Sunday, December 21, 2008

Busy, Busy, Busy

Studio Place Arts has been selling my work like hotcakes – in the last month they’ve sold four button fish, four hanging birds, and two Herald Angels. Every time I put something in, it flies off the shelves! Whoopee! I just took in something new – Noisemakers! They use the little clay bits I’ve been making the last few weeks, and they make a great sound when shaken. The perfect item for New Year’s Eve, Purim, or something for your next gig as a percussionist.

I’m also continuing work on a piece for an upcoming SPA exhibit called Picture That Poem. I need to finish painting the text on boards that will be affixed to the sides of the sculpture (you can see the first row in the image below). The poem is called Reincarnation, and is by my mother, Sandy McKinney:

The part that arrives at heaven's chop-shop
doesn't leave much to work with, but you're
one of the lucky ones. Reliable sources
advise that Y2K came with amnesty for all
previous karma, so you'll only have to pay
for the one you messed up last time.

Things are a bit crowded at the moment,
what with a big backlog before the millennial gift,
but just hang in there. Don't make waves and you
can look forward to a safe and improved return.

I’ll post a picture when it’s finished. And maybe some detail shots.


The real reason I made the clay pieces (seen in the noisemakers above) was to use on more figures from the Disarmament series. Here’s the latest finished piece, and then a piece in progress. These are two of the ones that will be suspended, as I mentioned in a recent post.

The circular clay embellishments on the following figure have two different colors of clay. I didn’t make enough in the first load (not knowing what I might be using them for...), but I’ve now got enough new ones ready to go into the kiln to finish encrusting it. Stay tuned.


All of these figures need to have a skirt. I've used metal, hacksaw blades, clay, beach fibers, and nails for the other ones, but I don't know about this one. Anybody got a suggestion about what materials I might use?

6 comments:

Mo said...

I love this direction - now wonder they are flying off the shelves. :-)

I bet theer'll be a lot of buttons under holiday wrapping this year.

Mo said...

oops! I always bypass the preview button. I am an excellent speller; typist, not so much. Happy Holidays Janet.

Unknown said...

Hey Janet! isn't the snow great! I love your blog! I actually was in on a few of the sales at SPA, I was the salesperson that sold a fish to the guy that buys them for his cats (?), a few of your metal ornaments, and 2 of your birds. The person that bought your birds bought them because the materials came from the same beach that her family has been going to for years, and she was giving them to her adult children as Christmas presents. Not sure if you knew any of that stuff! I have been busy, too, getting ready for my January show at SPA. I put a few new pieces on my website. A nice snowy weekend to stay home & catch up on stuff - it's www.artwanted.com/robinlahue. I know, I haven't done anything about my url yet, maybe next year. Happy blogging and holidays, best wishes, Robin

jane horner said...

back to the snow.
...while I am 900 miles south. Today the ocean was at high tide while I walked alongside its roaring waves. The recent perigee moon has ripped into the dune grasses a bit. The channel leading to the intercoastal waterway gets dredged often to keep its depth, and all of that gets hauled onto the beach for replenishment. Now if they would just stop with the sonar blasting....

but your snow. That is like a tidal pull to me to hear about it as it is something I love.

colormuse said...

Happy Solstice, Janet, and your blog was a bit of light in this long dark night. Thank you for your proclivity to production...just love to see what you are coming up with next. So glad to hear that you have an appreciative audience that just hafta take em home! yeah!

So glad that others are following this....makes it feel like a bit of a family.
Blessings to you and all,
m

janetvanfleet said...

Wowzers! So many fabulous comments -- like snowflakes of words to accompany the white stuff. So let me blow some back to each of you!
Mo, I wonder if the mosaic-like quality of the new bits of clay I'm using is speaking to you particularly.

For the rest of you, Mo is the person who inspired me to start a blog; I have loved her wonderful blog since I was introduced to it a few years ago. And we have never met each other in real life -- only in cyberspace. Have a look at benigngirl.wordpress.com

Robin, thank you for selling things for me! That woman who bought the birds was in my studio for a long time, and I kept hoping she would buy something there, as she was waxing so enthusiastic. So I'm glad she went down into the gallery and bought the two birds! I'm looking forward to your show at SPA.

Yada, it's funny, I was going to say something about the (LOTS OF) snow on my post yesterday, but then I didn't. But you picked up on it anyway (from the previous post?) I guess since it's winter in Vermont, snow is going to be a pretty-much-constant reality. I wish I could transport immediately to the ocean, which I envy YOU.

Maggie, you are right, all these comments do make it feel very homey. Thanks to all, and to all a good night.