historic theme
Three works for GPAC Show
Sunday, September 16th, 2007
March Winds (Oil Pastel, Paper Places series posted March 15, 2007), the Mayan Bowl Replica/Chair (Mixed Media posted March 30, 2006) and Phenomenon (Photograph posted October 26, 2006) are chosen for Grand Prairie Arts Council’s Open Juried Art Show and Sale, September 30 through October 5.
Post-dated note: Mayan Bowl/Chair - Award winner; placed 2nd in the 3D category.
Four Corners
Wednesday, February 7th, 2007
16 x 20 Acrylics, sand, thick gel medium on stretched canvas, frame unnecessary
Inspired by the Four Corners area of the western U.S., where the rocks and soil vary rich shades of red, and turquoise has been treasured and utilized by North American native tribes for centuries.
Pre-columbian Jaguar Beads
Thursday, February 1st, 2007
1. The tray 2. The beads 3. A picture of the orginal necklace.
The beads are made of Polymer clay, a permanent material once baked, acrylic paints, varnish, tray refurbished and paper-mached, painted and varnished for durability.
I was drawn immediately to this Pre-columbian Mayan necklace upon seeing a photo of it, and would love to own it, so tried to make one. The original necklace of gold jaguar head-shaped beads, made over 500 years ago, was discovered in a lord’s tomb in Guatemala.
Like much of the pre-historic and tribal Art that looks crude or seems like it should be easy to recreate, there is a lot more here than meets the eye. One of the things that’s so enjoyable about a project like this is experiencing the same design dilemmas that the original Artist must have encountered. There is a lot of engineering in that simple-looking necklace. I think the goldsmith who created the orginal might have used a mold, because each individual jaguar head-shaped bead needs to be identical, and so do the small round ones in order to string the beads together and obtain the uniform semi-circle shape. Mine were indivudually shaped, less than perfect, and did not fit together well unfortunately.
I may make another attempt at the necklace, but for now the peices are placed on a useful tray as if a moment in time is recaptured; the moment when this necklace was being created by the original Artist. The refurbished tray is covered with paper-mache, painted and varnished. Durable, useful, hand wash gently to clean.
Alamo Architecture
Tuesday, May 30th, 2006
11 x 14 inches Pencil on paper, double white mat, white frame 22 x 26 inches.
Carved stone detail on a window of the main building at The Alamo, San Antonio, Texas.
Ancient Mayan Bowl Chair
Thursday, March 30th, 2006
Mayan Bowl Chair - 129 x 129 x 129 inches, refurbished 1960’s lawn chair with layers of woven canvas strips, white glue, and wall plaster sanded smooth in between coats. Acrylic paints, marker, varnish, wax.
The 1960’s plastic lawn chair purchased at a second hand store was transformed into a replica of an ancient Mayan bowl. The design was drawn with pencil, marker, painted with acrylics, and has three coats of varnish and a coat of wax - completely durable and useful. Three more chairs yet to be created.
The original bowl was made in the Late Classic Period of Mayan history 600 - 900 c A.D. (Common Era), portraying two water Gods as witness to the birth of the highly regarded Maize God. He immerges from a turtle, symbolizing the earth. Hieroglyphs written along the top rim show the owner’s name and what the bowl was used for.
Post-dated notes: Accepted into Grand Prairie Arts Council Juried Exhibition and Sale Sept./Oct. 2007, and won Second Place cash award, 3D Category. Also accepted into Artjury.com’s 2007 Fall/Winter Juried Online Exhibition.
