Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Sketchbook Project 2011
To see more images from my sketchbook check out my Flickr site.
For more info on the project check out the Arthouse Co-op blog.
Monday, January 31, 2011
OGOP goes onto Flickr Site
Thursday, May 13, 2010
SculptCAD Rapid Artists Project, After the Flocking
Back in the studio, I painted them with black lacquer and then flocked them with black flock (see previous postings). Each sculpture stands 10" X 11" X 9".
This is the view front the top.
And this view demonstrates how the black flocking absorbs the light, causing the sculpture to loose depth and become an abstract flat graphic. I really find this to be intriguing, and will probably explore this in more in other sculptures. You can see more photos on my Flicker site.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Spending Time with the Flocker
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Curing the Surfaces
I now have three rapid prototype prints of my sculpture for the SculptCAD Rapid Artists Project. Even though they are printed, they are far from finished.
To start with, there are a few issues with the material they are printed with. The surfaces are sticky, and the sculptures which should be hollow, are filled with uncured liquid printing resin. I think the drain holes were not large enough, so the liquid could not run out before it started to congeal. The original design was counter balanced to allow for the extended neck, but since they are now more or less solid I have had to cut into the heads and remove the congealed printing resin and then patch them.
After clearing the surfaces with denatured alcohol, the sculptures spent 24 hours under UV lamps to speed up the curing of the resin inside and out (see photo). Unfortunately this process cause the resin to change color. When combined with the bubbles and patches, I don't think I have any option other than to paint them. I am thinking black flock.
Posted on Brad Ford Smith Blogspot
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
5X7 Art Splurge 2010 at Arthouse
Over the last few years formate themed shows ie: 8X12, 12X12, 20 X20... have become very common, but the Arthouse was one if not the first venue to use this theme, and if you have ever been to one of their 5X7 fundraisers you know that they have it down to a science.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Fresh From The Printers
The sculptures for the most part were just unpacked, so the artists have not had the opportunity to physically work on them yet. What you are seeing is the equivalent of a cake that has just been pulled out of the oven. They still need to be frosted. (L-R B-F): Erica Larkin - Figurative Busts, Brad Ford Smith - Chicken Neck Johnson, David VanNess - Bull Elk, Katherine Batiste - Robotic Boy, Nancy Hairston - Organic Form, Heather Groham - the 2 Rabbits, Shawn Smith - French Horn Bees, Bert Scherbarth - buildings.
Posted on Brad Ford Smith Blogspot
Monday, April 19, 2010
The Ink is Still Wet
Monday, April 12, 2010
SculptCAd Rapid Artists hit the Media
All of Jerome's work has resulted in a report broad cast on KERA's Morning Edition and All Things Considered. Plus a posting on the KERA Art & Seek website, plus a Youtube video of the Rapid Prototype Lab.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Sending My Sculpture to the Printers
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Make Space: Installation/Open House at La Reunion TX 2010
Friday, February 26, 2010
Privet Sculpture Project Construction Day 3
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Privet Sculpture Project Construction Day 2
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
A few days working at SculptCAD
Monday, February 8, 2010
Art Statement for SculpCAD Rapid Artists program
With access to the Rapid Cad technology and its incredible array of tools and casting mediums, I instantly had visions of producing my very own version of the “Homer”, a car designed by Homer Simpson that was so outlandishly stuffed with add-ons that it caused the finial collapse of Powell Motors.
So, with that in mind, I have tried to focus on learning how the Rapid Cad program works, and how to blind this technology with my own artistic direction, resulting in a sculpture that breaks new ground and makes historical sense. I have of course spent a lot of time just playing; this program seems to encourage that sort of “what if I do this” activity. In the end I have slipped the Rapid Cad into my normal creative process, which begins with lots of drawing on paper, those are then reprocessed and reprocessed to create a composite drawing “Chicken Neck Johnson”. This drawing is scanned onto the Rapid Cad desktop, where it is fleshed out, manipulated, and reprocessed. The resulting 18” X 18” X 6” sculpture is a composite of shapes that I love working with, plus a humorous animal reference, which I credit to the playful, toy making aspects of the Rapid Cad program.
The sculpture is made from an almost transparent red plastic. The Rapid Cad program has allowed me to shell the sculpture so that it is hollow and very light. The walls vary in thickness, which causes the red color to become more intense in the areas where the plastic is thicker and almost water clear where the walls are thinner. The shelling process has also allowed me to create a bottom heavy counter balance, which allows the neck and head to be extend in an giraffe like appearance with an almost transparent head.Friday, January 15, 2010
Proposal for La Reunion Tx, Making Space: Installation
Privet: A non-native gone wild
During the time that I have spent at the La Reunion property it has always struck me how much the non-native shrubbery called privet has taken over the landscape. This plant, originally from Asia is very aggressive and hardy. It is used widely in the DFW metroplex as a decorative bush around houses and commercial builds. Unfortunately a single privet bush will produce 1000s of berries each year. These berries are often washed into the city’s storm drains which empty into the local creeks and streams. The result is that most of the creek banks and flood zones in the DFW area are now overgrown with privet. Once a privet bush is established, simply cutting it down cannot kill it. The root ball is like a Hydra, it will send up several new braches for each one that is cut off, totally replacing the old growth within a few short months. Privet is pushing out the native plants that native animals, birds and insects feed upon. This is creating vast areas of monocultures that only support other aggressive plants like poison ivy and insects like mosquitoes
Privet: An experiment in repurposing
The branches of privet are very long and thin, but also surprisingly strong. In this way privet resembles plants like the ocotillo, cane and bamboo, all fast growing plants that are widely used as building materials. Based on these natural characteristics, a team of artists will “harvest” privet branches from the La Reunion property and use them to construct a sculpture. This sculpture will be of a design and scale that calls explores the architectural validity of using privet as a building material. Documentation and photos will be taken throughout the project. After 12 months the sculpture will be dismantled, at which time documentation will focus on the condition of the sculpture and the structural stability of the privet.
If this field test proves that privet can be used as stable building material, it could turn the urban privet plague into a valid source for sustainable and green building materials