Calligraphic Trails lecture & workshop in Santa Fe

I'll be giving a talk, "Calligraphic Trails," Friday evening, November 18, 6 pm at the New Mexico History Museum in Santa Fe.  This free lecture is presented in conjunction with "Illuminating the Word" (St. John's Bible) and "Contemplative Landscapes," a photography exhibition. 

 

Calligraphy is the remnant trail of hand and pen that moved along a page. "Calligraphic Trails"  explores various aspects of calligraphy as trail: analysis of writing in early manuscripts; calligraphy as contemplative practice; calligraphy as a metaphor for land forms.   Like tracks in sand, written letters record touch, weight, rhythm, purpose.  Trails, like written words, are ways of going from one place to another.  A good trail, like functional calligraphy or typography, makes the journey easy without calling attention to itself.     The journey of calligrapher or pilgrim leaves a trail; it may follow or create a path, a Way.  In many traditions, such a Way is a spiritual trail, and in many spiritual traditions, calligraphy--the writing of sacred texts--is a contemplative practice; a kind of contemplative landscape. 

 

On Saturday, November 19, I'll teach a day-long workshop on Irish manuscript calligraphy. 

The workshop (10 am-4 pm) is $80. For workshop info, please call 505-476-5096

 

 

 

 

Artist Residency

From October 10 to 23, I'll be Artist-in-Residence at Petrified Forest National Park.  Many national parks have artist residency programs: a place to stay and time to be inspired, make sketches, do some artwork, and begin to develop a body of work inspired by that park.  In return, artists give one or more public programs while at the park, and donate one piece inspired by the residency to the park.   (I'm still working from the inspiration of my North Rim, Grand Canyon, residency five years ago...)   I'll set up my studio-away-from-home with my small enameling kiln; will hike in the park's wilderness areas as well as developed trails.  I'm looking forward to finding out what new developments happen in my enameling and calligraphy work under the influence of Petrified Forest's petroglyphs, fossils, petrified logs, animals and plants of desert grasslands, and  colorful badlands landscapes.

Video Interview

There's a six-minute video interview of me working in my studio and talking about what's behind my work (including medium, techniques, inspirations, approach, other aspects of what might be called personal philosophy) posted at http://www.greatsouthwestart.com/.  Thanks to Chris Jones of The Great Southwest Gallery, and to videographer extraordinaire Zach Wolfson of http://www.infusion5.com/, for bringing this video into being.

Enameling on Metal Class at PPCC

I'm teaching Enameling on Metal this fall at Pikes Peak Community College. Enameling is glass fused to metal at high heat. Some artists use it in jewelry; others, for vessels, wall pieces, murals. Powdered glass is applied to metal, fired at 1500 degrees F for a few minutes, cooled, and the process repeated many times. The class is on Tuesday afternoons, at Centennial Campus (South Academy Blvd); the semester runs from late August to early December. If you're interested (or know anyone who might be), online registration is available at the college's website, www.ppcc.edu. Please feel free to contact me if you'd like more information.

On Exhibit at Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve

I'm delighted to have been invited to participate in the summer exhibition of artworks inspired by Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve. The works are on display throughout the summer in the Park's visitors' center. My piece, Medano Morning, was inspired by a frosty November morning hiking by the dunes next to Medano Creek. The medium is enameling: glass fused to copper at high heat. The piece was fired over 25 times, successive layers of powdered glass applied and fused each time. In this piece, the sand dunes are shown via light reflecting off the underlying copper through a translucent enamel. Opaque enamels are used for most other colors. For the fallen leaves nestled in tracks along the dunes, light reflects off the silver foil under transparent amber enamels. But even all this copper, silver, glass, and reflectancy can only hint at the radiance of a brisk, silent morning along a half-frozen creek with morning sun pouring through brilliant autumn leaves...

Fall semester 2011: Enameling class

I'm teaching Enameling on Metal at Pikes Peak Community College (PPCC) this Fall semester.
Enameling is glass fused to metal at high heat. Powdered glass is applied in various ways, fired at 1500 degrees F for a few minutes, cooled, and more layers added. Brilliant colors, durable, translucent layers of images and color...(it can become addictive...)


Enameling class takes place Tuesday afternoons, 12:30-4:50.

Benet Hill Monastery Sign

The enameled copper sign I created for the new Benet Hill Monastery facility was installed just before the monastery was dedicated on October 11.

The sign is mounted on a seven-foot-tall stone pylon. The approach to the monastery is marked by the 32" diameter sign, along with a 22" diameter Benedictine Medal that I reproduced in enameled copper.

The reverse side of the sign, visible as one leaves the monastery, bears the word "peace." In very subtle transparent enamels, the word "listen" is superimposed on the word "peace." The photo shows how the "peace" side appears in situ, against the surrounding trees. ("Listen" is the first word of the Benedictine Rule.) I'm grateful to Sister Charlotte of the Benet Hill community for her guidance, and to architect Bill Beard, who designed the facility, for connecting me with the community.

Publication in 500 Enameled Objects

Infinite Nature, my mural at Mesa State College, is included in 500 Enameled Objects (Lark Books, Sterling Publishing, 2009). As the back cover states: "From jewelry to vessels to installations, the five hundred works in this fully illustrated collection reveal enamel's expressive potential in a variety of forms and applications."
These works embody an enormous range of techniques, technical virtuosity, and approaches to the qualities of glass fused to metal. Most of the objects shown are exquisite jewelry-scale or small sculptures or vessels; there are several larger pieces as well. (Infinite Nature may have the distinction of being the largest single enameled object shown in this collection.)
I'm honored to be represented alongside leading enamelists from all over the world.

http://www.larkbooks.com/catalog?isbn=9781600593451
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1600593453

Mural by Middle School Enameling Students

Middle school enameling students at The Colorado Springs School with the group mural they produced in enameled steel and copper. Each student had four 4 1/2" steel squares on which to depict an aspect of nature or outdoor activities seen on the school's campus. Photography students took pictures of art students' hands at work; these were photoetched in 4 1/2" copper squares and enameled. Jacqueline Rogers, photography artist-in-residence; Hans Wolfe, CSS art teacher, and I then arranged and mounted all component pieces from my two enameling classes and the photoetched pieces on a backing board. The students' enameling experience remains at CSS in the form of their mural.