Meanderings of a Maine Artist... sculptor Cynthia Smith - C.V.SmithARTWORKS

Branch Hole Details ... A Maple Wonderland, Part 2

3/27/2021

As I said in my previous blog post, sculpting a piece of natural barked wood can present some surprises that may require attention, re-construction or re-direction. Upon inspection of this particular piece of maple, I saw that there was a place on either side of it that had a ragged slightly splintered-off section. I wasn't sure if I wanted to keep them or not, so I decided to gradually shape or shrink them as the sculpture evolved. After removing some of the bark, I sanded and shaped the wood revealed beneath, creating a contrast of smooth and rough textures. This allowed me to begin the process of assessing and refining the side two elements.

Areas of concern

Opening the "peak"

"one" worm hole

Revelations

Reshape & repair

Refine

As I began to refine and shape the elongated wood "tendril" on the left side I saw that it had an interesting way of echoing the contour of that side. After creating an opening at the "peak" to echo the opening of the branch hole, I continued to shape the area to the right of the tendril and, in doing so, I uncovered a small worm hole. Instead just of ignoring it, I tried to eliminate it by chiseling out more material but this revealed a cluster of worm holes. I ended up totally reshaping the area (I was pleased with the change), but it also exposed a splintery crack at the base of the tendril that made its survival doubtful. I was able to repair and strengthen the area by filling it with Quickwood (a mastic epoxy). This repair allowed me to continue to refine the shape of the tendril and the area around it.

Begin

Explore

More

Clean & assess

Remove

The fate of the second side element, a smaller "tendril", was decided after a step by step removal of bark at the lower end and side of the piece. As I removed the surrounding bark, I also started to shorten the length of the tendril. Initially I thought that it could act to mirror the upper tendril on the other side, but eventually I decided that it did nothing to enhance the form of the piece and needed removal. Again I was faced with a structural dilemma - a crack at the base of the tendril necessitated removing a fairly deep chunk of wood. There was no going back. In the end, I was pleased with the results of my re-shaping and sanding efforts.

Satin poly

Adjustment view 1

Adj.view 2

Adj. view 3

Final view

After applying a coat of satin polyurethane, I decided that the remaining area of bark was too uniform in texture. In order to vary the surface quality and break up the shape of the barked area, I smoothed out spaces at the top and bottom creating the effect of a raised bark oval around the branch hole. The side now felt complete. In my next blog post I will recount the evolution of the second side of the maple branch hole sculpture. Stay tuned!

Down the Maple Branch Hole ... A Sculpture Wonderland

3/20/2021

They say a picture is worth a thousand words - I certainly hope so! I tend to take a lot of "in progress" photos while I work, but I think went a bit overboard on my latest piece. I was finding it a bit daunting to narrow down the number of photos for a blog entry, so I decided that this project would require a multi-installment approach. So here goes Side 1, Part 1.

As I looked around my studio for a project to fill the extended void of time and mobility created by the Covid-19 pandemic, my eye settled on a piece of natural maple that I had rescued some time ago from a pile of wood destined for the wood stove after yet another a tree trimming session. It not only had a perfectly round healed tree branch hole, but it had very interesting internal growth pattern on its reverse side that featured varied shapes, colors, and textures. And so ...I began.

Begin...

Reveal...

Open...

Assess...

The problem with random pieces of barked natural wood is that you never know what you will find once you start removing material, especially bark. It can cover a variety of welcome surprises and unwelcome complications... hidden worm holes, weak spots that, for better or worse, can alter your intended plan of action. The key to making progress is to remain flexible! In a subtractive sculpture, especially when working with a natural material that is a random shape and presents a variety of surfaces and textures, each time you chisel off a piece of material you are presented with a multitude of decisions that ultimately can determine the path you must follow to completion.

Decide

Repair, remove

Enlarge..

And more...

Side 1 presented me with a variety of minor decisions, like deciding how much bark to remove, and 2 major issues - one that required a repair to a structural flaw in order to retain a desired element and one that required extreme reshaping after falling prey to a hidden cluster of deep worm holes. The story will continue in my next blog posting...stay tuned!

12th Annual Yarmouth Art Festival ... online Oct.19-31

10/22/2020

*View this year's entries at: www.yarmouthartfestival.com

12th Annual Yarmouth Art Festival ... Gone Fishin'

8/25/2020

It's that time year again - time to get a couple of entries ready for the Yarmouth Art Festival. The 2020 Yarmouth Art Festival is going virtual this year because of the pandemic. This annual juried event was created in 2009 to showcase Maine artists. This year's jurors are Bob Keyes (art writer for the Portland Press Herald & Maine Sunday Telegram), Anne Haas (Bowdoin College art librarian), and Wes LaFountain (art curator). The proceeds from artist entry fees and sales commissions go towards the community services supported by St. Bartholomew's Church in Yarmouth. This virtual show will run online (www.yarmouthartfestival.com) from Monday, Oct. 19th through Saturday, October 31st.

New "weeds"

Impression framed for pouring

My plaster fish pieces have done well at this show in the past, but not having any of them available I needed to "go fishing", so I got out my clay and began rolling out slabs. I first began making these fish plaster reliefs in 2015 for the 10x10brunswick show (see my blog posts for 8/10/15 and 8/29/15). Over the past 5 years I have continued to make them, adding an additional wooden fish template, varying the size of the clay slabs and the arrangement of the fish, and experimenting with various materials to create different "sea weed" effects.

My latest fish reliefs efforts included two 6"x6" pieces and three 6"x10" pieces. Three of them featured a new "sea weed" element. The two that I chose to mat and frame for entry into this year's Yarmouth art show are pictured below.

"Convergence" ... 10" x14" framed

"Meandering" ... 10" x 10" framed

Pandemic Downtime Uplift ... Bronze Elevation

7/11/2020

One of the gifts of the recent extended period of "downtime" was an abundance of time to not only catch up on neglected tasks and unfinished business, but to take time to re-visit ideas and projects that had been put aside for one reason or another. I found myself reconsidering a bronze sculpture titled "Upstairs Downstairs" that I did a number of years ago. When I first conceived the piece, I thought that it could be elevated on a rod. When it came time to figure out the mechanics of that option, it seemed that the weight of the bronze (the "sphere-of-stairs" measured about 11 inches in diameter) would be prohibitive, so I opted to simply attach the piece directly to its base. Fast forward to June 2020 and the chance discovery of an 8 1/2" long piece of 3/8" threaded rod in my work area ... inspiration for a re-do!

"Upstairs Downstairs"

In addition to the threaded rod, I found that I had a piece of 1/2" aluminum tubing which fit nicely over the rod and would hide the exposed threading. I knew the aluminum wouldn't take a patina, but I also found a piece of 5/8" copper tubing that would - and it fit easily over the aluminum tube. I used a black cold patina on the copper tube and sealed it with satin lacquer. Then I began the process of elevating "Upstairs". After removing the original 1/4" threaded rod, I used a tap & die to drill out a new threaded hole (as you can see from the photo, I did not have a lot of room to spare!), and then screwed (and epoxied) the new rod into place. Next I enlarged the hole that ran through the base to fit the larger sized rod, and deepened the recess on the bottom of the base to accommodate the larger nut needed to attach the rod and sculpture to the base.

New threaded rod & tubes

New rod inserted

Nut recess deepened

Tube "holder" added

The final adjustment that I made to the base was to add a small wooden square over the hole in the top of the base. I made a hole 5/8" in diameter in the center of the square that would serve to hold the tubes surrounding the rod securely in place. Now all that was left to do was to mount the piece on the base and tighten the nut...or was it? Once I had the sculpture mounted my "internal critic" told me there was something missing. I immediately knew what I needed to do. I dug out the 3 small bronze balls that were extras left over from another earlier sculpture. Each measured about 5/8" in diameter and had a bronze peg extending from it that could be utilized as an attachment appendage. After determining the optimum position for each of the balls on the top surface of the base beneath the mounted sculpture, I used a right angle drill attachment to make 3 holes in the wood and then epoxied the pegged balls into place. Now - it was complete. I will leave interpretation of the piece to the individual viewer.

View 1

View 2

Note: "Upstairs Downstairs" can be viewed at River Arts Gallery in their new location at 36 Elm Street Plaza in Damariscotta from July 15th through August 15th.

Masked & Sanitized ... Emerging from Hibernation in Maine

6/19/2020

After spending the first half of 2020 in Covid-19 imposed hibernation, the state of Maine is slowly emerging into the "new normal" of social distancing, face masks, and hand sanitizer. Saltwater Artists Gallery on Pemaquid Point in New Harbor put into place state approved safety protocols and officially opened full time on Fathers' Day weekend. Members who sit the gallery wear masks and sanitize all surfaces that might be touched - door knobs, pens, counters, bathroom fixtures, key pads, etc. We are now allowed to have 5-7 customers in the gallery, and they must wear face coverings and sanitize their hands upon entry. Adherence to the state guidelines will hopefully allow us to continue to maintain the relatively low infection rate that we have had so far in Maine.

The process of getting the gallery ready for opening presented its own new challenges. Once we were given approval from the state to open, we had to then determine if and when the 25 members artists would feel comfortable opening up and sitting the gallery. The next step was to schedule time for each artist to set up their display area so there wouldn't be more than a few people in the gallery at a time. We also decided that would not be having the two open house events that had originally been on our calendar for the 2020 season. We opened the gallery for the first two weekends in June in oder to test out our safety protocols before opening full time on June 19th. Things have gone fairly smoothly so far, and we have been happy to have lots of "Maine-ahs" on "staycation" stopping by who are out enjoying the myriad of offerings of midcoast Maine.

...my display area - view 1

...view 2

...view 3

Rubber Molds and Portland Cement ... in Relief for 2020

1/5/2020

Molds & cement castings

Framed cement castings

I just finished the first project for the first show of the New Year and the new decade. It is a relief piece for the "Black & White" themed show at the River Arts Gallery in Damariscotta. I find that these themed shows are often a good impetus for me to come up with ideas that I might otherwise not have explored. In this case, I decided to revamp and update an unfinished piece that had been part of a series of mold making projects from a number of years ago (see my blog post for 12/12/12). I had used silicone rubber molds to make plaster casts of 4 different geometric design reliefs involving varying circle and square patterns. The plaster castings each measured 3"x3". I mounted and framed 20 of them, rotating the orientation of the castings to create variations in the design patterns. I did two of these groupings of 20, leaving one white and painting the other with graphite gray acrylic. It happened that I also made a set of 20 using Portland Cement instead of plaster, and this is the piece that I decided to re-invent for the River Arts show.

My intention was to re-emphasize the circle and square motif of the cement relief and to create a more optical effect. I utilized white gesso and graphite gray acrylic to selectively paint certain circular and square shapes that were already present in the existing relief, while also leaving some areas the original cement gray. I wanted to combine the natural highlights and shadows of the original relief with the lights and darks in the newly painted areas. As the painting process progressed, I decided to add some additional circular shapes to further enhance the design pattern. The biggest challenge was to vary the distribution and size of circles and squares, as well as the areas of black, white and gray. I was happy with the final outcome. On to the next!

"Opus 120" ...completed

The Verdict ... Smith Juried into End-of-the-Season Shows

10/12/2019

I recently was notified that I had had two pieces juried into each of two different end of the season statewide juried art shows - ArtinME and the Yarmouth Art Festival. A great way to finish up the Maine summer season!

Unintended Baggage

Visceral Torso

The opening reception for the Boothbay Region Art Foundation ArtinME annual juried fine art exhibition will be held on Saturday, October 19th from 5-7 PM, and will run through November 23rd. This statewide art show features the work of full and part time Maine artists who work in drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, fiber, and mixed media. The juror for this exhibit was Roy Germon, the manager of Greenhut Galleries in Portland. Both of my sculpture entries, "Unintended Baggage" and "Visceral Torso" were juried into the show.

Common Ground

Quiet Passage

The 11th Annual Yarmouth Art Festival will take place from October 23rd through the 26th at St. Bartholomew's Church in Yarmouth, with an artists' reception on the 24th from 5:30-7:30 PM. The jurors for this statewide show were Bob Keyes, arts writer for the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram, Anne Haas, art librarian at Bowdoin College, and art curator Wes LaFountain. My plaster relief entries, "Common Ground" and "Quiet Passage" were two of the 170 pieces out of 629 entries accepted for the show. The full show catalogue can be viewed of the festival website at www.yarmouthartfestival.com.

Overrun with Snails ? ... Stick 'em on the Fridge!

9/17/2019

Original snails

Painted

Underside recess ... magnet attached

Display platform parts

Two years ago I picked up a couple of bags of snails at a craft store to use for some relief projects (see my blog post for 7-12-17) and recently decided to come up with some ways to utilize the plethora of unused snails that were left over. In a moment of "clarity" I decided to made a batch of them into fridge magnets. I had a couple of dozen snails that I had previously filled with Apoxie clay. Each had a hole drilled into the Apoxie which was eventually supposed hold a wooden peg that could be used to attach the snail to a base. Those holes allowed me to effectively mount the snails on a pegged board for painting. I layered several different colors of spray paint on the snails - Satin Nickel, Satin Dark Green and Matte Hammered (a brownish "dappled" copper color).
The next step was to create a recess in the bottom of each snail into which I could insert a small disc magnet. I used a variety of Dremel attachments to create a recess that was about 1/2" in diameter and 3/16" deep in the flat Apoxie underside of each snail. I used 5 minute epoxy to attach the magnets. The snails were done...now how was I going to display them? That the fun part!
I knew that I didn't want the snails just sitting on a flat horizontal or vertical surface. I wanted to create some sort of "natural" environment. As usual, I prowled through my stash of leftover materials looking for inspiration, and - voila! - I found an old weathered board with amazing textures. It was about 15" long and 4" wide and the surface grain cracks and knots almost made it look like swirling water. I went out to the barn and found a couple of old weathered cedar fence posts and cut the top 13" off one and 10" off the other. My plan was to stand the two posts up on the board like two pilings coming out of the water and have magnets imbedded in them as attachment points for the snails. I used bolts to attach a 6" piece of yellowheart wood and two old wooden thread spools to the baseboard to slightly elevate it. (The board was slightly "wavy" so it need something under it in order to sit flat.)
Next I made recesses for the magnets in the posts with the Dremel. I made 8 in the taller post and 7 in the shorter one, and then epoxied a magnet in each recess. The final step to assembling the display piece was to attach the posts to the board with screws up through the bottom of the board and into the bases of the posts. It was finally ready for the snails! They clicked on as planned - a perfect fit!

Assembled with magnets

Snails on

...at the Gallery

Woof! Woof! Dog Days of Summer ... New Show at SWAG

8/13/2019

Cardboard letters

I recently completed a sculpture for the upcoming "Dog Days of Summer" show at the Saltwater Artists Gallery in New Harbor. I spotted some 3-dimensional 7" tall cardboard letters some time ago at the Artists and Craftsman store in Portland that I knew I wanted to incorporate into a sculpture at some point...and this show seemed to fit the bill. I brought home the letters "D", "O", and "G" and, after considering various structural possibilities, proceeded to figure out how to stack and attach the letters on top of each other. Before epoxying the letters in position, I needed to add a short button head bolt to the bottom of the "G" so that the piece could be attached to a base. I epoxied a washer to the bolt head to to give it additional width. After making a hole and a slit in the bottom of the "G", I slid the

bolt head in with some epoxy and then epoxied a piece of tagboard over the bottom of the "G" to seal the split. Next I tackled the challenge of assembly.

Button head bolt

Apoxie Clay "chinking"

Gessoed

Painted, lettered, sealed

I epoxied one letter on top of another, making each one at a slightly different angle from the one below it. In order to make the junctures more secure and stable, I used Apoxie Clay to "chink" the undercuts between each letter. I coated the entire piece with gesso and then gave it a coat of off-white latex paint. The next step involved using rubber lettering stamps and a sepia colored stamp pad to print dog related words, names, and sounds on each letter form...doggie, pooch, mutt, Spike, Spot, woof, grrrr, etc. Finally, I sealed the form with a coat of clear matt acrylic, and was ready to attach the piece to its base.

Wooden "book" base

Dogs attached to painted Apoxie clay bases

For the scuIptures base I decided use a "book-shaped" cutting board that I had put aside a number of years ago. I drilled a hole in the center with a recessed larger opening on the back side so that the bolt could be attached with a nut. I used my letter stamps and some of the off-white paint to print a title ("Dog Tales") on the "binding" edge of the board and then sealed the whole thing with satin polyurethane. I attached the letter form to the base with both epoxy and the bolt. The final step to completing the piece was to add 8 small plastic dogs that I had purchased at a local toy store. I made thin Apoxie clay bases for each dog, painted them a deep green, and attached the dogs to them with epoxy. Four of the dogs were epoxied around bottom letter on the wooden base and each of the other four were epoxied to various levels on the letters. Woof woof! Ready for the show!

"Dog Tales"

DOG DAYS OF SUMMER at SWAG opens with a reception on Aug. 18th (3-5PM) and runs though Labor Day!