The Figurative Artbeat

New Work by Michaela Groeblacher – Menopause

Alice — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 19:42:16 +0000

In a Flash - Michaela Valli Groeblacher

I received an email from Michaela with pictures of her new series “Menopause“. I just had to share it with you, I know there are many of us out there who can relate. If not because of our own experiences with menopause, then our being there with our mothers, wives, sisters or friends.

Flood Waters Rising - Michaela Valli Groeblacher

Michaela is such a talented artist, I’m so thrilled to post this update to my previous post about her work. I don’t think these new pieces are even shown on her website yet. So I’m thrilled to be able to show them to you here.

I know what I don't remember - Michaela Valli Groeblacher

Michaela and a friend, poet Kim Stanley, have teamed up for what they are hoping will be several exhibits featuring many of Michaela’s sculptures, including the menopause pieces.

The first show titled “Parallel Tones” will be April 17 – May 29 at the Manhattan Art Center in Manhattan, Kansas.

Their work complements each other’s perfectly. Plus, together they have 104 years experience of what it means to be a woman.

If you happen to be in Kansas at that time and have the opportunity to view this fabulous exhibit, say hello for me.

Maureen Carlson’s Polymer Clay Characters

Alice — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 17:39:34 +0000

When I first started getting interested in polymer clay, it was because I wanted very badly to sculpt! Faces! There were a few artists that had been working in polymer for years and had published a few books. Maureen Carlson was one of them. I bought her book, Family and Friends in Polymer Clay, I loved this book. Maureen is, and I believe always will be, a storyteller. Her newest work above is a tribute to her fabulous imagination and ability to engage you, the viewer, with the tapestry of her stories. Couple this with the color and texture of the clay and you have delightful, entertaining story to read in 3D. This Storybox might be my favorite work of hers to date.

Wee Folk

Maureen’s designs are about imagination and whimsy and the joy of recognizing a glint of understanding in the eyes of a wee clay creature. Wee Folk Creations is a company that specializes in designs, artwork and stories created by Maureen.

Wall Doll

In 1999, Maureen and her husband Dan opened Maureen Carlson’s Center for Creative Arts, in Jordan, Minnesota, just 35 miles southwest of Minneapolis. In this small town setting, perched on the edge of a small meandering creek, students and retreat participants have opportunities to learn, to share and to explore their creative interests.

All My Life's A Circle

On her website, Maureen has many galleries full of work from the beginning to today. The theme of her newest work is faces, which is why I am continually drawn to Maureen and her characters. I just love this “Circle” girl. She tells the story of herself, on herself as we all do if one looks close enough.

Be Still

In keeping with a story telling, on her website she shares this about her sculpture, Be Still.

“My sculptures usually come from words and phrases that pair themselves with images. Such is the case with this piece. I heard once that there is great value in being still, that action is not the only choice. In fact, there might be great harm in doing something just to do it, or in being busy just to prove one’s worth. I paired that thought with these words that a student posted on the quotation wall at my retreat center: You can’t keep the birds from flying overhead but you don’t have to let them nest in your hair.” You can read the rest of Maureen’s thoughts about Be Still here.

Talking Stick

I asked Maureen if she had anything that she would like my readers to know. She answered, ”One of the things that I know about my work is that I still love my little whimsical wee folk at the same time that I’m thoroughly enjoying the process of making the newer pieces that tell stories and ask questions. Haven’t gotten bored yet!”

“It’s been 30 years now that I’ve been making and marketing my characters and I’m still learning new things. So many things yet that I want to explore.”

Maureen continues to produce books and many other products to educate those of us who want to learn more about polymer clay. You can access all of Maureen’s products and information on her website, Maureen Carlson’s Center For Creative Arts.

Containing Len Cowgill’s Figures

Alice — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 00:28:24 +0000

THIS IS MILES He Has A Note From School

Len Cowgill is another of my contacts from Flickr. I first saw his figures in a bottle surrounded by writting and was intrigued. He steps away from the traditional frame to other means of containing his drawings. I love the bottles, he is adding a twist to the old “message in a bottle”.

Monday the 15th

His printer trays really captured me. Don’t you just love this? The drawings are contained but at the same time are a part of the whole. Telling a story and making you want to know more.

My father was a printer and I spent many hours setting type for him. Printer trays take me right back there and make me feel connected to my past.

I asked Len what made him choose the tray for his drawings. He answered, “I’ve always enjoyed the act of drawing, creating textures with ink and graphite. I like setting up story lines within the work that the viewer can add to.”

“Conventional frames didn’t add anything to my work, so I began containing my drawings in different ways to heighten their impact. Printers trays are a challenge because of their numerous tiny spaces. I enjoy expanding the storytelling by making words part of the image; when the drawing is finished I add the handwritten text around it. I also use various boxes and bottles to contain the drawings.”

54 Dead Comedians

This is a project that Len began in August 2009 and is still adding to it. The picture above is from the beginning.

54 Dead Comedians 11-15-09

This is how the tray looked in November 2009. The drawing below is the latest posted by Len and is another memory from my childhood and everyone else who is over 50 years old. Alfalfa, Spanky, saturday mornings and black and white TV.

This Was Alfafa

You can follow his progress as he continues to fill the tray. He also has printer trays with Men and Women, American Kids, and Artists.. You can see them all on his Flickr site. I know you will enjoy your stay there.

He has an collection of collages on his Flickr site as well. He has this to say about his newest pleasure. “I started making collages a few years ago for fun, more of an exercise in design than anything else. I don’t sell the collages, they are just for enjoyment.” Well they aren’t just for his enjoyment, I spent quite awhile with this set of images.”

Len Cowgill lives and works at the Tamarack Gallery in Omena, Michigan. Tamarack has shown his work for over 10 years. Visit the Tamarack Gallery’s website and see what Len is offering today.

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The Characters of Bill Nelson

Alice — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:47:54 +0000

Bill Nelson is a Facebook friend of mine. He’s always posting something wonderful to look at. He is an illustrator, a sculptor and a ventriloquist figure maker. His work makes me laugh and wish I had just a tiny bit of his talent.

Some of Bill Nelson’s figures have found homes with people we’ve heard of before, Demi Moore, Whoopie Goldberg, David Copperfield and the list goes on.

HIs illustrations have won over 900 awards. You might have seen Bill’s work on the covers for CQ Weekly, The Atlantic Monthly, or Lands’ End.

Bill is listed in Who’s Who in America and created a series of Big Band Illustrations for the Untied States Postal Service stamps.

He told me that Super Sculpey was his favorite material to use to sculpt his characters.

I wanted to know what he enjoyed most about creating his people. He said, “Bringing the face to life by tinting and coloring, that’s my favorite part. Wigging is almost as much fun because they both bring the character to life.”

I mean, look at these faces……….

Bill said that he doesn’t have any kind of regular schedule for creating his characters unless he has a commission.

He spends part of his time teaching an entire curriculum on the art of dollmaking online at That Creative Place. He also teaches workshops in his home in North Carolina.

Not only will you learn from a master, I think Bill is the kind of guy that will make your learning experience extremely entertaining.

There is more to learn about this amazing artist, so you might want to visit his website, which by the way is one of the coolest I’ve seen. You’ll be entertained by his work for sure.

I’m leaving you with this one, it makes me laugh out loud. It’s “Boris Karloff between takes”, but all I see is Frank kickin’ back. I’m laughing now.

The Figurative Paintings of michel guerin

Alice — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 01:26:13 +0000

le chapeau cloche 9 – the cloche hat

I came across michel guerin’s painting through my Filckr site. His work captured my imagination the minute I saw it. It made me think of the 20’s, of France in the 20′, of people and romance in the 20’s. At least how I have always imagined the 20’s to be.

At the same time his paintings are contemporary in their subject matter, the human condition. Both in groups and in the solitary figure.

A Tanger

michel told me that he is 69 years old and has been a professional painter since 1975. He has a MA and a PhD in literature from University in Aix en Provence. At the same time he was attending Escole Nationale des Arts Deco. He taught for a few years and then decided he wanted to see the world. He worked for TWA as a purser and was based in Rome where he began to paint.

He said, ” I began as an abstract painter, but I got fed up trying to paint ideas. I decided I wanted to paint things and human beings.”

les beaux jours 17 - beautiful days

michel has had exhibitions around the world and now lives in Italy. He is a resident of the Riviera where “I find the kind of landscapes I like.”

Parade

It was so very hard for me to choose which paintings to share with you. michel is nothing if not prolific. His flickr site is full of his interesting work.

He portrays people being people, living, drinking, loving, singing, dancing, he show us it all. He truly reveals that he loves people and show us to ourselves.

dans l'atelier

This is a photo of michel in his work space. On his flickr site under this photo he wrote..

My favourite colour is RED
I believe in friendship
I only have female friends
I’ve been married for 44years(same wife)
I hate sports
I love dogs and cats
I’m utterly pessimistic
I hate cities and crowds,so I live in a small village of the Italian Riviera (27 inhabitants)
Went to an art school, was a teacher, was a purser on TWA, became a professional painter in 75 with my first show in Paris, lived 7 years in London, 4 years in Tangiers and finally Italy
I’m painting because I want to stay alive

ne me quitte pas - do not leave me

He left me with this last thought, “Oh yes, I forgot, I’m French, love the sea and women, (married 44 years with the same one!!)”.

Unfortunately, there is no website, but you can see over 100 fabulous paintings of michel’s on his flickr site.

Leave him a comment there, I know he’s loved to hear from you. Tell him I sent you!

Michaela Groeblacher’s Sculpture That Helps Us Remember Who We Are

Alice — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:43:32 +0000

Women and Eggs Series

I was struck by Michaela’s statement on her website. She said, “I believe that human beings are here for a task, to discover – to remember, if you will, the gift we each came to deliver – the gift that is essential to bring balance to the earth, to restore our souls, to create heaven on earth by realizing and applying our thoughts, ideas and talents. ”

When I was growing up, there wasn’t a day in my life that both my mother and my father didn’t say “I love you” to me. Whenever I would leave the house, my mother said, “I love you, remember who you are.” I always took this to mean that I should be proud of my family, where I came from and who I was as a person. To not do anything to contradict who I was. My mother’s mother, my grandmother, said the same thing to her.

As the years went on I’ve come to believe that there was more meaning to that statement than any of us realized at the time. I truly believe that if we all could remember who really are and what we came here to do, the world would be that ”Heaven on earth” that we all are looking for.

Woman and Egg Series

Michaela wrote to me, “By forming the wet clay, adding and subtracting, I am uncovering the other person’s soul, while at the same time ascertaining myself.”

“In creating three-dimensional canvasses and subsequently painting them, I satisfy my artistic hunger on multiple levels. My work is as much about the human psyche and perception as it is about color, composition and form.”

I think her work is stunning.

Fire, Earth, Water, Air, Series

Her series, Fire, Earth, Water, Air, deals with the forces of nature. She had this to say about her work. “Since the beginning of civilization, humans have been attempting to explain our existence by answering the questions: who are we, where do we come from and why are we the way we are?”

“For that reason, countless sciences, religions and philosophies have been cultivated in all regions of the earth by numerous peoples, many times looking to nature for guidance.”

“Fire, Water, Earth and Air are called the four classical elements, with Aether (=Space) being the spatial dimension that accommodates them, bringing the number to five classical elements.”

“The four sculptures are my contribution to this eternal question – and – answer cycle. It is my attempt to allegorize the four classical Forces of Nature by depicting them as women”.

Michaela goes on to say, “Additionally, I listed four attributes for each of the women and the qualities they represent in my opinion.”

“Since my artwork has YOU, the viewer, in mind, I invite you to participate by adding to the list of attributes or adjectives that come to your mind when pondering the above statement.”

Fire: Passionate, self confident, energetic, ambitious

Water: Focused, energizing, relaxed, curious

Earth: Creative, nourishing, connected, faithful

Air: Spontaneous, confident, gentle, musical

Fire, Earth, Water, Air, Series

You can see more of Michaela’s wonderful work on her website - Michaela. Check back there often for her new series on menopause. I’m very curious to see what she has to share with us.

Sculptures That Rock by Michaele Greene

Alice — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:08:29 +0000

Le Jardinier

Three dimensional, figurative art work is a passion Michaele Greene. She is the happiest when working with clay.

I was attracted to her faces and her use of color. She told me that she doesn’t use glazes to finish her pieces, but “a combination of acrylic paints, washes, stains and waxes to finish my work.”

“This gives me more ability to coax the look and feel that I want from a piece. I also love to incorporate different elements into the clay, such as wire, paper, even cloth.”

Day Dream

Michaele says, “The idea of creating movement and attitude is fascinating for me. I love figures that twist, bend, strut or flow in some way or another.” In her recent series called “On Windy Shores” she used wire to suggest wind blown hair on female figures. These figures are probably my favorite.

Pink Floyd

She had this to say about her Rock and Roll series, “For as long as I can remember, I have loved Rock and Roll. I love the music, the lyrics and equally, the names of the bands themselves. Songs evoke feelings and memories in most of us, but for me, they conjure visual images as well.”

“This also holds true for the names the artists have chosen for their groups; Pearl Jam for example, makes me smile and think of exactly that -pearl jam. Rolling Stones embeds a visual in my mind as one who literally rolls stones.”

Lay Down Sally

I enjoy Michaele’s take on this song. I know George Terry who wrote “Lay Down Sally” with Eric Clapton. I think he would like this sculpture. My husband and I have spent several News Years Eves singing along while George played. (me..not very well) And George was always first to donated his talent to our Highlands Art League’s fund raisers.

You can see more of Michaele Greene’s vibrant work on her website.

Catherine Merrill’s Language of Everywoman

Alice — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:35:21 +0000

Catherine Merrill’s work speaks of the archetypical images in us all. The fluid movement of her vases compliment the bodily expressiveness of her subjects and hint at our own Persephone, Hestia or Athena. Her life size torsos are visual feasts for the eyes.

Phases of the Moon

Catherine has created her own visual language to express a personal mythology. The individual story becomes that of “Everywoman” through the universal language of art.

Touch Me

The prominence of the human figure in her work results from the many years when she was a dancer and the body was the artistic instrument to express emotion and ideas.

War and Peace

Catherine believes, ” The role of the artist and of art in our world is no longer mere entertainment or decoration, but an essential force for healing and change.”

The Language of Flowers

Catherine Merrill is a visionary, helping to create a cultural exchange with Cuba. The following is a quote from the Art of Fire Project website.

“Proyecto Arte del Fuego (”Art of Fire Project”) was envisioned in 2002, by ceramic artists Antonio Lewis (Cuba) and Catherine Merrill (USA). Proyecto Arte del Fuego is an ongoing international cultural exchange project offering workshops, master classes, lectures, residencies and exhibitions in the ceramic arts. It is sponsored by the Fundacion Caguayo in Santiago, Cuba, the Estudio-Galeria Los Oficios in Havana and Casa-Taller Pedro Pablo Oliva, Pinar del Rio.”

Read more about Catherine, her life and her beautiful thoughtful work on her website.

Marie Gibbons – WABI-SABI – Milagros

Alice — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:27:20 +0000

Marie Gibbons is an adventurer, going places with her art that are fascinating and at first glance disturbing. But upon closer contemplation, the viewer begins to understand, to relate, to empathize.

Marie’s wabi-sabi series was created in 2008-2009. She has this to say about her work.

“Wabi-sabi is the quintessential Japanese aesthetic. It is a beauty of things imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete. Wabi-sabi things are usually small and compact, quite and inward-oriented. they beckon, get close,. touch, and relate. they inspire a connection between one thing and another, between people and things.”

Marie’s work in this series embraces her interest in the “imperfect, the damaged, and destroyed that we all experience as human beings.”

She explains, ” I create these kinds of works through slip casting doll parts and then altering and assembling the pieces. This is all done contrary to the constructions of the original intent of my mold. I want to show the soulful beauty found in any situation should anyone risk the moment to stop and connect. Thus, my creations are meant to be representative of a moment in time and personal experience, each speaking of the simple beauty available in any object or experience.”

I suggest you stop and take in Marie’s work. I know after spending some time with her figures, I found much more than first viewed.

My favorite works of Marie’s are hoarding and hoping series. Delightful characters that make me smile while at the same time the title makes me pause. One is titled – You can keep what you can carry.

hoarding and hoping

She also does fabulous shoes and I wish I could see more of her organics series, She just teases us with her pods.

Her current work is her Milagro series beginning with Matters of the heart.

Milagro Matters of the Heart - Enough

In the classical sense, milagros are offered to a favorite saint as a reminder of the petitioner’s particular need, or they are offered to the saint in thanks for a prayer answered.

If, for example, someone has a sore arm, a tiny silver arm is hung on or near the favorite saint; the farmer who hopes that his pig will bear him many healthy piglets, asks his patron saint for intercession, and pins a pig milagro on the saint’s robe. Milagros can be flat, three dimensional, tiny or large; they can be of gold, silver, wood, lead, tin, bone, wax or whatever the petitioner desires.

Marie says that her Milagro Series is about positive affirmations, and the heart is intending to say I HAVE ENOUGH – I AM ENOUGH – LOVE IS ENOUGH. Thanks for a prayer answered?

Visit Marie’s web site to see more of her work and read more about her creative process. Or visit her studio site, evb – studio to find out about her studio and online classes.

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Giant Mechanical Doll and Elephant from the Royal de Luxe

Alice — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 15:34:28 +0000

I stumbled across a video today and was fascinated with these giant puppets. French performance art company Royal de Luxe is responsible for these fantastic characters. Royal de Luxe is a French mechanical marionette street theatre company. They were founded in 1979 by Jean Luc Courcoult.

The Sultan’s Elephant is a story about a time-travelling girl, which has taken place in cities around the world and is quite well known. But not so in the U. S.

The Sultan’s Elephant is the fifth in a series using giant puppets. Others are: The Giants Falls from the Sky, The Giants Falls from the Sky, Last Voyage, Return to Africa, The Giraffe Hunters, the Hidden Rinoceros.

I followed the link to YouTube and found many more videos about the girl, the elephant, and the giraffe. I have always loved dolls and the stories about dolls coming to life. Little people like The Borrowers, and giants always captured my imagination….this reminds me of Gulliver’s travels, except the men and women who help this little girl through her adventure, seem to adore her. The girl and the elephant look amazingly real and if you use your imagination, you might be able to forget for a moment that they aren’t. I just had to share it with you.

I’m still finding other series like this one in an article at Socyberty.com called A Giant Awakes in Nantes. You can see many more photos by misterstf on Flickr.

Once you have watched the video above, you might want to double click on the video itself and it wil take you to YouTube where you can find many other related videos. It seems there is a giant spider too, that scales the sides of buildings. Enjoy!

The Figurative Artbeat

New Work by Michaela Groeblacher – Menopause

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Maureen Carlson’s Polymer Clay Characters

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