Where the Mountains Meet the Sea

This was the view yesterday driving from Anchorage to Girdwood. I took this picture out the passenger window -I wasn't driving! It was pretty spectacular seeing Turnagain Arm meeting the Chugach Range. 

Mother Nature must have known that Alyeska Resort was having the 2009 North Face Vertical Challenge today, because we woke up to 8" inches of new snow and big, fluffy flakes are still falling! There is a lot going on this week including the Anchorage Fur Rendezvous which features the World Championship Sled Dog Races, Carnivals and the epic Running of the Reindeer.

Finished up the mountain sculptures and the customer was pleased. This is a picture of the trees getting welded to the mountains and background before heat treating and clear coating. It was a toss up of which one she wanted (I had made two different ones to take the pressure off both of us) but settled on the one I also liked. I was able to deliver the work and see where

the piece will be hung -the home was gorgeous. Did a bit of end of-week, mish mash, self-employed chores including; shipping, creating, Gallery delivery, cleaning, sales and making new tags. This is a quick shot of my business card/tags getting printed out to my laser printer. I keep a clean and dry area in the studio for computer work. Not "clean" as in orderly, but I try and keep it free of clay(!), paint, steel and glaze dust and moisture, which is not easy to do. 

I'll be using my big 'ol HP Laser printer to try the new ceramic laser toner decals I just got. Since it's just me, myself and I -with no assistants, the middle son has promised to make me some flat test tiles to demo the decals on. He's very talented and I wish he'd put his hands in clay as much as in truck engines... I've been too full-tilt with metal to make any new work in clay -but hopefully next week I'll be wearing the clay apron more than my welding helmet. There are some fun pieces that are ready to bisque which I'll post soon. I've been a bit calmer about trying the laser decals on clay after reading Cynthia's success and I was really inspired after seeing her results.

Robotic Circular Travel

Last night my muscles were sore because I had bent a lot of steel. After getting dinner wrapped up for the family, I sat down on the sofa with a favorite beverage and got to peruse my new American Style magazine -a big treat for me! On page 13 under Finds, there were two of the coolest little robots by artist Amy Flynn. She calls them Fobots (Found-object robots).

After checking out Amy's website and blog, I also checked in on a few of my other favorite artist's end-of-day posts. Judy Coates Perez happened to post "A bit of fiber inspiration" on her Painted Threads blog and guess what...more incredible robots! These Mixed Media Felt Art Robots were by Susan Hinkley. Check out Susan's blog called Small Works in Wool. I had left a post on Judy's blog about Amy's Fobots, and this morning I read Judy's post on "More Robot Love" and Amy's Fobots had come full circle! I LOVE Blogs for their power of sharing and ability to connect so many talented people and incredible works of art that we normally wouldn't even be aware of.

In the last 24 hours I "visited" Amy Flynn in Raleigh, North Carolina; Judy Coates Perez in Chicago, Illinois; Susan Hinckley in Twin Cities, Minnesota all the way from up here in the Far North of Alaska! Now, if we can only figure out a way to get frequent flyer miles through our artful blogging...

Sharing What We Know (& Don't Know)

Lately, I have appreciated the sharing that artists, especially potters have posted on their Blogs. This has enabled me to learn many new things. The visuals that artists include have been inspiring as they are helpful and interesting. Being new to the medium of clay there is A LOT I don't know. Through some of the creative Blogs I read, I've been able to peek into some of the best potter's and artist studios across the country.

Today, I worked on a metal wall sculpture that a customer wants of the Chugach Mountain Range. I thought I'd share part of the production process involving plasma cutting the steel. Currently, I use a Hypertherm brand plasma cutter. It is one of my primary metal working tools (along with my wirefeed arc welder) that I use in the shop. Here is a little YouTube of plasma cutting in action... you may want to crank the volume for the tunes alone (joking). 

I started with several digital images I took of the mountain range for reference. Using a marker, the mountains were drawn on the sheet metal. To take the pressure off myself, I make two sculptures and let the customer choose one and the other will go to the Gallery. This has worked well in the past for the client, the Gallery and me.

These are the 2-part consumables I use with every two sheets of steel. The manufacturer doesn't recommend changing the tips as often as I do -but the difference is like cutting butter vs. cutting pavement. I like to work faster rather than slower because I'm basically freehand drawing when I'm cutting.

Here are some of the mountains getting cut out. I wear a respirator, eye protection, welding gloves/clothes and have plenty of ventilation. There is a lot of sparks and particulate matter that gets blown down with the cutting. I still need to hand bend some round metal (cold rolled 3/8") stock for a back frame, weld up, heat treat, use the grinder for embellishment marks and apply a finish clear enamel. Well, that's just a quick peek at my project today and I'll try to remember to post pics of the finished piece.

Celebrating 2/22 With Two Posts!

The eldest of the offspring just sent these images to us. This is a picture of IARC, the International Arctic Research Center in Fairbanks, Alaska. She is up at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, UAF, doing Grad work in Chemical Oceanography. She LOVES it up there -too cold for me, but UAF does have wonderful BFA and MFA programs...

The Student Ceramics Guild Visiting Artist, Justin Novak, Figurative Ceramic Sculptor will be at UAF March 6 and 7, 2009. You can contact the UAF Art Department Ceramics Program at 907-474-7530 for more information.

A Glorious Day

No skiing for me today, though the sun is shining and the snow is sparkling. Since I'm just getting over the cold and flu, my lungs aren't ready for the cold, 10 degree air. Not to waste a beautiful day, I'm looking out the window watching flocks of birds at the feeders while beading. Liking to use a lot of Czech glass beads on my sculptures, I buy the seed beads in bulk, make a custom 

mix of sea-like colors and "string" them onto reclaimed copper wire. I use wire because some of the artwork gets hung outdoors and is much durable than thread or fibers. 

Not being a beader, like some of my other artists friends, this task became actually pleasurable a couple of years ago when I found my bead spinner at Alaska Bead Company. This is one of the coolest little (powerless)tools that I have! Here is a fun little YouTube demo I found that shows you how it works.

The cool ocean (shop) floor

The sea life components that were plasma cut before the FLU took hold, finally got welded up. The FLU has retreated and I was able to get back to do a little production. I used some of Gus' sidewalk chalk and drew my own "ocean floor" as the pieces were cooling. The warm(er) temps and sunball that is finally higher on the horizon must have inspired me to think about warm, ocean water. After some beadwork embellishment and other small finishing details, these sculptures will be going to Fireweed Gallery in Homer along with a few other sculptures.

I love these little branches that I welded up. Truthfully, I wanted to take a break and get out in the sunshine to take a picture! They were made using cold-rolled steel round stock that starts in 10-20' lengths. After I hand bend the steel, they're cut on the chop saw, assembled and welded up. My favorite part is making a branch-like texture using my wirefeed welder and applying a rust patina. I thought the branches would be great for some of the clay components I've been working on. My hands are definitely due to be back into some clay. 

Neither rain, nor sleet, nor FLU...

Neither rain, nor FLU shall keep the self-employed artist from her income producing duties...I would like to be experimenting more with my Bullseye Glass Company Frit on some slab tiles BUT I have "pay the bills" work to get caught up on. This is an example of Bullseye powder -08 frit in 1116 Turquoise Blue on Matt White Amaco glaze. The larger frit shown in the lid did not fire as well as the fine powder. I fired it at ^05 in an electric kiln. It gave a nice, ocean, wet look to the tile.

Thank goodness I was able to get a nice batch of steel plasma cut out before the FLU took hold of my body. Nothing like a runny nose and throbbing headache inside of a welding helmet, watching excruciating bright arcs of light...I took a quick picture of some sea life that is waiting for me to weld, bend, heat and turn into art.

Dawn called and ordered trophies for the Nature Valley US Ski 

Championships March 24-31, 2009 being held at Mt. Alyeska. Dawn designed the logo for the 2007 Alpine Championships and I did the custom metal work for the trophies. I used 1/4" aluminum plate, waterjet cut for precision, hand finished and mounted on individual mahogany bases with trophy plate names. They are regionally unique and very cool. I was flattered the event planning team wanted to use us again. Thanks guys! The races will be an incredible event to catch, we'll be there with our Cow Bells a' ringing! These are pics from the 2007 races.

Big Fatty Flakes

This weekend the Mountain was calling! Big, fatty flakes fell all weekend and Mother Nature put on a different show every day. This is the view of Mt. Alyeska from our deck. For some incredible shots of skiing in Turnagain Pass, check out our photographer friend Heather's Blog.

Before celebrating the long weekend skiing, I put together some great wall tiles for Half Moon Creek Gallery in Anchorage. The tiles were slab rolled and made using the seascape molds Bill and I made, Seamist and White Tile clay bisque fired at ^ o4, then fired at ^05 using a variety of beautiful Amaco and Speedball commercial gloss and matt glazes. I plasma cut out some steel crabs, kelp and starfish 

components, finished with a natural rust patina and then wired everything together.  I had collected the driftwood last summer from the beach in Homer. There are at least 4 milk crates filled 

with various driftwood pieces in the shop. Of course these crates look like treasure chests of gold to the dogs! We were sure to gather plenty of extra because Tauzer gets a couple long sticks each week to munch while I work. The Gallery said a few of the SeaWall Tiles had already found new homes for Valentines Day.

Happy Lupercalia and Saint Valentines

"Beauty without expression is boring."

             -Ralph Waldo Emerson

This is one of several images I took of a family of Ravens near the Kenai River. The Ravens allowed me to be so close to them that I took pictures until my camera battery blinked red. I edited this image in Photoshop using various filters. We're spending Valentines Day skiing, loving and enjoying my favorite dinner of FRESH tamales...mmmmm

xXx

oXo  Happy Valentines Day!  oXo

Unloaded a glaze load, which so far is my favorite part of working with clay. I had a good firing (^ 05 electric kiln using a kiln controller) and tried a lot of different techniques and glazes especially on the "Woobie Souls" where I used some Amaco Majolica liquid glazes. I'm in love with some of the Amaco Matt glazes I used on some tiles but will need to narrow down my palette and buy my favorite colors in bulk.

Bunny Foo-Foo has free run of the studio area. All of our Ethernet, phone and extension cords are secured well above where he can't get to them. After 3 chewed 

Ethernet cables and too many ruined extension cords we learned that current attracts him better than a wheelbarrow full of organic carrots. Today, while I was working on some fun slab work, Bunny Foo-Foo was thumping...

When he thumps, it's his alarm and usually there will be an earthquake, someone at the door, or a moose in the yard. Even the dogs were wound up. Tauzer Schnauzer (a Giant Black Schnauzer who is Bunny's buddy)  was running in circles to go outside, hmmmmm. I'm not sure what the alarm was today, but I quickly checked the internet on the volcano status (no eruption) and checked a bisque load that was firing and all was O.K. so far as I could tell...

Mixed Use Areas

Bringing clay into my studio has meant a lot of additional and varied types of clean-up. Mixing my mediums between clay and metal has meant mixing up my production schedule, work areas and tool use. I don't have the hang of it yet. I was so excited to glaze the new "Woobie Souls" but couldn't because my main work table was covered in other pieces in various stages of production. I had pieces that were getting finish patinas, wired and tagged. Earlier the table was my packaging and shipping station, then cleaned up and loaded with bisque items waiting to glazed. But before I could glaze I had more finishing to do on some wall sculptures that were due to a Gallery, so the bisque went back to the clay shelves...and so it goes. I haven't even brought any of the large steel wall sculptures in from the shop to get their enamel finishes yet because I want to do some slab work and I have clay everywhere...

Heating Up

No volcano eruption yet but things were hot in the Shop! With the radio frequency issue resolved (thank you Jay!) on my digital kiln controller, I was able to have a successful bisque firing -yeah! I unloaded some of my "Woobie Souls" that I have pictured. I'm not sure how I am going to glaze them but I did get a new set of Majolica glazes in...hmmmmm, so many artful possibilities. I'm still experimenting with various facial features and different heights of each sculpture. I enjoy making them because it's soothing creating individual face details then being able to wrap each one in it's own comforting blanket.

Volcano Love

North Flank of Mount Redoubt and low-level vapor plume on January 31, 2009. Image Creator: Chris Waythomas, courtesy of AVO/USGA

News here in the North is all about a wait and see of Mt. Redoubt. As of lunchtime today: "Unrest at Redoubt Volcano continues. Seismic activity remains elevated and is well above background levels. Clear web camera images from this morning show no activity at the volcano. An AVO crew is near the volcano today, performing maintenance on seismic stations. Staff are currently monitoring the volcano 24 hours a day. -AVO"

Good thing I  just bought a case of air filter masks a couple of weeks ago, because they are out of stock around town, in the event of a volcano eruption, folks were stocking up. I wear a 

respirator when I work and keep the masks for other types of protection against particulate matter that can be in the air when I'm plasma cutting, painting, welding, doing clay work or even cleaning up the shop. With hot, volcano love on the brain I made some Valentine wall sculptures of winged hearts. Anything with wings is another one of my favorite subjects...xoxo