"The Way we See" sculpture and Ben Mitchell's photography

For a while now, "how we see" has been an important
theme in my work...how each of us see from a different
perspective and in different ways. During these ponderings,
this guy showed up. He's holding old optical lenses used to
check eyesight, each with a different correction. Looking
through them, including the one on the tail, offers a different
view of the world. I've titled him "The Way we See",
but I'm sure he'll tell me his proper name soon.

He seemed a bit lonely, so this little fellow bounced in
to add a bit of fun!:



The photos above were taken by Ben Mitchell during our photo
session at his place in New York City. As was this great photo
of one of my eye journals:



I'm looking forward to continuing working with Ben!

Here's the photo he took of Krystuli and Spike, the Pupbeast.
He captured their spirit well:



Now off to finish a few more pieces for ArtRox Open Studios
next weekend Oct. 1-2 11-6PM. Anyone in the area, please come
by my studio - conversation, cookies, and beverage await.
Should be a great weekend of fun and art!

Adventure on! Wendy

A new series of figures begins -come to Northamtpon to see!

This coming weekend I'll be exhibiting at the Paradise
City Arts Festival in Northampton, MA. Details at:
www.paradisecityarts.com
The image above will be found in one of my new figures.

"Where do you get your ideas?" is a question I am often
asked. Usually I cannot pin point the source or kernel of
an idea. Often I just start playing with materials
and creatures emerge sometimes with complete stories.
I have found if you open yourself to the creative energy
swirling in the universe, it has a way of finding its
way of becoming manifest. Other times I sense when an
idea is brewing and am intrigued to see how it will evolve.

Such was the case after I saw this costume in the
Museo del Carnaval in Montevideo in April.


The human face peering out from the center of the over-sized
figure jostled loose the phrase "The eyes are the window to
the soul"...It sunk in and wouldn't let go. Then, I went to
the exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts here in Boston, "the
Secrets of the Tomb 10A". The eyes painted above the mythic
doorways to let the spirit of the departed pass through pulled
me in. I've also done a lot of thinking about how children
just want to be "seen". They want you to look in their eyes
and see inside. I realized eyes were definitely going to be
important in a new series of figures brewing.

I began playing. This was the first figure which began
to take shape:


The stone in the head and belly came from the beach in
Uruguay (as did the three stones in the three headed creature
shown in the last blog post.) I found the "eye" lying on my
shelf - part of a pin I had purchased long, long ago. I also
found the sack of crystals I bought when exhibiting at the
Boskone 47 nesfa convention last February. Here is the
finished head:



And finally the rest of the body...with the eye
peering out from the belly through beading...





What exactly is the figure's story, or even its name? I'm
still working on that, but I know it is just the start
of a series. Stay tuned...and if you're in the Northeast
please consider stopping by my booth #616 at the festival
this weekend in Northampton to see this new figure, its
three-headed friend, other creatures and leather books
and, of course, Snarval, the 6-foot leather dragon!

Next week I'll share some images from the Paradise
City show!

Journey on!