Elise Winters on Feb 27 2009 | Filed under: Artist Spotlight, Artist's Commentary
Wendy Wallin Malinow, Badigeon Beetle, 1999,
11″h x 8″w x .75″d
polymer, telephone wire, pearl
Most of us who have marched through the long history of art began that rich journey in exactly the same place: Ancient Egypt. Some of us focused on monumental objects like the pyramids and the Sphinx. Others took delight in the intricate and [...]
Elise Winters on Feb 20 2009 | Filed under: Artist Spotlight, Artist's Commentary
Wendy Wallin Malinow, Spring Shoe, 1998
2.5″H x 4″W x 10.5″L
polymer clay, telephone wire
It’s Fashion Week here in New York. Move over, Manolo Blahnik, there’s a new shoe designer in town!
And she doesn’t design fashionable footwear merely to impress the Neiman Marcus crowd or the audience for the next Sex and the City movie. Her goals [...]
Rachel Carren on Feb 06 2009 | Filed under: Aesthetic Comments, Artist Spotlight
It is difficult to view a sumptuously decorated medieval manuscript without being amazed by the high level of craftsmanship. The creation of an illuminated prayer book, such as the celebrated, Les Tres Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, would have involved many skilled artists and artisans such as a scribe or scribes, a supplier of [...]
Elise Winters on Jan 30 2009 | Filed under: Artist Spotlight, Artist's Commentary
Rebecca Mazur (aka Zimmerman), Untitled Teapot, 2001, 9″h x 7″w x 7″d
I asked Rebecca how she came by the powerful graphics in her work. When she told me that she had taught elementary school art for ten years, that explained a good deal about the allure of her bold colors and the humor inherent in [...]
Elise Winters on Jan 23 2009 | Filed under: Artist Spotlight, Techniques
Rebecca Mazur (aka Zimmerman), Sandbag Teapot, 1998, 9″h x 8″w x 5″d
Has there lived a child in the last fifty years who hasn’t found pleasure singing and acting out the lyrics to “I’m a little teapot, short and stout/ Here is my handle, here is my spout”? Maybe that explains why we find artists of [...]
Elise Winters on Jan 16 2009 | Filed under: Artist Spotlight, Artist's Commentary
Jody Bishel, Dios 1999, 8″ high
In the late 1990’s Jody Bishel created a series of vessels based on botanical imagery. Jody recently sent me this image of her favorite vessel. She called this piece DIOS after watching the Japanese anime series Shojo Kakume Utena.
Jody explained her title this way:
“The character of Dios was the ideal [...]
Elise Winters on Jan 09 2009 | Filed under: Artist Spotlight, Publications
Ford/Forlano, Pebble Galaxy, 2002
wall piece with removable pin, diameter 13″
bronze, sterling, silver, glass, coral, shell, magnets
The cover of Metalsmith’s Winter 2003 Issue shows a detail of Ford/Forlano’s piece, Pebble Gallery. That work, which was a precursor to the NINE series, had already incorporated the concept of a removable pin hidden within a wall sculpture. Like [...]
Elise Winters on Dec 19 2008 | Filed under: Artist Spotlight
Ford/Forlano, Low Tide, 2003
wall sculpture with removable pin
This wall sculpture called Low Tide is another favorite of mine from the Ford/Forlano NINE series. It measures 18” x 17” x 5”. In addition to polymer, the piece incorporates copper, flocking, sterling silver and magnets.
Elise Winters on Nov 28 2008 | Filed under: Artist Spotlight
Steven Ford & David Forlano, Figure, 2003
wall sculpture with 2 brooches
13.25″h x 12.25″w x 2.25″d
We all know the old phrase, “to raise the bar,” which first described high jump and pole vaulting competitions at track meets. A new definition can be witnessed each November at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) Craft [...]
Elise Winters on Oct 10 2008 | Filed under: Adaptive Works, Artist Spotlight
Leaf Book, Liz Mitchell, 3.25″ x 1.75″
polymer, polymer mosaic, leaf, paper, plastic, screen, metal
After MIPCES, Liz Mitchell continued to experiment with a variety of book forms. Leaf Book is a transitional piece in her evolution as an artist. In the making of this book she incorporated three different polymer clay techniques; photo transfer, [...]