Spring Newsletter 2019 – The Final Leap: Jumping Out Into 3-D

In The Studio
I honestly did not see it coming.  It was just a little experiment that had all the makings of a dead-end road.  I had taken some “negatives” from my cut pieces and turned them on their sides just to see what they would look like in 3-D. But then there was a little segue and the next thing I knew I was ransacking the entire studio looking for similar “Wave Worthy” material.  Little by little it started piling up and my Wave On-Edge Series pieces started to take form.  It was an exciting beginning, but then I wanted to tweak the materials, just a little, of course…and the next thing I knew I was drawing my own waves to be cut to my exacting specifications.  Each piece needed several “feet” so they would stand up easily on their own. 

Then came the next experiment – to pin or not to pin?  Stu and I had drilled holes and inserted pins into every moqui marble that went into the sculpture for the University of Utah.  The pins into the marbles and into the sandstone made the bond incredibly strong, but my newly cut sculpture waves are a lot more fragile than Utah’s famous iron concretions. How could I get them to stand on-edge permanently on a marble base?

Unfortunately, the coordination involved with clamping a sinuous foot-long ribbon of 3/8-inch thick stone for drilling proved too difficult.  Plan B was equally unsatisfactory – gluing the feet to the marble base while standing still-as-a-statue as they dried (I love my 2-part epoxy but only when it works single-handedly!).  Then my “Aha” moment arrived: I realized if I could wedge the feet into cavities, it would protect and strengthen them. 

Convolution-Evolution – 9 x 8 1/2 x 9 ½”, 2019

So with some trepidation, the marble base was marked, sent to the waterjet, and rectangular voids were cut.  After drilling and pinning the lepidolite sphere in the center of the sculpture, the feet were glued directly into the marble base (NO holding required!).

Convolution-Evolution celebrates both the material and its origins.  The back story of stone is never completely known.  There are always points of conjecture (that is what geologists love to argue about). The shape and layout of this sculpture is as convoluted as the evolution of the material itself.

Top: Marble base marked for cutting (Left), drilling the lepidolite sphere (Right)
Bottom: Drilling the lepidolite sphere – detail (Left), gluing in the feet (Right)

In The Field
Of all the tent camps in which I have lived, none were as scenic as the one on Mexico’s Lago Ojo de Liebre.  Stu and I spent a week there in March whale watching with 9 other intrepid baleenophiles.  But “watching” gray whales on Baja’s Pacific coast is a misnomer.  It is an interactive experience where the mother whales bring their babies to visit the humans in our little boats where they let us touch them.  It was a soul-satisfying experience.  

To travel half way down the Baja Penninsula, we flew from Ensenada to Guerrero Negro.  Right before landing we flew over some fascinating sand dune formations.   I am always captivated by these shapes and as you know, they continue to appear in my work!

Tent camp on Mexico’s Lago Ojo de Liebre, Mexico
Susan petting a baby whale (Left)Captivating coastal sand dunes from the air (Right)

In The Exhibit Hall

Next month we will be exhibiting at the American Association for Petroleum Geologists in San Antonio.  Two new sculptures will be featured along with over 25 stone reliefs.  Please join us!

American Association for Petroleum Geologists
Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, Hall 3
900 E Market St
San Antonio, TX 78205BOOTH 325

Hours:
Sunday May 19: 5pm – 7:30pm
Monday May 20: 9am – 6pm
Tuesday May 21: 9am – 6pm
Wednesday May 22: 9am – 2pm

In The Gallery

I am delighted to have three pieces in an exhibit in Lakewood, CO, including the new sculpture: Convolution-Evolution. It is sponsored by the Colorado Mosaic Artists and has 45 pieces created by 20 different artists.  Please drop by if you have a chance!

Barite Banner – 27″ x 32″, 2008 (Left)
Pocket XII: Dendrites and Grape Agates – 14.5″ x 9″ x 1.5″, 2019 (Right)
All the best,

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