Another 'page' in our history book

working on the segment on military technology, I needed a break from all those large numbers...

Fighting the Civil War

One of the books we're making for the show is called (tentatively) The Civil War in the United States from 1619 to the Present. In it, six banners describing the conflicts of the nearly 400-year long American Civil War (ranging from race to finance to the Constitution) pass through the sculptural eye of a needle that represents the armed conflict of the war (from 1861 - 1864).

Here's a screen shot of the banners in progress...I am struggling mightily to learn the sofware as I work...

more to follow....

Impossible books update

Getting ready for the show at Philadephia Sculpture Gym next month, Mary Beth and I visited and staked out some space. It is an excellent space...

and we hope we can do something good.

We retreated to Sabbatical Studio and did some writing and building...very small steps...

Mary Beth working on text for a 'book' about the Civil War that will consist of streamers passing through a sculptural hook on the wall...

a piece of a text collage in process...

War always costs more than cash on hand...updated

Custer finds a home in this sketch...I've been looking for vendors to print these - embossed cards are kind of expensive, but they would really look right. Got to figure this one out...

Updated! Added the pattern that makes it look at little more legit...here is the text that will go on the back of this 'experimental book':

War Always Costs More Than Cash on Hand 1776    1848    1861    1914       1964 ·      1776:  The Second Continental Congress declares war on Great Britain without having the money to pay for it. Started printing money, which was soon “not worth a continental.”
·      1848:  The United States declared war on Mexico, and recoups the money spent by claiming the northern third of the country in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
·      1861:  Faced with having to put down a rebellion, Congress passed the first income tax law, only to have Chief Justice Roger Brook Taney declare it unconstitutional.  The states ratified an amendment in time to help pay for World War I
·      1942:  The U.S. government forgives tax payers one year of federal income tax in order to implement a new system whereby estimates of taxes owed are deducted from paychecks as they are issued, with the tax payer getting any overpayment back at the end of the year.
·      1964:  The Gulf of Tonkin gives President Lyndon Johnson a “blank check” to fight the war in Vietnam as he sees fit, but no means to pay for it; Johnson hides some expenses in other parts of the budget, raises taxes, & eventually borrows money through the regular bond market, touching off a generation of inflation.

Updated! Two more sketches...very recognizably related to a credit card...I would appreciate any thoughts in the comments!

Impossible books...illustration in progress...

Turns out we need a picture of General Custer for one of the freshman history 'books' in our project...so I am struggling to remember how to work Illustrator to produce an image...here's a screenshot of our progress...In the end he's going to end up standing in for the American Express centurion as part of a take one in the show.

Collaborating

For a while now, I've been making drawings with my seven-year old son, Andy. Lately, I've been trying to learn a few lessons on expressions from him...here are some examples...

Andy will start the designs and then ask me to draw 'the prototype"...I was really taken with the underbite he gave Goopshot...

Mystic seemed to have a mask of some sort, but the diamond on his tail was what really mattered (I learned...after I drew the mask...)

I'm thinking some of these need color...next version.

Sometimes, a character needs a little company....

Visiting David Stephens

In preparation for a little lable-writing I need to do, I visited David Stephens' studio last week. I've been interested in his work for some time and I'm looking forward to his upcoming (and overdue) show at the Center for Art in Wood. Here are some picutres....

Daid with pieces of an unfinished work (Peeled Turf) that will be in his upcoming show at the Center for Art in Wood. The completed work will have an organic, textured surface.

Unwrapping segments of a large sculpture. Some parts of these pieces look like wooden robot limbs...

A bookshelf in the studio

We talked in one of the studio's work rooms...

Unwrapping another piece of a sculpture that will be part of the show at the Center for Art in Wood

I am SO excited...

For literally months I have been trying to get these shaped panels made. One fabricator said he could do it and a circus of delays ensued. On the suggestion of lots of artists, I called NextFab, and they told me it would be another twelve week wait. I was despondent and started working canvas since this search was going nowhere...

Then it dawned on me that I might be able get them from an industrial supplier (I am being tight-lipped about who made them out of superstition...) and they came through in less than a week and for less than I was going to pay NextFab or the fabricator. I'm starting with plywood, but can get a range of other materials...

They will need to be cradled and gessoed, but they are cut and in the studio - very excited to start working on them...will post pictures when things get underway...