We just finished our holiday card for this year and a print run is underway. This year’s card, which remains top secret, is more butt-kicking than usual. Many butts will be kicked. Many butts. Butts will be flown! If you have ever gotten one from us before you’re probably still on the list, whether you like it or not. We’re getting extras printed. So, even if you don’t know us and you want to get one of these face-melting greeting cards you probably can, just let me know. I’ll send them out until we run out.
As usual, I’ll post more about the making of this card once they have been mailed. Some previous cards are here, here and here.
When a mere costume is not enough, call performance artist Robert Brokamp. In this exhibit we see the artist inhabiting what appears to be a handmade toilet stall, in some sort of twisted homage to another type of performance artist, disgraced senator Larry Craig. Note the exquisite attention to detail, with a newspaper on the floor, prosthetic pervert arm reaching under stall, and descriptive signage.
This short-lived installation is now closed, but you can read more about it at the Washington Post. (scroll to bottom)
The second picture is from an earlier Halloween performance where Mr. Brokamp portrayed a member of the Blue Man Group. And to think, I use to work right beside such greatness.
If you’re in the Asheville area, and want to save a ton of time and work, come check it out. It is incredibly well made, and designed to “knock down” for relocation. Moving it will not be a problem. See all the details below.
Here is how I built a mini ramp for skateboarding in my basement. It’s less of a “how-to” than a “how-I-did-it.” I built a number of ramps growing up. Also, I was a steelworker in a shipyard through my twenties so I have my own methods of working from that experience that may be helpful to some folks. Read the rest of this post »
Renaissance man Steve Lodefink has succeeded in putting together a rather unusual art show. CRANKbait! is a collection of 16 fishing lures by as many artists. Yes, I did say fishing lures. They’re all cool, and many have already sold. The one in the picture below is by Mr. Lodefink himself. Visit the gallery.
Yesterday we went down the French Broad River park to see the temporary outdoor sculpture installation. These are a few of the ones I liked. My favorite is Barron Brown’s “Pecker.” It’s a bronze chicken that you can actuate by stomping on a pedal, making him chip away at some marble. This one is for you Keith. Captured on my tiny, cheap camera…
My second favorite is this bamboo construction, which was still under construction. The artist is Larry King. I can’t believe he was able to get away from CNN long enough to do this. The work is titled “Harvest Reeds” and it’s a mix of Richard Serra and Andy Goldsworthy.
“River Boat and Angkor” by William Rogers:
I’m not sure who made the tower of 4x4s on the left, but I like it. On the right is “The Extraction of Arrows” by Catherine Murray. That’s all bronze.
Looking back, I get the feeling that more folks had the D-I-Y spirit in the 1970s than in any period since. Even as kids my friends and I were customizing our bikes. You know, choppers with homemade forks, swapping parts from other bikes, etc. Other than the lowrider crowd I can’t think I’ve seen a kid do that since then. Of course, the grown ups were getting down too. Mary’s mom once made a giant set of floor pillows that looked like a massive hamburger. Separate bun pillows, beef patty, lettuce, special sauce(?). Oh yeah, it’s true. I gotta find a pic of that. Anyhow, my mom is still getting down. Her most recent project is a set of baseball-themed school organizers for my son and a purse with a horse motif for my daughter. What the two sets have in common is that Mom went to the thrift store to find some old jeans to use for the fabric. Why? “Because kids like pockets.” I heard that. And that’s especially true when Mema uses pockets to make something original and handmade.
Everybody should be doing stuff like this. Go make something.
This is the first piece of furniture I ever made. I think I was about 20 years old, and it was a Christmas gift to my parents. I had found a large, rather straight log on their property and I knew I had to make something from it. At first I wanted to use it to make some sort modern totem pole, but that would require a lot of time and skill. I didn’t have much of either. I was determined to use that log though, and I was also looking forward to using a chainsaw for something other than yard work. So, I came up with this idea for a chair. I can’t remember why, but I wanted to design it to use knock down construction. (Probably due to years of Lego building.) I’m not sure if that made it easier or more difficult to build. There are some tricky miters for the various slots because the back and seat are not at a right angle, but for the most this is pretty primitive woodworking.
All the parts including: three log legs; plywood back, seat and arms; 2×4 cross braces.
In honor of artist Grayson Sigler’s birthday today we are featuring one of his more recent creations. Seen here is a Mobius Strip rendered in concrete. The artist has apparently decided to juxtapose the fluidity of this shape with a decidedly solid material. Or, perhaps his intention is to combine the seemingly infinite movement of the form with the complementary permanence of concrete. Whatever the intention, the result is an intriguing sculpture that compels the viewer to touch it. And it’s seriously heavy.
Sculptor of squash, punisher of pumpkins, gouger of gourds Keith Pelczarski has finally gone public with his monumental carved pumpkin patch. Similar to Andy Goldsworthy, Pelczarski is creating short-lived pieces using natural and unprocessed materials. Art aficionados will appreciate that the artist carefully documented this piece using digital photography before it was ravaged by rot or small mammals.
This melon magnum opus was created in October of 2006 and is only now being shown outside of Northern California. Why has the artist withheld such a major work from the public for so long? We may never know.
For many more images as well as explanations by the artist visit GoNutty.com.
For you fans of Clive Barker horror films, and I know at least one of you who is, how about this Pumpkin Pinhead action? It’s even scary in broad daylight!
Now that I’m finished posting the new music we got for Christmas it’s time for one last seasonal item: the 2006 Sigler family Christmas card. This year we struggled for a concept. Should we collaborate on something? Should we continue to make our individual themed handmade items? Paris had the idea of snow people. We rolled with that and decided to stick with the tradition inside the tradition, individual pieces.
Clockwise from the top left:
Paris used rolled colored paper strips.
Mars obviously used Legos.
Mary worked with yarn and felted the nose and hat. She also broke the mold with a two-ball shorty.
Tracy after a few failed attempts decided to use three lamps, he had made a while ago, for a minimalist, and sort of boring, snow-bot.
Kodak now allows you to put a stamp-sized image on the back of the card. We used a pic of our four hands in the same orientation as the snow folks.
