In the Garden

I couldn't have requested a nicer day. The sky was clear and sunny as we took a 7-hour stroll through Brookgreen Gardens. The sculptures were absolutely fantastic, as was the company. I had the pleasure of driving down to SC with Lesli to meet up with fellow artist Sarah Minkiewicz-Breunig, and her husband, Chris at Brookgreen. It was a jolly good time, to say the least! I hadn't seen Sarah in some time, and it was a pleasure meeting her gregarious spouse. We all arrived at Brookgreen at the same time- about an hour earlier than planned, and all but knocked into each other at the entrance. We took off at full steam, eager to see the park, and all it beheld. Our enthusiasm lasted all day, and we pretty well covered the 50 acres that made up the sculpture garden and zoo area. By the time we finished, there were only three cars left in the parking lot... our two, and a third being towed! It seems it had been closed 1/2 an hour by the time we made it back. We joked that our cars were next, if we didn't vamoose!

One of the smaller pieces- "Gold 'n Locks"

I still haven't been able to wrap my head around all that I saw. For those of you who aren't followers of Lesli's Blog (check out her recent post for some of our sillier antics!), Brookgreen Gardens was originally part of a wealthy estate that had been converted to a public venue to preserve historical sculpture, and promote new artists. They have over 1000 pieces in their collection, many of which are on display throughout the garden. Many of the pieces were sculpted by women, and many of them feature equines, which made it the perfect spot for us female equine artists to meet! The sculptures range from tiny models and medallions, to towering displays. I've posted a few of my favorites below, to give y'all an idea of my experience. But I highly recommend that if ever you find yourself along the coast of South Carolina, that you check out Brookgreen for yourself!

I was very taken with these Otters, and how the artist had captured their playfulness in such a fascinating composition.

The detail was exquisite. You can click on any of these photos for larger versions.

This piece was done in the 1930's I believe... Art Deco hearkening back to Art Nouveau. I loved it!


They had an amazing number of intricate medallions on display in a building at the gardens. This was one of the larger ones, and I thought it thoroughly cool.


Look at the longhorns! There was a special display of Western Art.


Laura, this centaur is for you...


Holy Marsh Tackies! There was a smallish zoo with native species at Brookgreen. Marsh Tackies are a rare breed of the Carolinas, and, as the name suggests, good at tramping through marshes. This gal was such a pretty dun!


My intrepid companions, on our last leg though the park. It was quickly decided that dinner was in order soon after, and that led to a new adventure in burgers. Really, if you have not yet read Lesli's Blog, you should! I'll post Sarah's Blog, after she gets back to Idaho & posts...

That's all folks!

Too Much Fun in NC...

Ah, day three at the wonderful Kathman residence! I arrived Thursday evening for nearly two weeks of visiting, painting, glazing, and (of course) eating good meals (Lesli had some wonderful stew in the crock-pot, with fresh bread, waiting for me when I arrived!). It's been great fun seeing Lesli and her family again (and meeting her dog Emma, and horse, Sprinkles!). I also had the added bonus of getting to see our mutual friend Mel, who drove down for the weekend. So fun!

Lesli, the fabulous shiny pony maker, runs Blackberry Lane Studio. She also has a blog about her work, and decided to blog about my visit to her studio. So, not to be outdone, I thought that I should blog about her blogging about my visit. And thus we have:


As for the projects I am working on, well, let me say how tickled I am that Lesli is letting me paint a couple of ceramic Vixens and Imps (sculpted by the super-talented Sarah Minikewicz-Breunig)! I'm just jazzed. And it has been interesting to learn about some of Lesli's methods and painting techniques. I've always admired her dapple greys, and just how soft and delicate they were. Being here, of course, that was one of the colors I needed to try- dapple grey a'la Lesli! As you can see below, I've started on one of the Vixens in this color- she will need many more layers and firings before she is done. I really hope all of y'all don't mind, but... she is for me! Yes, I cannot tell you the last time I painted something for myself, so I've decided this one's a keeper. But I'm happy to share photos!


Because I knew Lesli was casting some bisques for me, I thought I'd bring over a few of my pieces for her to play with. Here she is with Mel (and Emma), discussing what color to paint the Jellibaby she is holding:


I'm pretty sure that's what I recall they were saying, anyways....

All in all, it has been a fantasic trip so far! I hope to post more when I get a chance!

Until then, I'll let you meditate upon this thought: Right before I left for NC, I finished Jelli's mom... my new Mini Mare, "Toot Sweet"! I'm rather excited.... :)

Still September Lottery!

Howdy!

Well, looks like my website composer is not cooperating, so the September Lottery pieces will be pictured here! First off- the rules:

1. One Lottery entry per person. You must be a member of my Yahoo Group to enter the lottery.

2. View the (5) pieces pictured below. You may try for as many as you would like. Items are listed A-E.

3. Email me your name, phone #, and the letters of the pieces that you are interested in. The winners of each random drawing will have the chance to purchase that piece. You may win *one* piece in this lottery. If your name is drawn for more than one, I will contact you and ask you to choose between them, and a new name will be drawn for the other.

4. The Velasquez Artistry Sales Policy applies to each item sold. I'm sorry, but I cannot take time payments at this time.

5. This Lottery ends Monday, October 5th at 4:00 PM PST! Email me before that date & time to enter!

Lottery Items:

Click for larger images!

A. "Fudge Stripe Brownie"
Not a Jelli! He's the adorable donkey foal sculpted by the ever talented Sarah Miniewicz-Breunig, produced by the stellar Pour Horse Pottery. I painted him a fun dun pinto color!
$450 ppd.

B. Jellibaby in Bay Appaloosa (#49)
This is the missing #49! She started as a red roan, but had her own ideas... Crazy scrtiching, spots, stripes... the works!
$195 ppd.

C. Jellibaby in Buckskin Sabino (#52)
She's got a pretty pattern with lots of fiddly bits! Very fun. Hand painting in her mane too...
$185 ppd.

D. Jellibaby in Silver Tobiano (#53)
You want a few cat-tracks with that?
$195 ppd.

E. Resin Jellibaby
If you would like to try for one of the remaining 5 unpainted Jellibaby Resins, list the letter "E" in your email! I will be drawing 5 names.
$50 ppd.

That's it! If you would like to enter, please email me using the address found in your VelasquezArtistry Yahoo Group announcement! Thank you!!!

Cold Painting Skills?

So... I got it into my head that if I was selling resins, maybe I ought to paint some myself. I used to paint resins- it was what came next after painting Breyers, before I got into ceramics (and everything else went out the metaphorical window). Back in the good o'l oil-painting, pre-airbrush days. I was actually building some skills there, before my world became shiny. Post-shiny, my few attempts at resin painting were rather feeble (I lost my oil abilities!), and really never were worth finishing. That noted, I was determined to do it differently this time. Because this time, I had 10 years of airbrushing experience under my belt! It ought to be good for something... And do you know what? It worked! I can airbrush resins! Well, before I sound too excited here, let me say that it is much more challenging than I thought it would be. That thin paint rubs so easily, I might as well be working in underglaze. And oh, that dreadful prep-work... I didn't miss it! But the end result, was rather nice. I especially liked the part where I was finished with it, and I didn't have to spend time glazing & firing it- just give it a quick mist of krylon. My mom's best friend let me experiment with the resin she had purchased, so I'm especially glad it worked out, for her sake. I also started a resin for myself (to sell), that's just about done, so you'll see final pics of her soon, though she is hiding in the first image below. I tackled this task in a very close manner to my ceramic work. It was different though, in that I weilded a paintbrush more than an x-acto! I've chronicled the process below, for those who are interested. I don't know that I will cold paint very often, but I must admit, it was a fun change of pace!

Masked!

Unmasked!Fun with Pencils...

A little more paint, here & there...

Ta-da!

It's Crit Time!

Yes folks, I've reached the point on my mini mare where I've started to get critiques! I cannot stress enough how important it is for artists to do this- it has always been very helpful to me! Critiques teach me a lot- they aren't the only way this slow brain learns sculpting, but as a visual person, seeing my sculptures diagrammed, or having someone point out areas & angles I may want to re-think, really help the connections to go faster, leading to more of those 'aha', or "Oh, now I get it!" moments.

They are also good eye openers to things you should have seen, but couldn't because you were simply looking at the piece too much (a.k.a "barn blindness")! "Look at this reference picture you gave me," if I might parapharase what one critiquer said to me, "see how the hindquarter is like this here in the photo, but isn't like that on your sculpture? You tried to do a regular horse's hindquarter, but this is a mini- not quite the same animal!" And really, I couldn't see it before she pointed it out.

So the lesson here to all you other artists, if you are not already, get your sculptures critiqued! You will be amazed at what you learn if you pay attention, and listen closely*, to the opinions of people you respect & trust (which are musts in a critiquer!). I'm not going to list the names of my critiquers here- I do not want to flood them with requests or somehow suggest that they might endorse my work, but I thought I'd bring this topic up, as it is an important thing for all artists to persue, no matter how long or short of a time we've been doing this. Okay, off my soapbox now! I'm excited to be getting along in this mare, and I thank you all for taking this journey with me!

:)

*One more thing I remembered- it is helpful to keep an open mind, and not to take anything said by your critquer personally. As an artist, I know I always put a bit of my soul into my work, but I've learned how to 'detach' myself when it comes to critiques. After all, this person is trying to help you make your work better! If they say, "No, really, you need to carve off most of the buttocks", then rip out your shaving tool! And if you are certian they haven't got something right, get second or third opinions on the area!

Keeping Cool

Ah, summertime. Nice sunny, warm and long days. I enjoy the longer day bit- it makes me feel like I have more time to accomplish things. But the warm bit- not always conducive to sculpting! The clay I use is about 75% Victory Brown wax- a sculpting wax that can get pretty darn soft in heat. So what is one to do when sculpting in a SoCal summer*? Utilize the coolest appliance in the house- the freezer! Yep, the freezer can take my sticky, gummy mess of a piece, and turn it rock-hard for carving, in very little time. I then have about 30 minutes of good working time before it starts getting too soft to handle. Above we have the rather cryogenic head of my new mini mare. A nice little Christmas tin keeps her safe in the ice box. She's coming along, bit by bit- and thanks to the freezer, I'm beginning to carve in those details that really help bring her to life.

Why do I work in a wax/clay combo? Why don't I use epoxy, you ask? For those of you who do ceramics, you will know that I need a softer original for molding against plaster. Unlike the rubber molds used in resin production, plaster molds that are used in ceramics are pretty darn rigid. There's no give after the plaster sets, so in order to be able to remove the original sculpt, you need an original that is softer than the mold. There are ways around this, but as I am primarily a ceramist, it is easier for me to go the direct route. Plus, there's always the option of casting & firing a bisque to be the "original" if I decide to do a resin run. It works out very nicely. And that's all I've got to say today... :)


*We've actually had a rather mild summer so far. July where I live is usually filled with 100+ degree days, but that hasn't happened yet. I'm rather thankful!

Mum's the Word...

I just can't help myself when it comes to cheesy puns as blog titles sometimes... :) Anyhow, finally, finally, some progress was made on the sculpture of Jellibaby's Mum! (In that, yes- she is now more than a figment of my imagination scribbled on paper). Yes, I took a much-needed sculpting break yesterday, and really got her going. She's real, she's solid- perhaps a bit too solid in areas, but the fine-tuning always comes later for me. So really, she's not much to look at yet, but she will give you an idea of where I'm going (I hope!). The mommy (click to see full pic):


And one with Jellibaby*, so you can see** how they will look together:


There you have it! Lot's of work to be done yet. I'd better get cracking!

:)


*THE Jellibaby. The original, much-maligned, kind of dropped & smashed and icky from the molding process.

**If you have a good imagination. Right now, um, well, let's just say both of them could look better!