12/28/12
Finally an image can be shown from the work I've been doing over the last month.
The 10 inch tall Holy Family sculpture was done for my brother's new house and was given as a Christmas gift. In terms of hours, it was probably the most expensive Christmas gift I've ever given.
12/8/12
Casts of the 5.5 inch St. Gertrude maquette have been made and painted. Click here to see a picture.
I've also posted pictures of the Minnesota Monthly Ads we've been running the past few months. Click here to see them on the web. Buy the January Issue of Minnesota Monthly to see the latest in real life.
11/24/12
The sculpting part of Ray's portrait is finished. Now we wait for it to dry before firing it.
There are other projects in the works but I'm afraid they won't be blogged for a while yet. Christmas gifts need to stay "secret" until about this time next month.
I'm also working on a small project consisting of 5 six-inch figures for a larger than life monument. When the sculpts are approved you'll see them here but until then I'm afraid the Recent Additions section will be pretty sparse.
11/13/12
Finished the two-foot tall St. Gertrude statue today. It's one of the few pieces I've colored somewhat realistically. As always, click the picture to the left. (You may have to scroll down on that page to see the finished version.) Since it's St. Gertrude the Great's feast day on Nov. 16, I hope to have this installed in the church before then.
I'm also working on Ray's portrait. If you haven't checked that page lately, click the image in the previous blog post for the latest.
11/2/12
Well, we're back to our old monthly schedule for updates. Slow month for commissions. But I've been keeping busy at my parents' farm so, as they say, "it's all good."
Took reference pictures for Ray's portrait a few days ago. Click the image here to see the results of the first sculpting session.
10/6/12
I'm very sorry for the long wait for a new note here. A couple weeks ago a hinge broke on my computer and the Apple people fixed it free of charge. But then last week something went wrong and it just kept beeping. Brought it in and they said they'd fix it again free of charge because it could have been caused by their initial repair. So now I have new hinges and a new CPU on this 4 year old computer. All I need to do is upgrade the SSD and I've got essentially a new machine. Apple has been nothing but good to me since my first laptop in 1999. (An old Powerbook G3.) So if any of you faithful readers need a new computer, my vote always goes to Apple! -- Anyway... I digress...
The St. Gertrude Statue is nearly finished now. Some more smoothing is necessary but that'll be done after it's hollowed out. After clicking the small pic here, be sure to scroll down on the St. Gertrude page to see the newest pictures.
9/25/12
Yesterday I met the person who is commissioning the St. Gertrude statue. I was thrilled to have met her. Prior to this I considered the church officials my patron but now I know who the real patron is and I'm very happy to have met her.
More Details have been added to the statue now, including rough facial features.
9/20/12
More details are taking shape on the 2 ft tall St. Gertrude statue. Click the image here to see the latest.
Have any of you looked at the children's book section at your local library? I can't believe some of the absolutely horrible books that have been printed for children. Today Quinn picked out Richard Scarry's "Dr. Doctor" book. I'm completely baffled at how any publisher in their right mind decided to print that collection of compost. (And for the record, I'm being excessively kind in my choice of words here.) The moral of the story is that I should make a children's book.
9/19/12
Despite my reservations, I'm starting the St. Gertrude statue without a signed contract . Why? For a few reasons: 1) I have the time to do it now. 2) I had verbal confirmation that I was awarded the project on two separate occasions (both of which I reminded the patron that a contract needed to be signed and the down payment made). And 3) if they don't come through I can always sell the statue as St. Therese or another saint. --Or maybe it will be so beautiful that she'll find a special place in our home.
9/16/12
After saying I'd have the portrait of Jenna done by the end of the Hutchinson Art Fair, I feel bad that it didn't happen. But I also feel it's important to talk with the people that visited my booth so I didn't work straight through, non-stop. I did, however, promise many people at the fair that I'd post pictures of the finished portrait today.
Well, the weather was too nice to sit in the studio working on a clay bust so it took longer than I anticipated to get the sculpt done and the pictures posted. BUT-- At least I followed through with my promise... (never mind that it's nearly 10 pm when I'm writing this); click the image here to see Jenna's portrait.
9/13/12
If you're in the area, stop by Hutchinson tomorrow and Saturday. The Hutchinson Art Fair is taking place and yours truly is the "Featured Artist"!
Click the froggy to see a teaser of my work for the fair but be sure to visit my booth to see all the atrwork we have to offer.
9/9/12
After a recent visit, my brother said I should make a mother and child sculpture similar to a coupleI made when our first child was born. Another can be found here. He said it would have universal appeal. Click the image of "Mother's Love" to see the results of his inspiration. (Be sure to scroll down on that page to see the sculpture from all angles.)
9/8/12
I've been hoping to get this blogged for a long time but other things have been a priority including Garlic Festival artwork, Hutchinson Art Fair artwork, the School site below, and helping out on my parents' new house.
Finally, between waiting for silicone mold to dry, I have a minute to blog our Lego Contest entries from the Meeker County Fair. Click the image to the left for more details.
8/21/12
Besides working at my parent's place, our pastor, Fr. Joe asked me to take over St. Philip's school website again. The guy who took it from me before pulled his kids from the school and no longer wants to do it. You know, I really hate cleaning up after someone else's mess, but being a dad, it kinda comes with the territory. I guess I should be used to it, right? :)
Anyway, you can see he results of my redesign by clicking the image here. I was hoping to make it a little more elegant and user-friendly than the other guy's design. Not to mention save the church some $$$.
You can see many of our websites in the "Web" gallery here.
8/20/12
Been busy helping my parents on their house building lately so I'm a bit behind in my blogin'. I did, however get time to update a couple images. Click the little picture here to see how those pumpkin and love wall-hangings turned out.
8/10/12
Garlic Festival! Come visit me at the Garlic festival in Hutchinson tomorrow and see all the things I've blogged about recently. --But you'll see them in their final colored and finished forms.
If you can't make it there, you always have the option of ordering directly from me. Call, use the contact form, or just email me (gk@kulzerdesign.com). Be sure to check back next week when I'll have pictures of the finished pieces posted.
7/30/12
Finally got a chance to post another sample for the summer art fairs. Click the image here to see the Heart wall hanging.
7/21/12
I'll be posting a small sampling of the work we're doing for the Garlic Festival and Hutchinson Art Fair here. Click the image to see more.
7/19/12
Took the plunge! Kulzer Design Studios is advertising in Minnesota Monthly! Click here to see the ad. OR buy the August Issue and take a look!
7/11/12
Finally I've finished sculpting my version of George Washington. His mouth and cheeks weren't full enough in the last version. Still needs to be fired and given a patina, but the hard part is behind us. Click the image at left to see the finished sculpt.
7/6/12
More changes have been made to Washington's bust. It's always much easier making a portrait of someone who you can see in person. Every interpretation of Washington is different. And thus so is mine. Click the image to see how the bust has changed.
7/4/12
Happy Independence day! In commemoration of our freedom, and in the hope that we don't keep loosing freedoms through ridiculous court cases and stupid laws (can everyone say, "health care"?), one of the Fathers of our Country is portrayed here. Enjoy the freedoms Mr. George Washington helped ensure for our country.
7/3/12
In preparation for the 4th of July, another president in the Great Presidents series was started today. The picture here represents 1 hour of work.
A while ago, someone asked me why I'm so concerned about the time it takes to do a sculpture or painting. To clarify, I don't often "time" myself on projects. It's only when I make something without a direct commission for it. In that case, I need to know how many hours I put in so a fair price can be determined.
It may also have something to do with the time I worked for Bob Eckels at Eckels' Pottery in Bayfield Wisconsin. Bob told us that if we weren't making a mug shape every 3 minutes or less, we wouldn't make it as a potter. By the end of my apprenticeship, I was making mug shapes in 2 minutes from the time I slapped the clay on the potter's wheel to the time I slapped another lump of clay on the wheel.
When a client commissions a portrait, however, the time isn't really an issue. I always try to achieve the closest likeness possible, even if that means re-sculpting the portrait a second time. Mr. Washington, here, is a quick exercise in portraiture that I'll use at the Hutchinson Art Festival on September 14th and 15th. --Unless, of course, someone purchases him prior to that show.
6/23/12
Usually the blog is reserved for news from our studio but today is an exception. Our vacation earlier this week was cut short by all the rain in the Duluth area. Click the image here to read more and see some of our pics.
6/18/12
Finished the maquette of St. Gertrude for a nearby church of the same name. If I'm awarded the commission, I'll smooth it out and cast it in resin. Might be a nice fund raiser for the church to sell small statues similar to the large one in their church. Click the picture here and take a look.
6/7/12
Finished the 12 inch Steven Colbert figure. Click here to see how it turned out. Sculpting an entire person is a ton more work than a portrait bust. I hope this turns into something lucrative in the future.
5/27/12
Quick update: Check out the Colbert sculpt again. Redid the head so it looks a little bit more like him. Click Here.
5/18/12
Neil Brodin asked me to sculpt a 12 inch tall figure of Steven Colbert. I've been working on it periodically but have decided to re-do the face you see here because it's not quite "him" yet. When working this small it's sometimes easier to simply start over. I hope to have more pics for you in a few days so stop back again soon.
5/8/12
Finished the Waymon Allen portrait. This and the T.A. Burnham portrait were made for Polk County, Florida, as a memorial to officers killed in the line of duty.
5/1/12
The St. Joseph sculpture was cast in resin today. I was frantically working on a portrait for Brodin studios and NKC sculpture but during sanity breaks I poured a few casts of the St. Joseph.
A few air bubbles continue to plague the casts but we can fix those with a little sculpey and a file or dremel tool.
4/19/12
After finally getting the new version of my site running, I can focus on sculpture again!
This little statue of St. Joseph is being done as a practice run for molding and casting in resin. My brother bought some mold-making and casting supplies the other day and I hope we can try them out on this little sculpt.
4/14/12
A new site design. It's taken me WAY too long to get the new Portrait Sculpture site design done. It's not like the site itself was so difficult, but to NOT destroy my old site in the process-- that was the difficult part.
I'd like to revamp the Commissions and Recent Additions pages to conform to the new design but for now at least things are workable.
4/4/12
I met Pamela when she came to speak to my LHS art students about college options. I asked if she'd be interested in sitting for a portrait. She was gracious enough to sit for a series of photos, and after a few months, I finally got around to doing a quick sculpture based on her photos. I don't think I captured her likeness as well as I should but for a fast portrait study it's not too bad.
4/3/12
A colleague, Jenna Tanttila, who teaches Art at ACGC High school down the road from Litchfield, approached me about a bobber project for the city of Atwater. We're partnering to write a MN. Legacy Grant to pay for the majority of the costs to produce this public art piece. Tomorrow we'll present our proposal to the Atwater City Council and hopefully get their approval to proceed with the grant writing process.
This project is another exciting public art project akin to the Sanford Hospital and the Camp Grafton murals that our studio was involved with recently. The biggest difference, besides being a completely 3-d artwork, is that much of the sculpting will happen in our studio space.
3/20/12
Tried making a second bust of Abe Lincoln. Look at the 3-14 entry below to see a progress picture. Or click the image at the left to see the finished sculpture. Click here to see the first version I sculpted.
3/16/12
Quinn was three and a half in December. That means I needed to do her 3.5 year portrait. Well, it's finally done and you can see the cute little girl here.
Interested readers may click here to see the rest of our kid's 3 year portraits.
3/15/12
A painting done for a friend this week.
3/14/12
Wanted to see how fast I can sculpt a likeness so I tried duplicating my original Lincoln bust.
4 hours of work went into the white one you see here. Not bad for a speed portrait. It would be much faster if I wasn't worried about making it look like someone specifically.
At this point it's too round. Looks like a fish-eye lens distortion is happening. Nose is too long too. I'm guessing another 4 hours before I'm done sculpting it because I'm going to completely cut away the eye sockets and re-sculpt the eyes. Might have to redo the mouth too when I shorten the nose. And, of course the base needs to be finished. Another hour to hollow it out and another hour for patina after it's fired. I'll keep all of you updated as it progresses. Click the pic for a larger version.
3/10/12
Officer T.A. Burnham gave his life in the line of duty. This bust will be part of a bronze memorial for him.
Click the image to see the work in progress.
3/7/12
Click here to see the project I was working on at Brodin studio and NKC Sculpture.
3/4/12
Neil Brodin asked that I sculpt a Blanchard Magnolia to be used as a decorative element in a memorial to Bea Reid. As always, click the little picture here to see the full image.
3/3/12
A friend wanted a sculpture of his wife and her father's hands, modeled after a picture of them taken before he passed away. The result can be seen here.
Happy Birthday Therese! She's 7 years old today!
2/25/12
Finished the portrait. Check the website for details
Also, if you're reading this, check out Theo's Science fair project. He needs to collect data about the Golden Rectangle before Wednesday Feb, 29. Toss your guess on his little site here: www.kulzerdesign.com/theo/
2/20/12
I'm volunteering at a local sculpture studio, NKC Sculptures, which molds and casts Brodin Sculpture's work as well as refurbishes bronze monuments around the nation. What a great experience it has been already.
The picture here is of a portrait study I'm working on with the studio's oil based clay. It's kinda fun working with this stuff because I don't have to constantly wet it down. Heck, I don't even have to cover it when I walk away for a while. Currently they've been farming out the portrait work to a studio in California for thousands of dollars. I'd like to re-route that money to Kulzer Design studios. --And hopefully this bust will impress them enough to allow that to happen. Check back tomorrow for more progress. www.kulzerdesign.com/art/sculpt/matth/
1/22/12
Finally finished sculpting Karen's Christmas gift. Now I have to let it dry a couple weeks and fire it. Come back in February to see the finished patina.
www.kulzerdesign.com/art/sculpt/madonna
1/17/12
Drove to Sioux Falls yesterday to help Brad install the Sanford Heart Murals. Check them out here:
www.kulzerdesign.com/art/sculpt/brick/sanford/
(Scroll to the bottom of that page and click the "Installation" picture.)