The Shtick People are on the move again. The 10 new figures that I executed starting in May 2017 through May of 2018 for the project entitled, Rails, Trail & Art for Art on the Square. UMB Bank sponsored the project. The ten sculptures will be installed along the the St Clair County (IL) Metrolink trail. A ribbon cutting is planned in the Autumn of 2018.
Marathon Shticks
The figures are steel with a powder-coated finish and stainless steel. This project evolved from the 2005 introduction of Marathon at Art on the Square. The fifty yellow shticks running one-way and one red figure running the opposite way was big hit. (more…)
Art on the Square 2017 will debut for a new sculpture project entitled, Rail, Trails and Art.
Thanks to a grant from UMB Bank, the project will consist of 10 or more sculpture of my Shtick People using different modes of transportation, including creative bikes and wheeled vehicles of all kinds. The sculptures will be placed along the St Clair County Metrolink alignment, in Belleville, Swansea and Shiloh. The first finished piece will be a unicyclist standing over 8 feet tall and bright yellow. The beauty of these pieces is the abstraction of the vehicle. Sometimes consisting of a simple circle of steel, I am purposely not incorporating all of the details of a real bike, for instance. The viewer will interpret the rest of the vehicle in their mind’s eye. (more…)
In the early 1990s, I was a member of an exclusive club of creatives. Once a month we would randomly pick a word out of the dictionary (a book, not an app) as the basis for art development. The word, its definition or an association of some sort. led to amazing works in 2-D, 3-D, written, recited, song, performance or any means of communicating and interpreting the artistic approach. Words like Ruction, Portevangelium, Dypolstamulium, Crystal were some of the challenges which forged more creativity. (Excuse my spelling… the dictionary used in selecting words was several volumes and in great depth of origin and explanation. Spell checking for this article, my Dictionary App did not have a couple of these listed).
The hand full of artists, architects, graphic designers, writers and creative folks came together and discussed their interpretations. The interpretations, explanations and demonstrations by each individual provided conversations about philosophy, environment, psychiatry, engineering, lighting, color and always humor. Creativity does transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns and relationships. Its the basis for new ideas and expressions.
I am reminded of this special club because I recently sold an original piece of artwork that I painted in 1993. It is one of in the Crystal series, which employed techniques generated of the club. My current work entitled Ethereal Environments is actually an outgrowth from the earlier series.
The value of a sketch determines the future.
From an early age I was taught by my parents, both artists, that a small sketch or doodle, begins a process of thought and imagination. The connection between seeing and manipulating the pen or pencil by hand provides a touch of magic leading to many creative ideas. My folks referred to the small drawing as a “thumbnail sketch” which typically is a few inches in size. The question of “What do I draw?” or “Where do I start?” may be a challenge for young and old. But the value of the first mark on a page turns into the second and then the next and next, allowing the mind and hand to develop a path towards simple line concluding with the potential of brilliance. (more…)
Experience Crowdfunding
I was looking for a project that I could use to go through the process of understand using Kickstarter, one of the crowdfunding websites. Kickstarter (Kickstarter.com) is the most well known for its assistance in supporting the creative arts, including 2-D, 3-D, Dance, Theater, Technology, Gaming, Design and several others. Potential supporters review the projects and pledge funds towards a successful campaign. In turn, they receive a reward, for example a book. The pledge provides funds to publish and distribute rewards to the supporters. The other advantage is the abilities for projects to open markets from local to across the globe. Kickstarter has provided access to thousands of creative ideas since 2009, while raising millions of dollars to help launch projects.
(more…)
Creating Art, The Shtick People Project
Where do ideas come from? How do ideas develop? Once in your head, what’s next?
I am asked these types of questions when someone sees a recent piece of art or commenting on an architectural project.
A creative person lives in a world of collecting imagery and words, having alert senses for discovery, and over time building a library of ideas.
This library is what we pull from to develop original work. There are infinite numbers of combinations, as expressed by Mark Twain, (more…)
