Cac-Tus

This is a photo of one of the sculptures that I did in the states. The thing is, I forgot to get photos of the sculpture. Rojito brought his machine with him, and he was kind enough to let have a few of the photos. So, here they are.As you may be able to see, I brushed the wood to take out the soft grain for a dimensional effect. I also used the wood grain to create a desert like feel in the base which I shaped for a dimensional definition.

Sorry that the photos aren't better. You can also see a stack of unfinished sculptures in the back. Those have yet to be posted. I will post about them soon though.

A New State

I have finally woken up from my vegetive state. Artistically speaking that is. For the last month or so, I have not been artistically motivated for anything. Not only that, but getting back here to Chile and getting back into the swing of things has taken a lot out of us physically and mentally.

A couple of days ago, however, I tripped over my forever lasting buffet/dresser project, and... I don't know... I just said, that's enough. Then I started working on my buffet again and I made a huge amount of progress. It was all kind of crazy how it all worked out.

I'm currently testing finishing materials to see which one I want to use. While I was waiting for some of my urethanes to finish drying I just started cutting the boards that I had hanging on the wall, with no real direction, and came up with my new hanging sculpture. Since I'm poor, I just recycled my boards. I like the new sculpture though. Even though the boards were nice, my wife and I were ready for something new.

As for the buffet, I think it should be done in a couple of weeks. Then I will have more photos for you folks. For now though, I just say Choa...

Dance of the Dinosaurs

The last few weeks here in the States have been nuts. I'm looking at many different options for producing my art, and trying to get good etsy photos taken. Since I'm so finicky about such things, I have not been happy with any of the photos that have been taken. This in turn became a search for a DSLR camera. That in of itself is a full time job. Especially when you have many of your family and friends that are serious about photography. I appreciate the help, but sometimes it's hard when everyone is so convinced about their proven cameras.

One thing I can't dispute is the quality of some of the Canons. I recently found out how good the Canon 5D Mark II was recently while I was working on one of my newest sculptures. My father-in-law, Carl Olson, decided to shoot video of me working on this sculpture. I spoke a bit about the inspiration and the method. This was an impromptu shoot and was not rehearsed. So, if you have ever wondered how I really sound and look while being covered in saw dust and sweaty... Well! Here you go.

Dancing Dinosaurs from Carl Olson on Vimeo.

We plan to take more video of me finishing this sculpture and others as well. On that note, here you go, and I hope you like it.

As Time Goes On

As promised, I have been working like crazy. I think that my recent works have been turning out quite well. It's amazing what you can do with, oh I don't know, a bunch of free time, some tools, wood, and of course the loving wife looking out the door to make sure your not slacking. Not really, she does look out the door, but just to see what I'm cook'n up next.

So, I think the most amazing thing of late is, my bowl I carved. It's the

first one I've ever done. The cool thing is, I think it's the only piece of art I've every done that turned out just the way I wanted it to. Usually my art turns out similar to my original design but with some change by design or mandate of material. In other words I mess up a lot and have learned how to incorporate it into my work.

Another good thing about my work this week is, I'm not pre-designing. Upon arriving to my work station, I associate with all my tools for a moment around the coffee pot and then... that's right, I have a long conversation with my material to discuss it's future. As of late we haven't even fought. That being the case, I just cut a piece of board off and start shaping it. It's a lot of fun.

As was mentioned before, in earlier posts, I am still going to start my etsy, but I have to have better photos, so I hope this weekend my pa-in-law, Rojito (dig those 70's safety glasses), and myself will be able to figure out how to take the best photos of my pieces with a decent back drop. For now though, here are some good photos of what I've done. There are also more photos on my Flickr. Check em out.

I'm Here!

Back in the USSR....? Umm... no, the USA. That's right! I'm here in the States. That means that I will start working tomorrow. Well, I guess that's not completely true, just because, I bought some Oak wood and some finishing materials today. Either way I will have more sculptures and wall art done soon.

The art that will be coming up will be the beginning of, what I hope to be, a long string of it. My wife and I will be here for will be here in Georgia for about 2 months, and my focus is on sculpting, building, and finishing as many wood art pieces as possible. I also will be looking thru the art that I have done in the past, and I'll be utilizing some designs that you wonderful folks have never seen. Along with all of that, I will be posting regularly on the process and progression of the pieces I am making.

Currently, I am still trying to get some of my tool and material details taken care of, and then.... ZZOOOMMM! Off we go. As new ideas and designs come up, I will make sure you all are involved.

chao!