:



a mouse (first time for me):



and a colorful clown (again first time for my Star Wanderer
storytellers):



Clown masks were fun to create...made quite a few
extras as I was playing...so more storytellers may
get them this fall. Here are a few I've started:



Zina showed the storyteller to another customer
who wants a storyteller with a mask of a blond cocker
spaniel, a hippo, and an iris! Hmmmm....Another customer
is interested in a jazz motif!..(I like that idea a lot!)

Meanwhile, now that the grandkids have left, and heat wave
broken, I'm working on some new winged creatures in my
studio (nope no air conditioning in it!) Process photos in
next blog.

Adventure on! Wendy

HYCC kids "Emerald Necklace"

For the last few Springs I've worked with the Hawthorne
Youth and Community Center after school program on
projects involving architecture , thanks to grants received
from the Boston Foundation for Architecture: www.bfagrants.org
The kids have designed their own "dream" theme park,
a model for a HYCC cafe and last year a fantasy courtyard
model of the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum. This year our
project title was "Discovering Landscape Architecture in our
Roxbury HighLand Park Neighborhood".

Spring is a good time to wander the neighborhood and
sharpen kids' eyes to their surroundings and for them to
learn about, appreciate and care for the aspects of the city
which make it a more beautiful and livable place. We
started with the kids taking lots of photos - all easily
possible thanks to digital technology. They resisted (mostly)
taking photos of each other and focused on landscape
architecture features around houses, schools, the community
center and parks.



One of the favorite yards they pass on their way to HYCC from
school is the house below with sculpture in the front yard and
a mortar free wall built over a couple years by the homeowner.
They have enjoyed watching the long, slow process. Now that the
wall is finished, they enjoy looking for the snakes hiding there.



Our neighborhood offers a variety of housing and parks
including Highland Park, right up the hill from HYCC laid
out by America's "First Landscape Architect" Frederick
Law Olmsted. The kids learned about Olmsted's life and
his designs including Boston's Emerald Necklace linking
downtown to Roxbury's Franklin Field. The park is on
the site of a Revolutionary War Fort used in pushing
the British out of Boston in 1775 so we were able to
highlight local history too.



The Victorian standpoint erected when the fort was taken
down is a favorite landmark. They took many photos showing
its placement and how the cement benches indicate the
original dimensions of the fort.



As the kids explored, we talked about all the things that
need to be considered when designing a park - how it
is used, by whom, the climate, how Pudding Stone
contributes to (and complicates) landscaping in Roxbury.



Then they sat down and drew elements of
landscape architecture which they had observed.



After lots of photos, sketches and discussions, we
moved on to the kids making their landscape
projects.

First in blocks:
I thought the idea of book sculptures you walked
through in this park was a pretty cool idea.



then on to small individual parks made from various
recycled materials which we "linked" together
to make our own "HYCC Kids Emerald Necklace"

This park square included sculpture, tables,
stone play area and steps:



Quite a few included water features, paths and
pudding stone!





And some individuals got really elaborate. Our
HYCC Emerald Necklace ended in this mirror
mountain climbing landscape:



HYCC projects always conclude with a presentation by
the kids to their families and the community. This year
besides their models, they made posters using their
photos to explain the project.



At the presentation, the kids did a good job of explaining what
they had learned, received certificates and their own Emerald
Necklaces (Mardis Gras green variety). Then we installed the
display (as seen at the beginning of the post) at our local
branch of the Boston Public library. It will be at the Dudley
branch all summer. The kids enjoy seeing their work in the library
and hopefully the installation encourages others to sharpen
their eye for landscape architecture.

The most important aspect for me is the way these projects
deepen the connection that the kids have to our Roxbury
neighborhood and to Boston. I appreciate that the Boston
Foundation for Architecture makes this possible.

My next post will include images of a storyteller I just finished
which is going to a gallery in Missouri!

Adventure on....Wendy