A Little Fungus For A Good Cause

I should have posted this sculpture before the Art Conspiracy's fundraiser happened... Well I'm doing it now.... This is Cordycep Flamingo. He was part of the Better Gnomes and Gardens auction put on by Art Conspiracy.

He is your average pink flamingo except he is suffering from a cordycep fungus. This type of parasitic fungus mostly infects bugs, like grasshoppers and ants, slowly driving them insane and turning their bodies into stalagmite covered husks. It looks like a horrific way to die. I would love to see this happen to a few of the fire ant in my front yard.

I created this sculpture in hopes that placing it in your yard or garden it will act like a scarecrow, and scare the holly crape out of all the fire ants.

By the way, a few of my friends did point out that items at fundraiser tend to sell better if they are based on humor or cutely puppies, and not horror show fungi. But like the commercial says Who doesn't like to kill fire ants? And I am pleased to say that it did sell for a nice amount.

To see some great photos of cordycep covered bugs, as well as lots of great pictures of Normal bugs and fungus, check out Kim Fliming's Flickr site.

De Vinci in the Morning

The De Vinci After Dark party at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History was a big success. The museum was expecting to have a total head count for the event of about 400 people. They sold that many online by that morning. So the unofficial head count was around 600 people. (I'll have to confirm that).

In these times when museums and historical societies are suffering serious cash flow problems, it's great to be part of an event that turns out way better than expected.

As part of the, Show and Tell, I guess you would call it, I had a table in one of the activity rooms where I worked on a sculpture based on one of De Vinci's drawings of street people. As you can see from the photo above I didn't get very far, people really asked lots of questions, and then asked questions about the questions they just asked. I not only talked up De Vinci and the FWMSH, but also community collage art programs, Trinity Ceramic Supplies, the finer points of working in clay, and art conservation just to name a few. I'm a little bit horse this morning, but it was a blast.

They'll be doing it again at the end of September.

An Evening with Da Vinci

My sculpture supplies are packed in the car, and I am just about to head over to the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History. The museum is hosting a Da Vinci After Dark party as part of their exhibit Leonardo da Vinci: Man, Inventor, Genius. There will be 2 bands, wine tastings, a cash bar, a couple of inventors and me working on a sculpture basted on some of Da Vinci's drawings.

This will be my first time to see the new building sense its completion earlier this year. I have heard lots of good things about it.

5X7 Art Splurge 2010 at Arthouse

May 13th makers the 11th annual 5X7 Arthouse fundraiser. This year they have 900 artists who have created at least one work of art that fits into the 5X7" formate. Here is the link to the participating artists, The page also includes links to the artist's websites.

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.

White lacquer, black flocking, Persian blue acrylic

This will be my 9th year to be participate. Sadly I can't attend the Austin event on May 13th, so I'll have to wait until it rolls into Dallas.

Posted on Brad Ford Smith Blogspot 

5X7 2009 is coming to Dallas

August 14th! Mark that date on you calendar! It's the Dallas edition of the 10th anniversary Arthouse 5X7 fundraiser.

The event will be held once again at the Dunn and Brown Contemporary. The postcard states that the event opens at 5:00 and the sale starts at 5:30 but that sounds kind of early to me and the Arthouse web site has not been updated yet, so I plan on being there at 5:00.

With all the personal cutbacks that we have all had to submit to this year, I predict that when the bell rings at 5:30, it is going to be most frantic, ravenous art buying frenzy that one will ever hope to see.

And that's the whole reason I'm going. It's good for my artistic soul to see a room full of art collectors behaving so very badly, to see people of class and sophistication getting so whipped up about a small work of art that they forget their cocktail demure and start pushing and shoving so they can snag that one irresistible art gem.

It's art buying like you will never see in real life. I wonder sometimes what it would belike to have this kind of excitement and energy at one of my art openings.

Well here is a link the all of the artists that have art in this years 5X7.

5 X 7 Arthouse fundraiser 2009

The 5 X 7 Arthouse fundraiser is happening in Austin this Friday. These are the two works that I put in this year. They are my usual organic shapes that have been camouflaged with a gritty umber texture and then cast into a pail blue cube. The image becomes visible only when the object is tilted towards the light. It's a nice work but it's probably not eye catching enough to stand out in the 5X7 arena.

There is a big group of Dallas people going down for the event. Unfortunately I am staying here because all of my travel bucks are tied up in going to the Vermont Studio Center next month.

Arthouse 5 x 7, The Dallas Show

I posted an article on Art & Seek about The Arthouse 5 X 7 fundraiser that is happening Aug 28th. It's a great event with lots of art and lots of art collectors behaving badly.

EASL Fundraiser

I am a big sucker for fundraisers, especially when the money collected goes directly to the people in need. EASL (Emergency Artists' Support League) is the prime example of just of what people can do for people in need. EASL has been around for over 10 years. They have helped so many artists, that if you live in Texas you probably know someone they have helped.

Above is my donation to this years Art Heist, August 23 at Artspace 111 in Fort Worth Texas. The title is Valves #1. It is part of a series based on the various valves located on or inside of the human body. It measures 10" X 8" and  is made from MDF and cast resin. 

Arthouse 5X7 show 2008

The annual Arthouse 5 x 7 fundraiser is coming to Dallas on August 29th. This time it will be held at the Dunn and Brown Gallery. It is always a great event. Lots of great art for great prices. Lots of people to meet from all walks of the Dallas art life.

5X7 @ Art House at the Jones Center

It's time once again for the annual Art House 5X7 "art splurge and exhibition". There is a very long long list of participating artists, many like myself that have donated art to this event for years. The big event starts out in Austin TX at the Art House gallery. From there it will travel to Dallas, Houston and possible San Antonio. But the big night is definitely at the Art House gallery.