Something from Nothing

Art is making something out of nothing and selling it.

Frank Zappa

I found this quote to be true to what I do and in case any of you were wondering what I am doing with the things I find on the street, here is a sampling

I decided to make some people out of my collection of parts. The bodies are glued onto those pieces of traffic cones and the rest comes from my collection of old parts found in the cellar of our studio which was formerly a textile dying factory.  I am having problems making the arms and legs stick so I have to go back and either use more glue or wire.  Now the question is what to do with them.

Street Treasures

I wanted to share some objects I found on the street as I was walking to my favorite coffee shop on a recent very cold day.

These are pieces of a traffic cone

I think the back side is more interesting

Here are my real treasures

The large circle is from an errant hubcap.  I now have quite a collection.  There are also a couple of bolts,  random pieces of metal and a large washer.  When I picked that up I felt like I had found gold.  Now the white thing is a piece of plastic which my studio mates told me came from a urinal but the bigger question is how did it get onto the street.  I really washed my hands after that bit of information.

Do you believe it has been snowing all day?  Just that annoying kind that flies around and makes everything wet.  No accumulation however.

More NCECA!

I visited another NCECA exhibit in Pawtucket today.  This was another amazing display of work.  The lighting was weird so most of what is here is supposed to be white.

This plate was about bees

Technically I didn't see how this was ceramic but this was really cool.  It was resin and pale pink.

More cups

I thought this was a little creepy but someone liked it enough to buy it

This was one of my favorite designs.  So colorful and happy.

 I'm loving the spots

Very nicely done and simple.

More of the previous design

Another example of a simple clean design

I like this too.  I guess I am longing for some greenery

NCECA Conference

I visited the National Ceramics Conference  in Providence today and I saw some amazing work.  Here is a sampling of some of my favorites:

I love these  little people and the things on their heads

These rainbows are so simple but the picture dies not show the iridescent colors

                                      
                                    

 I love the Day of the Dead designs.  Makes me wish I was in Mexico.

 Just some fun faces and cool cups

More cool cups

I like these faces and the way the arm becomes the handle

Sometimes the simple designs are enough.  I must remember this.

 Who doesn't like a house?

This had to be one of my favorites.  The artist also put a design on the back of the plates.

What I noticed from all of this is that the artists developed their own personal style and they did not veer far from that path.  But it also makes me wonder if they ever get bored and does it have a broad enough appeal.

A New Canvas

I was using up some old art supplies the other day and I thoughtI would just have some fun. I hadn't used black gesso as a base coat for a long time so I just slapped some on and went with the brightest colors in the drawer.

I didn't give it too much thought and just went for the color.  It is a 16 x 20 canvas in acrylic.

New Work

Here is some new work I finished up a little while ago.  It is 16 x 20 acrylic with ink, water soluble oil pastels and copper foil.

It was pointed out to me by one of my studio mates that I use a lot of yellow so I challenged myself not to use any.

Winter of No End

Will there ever be an end to this winter?  Doesn't look like it - there is snow predicted for the first day of spring.  And to make matters worse, it is COLD.  

But don't get me started on the pot holes.  Rhode Island is not known for a smooth ride but with this past winter, the pot holes are man-eaters.  And apparently, my car does not like to wear hub caps.  I have lost two, one that I found earlier to replace a lost one and the only one that matched.  I did find two but one didn't fit at all and the other almost fit but fell off in the garage.  I'm thinking that once hubcaps get a taste of freedom, you just have to let them roll away.

Despite all of this, I did manage to get in a few studio days and I finished a memory jug to be entered into Attleboro's national juried show at the end of May.

The Never Ending Winter

Will this winter ever end?  I would be interested to know just how may days in February it did not snow.  The temps have been at least 10 degrees below average and nothing is melting.  So instead of doing any more whining I thought I would post some pictures of green things taken at the Roger Williams Park Botanical Gardens.

Also, next weekend is the flower show at the Attleboro Arts Museum.  I plan on being there.  Two my pieces were accepted into the show, one photo and one mixed media piece.  I sure can use something something spring like.