Karen Tiede Studio

When Sculpting is a Pain in the Tail, and other questions about Art Form

admin — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 12:44:55 +0000

Thinking this morning about the differences between painters and sculptors; how “the world” supports painters with an infinite number of how-to books and magazines and galleries and this and that and other stuff, and how there are, give or take, five books about how to be a sculptor, all published by Dover and written before 1960, and that’s it. Plus one magazine that’s too obtuse to read and certainly is no how-to in the sense that Water Media or Artist or anything by North Light is a how-to. (Plus the British WoodCarving magazine, which is fabulous.)

It is not lost on me that the vast majority of those how-to books sit on bookshelves unread; certainly unused, as do most of the tubes of paint sold in sets this time of year, and maybe even most tubes of paint period. It is also possible that some of the energy of 3D people is absorbed in woodworking books–the casework and furniture people, and perhaps even the turners. Clay people have some more resources than wood. Acknowledgment made.

What’s this about?

Somehow 3D scares people an a way that 2D doesn’t? Primitive art is full of statues; could be they just lasted better than whatever flat art they made back then. I’m not an archeologist. But I am also a painter, certainly a colorist, and it galls me no end that I am forced to carve my canvas before I can paint it.

I talked to a fellow sculptor about this two weeks ago; he advised me to stick to sculpture; there are fewer of us and way too many painters in Vietnam churning out cheap oils. More competition in the flat art world. Perhaps. Said he worked in 3D and I certainly (can) think in 3D and why force myself into a thought-form that’s not natural? In the end it would be just as uncomfortable as my current day-job. (Not true all the way to “just as,” but I get the point: My day-job involves working with ISTJs when I am an INFP.)

However, if we all followed this model, the Sistine Chapel would have a sky-blue roof.

So. I’ve been writing for 4 hours about this already this morning, trying to work it out for myself. Finally that quiet little inside voice piped up that said, “Both. You are both.” Sculptor and painter.* # Some ideas come to me, admittedly not many, in the form of flat art. They need to birthed in that form, regardless of the problem that I don’t know how to paint flat art. Other ideas, many more ideas, are clearly intended to be sculpture, and I need to carve those. And it’s not my call about which is which, and it’s not my place to ignore the ideas that arrive in a 2D vision.

You can’t kill some of the ideas that come to you without polluting the source. For today, the flat art ideas gestate in their own notebook and one day they’ll get painted or collaged or some how given more life.

Pragmatic thought: A friend brought his Ramrod Taskmaster (personal forklift) over to help move a mature camellia yesterday. In no time at all, he also cleaned up my woodpile. This is a $10,000 tool. A) Either I sell enough sculpture to be able to afford my own Ramrod Taskmaster (on top of the mortgage and insurance and disability and etc I’ll need when I’m a full-time artist) or B) I’m going to have to find a different form of art before I’m 30 years older. There are plenty of very old artists in the world. None of them does/did his or her own heavy lifting.

*Sad but true: It took me 17 years the first time, and 13 years the second, to learn I can sing after a) my 8th grade teacher said someone in my trio was flat and I assumed she meant me and b) my choir director frowned when she looked my way too many times. It only took me 10 days to recover from being told I shouldn’t be a painter. This is progress. (An aside: How do musicians gestate their ideas, and do they worry about form–vocal vs. instrumental, different instruments, solo vs. chorale?)

#Clearly, I am also a writer, but I take that so much for granted that I don’t even think about it.

Knitting Returns

admin — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 12:38:59 +0000

December 26, 2003 Friday: I am knitting again. It feels like I never stopped; my hands don’t miss a stitch. How could I have not been doing this for so long?; I have been a knitter as long as I can remember and got very serious in 1986 in an attempt, eventually successful, to reduce how much I smoked (now not at all). Everywhere. All the time. All styles. Then I finished a wedding-present lace tablecloth for my brother and his wife (6 MILES of thread), went to Antarctica knitting, bought yarn in New Zealand (knitter’s heaven), came home, and put it all away. I didn’t understand it at the time and still don’t fully, but I think I needed to get the knitting out of the way to make room for the sculpture. It wasn’t that neat, of course. I stumbled around for almost a year between the not-knitting time and the day I picked up the chainsaw, and there was the lightning strike which played a role too.; But now I am clearly a sculptor. Two weeks ago, the thought came to me that I wanted to knit, and I was glad I hadn’t clutter-cleared my wool stash when I recycled my old contra-dance clothes. Then my best friend gave me The Knitting Sutra for Christmas. Hadn’t talked to her about the impulse at all, but they don’t call it the “universe” for nothing. When the time is ripe, the impetus appears?; Read the book straight through over breakfast, cast on before lunch, and now I have an inch of the back knitted up. I am knitting differently from before, though: I can feel it. Looking through pattern books, knowing generally what I wanted (Fassett). Using my favorite sweatshirt as a size model. I’ll work out the sleeves and the neckline when I get there and if the gauge is wrong, there’s always the sewing machine. Knowing this will be MY sweater in a way some of the earlier ones weren’t.; I don’t know where this is going, or why it picked now to come back into my life. Thought I was going to be like Barbara Walker, who studies one thing intently then puts it down and never comes back. Guess not. The recurring thought in my mind this Solstice has been Make More Art. Put my own art out in my yard. Put my own art on my back. Fill my house with art where ever I can find a place for it. I am not driving this bus, and it is an interesting ride.; PS. I can knit during day-job conference calls. Yippee!

Kekule’s Dream: The Carving

admin — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 17:37:02 +0000

Long run. Sanford AutumnFest; sold the first frog and two flamingos. Carve more. Out-of-town funeral. Hurricane Isabel; no significant local damage = no free carving wood. Durham Centerfest, sold ButlerBear, a birdhouse, and Kekule’s Dream. Carve more ButlerBears. Durham was the first show where people got the joke in Kekule. Shouldn’t be surprised–the scientists from the RTP live in Durham, and the business people live in Cary. May try carving the CDC Series for next year’s Centerfest–the plague flea. Yellow-fever / malaria mosquito. Smallpox. I have a picture of a carving of dice in my idea book. Could do something similar with caffeine, or estrogen, or some other major biochemical.

A visit from the zoning fairy

admin — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 12:33:42 +0000

I’m going to consider this a warning shot.

One of my neighbors complained that I was running a business in a residential zone. Well, I am, and that’s legal, as long as I’m not selling from my home, which I’m not. Unfortunately, that’s as much because I’m not selling much as because I don’t sell from my home, but that’s beside the point.

ZF agreed that everything looked above-board and I don’t need a permit for what I’m doing. I’ve started a serious search for studio space; found one that’s not quite right, good lead on another that could be perfect, depending on price. Guess we’re in a race now.

Chainsaw Carving Repetitive Stress Injury

admin — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 11:58:29 +0000

I get recurrent trigger finger in the ring fingers of both hands; clearly chainsaw-driven. Trigger finger is when your finger “snaps” when you bend it; it won’t bend smoothly because the tendon gets swollen just outside of the tendon sheath. Makes it hard to get the ibuprophen out of the bottle.; Hand surgeon told me my options were cortisone shots in the tendon, and then surgery to release the tendon sheath. Cortisone shots are one of the most painful things I’ve ever done voluntarily and they knock the rest of my body off for a day or two; not bad, also, at setting off a mild(?) version of PMS which really endears me to my friends. $250 each; avoid if possible. Had hand surgery once. Forget that.; SO: I have this tube of Voltaren I picked up in Australia–1% diclofenac ointment, OTC there, prescription in the US. INSTANT relief. Had to reapply twice, and now I’m using it at night, but the situation is WAY better.; Have enough of the ointment to hold for a while.; I’ve taken some pretty high doses of oral ibuprophen and they don’t begin to touch the concentration you can get locally with a transdermal dose. I’m pretty sure that the drugs are still metabolized in your liver, but the gain is that you get more bang for the buck–more pain relief with less total drug, and therefore less work for your liver.

Spalting

admin — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 11:55:02 +0000

Does exposure to air stop spalt? What about burning?

I’m carving a polar bear for the zoo; plan to stain it with oil-based white stain. But the only piece of wood in the pile that’s big enough for what I had planned is pretty thoroughly spalted sycamore–cut 4 years ago, standing vertically since. Beautifully soft; probably the last year I could have carved it before it went too far.

So the bear will have stripes and blotches and I’ll make it sound artistic. But it would help if I could tell the buyer that the spalt has stopped now…

It took four men to get that piece vertical four years ago when it was fresh cut and sopping wet; after blocking out the big pieces that weren’t going to be part of the bear, I was able to move it myself, although you probably didn’t want small children within earshot.

In-process carving notes

admin — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 11:52:23 +0000

July 7, 2003 Giraffes: Help. I just carved another nice piece of kindling in the general shape of a giraffe and spent an hour on the effort. Realized it was hopeless not long into it but had an audience and didn’t want to bail in front of a crowd.; Can’t get the head/body angle right–is it just that they take a much wider log than I want to believe? I saw Joe K. carving a giraffe at the end of Ridgway but my pictures of that carving don’t show enough to be useful.; Maybe I’ll just stick to flamingos. Someone looked at my parakeet and asked if it was a hawk. Sigh. (But they had cash, so I carved ‘em a hawk the next day…)
July 3, 2003 Show carving: First day of public show carving yesterday; 5-day run. Loved it. Exhausted. Planning a big eagle/flag deal for tomorrow–NEVER would have thought I’d even ATTEMPT something like that in public, aiming to complete in one session. Real kick-in-the-pants to be carving with an audience, even if 2″ of rain from hurricane-whatsis kept most of the audience home on opening day. Stay tuned.

Sawdust in my Boots

admin — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 11:49:57 +0000

Randy and I were talking about this last night and I realized I am not alone. How do you keep sawdust out of your boots?

a) I am already wearing the longest chaps Stihl makes and they don’t quite cover the tops of ankle-high boots.

b) “Carve barefoot” is not a valid answer.

thx

Dale Hatfield’s Response:

A carvers Guide to saw dust

dust will find its way in any small hole in jeans or shirt.
pockets will fill to the brim
wallet will have half a pound in it when you go to pay for dinner at a nice place or when you make any purchase.
boots will fill to brim if not wearing long pants
change pocket will feel like it has a ton of ground corn in it plus 3 dollars in copper.
Shirt must be untucked so dust has place to escape
forgot to untuck shirt waist band is full of dust along with other body parts
sneak behind carving for a quick dusting to avoid a chapped arse
avoid very lose or baggy shirts (most tree climbers will wear skin tight shirt to avoid all above problems. they often run saw at chest height.
wear a cape like at beauty shop and no dust will find its way in

Moncure Iron Pour

admin — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 11:17:08 +0000

Topsail Island with my parents and niece, post pre-order shipping for Carve Smart, pre-fall show rush of carving. Events: Carve Smart publication; iron pour at the Moncure Museum of Art; started painting.

1. Proof copies of Carve Smart arrived; thank goodness I had already proofed the text because I found it almost impossible to actually look at the book. Forced myself to turn every page and found a few additional corrections; adjusted the contributors list; changed the cover. Very scary to see the manuscript in “real-book” form, and did not expect this to happen. Finally forced the proof back to the publisher over 4th of July weekend and then sent two copies to the Library of Congress for copyright registration.

Ordered 80 copies to start; have sold 44 pre-publication. Ordered boxes; didn’t think about tape and had just enough. Books arrived and then I had to throw the website together in a hurry. Nothing like a deadline to inspire; I’ve had “build CarveSmart.com” on my to-do list for six weeks.

Understand shipping-and-handling charges differently now that I’ve wrapped, packed, and mailed 44 copies of the book. The post office is glad to get the business! Posted an announcement on the carvingpost.com forum and initial response was limited but positive. Start serious marketing to other chainsaw communities when I get back from the beach–have publication lists for forestry and lumber industries. I think I’ve had enough with this model and at the moment, at least, do NOT plan on compiling Carve Smarter, volume II.

2. Too many days of not being able to carve because I’m hurting, because the church is in session, because it’s too late in the day when I get clear of other work. Too hard to get as much color on a sculpture as I want. Too many ideas that aren’t easily carvable. Need art for the wall above my bed. Who knows what makes a painter paint? Bought a canvas that fits the space and started working on a spiral knot idea I’ve struggled to draw. The first version left me pretty cold, so I gessoed over it and started again. I can see how the next painting will be better, but I will probably at least finish and hang Spiral II. It is nice to be able to make art and not be in serious ache at the end of the session.

3. Metal sculptor neighbors had an iron pour Saturday night. “Moncure: Community of Artists” means we have personal smelters. (For the record, another neighbor has a personal oil refinery that makes diesel fuel, and my studio could be described as a personal lumberyard.) I arrived when the furnace was being pre-heated; it took several hours to get it hot enough. In the meantime, people were busting old cast-iron radiators into small parts to serve as the raw material. The ladle was preheated. Finally, it was time to melt. The furnace was filled with burning coke. Several pounds of iron scrap were poured in the top, then a grocery-bag load of additional coke. This pattern was repeated once or twice for each pour.

The smelter had a tap on the back to let the slag out, and the pure iron flowed further down to the bottom of the smelter. It takes 5 or 6 people to tap for a pour–two on the ladle, one to tap, one to replug when the ladle was full, one to swab slag off the top of the ladle. Two others were feeding the smelter and managing the slag hole. Molten iron was poured into the waiting molds; an acid test of preparation. Some leaked; some weren’t sufficiently braced level for the additional weight of the iron. The wax caught fire as it was forced out of the mold. Spilled iron flamed on the grass and was quenched by a shovel of sand.

This is stale writing and I can’t being to describe how powerful the experience was in fact. My writing skill isn’t up to it, and even it if was, listening to my niece’s cartoons in the background isn’t helping.

There’s nothing like watching molten iron pour out of a furnace, after dark, sparks flying as the furnace is recharged, watching grocery bags instantly vaporize in the heat of the smelter. I’ve seen gold smelted from ore industrially, and it’s similar in power but sterile. Casting teams in full leather gear with face shields to protect them from the heat. The smell of hot metal and burning coke. I’ve never cared about the history of man through metals (quick: when did the Bronze Age end? What’s the difference between the different metals as evidenced in metallurgic technology and military power?). Now I need to learn, and I’ll retain the information in a way I never did in World History. (OTOH, I can’t imagine chaperoning a class of high school sophomores around molten metal.)

A point: Any iron worker from the height of the Iron Age could have stepped into the production on Saturday night. Assume for the moment he could have accepted the three changes–electricity powering the blower instead of bellows; acetylene running into the furnace and keeping the ladle hot between pours, and as I think would be different, the presence of woman a) at the pour at all, and b) actively participating. Apart from that, he would have known exactly what to do at each stage of the operation. Do I do anything that hasn’t changed since the Iron Age?

If nothing else, the pour is proof of my theory that one of the elements that distinguishes sculptors from painters is danger. Sculptors in almost all media face death or immediate serious bodily injury in the creation of their art in a way that painters never will. A few people were drinking a few beers while the smelter was heated but no-one messes with molten metal at 3800 degrees while inebriated. The same is true for chainsaw sculptors, BTW. Even though many drink after a day’s work, you can’t drink and run a chainsaw the way you can drink and paint. Life intervenes, so to speak.

Jason Arkles suggests sculptors are, as a group, tend to be loners and are less sociable than painters. We only get together under duress–because casting demands a team of people; when we have to move stone that’s too heavy for one person to tackle. Another element may be in the 3D nature of our work, perhaps more firmly and deeply driven by the right brain than flat art. Painters get all the words and the books. There’s not much in the market for sculptors. Another element that crosses my mind this morning is the proximity of sculpture to craft–utilitarian things are 3D; paintings are almost universally “useless,” in a coldly pragmatic sense. I don’t know. I would like to ask Leonard Shlain but even he hasn’t given much ink to sculptors other than Giacometti and Moore. Wonder if Edward Tufte has considered the problem?

Off to explore a bit–rumors of a carver working nearby but no-one has contact information. Plan to drive up the beach a bit and see if I can find him.

Artistic life

admin — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 11:13:52 +0000

Post-bronchitis, post-installing three concurrent shows, post-Moore County Arts Council Tour de Moncure show opening, the first with my name on the postcard (along with nine other artists). Busy weekend and it’s still only Sunday morning!; 1. Acknowledge that this is the first time I’ve been able to stock three concurrent shows–Willow Walk in Burlington, Moore County in Southern Pines, and the Holly Hill Daylily Festival just down the road a mile in Haywood. Took Cub in a Stump over to Holly Hill last night–I’d overlooked him when I loaded up on Friday–and he sold within five minutes. Carve another!!; 2. Much fun to be on the Artist side of the opening. Hang out with the sculptors, be accepted as a professional. Getting increasingly comfortable with this idea.; 3. After-party at Jason Arkles’ studio. Wow. Why do I bother with a living room? You walk into his modeling space; tiny bedroom off to one side, kitchen on the other, that’s it. No ground for the suburban accoutrements, and I think it matters that I have a dining room, even if I’ve only eaten there about three times in the years I’ve lived in the house. It’s all but official studio space as it is, currently full of paint as I decide what I’m doing with the kitchen floor. Jason keeps a workshop in the back, and a marble studio beyond that. Lots of technical assistance for duplicating and enlarging sculptures from his maquette. Lyle, Kevin and I are a bit taken aback–we’re not making identical copies and enlargements just happen, not according to exact measurements. But then we’re not doing realism, either.; Massive debate in my head this morning about what is art, what is my art, where do I fit. Am I wasting time to carve the doors in my house and paint Celtic patterns on the kitchen floor; what’s the point of the new screen door on the kitchen deck? Traces of suburbia that I should abandon? Or filling my life with art to encourage me to make more? So Jason’s carving allegories and I’m copying patterns from the Book of Kells and where’s the creativity in that? (Except that no other c-s carver in the US is doing anything like what I’m doing, and it’d be better to do bears?); No answer today except to observe that I’ve missed out on some opportunities recently for lack of preparedness, and the only way to avoid that in the future is to be as ready as I can be. I’m learning my way around the knotwork and I don’t know why it matters. Yet. But looking at what I’ve learned about carving knotwork shows that it’s not theoretical–anyone can get the patterns out of the book but that’s what I carved at Ridgway and I’m way better than that already.; 4. Got a call from the Carve Smart publisher about the cover; indicated I would see the proof copies this past week but nothing came in the mail yet. I’ve read the *.pdf and made some of the corrections on my own file copy; hoping this will speed turn-around time for the final print run. Called most of the buyers and told them to expect the hard copy in July, not May as originally expected. I forget how much work I’ve already put into this project. Not sure if I’ll do volume 2 or not. Just got a cable modem connection so downloading will not be the excruciating process it was over dial-up.