In the arty woods @ La Reunion TX

This week end Sarah Jane Semrad orchestrated a quick clean up and hedge whacking at the La Reunion TX site. It gave me the chance to do a little sprucing up to the cedar that I did for the first annual tree carving project. This photo of hot and sweaty me was taken by Sarah Jane.

More On Hall of Fame, A new conservation technique?

A client brought this marble top plant stand in to Studio Six Art Conservation. She got it from a friend of a friend. She thought it was pretty but a bit too wobbly. So we took a look to see what the problem could be. When I removed the marble top I saw these white squares sticking out from the four leg joins. Upon closer inspection I was dumbfounded to see that the plant stand was held together with velcro! 

High School Repeat Visit

In this program held at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, local artists and five high school AP art classes work together to investigate various art topics based on what is currently on display at the museum.

The museum will be exhibiting a retrospective of one of my favorite artists, Martin Puryear. I’ll be working with the students (100 teenagers in all) to to create paper sculptures that focus on the cross over of skilled labor and fine art that is inherent to the working process of Martin Puryear.

TAM meeting 2008

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             This was the third Texas Association of Museums meeting that I have attended. There is always loads of great lectures, but meeting and talking with people involved in museums and obsessed with history is the real joy of the meetings. This year the TAM meeting was held in Galveston, so the evening social events included h’orderves and wine at the Bishop’s Palace, Freeto pie at the Galveston Art Center, grilled shrimp at the Ocean Star Drilling Museum, and on the final night, dancing under the wings of B 52 bombers at the Lone Star Flight Museum. How can you not love history!

Chuck and the angry inch

So I called the cats in for their dinner. As they were dancing and begging at my feet I noticed the red dots on the floor. Lots of red dots. More and more red dots! They were coming from the tip of Chucks tail! Somehow he lost the end of his tail and he was flinging blood everywhere. He didn’t seem to be in any pain, but the kitchen was starting to look like a murder scene. So I rushed him to the “late night” veterinarian, and they shaved his tail and put in a few stitches, then charged me $568.00. When we got back home at 11:45 PM Chuck was really really hungry and I needed a glass of wine.

A day in the swamp

I know that for most people the idea of spending time in a swamp brings up images of alligators, snakes, and swarming mosquitoes. Things that should be avoided, especially when on vacation. But The small town of Uncertain Texas on the edge of Caddo Lake is one of those quite hide a ways that is so special that I feel guilty telling others about it.

Caddo Lake is a hunting & fishing paradise, but if you go off season the lake will transport you to a world that is filled with the sounds of birds, frogs and yes the rumble of distant alligators.  When the sun cuts through the spanish moss covered trees the water becomes a rippling mirror. And the town of Uncertain is a culture unlike any other in Texas.

Tree carving at La Reunion

Well not only was February 2nd Groundhog day it was also the first ever event to be held at the property of La Reunion TX.

 

The focus of the event was the artistic killing of 7 trees by 7 artists, including myself. We selected sick or non-native trees to turn into biodegradable art. In this way the property will return to its natural habitat while providing habitats for bug and animals. 

 

For my project I selected a small cedar (14’ tall), removed all the branches, cleaned up the trunk, and then doweled the branches back onto two sides of the trunk. The result was a two dimensional tree that looks similar to a pressed flower.