Newsletter dated March 2, 2012 - Sculptors` Association of Alberta

ARMATURE
The
Newsletter of the
Mar.- Apr.
2012
Vol. 2
Sculptors' Association of Alberta...
encouraging and
promoting the creation of sculpture for 25 years...contact: [email protected]
Newsletter in colour on the SAA Website < www. sculptorsassociation.ca>
info info
Fire Sculpture by Tania Garner-Tomas
REMEMBER: There is
plenty of room to park
on the West Side of
the building and we
meet in the Lutz
room. The entrance to
the
Community
League is through the
th
Main doors on 118
Avenue. We hope to
see you there!!
Next MEETING…
ARTS on the Avenue Community League,
9210-118 Avenue, at 7:30p.m. On Tuesday, April 3rd
AT
th
ON THE AGENDA: T.B.A.
We welcome everyone with an interest in sculpture!
PRESIDENT’S
MESSAGE…
Larry Andreoff at Front Gallery…
It has been an extremely busy
time. With the Byzantine Festival, the
Silver Skate Festival and Metropolis
City Center going on, it has kept Erin
very busy. We certainly do appreciate
all she does to ensure we have
everything we need while we sculpt. We carved ice
and snow and she made sure we had ice and snow.
We built fire sculptures and she made sure we had the
proper supplies. She deserves a huge bouquet for all
she does to make us look good, Erin we couldn’t do it
without you!
I pitched in at Metropolis and carved some ice and
fire sculpted at Silver Skate. Although I have carved
ice in the past it was great fun to work downtown. This
was my first time fire sculpting and I have to say I
loved it. I can see the art in the sculpture prior to the
burning; the actual fire and the skeleton aftermath. It
was work but fun too. I think I might like this.
My hockey has been put aside while I recover from
a groin injury but it has given me time to finish some
sculptures in my shop and start some new ones. I am
in the process of building up my inventory again.
On the home front, my wife and I are dealing with
her mother’s ill health. We have come to the
conclusion that hospitals are no place for sick people.
So take good care of your health because as they say
“when you have your health, you have everything”.
It has been a busy winter with ice and snow and I
would like to take a moment to thank all of the SAA
members who do such a great job representing us in
the community.
Is that spring I feel coming? Happy sculpting!
Your PREZ.
Warren Wenzel… 780-571-3939
[email protected]
News from our Members…
Tania Garner-Tomas…
Fire sculpture…
“the only sculpture I've
done this year so far.
Painting and painting…”
10215 112 Street Northwest
Edmonton, AB T5K 1M7
(780) 426-4180
Sculpture drop –in sessions with
professional models are held every Monday
at 7:00 p.m. (except holidays) in the Harcourt
SAA Workshops…
“Sculpting in Wax”
workshop
on the weekend of April 28 and 29 with instructor ,Pat
Galbraith. The workshop will run on Saturday and
Sunday from 10 am to 4 pm. There will be a limit of 10
participants. Location and cost are yet to be finalized.
Please
contact
Erin
DiLoreto
at
[email protected] or Keith Turnbull at
[email protected] if you are interested in attending.
More information to follow.
Keith Turnbull
Sculpture drop –in sessions with professional models are
held every Monday at 7:00 p.m. (except holidays) in the
Harcourt House “annex”. Fee is $10 per session. The
sessions provide an excellent opportunity to work from
the model. Clay is available for sale on-site.
The SAA Visits BEHRENDS BRONZE Inc.
Chris Marshall, Plant / Production Manager at Behrends Bronze talks about the history of
Behrends Bronze during the Sculptors’ Association visit. Below: The Owner of Behrends
Bronze Inc., Generoso ( Gen ) Russo (right) answers the sculptors’ questions.
Carnaval Vegas”
Carnaval de St-Isidore- Another great ‘carnaval’. We
had great weather, abundance of visitors, remarkable
sculptors to produce beautiful sculptures under the theme"
Carnaval Vegas"
I want to say thank you to all sculptors who participated,
Great work… a lot of fun!
Laval Bergeron
EXHIBITION REPORT…
Upcoming exhibitions:
Muttart in Summer- Submission Deadline June
15, 2012 (The SAA will be once again holding their
annual show at the Muttart Conservatory. We hope
to once again showcase our talented and diverse
group. Anima: Spirit of Life is the theme. Please
send submissions to [email protected])
Please get working for that ‘outdoor’ environment of
the Muttart Conservatory.
Winners:
1st Delayne Corbett
2nd Doug Thompson
3rd Keith Prestone
Department of Extension... Downtown in
Enterprise SquareOctober 2012... for one month
… “25 YEARS AND GOING STRONG” Also
another space for bigger sculpture along glass wall
near security… for a longer term ... six months terms
on rotating basis. Watch for more Information.
The SAA is currently showing at the Stanley
Milner Library Gallery in downtown Edmonton…
show closes March 31.
“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep. “
Scott Adams
OPPORTUNITIES…
SAA Website:
www.sculptorsassociation.ca
You can have your work featured on
the SAA website. Just contact Erin…
Please send your information or suggestions to
[email protected]
2013 Call for Artists (Spruce Grove Art Gallery)
Call for Feature Artists – 2013 Spruce Grove Art Gallery
Spruce Grove, Alberta Please submit a complete package
for 2013, no later than June 30, 2012. The Allied Arts
Council of Spruce Grove welcomes... This is a content
summary only. For more information:
Phone: 780-962-0664.
Email: [email protected],
Website: www.alliedartscouncil.com
Harcourt House –
The Whyte Avenue Art Walk
Artist in Residence 2012/2013 The Paint Spot Presents Whyte Avenue Art Walk July 13 Harcourt House Artist Run Centre is currently accepting
submissions for their 2012/ 2013 Artist in Residence (AIR).
Awarded to artists annually through a peer jury selection
process, this program is committed to providing the
selected artist with a year-long, dedicated studio
environment at Harcourt House Artist Run Centre to
research, develop and exhibit new work. This program
allows for the Artist in Residence to engage and interact
with the local visual arts community, encouraging shared
ideas, expression and discourse.
This one-year residency includes a studio space,
access to their art education courses and facilities,
teaching opportunities and a $150 monthly art supply
stipend. The AIR will be given a solo exhibition in the
centre’s Main Gallery at the end of the one-year term to
conclude their residency. The AIR will receive CAR/FAC
fees for the presentation of this final exhibition.
They invite artists who are Canadian residents to
submit a proposal before May 31, 2012. All disciplines are
encouraged to apply. Applicants will be selected by the
quality of work submitted, their demonstration of
commitment to serious practice and how the residency will
meet their objectives at this crucial juncture in the
development of their practice.
Submission deadline: May 31, 2012.
(Residency to Commence November 1, 2012)
http://harcourthouse.ab.ca/art
ist-in-residence-submissions/
ArtRubicon will be maintaining a directory of
Alberta visual artists for all those who wish to be
included. To submit to the directory, please email
them 4 clearly labelled jpg images at 700px wide,
your name, address, website and email address,
medium you work in and details of gallery
representation where applicable. Email submissions
to [email protected]. Check out
their website for more information.
15, 2012 The Whyte Avenue Art Walk is
an outdoor studio and gallery featuring
hundreds of working artists. For three
days every summer, artists and their art fill
the sidewalks of the historically and
culturally rich Old Strathcona area.
The Whyte Avenue Art Walk - July 13 - 15,
2012 10 am - 5 pm. Registration Starts Saturday March 3, 2012
at The Paint Spot… www.facebook.com/ or www.art-walk.ca/
Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi 2012 call for
artist submissions
Dear Friends,
We are pleased to write to you introducing the 16th annual
Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi which is being held from 18
October - 14 November 2012. Last year over 500,000 people
attended the exhibition during the 3 week exhibition period and
over the last few years roughly 30% of the outdoor works have
sold.
As we begin the call for artist submissions for our 2012
Bondi exhibition, we are writing with the hope that you may be
able to inform your contacts, members and/or students about the
exhibition.
Submission forms can be download by clicking on the
following links:
 Bondi 2012 Artist Application Form
 Bondi 2012 Entry Form & Map
These documents can also be downloaded from our website:
www.sculpturebythesea.com
The deadline for submissions is 6pm, Tuesday 10 April
2012. Please send submissions to:
Sculpture by the Sea
PO Box 300, Surry Hills
NSW 2010 Australia
or email Lucy Tesoriero, Exhibition Assistant:
[email protected]
If you have any questions regarding the enclosed information
please contact Lucy Tesoriero, on
+61 2 8399 0233 or on the above email address.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Lately, my life has been all about
sculpture and working on my bronze portrait commission so I
thought I would talk about working a portrait from photos.
I started sculpting… would you believe, forty years ago (I
hate to admit it since it rather dates me) … and actually a
few small efforts before that. I began sculpting with a course
I took during University. That whet my appetite and sculpting
became a part of my life.
However, I did the usual things like having a family and
for many years that took precedence while sculpting was
something I did for enjoyment. Because we moved to the
country I did not have an opportunity to readily work with
models until years later. In the early years, I did not even
drive and we were a one car family.
That meant that I had to get resourceful if I wanted to do
figurative sculpture. I turned to using photos to create my
pieces. Over time, I got better and better at interpreting the
photos for my sculptures. When I needed more information, I
used the people in my life as stand-in models. I guess my
instincts were really good because even my early figures
were good enough to win some minor awards when entered
into competitions like what was then Klondike Days or the
Exhibition.
Now, you are thinking… what has that got to do with
working on my bronze portrait???? Actually, it has everything
to do with it. Those years of working from photos taught me
to interpret photos in order to translate the portrait from 2D to
3D.
My current portrait for my bronze was done from photos
since the subject was deceased. I typically work a portrait
intuitively. It is somewhat of a spiritual experience. Getting
into ‘the Zone’ is somewhat magical. However, the portrait
does not happen instantly. One does not SEE all the
information one needs immediately.
It is imperative that one have some good profile photos as
well as frontal photos but photos can lie. Lighting, varying
expressions, weight gains and losses over the years, and the
angle of the camera all create differences in the images.
Therefore, sometimes one must make a judgment call in
deciding how deep or shallow the line should be.
My initial portrait is somewhat shallow. The lines are there
and there is a resemblance to the subject but it is not what I
would consider a good portrait.
I would compare doing a portrait from photos to
unraveling a mystery. Every little piece of information that
you discover helps you interpret other parts of the portrait.
However, like a good detective, it is important to access
every bit of information that you can. For me, this means
seeking out the family of my subject. Firstly, the family can
tell you what it is that would make the portrait into one that
they would recognize as an image of their loved one.
Now, this method is not for everyone. One must be able
to separate oneself from ego in order to discuss and criticize
the work in progress to gain information. One must be able to
take criticism. One must know what questions to ask.
However, if you manage to bring that portrait to the point
where the family approves, you know you have truly
succeeded. It is a wonderful experience. For me, that is
success and I am having such a good time!
Marjorie Davies
NEWSLETTER PRODUCED & EDITED by:
Marjorie Davies at [email protected]
phone: 780-929-8866
Co-editor: Keith Turnbull
All submissions will be gratefully accepted but
may be edited due to space considerations…
NEXT SUBMISSION DEADLINE:
end of 3rd week of the month
THE SCULPTOR’S BIBLE
by John Plowman
THE ALL – MEDIA REFERENCE TO
SURFACE EFFECTS AND HOW TO
ACHIEVE THEM
This is a great book to get your hands on
particularly if you are interested in finding
interesting and attractive ways to finish your
sculpture…
John Plowman on the importance of surface
treatments…
“The way in which the surface of a sculpture is
finished strongly influences the way the piece is
experienced. Creating the right feel in the finish
can make or break a sculpture, supporting or
undermining what the artist is trying to express.
Regardless of shape or style, whether modern or
traditional, the surface treatment will affect the
mood, atmosphere, energy, and associations of
the sculpture. Therefore, if sculptors master a wide
range of finishing techniques, they can choose the
one that best serves their aims and lends the
sculpture the qualities they wish to convey.”
“Beginners in sculpture often make the mistake
of thinking that, to look finished, a piece must be
smooth and highly polished, and so exclude some
of the most expressive finishes that they could
have chosen from…”
Just consider this list of additive materials that
Plowman recommends in his finishes… sand,
brick dust, marble and limestone chips, charcoal,
wood shavings, polystyrene chips, swarf,
shredded paper, bristlehead brushes, string,
copper and galvanized wire, broken limestone,
broken marble, broken slate, soil, gravel, pea
gravel, glass gravels and the list goes on.
He talks about sealers, waxes, metallic
additions and coatings, paints, dyes, inks,
pigments. He discusses tools and gives numerous
recipes and instructions for a range of media
including stone, wood, metal, fired clay, plaster,
resin, cement and cement fondue.
If you want to get creative, this book is full of
possibilities.