12/6/24
A 3/4 size study of batman for fun. I saw an AI generated image similar to this and thought I should make it real.
Click the image here to see the result.
11/16/24
Finished a companion to the 3 inch high character shown on 9/17 below.
Click the image here to see them together.
11/02/24
A 3/4 size study of a monstrous visage made the week before Halloween.
I thought this "portrait" should have some redeeming value if it were made to be practical... Thus it's a Halloween candy jar...
Click the image here to see how that worked out.
11/01/24
The end of October also brings with it the end of my daily chalk drawing exercise that I call, "Chalktober". It's hard to believe that this is the 7th year of doing it.
As I look back, some of those drawings are really good. And the animations... They're always fun! You can take a look back at this month by clicking the image here. (Links to the other years are on that page as well.)
9/27/24
I like sculpting faces. Every face is different and it's a challenge to make a lump of clay resemble someone specific.
Here's a little practice piece I did of a friend who worked in Atwater with me and used to live in our neighborhood.
9/17/24
When I was young (highschool) there were little figures called "Muscle" men. It stood for "Millions of Unusual Small Creatures Lurking Everywhere".
I wanted to try my hand at sculpting something like those little guys and this is the result. Just a fun little project. The figure here is made from Chavant NSP clay (the hard variety) and is about 2.5 inches high.
9/2/24
Another summer ends with the conclusion of my work at the fair. As always, I wish I could have done better and made those 90-pound blocks of butter look more alive and more accurate.
it's still so hard for me to get a face carved out fast enough. 6 hours is such a short time period to exact a portrait. The compliments, however, helped mitigate my frustration. It seems nearly everyone likes the butter busts and sees them as an iconic Minnesota thing.
Click the image here to see this year's Princess Kay carved in butter.
8/9/24
Sometimes interviews are tedious. Sometimes they're kinda fun. This one was the most fun I've had so far.
Fox 9 contacted Midwest Dairy about visiting my studio prior to the fair. As Leah, the Weekend Anchor, and her cameraman were setting up I asked if, instead of me sitting there answering questions, I could sculpt her like I do in the Butter Booth for Princess Kay. She said she'd be honored and that's how we did the interview.
As always click the image here to see "more exciting pictures" (And maybe a video when the piece airs)
**Edit 8/19** You can see the interview here.
7/25/24
My nephew Sean passed away this month from complications associated with Leukodystrophy. He was 20 years old.
I wanted to make a memorial bust but thought it would be more fun to make something that illustrated his life a little more. Thus the bas-relief format here. This type of sculpture also allows wall hanging as you would a painting.
We miss him but take comfort with the thought of him, through God's goodness, being able to run and move freely in heaven.
6/17/24
Yesterday I broke a blood vessel on the ball of my foot and am limping around today. We're all getting older. Everything in this world is transitory, my car (which will eventually rust away), the trees in my yard (one of which we took down because it was so old and straggly), even my good health (limping).
The title of this piece, "Mox Erimus Sicut Illi" ("Soon we will be like her"), reminds me to focus on the things that matter, rather than dwell on those that fade away.
So here's another of my "people with hands" sculptures. It's a fun challenge to sculpt hands because, if they're interacting with the figure in some way, they overlap parts of the figure. Thus, it forces me to either plan ahead or cut the sculpt apart to reach things that weren't properly sculpted in the first place. Thank goodness clay is forgiving.
Click the image here to see how many parts were removed and replaced.
5/24/24
Last night our EV-W Seniors graduated. Every year I make "Graduation Cups" for my special seniors or those who receive Art Awards. These cups can be used to drink their "cool-aid" as they are microwave and dishwasher safe. (Or they could be used as pencil holders or planters or whatever.)
I really love the feathering and how the glaze ran this year. That might be the glaze combination I use every year!
As always, click the image here to see a sampling of the cups.
5/19/24
I have been making "People with Hands" lately and thought this might be a good thing to try: A dynamic pose based on a DC Comic magician called, Zatanna.
As always, click the image here to see the how it was made.
4/30/24
Our Carolyn Becher Art Scholarship fundraiser was again a success because of the overwhelming generosity of the Eden Valley-Watkins community! Bowls and spoon holders made by myself and students were available for sale to fund the continuation of the Becher Art Scholarship.
During our final day of the art show I do a sculpture demonstration (click here to see last year's) and this year Sharon was generous enough to sit for me while also collecting money from pottery purchases. Click here to see how that portrait turned out.
4/13/24
A fast experiment to see if I could make a large hand with minimal armature. This is a twice life-size hand that would fit nicely on a 12 ft tall man.
The only support or armature is an aluminum rod through the arm. The fingers are self-supporting (because they're mostly vertical).
As I work in the studio sometimes time is a meaningless abstraction. Sometimes it feels like I've only spent minutes but in reality it has been hours. So... I'm pretty sure this took a couple hours to make; in reality, not my distorted state of ecstatic creativity.
2/18/24
I'm very often simultaneously sculpting at school and in my studio. (Which results in my hands being super dry and cracked!) The last few weeks I've been working on another in a series of "people with hands".
Maybe I should explain: When I do portrait busts I usually include only the head and shoulders, but I want to see how to work hands into the mix as well.
Clicking the image here will bring you to a page with some images of the latest "people with hands" sculpture.
2/10/24
More practice... I like to show my students that I don't just talk, I practice what I preach. So I try to keep a project or two going there, working on it during lunch and my prep hour. This small relief sculpture is an exercise in making hands. The hands are about 2/3 life size.
1/20/24
I wanted to practice some drapery so what better way to do that than set up a still life with cloth draped over a pot I made. It was fun trying to duplicate all the intricate folds and creases. Click here to see the result.