Time is flying by! Only three weeks left before our exhibit opens, and there is much to do. All the bits and pieces we’ve been working on will be resolved into finished work … or not. We repeatedly remind ourselves that experimenting with and exploring new techniques is an essential part of artwork; the finished pieces are simply a byproduct.
Amy Forsyth
Events are unfolding, as Amy’s landscape metaphorically illustrates …..
Meant to be displayed horizontally (but also looks interesting vertically), Amy’s unfolding landscape is an interactive delight!
Sketchbook at hand, Amy plans for the next addition to a new landscape ….
… which is a view from across the street of the wood studio. Identifiable are the UArts building with its iconic columns, Kimmel Center for Performing Arts’ atrium, and our residence hall.
For the case she is constructing, Amy is exploring hinges and openings, some of which include colorful elements.
Katie Hudnall
As it continues to grow, Katie’s mysterious-looking box sculpture occasionally guards the hallway ….
Eventually, each small box will be able to be opened by pressing a button at the other end of its attachment. Katie has been reinforcing the legs, as she considers the sculpture’s overall design.
And … a wonderfully whimsical alligator box, that opens and closes as it’s pushed. I am looking forward to seeing it embellished with scales and paint!
A Visit from Eli Scarce
Eli Scarce stopped by for a quick visit. This week she was volunteering time at a nearby woodworking program for youth. Maybe one of those youth will eventually end up as Windgate ITE Fellow.
Ashley Eriksmoen
Ashley is working on a second painting, using ideas previously drawn in her sketchbook.
A major project kept Ashley in the machine room an entire day, resawing, jointing, planing, and cutting. Then came glue-up.
Ashley and Katie discuss design considerations.
Michaela Crie Stone
Intense concentration! Michaela works with the precision learned from jewelry-making.
In fact, Michaela is making jewelry / body adornment. Each bent-wood form, embellished with a variety of objects, is labor-intensive and requires thoughtful, careful placement of every added element. The gold glistened in the sunlight!
Handmade books are part of Michaela’s artwork. Here she has applied gold leaf to the book’s wooden covers.
I haven’t yet asked Michaela what she intends to make with these bent-laminated strips, but they look inviting, all lined up!
Nucharin Wangphongsawasd
Nuch discusses her work with Amy.
Phases of the moon, orbiting planets ….
To understand the complexity of Nuch’s work with the tablesaw, look carefully at the thin pieces of wood that connect each element. She continues to push the boundaries of “bending” a strip of wood. Masking tape is an essential tool.
Because of her interest in printmaking, I showed Nuch how to ink wood and pull a print, and of course she immediately grasp the concept and began trying out the idea on other bits of wood.
Rebecca Kolodziejczak
It required many clamps to ensure that the layers of bent walnut strips glued together firmly, without gaps. Rebecca is constructing a band for a crown, although the mold makes the piece look much larger than just a band.
The elements for this crown look like miniature sculptures!
And something new …. like everyone here, Rebecca has expanded her thinking, seemingly in the middle of making the next element. This walnut carving will be stained black.
Betty Scarpino
I started working on a series titled IMPRESSIONS. For each fellow resident, I am making a piece based on my impression of her and her artwork. Below are images of my progress so far. In a later blog when the series is complete, I will describe what each piece represents.
Woodcut printmaking, embossing painting, turning (yes! some turning!) and lots of carving ….
Open Studio Day
About forty people visited the wood studio Saturday for the Open Studio tour and lunch. In a classroom down the hall, the Windgate Fellows presented a formal talk and discussion about collaboration. At the top, right-hand side of the image, Albert LeCoff talks with Susan Hagan, who is on the Center for Art in Wood’s Windgate ITE selection committee.
Off to Washington D.C.! We leave this Sunday morning and will visit several collectors, as well as tour museums in D.C. We drive back to Philadelphia late Tuesday … a quick trip, but we all have projects to finish!
— Betty J. Scarpino, Photojournalist