Totems: A New Series





Pressure
$250

 I have been working on a new series
of sculptures. I am calling them 'Totems'.
These totems are abstract representations
meant to impart a sense of awareness of
a particular feeling or entity.

They will span diverse field of topics,
covering everything from industrial
installations to human feeling to light-
hearted absurdity.








Pressure (detail)

 I have been having a great deal of fun
with this series. I'm sure that I will
continue making them for a long time.










I will be unveiling the first few pieces
of this series at my upcoming show in
Collingswood. The details for this show
are as follows:
                 
Date:  Sat. May 14, 2011 
Time:  6-9 pm
Location:  Yogawood
                688 Haddon Ave.
                Collingswood, NJ 08108

Rex
$250

Yogawood is a yoga studio that is converted
into an art gallery on the second Saturday of
every month. It is a fantastic space, with rough
brick walls and a hardwood floor that is one of
the most magnificent floors in South Jersey.
 So come join me on May 14, for a wine and
cheese reception and enjoy a night out on the town.
 Follow the link below for more info.

Second Saturday / Collingswood

An Octopus's Garden

This past weekend, Mike and Maryann Kuntz,
the proprietors of 'An Octopus's Garden' in
Millville, invited me to be their featured
artist for Third Friday. So I packed up a
bunch of my smaller garden accents and

headed down.




 While setting up on Friday afternoon, the
weather was beautiful, but as the sun
started to set, it became quite windy and
the temperature became rather chilly.
However, that didn't seem to deter people,
as there was a nice turnout. People just
bundled up and didn't let the chill stop
them from having a pleasant evening out

on the town.




 I did feel sorry for the musicians as they
tried to play with freezing fingers.
Nevertheless, they did a fine job, and
provided a stimulating atmosphere for
shopping and socializing.






 I had a successful weekend, selling
some pieces and getting some
more exposure. 

 Next month, May, I will be involved in two
shows. I will have a solo show at Yogawood
in Collingswood, and I will have one piece
entered in the Perkins Members Show in
Moorestown. More about them in my next
post.







Also, I'd like to thank my friend Ian Bianchi for

taking the photos included in this post.

Featured Artist

This Friday, April 15, 2011, I will be the

featured artist at 'An Octopus's Garden'.
'An Octopus's Garden' is a small gallery
in Millville's Glasstown Arts District. It is
located in The Village on High, at 510 N.
High Street, Millville, NJ 08332.


 I became acquainted with them during
my show at Carp Cottage, and since then
they have been showing my work.
 This time, rather than show my larger works,
I will be featuring smaller, whimsical pieces
for the garden. These pieces are quite affordable,
starting at just $30.

I will be there Friday 4/15/11 form 1pm-9pm.
Come on down and spend a Friday night in the
District.
http://www.nj.com/cumberland/index.ssf/2010/10/octopus_garden_to_open_in_mill.html

ghoti

 In the September 1987 issue of
The New Yorker magazine, John
 McPhee wrote an essay titled

ghoti
$190

"Release".In this essay he gave an
account of a blind man who used,
what at the time was cutting edge
technology, a program that took
printed words form a computer
screen recited them in audible
form.
 The machine was able to read most
words properly, but had trouble with
some of the peculiarities of the English
language.
 As an example, John asked him to type
in the word 'ghoti', a manufactured word
often attributed to George Bernard Shaw,
that demonstrates some of these peculiarities.
The machine pronounced the word "fish", using
the 'gh' sound of 'laugh', the 'o' sound of 'women',
and the 'ti' sound of 'nation'.

This is the title of my latest piece. "GHOTI".
It is the rough approximation of the shape of a
fish, yet it is not anything like a normal 'ghoti'.

Annapurna

Annapurna is the tenth highest mountain
in the world. Located in Nepal, it was
the first mountain over 8000 meters to


Annapurna

 be successfully climbed.


It is actually a 34 mile long massif, of which
Annapurna 1 is the highest peak . While it ranks
number 10 in height, it ranks number 1 in
fatality rate. Prior to1990, the fatality rate of climbers was 66%.

Annapurna

My sculpture 'Annapurna' was not originally
concieved to look anything like a mountain.
It was meant to be a balance study, but after
I had all the pieces cut and ready to go, I
couldn't come up with a design that I was
satisfied with.





Annapurna
$440

  It was time to change direction.







The next idea that surfaced was to use the
pieces as wings. Bird wings were quickly
eliminated as a possibility, due to the shapes.
Some consideration was given to maybe
creating a large pterodactyl or dragon-like
creature. While this was certainly possible,
given the shapes, the idea never took shape.




In the back of my mind, I had been thinking
of making a larger version of a smaller piece
that I had made a while ago. That piece,
'Montana de Oro' is one that I am quite
fond of.


Montana de Oro
$100
SOLD



















So after a few false starts, I started with my new
design. It took a while to arrange the pieces in their
current configuration and it took some doing to
manipulate the pieces singlehandedly, but I'm


Annapurna
$440

 very pleased with the outcome.


'Annapurna' is a piece that would look good
in the landscape, either as a focal point or
nestled in a shrub border. It would also be an
exceptional piece for a courtyard or patio.


Annapurna and Towers #2

$440                      $290