The Figurative Artbeat

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When I first started getting interested in polymer clay, it was because I wanted very badly to sculpt! Faces! There were a few artists that had been working in polymer for years and had published a few books. Maureen Carlson was one of them. I bought her book, Family and Friends in Polymer Clay, I loved this book.   Maureen is, and I believe always will be, a storyteller. Her newest work above is a tribute to her fabulous imagination and ability to engage you, the viewer, with the tapestry of her stories. Couple this with the color and texture of the clay and you have delightful, entertaining story to read in 3D. This Storybox might be my favorite work of hers to date.

Maureen’s designs are about imagination and whimsy and the joy of recognizing a glint of understanding in the eyes of a wee clay creature. Wee Folk Creations is a company that specializes in designs, artwork and stories created by Maureen.

In 1999, Maureen and her husband Dan opened Maureen Carlson’s Center for Creative Arts, in Jordan, Minnesota, just 35 miles southwest of Minneapolis.  In this small town setting, perched on the edge of a small meandering creek, students and retreat participants have opportunities to learn, to share and to explore their creative interests.

On her website, Maureen has many galleries full of work from the beginning to today. The theme of her newest work is faces, which is why I am continually drawn to Maureen and her characters. I just love this “Circle” girl. She tells the story of herself, on herself as we all do if one looks close enough.

In keeping with a story telling, on her website she shares this about her sculpture, Be Still.

“My sculptures usually come from words and phrases that pair themselves with images. Such is the case with this piece.  I heard once that there is great value in being still, that action is not the only choice.  In fact, there might be great harm in doing something just to do it, or in being busy just to prove one’s worth. I paired that thought with these words that a student posted on the quotation wall at my retreat center: You can’t keep the birds from flying overhead but you don’t have to let them nest in your hair.”  You can read the rest of Maureen’s thoughts about Be Still here.

I asked Maureen if she had anything that she would like my readers to know. She answered, ”One of the things that I know about my work is that I still love my little whimsical wee folk at the same time that I’m thoroughly enjoying the process of making the newer pieces that tell stories and ask questions.  Haven’t gotten bored yet!”

“It’s been 30 years now that I’ve been making and marketing my characters and I’m still learning new things. So many things yet that I want to explore.”

Maureen continues to produce books and many other products to educate those of us who want to learn more about polymer clay. You can access all of Maureen’s products and information on her website, Maureen Carlson’s Center For Creative Arts.

Popularity: 27% [?]

Bill Nelson is a Facebook friend of mine. He’s always posting something wonderful to look at. He is an illustrator, a sculptor and a ventriloquist figure maker. His work makes me laugh and wish I had just a tiny bit of his talent.

Some of Bill Nelson’s figures have found homes with people we’ve heard of before, Demi Moore, Whoopie Goldberg, David Copperfield and the list goes on.

HIs illustrations have won over 900 awards. You might have seen Bill’s work on the covers for CQ Weekly, The Atlantic Monthly, or Lands’ End.

Bill is listed in Who’s Who in America and created a series of Big Band Illustrations for the Untied States Postal Service stamps.

He told me that Super Sculpey was his favorite material to use to sculpt his characters.

I wanted to know what he enjoyed most about creating his people. He said, “Bringing the face to life by tinting and coloring, that’s my favorite part. Wigging is almost as much fun because they both bring the character to life.”

I mean, look at these faces……….

Bill said that he doesn’t have any kind of regular schedule for creating his characters unless he has a commission.

He spends part of his time teaching an entire curriculum on the art of dollmaking online at That Creative Place. He also teaches workshops in his home in North Carolina.

Not only will you learn from a master, I think Bill is the kind of guy that will make your learning experience extremely entertaining.

There is more to learn about this amazing artist, so you might want to visit his website, which by the way is one of the coolest I’ve seen.  You’ll be entertained by his work for sure.

I’m leaving you with this one, it makes me laugh out loud. It’s “Boris Karloff between takes”, but all I see is Frank kickin’ back. I’m laughing now.

Popularity: 53% [?]

I came across  michel guerin’s painting through my Filckr site. His work captured my imagination the minute I saw it. It made me think of the 20’s, of France in the 20′, of people and romance in the 20’s. At least how I have always imagined the 20’s to be.

At the same time his paintings are contemporary in their subject matter, the human condition. Both in groups and in the solitary figure.

michel told me that he is 69 years old and has been a professional painter since 1975. He has a MA and a PhD in literature  from University in Aix en Provence. At the same time he was attending Escole Nationale des Arts Deco.  He taught for a few years and then decided he wanted to see the world. He worked for TWA as a purser and was based in Rome where he began to paint.

He said, ” I began as an abstract painter, but I got fed up trying to paint ideas. I decided I wanted to paint things and human beings.”

michel has had exhibitions around the world and now lives in Italy. He is a resident of the Riviera where “I find the kind of landscapes I like.”

It was so very hard for me to choose which paintings to share with you. michel is nothing if not prolific. His flickr site is full of his interesting work.

He portrays people being people, living, drinking, loving, singing, dancing, he show us it all. He truly reveals that he loves people and show us to ourselves.

This is a photo of  michel in his work space. On his flickr site under this photo he wrote..

1. My favourite colour is RED
2. I believe in friendship
3. I only have female friends
4. I’ve been married for 44years(same wife)
5. I hate sports
6. I love dogs and cats
7. I’m utterly pessimistic
8. I hate cities and crowds,so I live in a small village of the Italian Riviera (27 inhabitants)
9. Went to an art school, was a teacher, was a purser on TWA, became a professional painter in 75 with my  first show in Paris, lived 7 years in London, 4 years in Tangiers and finally Italy
10. I’m painting because I want to stay alive

He left me with this last thought, “Oh yes, I forgot, I’m French, love the sea and women, (married 44 years with the same one!!)”.

Unfortunately, there is no website, but you can see over 100 fabulous paintings of michel’s on his flickr site.

Leave him a comment there, I know he’s loved to hear from you. Tell him I sent you!

Popularity: 44% [?]

I was struck by Michaela’s statement on her website. She said, “I believe that human beings are here for a task, to discover – to remember, if you will, the gift we each came to deliver – the gift that is essential to bring balance to the earth, to restore our souls, to create heaven on earth by realizing and applying our thoughts, ideas and talents. ”

When I was growing up, there wasn’t a day in my life that both my mother and my father didn’t say “I love you” to me. Whenever I would leave the house, my mother said, “I love you, remember who you are.” I always took this to mean that I should be proud of my family, where I came from and who I was as a person. To not do anything to contradict who I was. My mother’s mother, my grandmother,  said the same thing to her.

As the years went on I’ve come to believe that there was more meaning to that statement than any of us realized at the time. I truly believe that if we all could remember who really are and what we came here to do, the world would be that  ”Heaven on earth” that we all are looking for.

Michaela wrote to me, “By forming the wet clay, adding and subtracting, I am uncovering the other person’s soul, while at the same time ascertaining myself.”

“In creating three-dimensional canvasses and subsequently painting them, I satisfy my artistic hunger on multiple levels. My work is as much about the human psyche and perception as it is about color, composition and form.”

I think her work is stunning.

Her series, Fire, Earth, Water, Air, deals with the forces of nature. She had this to say about her work. “Since the beginning of civilization, humans have been attempting to explain our existence by answering the questions: who are we, where do we come from and why are we the way we are?”

“For that reason, countless sciences, religions and philosophies have been cultivated in all regions of the earth by numerous peoples, many times looking to nature for guidance.”

“Fire, Water, Earth and Air are called the four classical elements, with Aether (=Space) being the spatial dimension that accommodates them, bringing the number to five classical elements.”

“The four sculptures are my contribution to this eternal question – and – answer cycle. It is my attempt to allegorize the four classical Forces of Nature by depicting them as women”.

Michaela goes on to say, “Additionally, I listed four attributes for each of the women and the qualities they represent in my opinion.”

“Since my artwork has YOU, the viewer, in mind, I invite you to participate by adding to the list of attributes or adjectives that come to your mind when pondering the above statement.”

Fire:  Passionate,    self confident,     energetic,     ambitious

Water:  Focused,      energizing,      relaxed,        curious

Earth:  Creative,      nourishing,      connected,       faithful

Air:  Spontaneous,       confident,        gentle,        musical

You can see more of Michaela’s wonderful work on her website - Michaela. Check back there often for her new series on menopause. I’m very curious to see what she has to share with us.

Popularity: 65% [?]

Catherine Merrill’s work speaks of the archetypical images in us all.  The fluid movement of her vases compliment the bodily expressiveness of her subjects and hint at our own Persephone, Hestia or Athena. Her life size torsos are visual feasts for the eyes.

Catherine has created her own visual language to express a personal mythology.  The individual story becomes that of “Everywoman” through the universal language of art.

The prominence of the human figure in her work results from the many years when she was a dancer and the body was the artistic instrument to express emotion and ideas.

Catherine believes, ” The role of the artist and of art in our world is no longer mere entertainment or decoration, but an essential force for healing and change.”

Catherine Merrill is a visionary, helping to create a cultural exchange with Cuba. The following is a quote from the Art of Fire Project website.

“Proyecto Arte del Fuego (”Art of Fire Project”) was envisioned in 2002, by ceramic artists Antonio Lewis (Cuba) and Catherine Merrill (USA). Proyecto Arte del Fuego is an ongoing international cultural exchange project offering workshops, master classes, lectures, residencies and exhibitions in the ceramic arts. It is sponsored by the Fundacion Caguayo in Santiago, Cuba, the Estudio-Galeria Los Oficios in Havana and Casa-Taller Pedro Pablo Oliva, Pinar del Rio.”

Read more about Catherine, her life and her beautiful thoughtful work on her website.

Popularity: 63% [?]

I stumbled across a video today and was fascinated with these giant puppets. French performance art company Royal de Luxe is responsible for these fantastic characters. Royal de Luxe is a French mechanical marionette street theatre company. They were founded in 1979 by Jean Luc Courcoult.

The Sultan’s Elephant is a story about a time-travelling girl, which has taken place in cities around the world and is quite well known. But not so in the U. S.

The Sultan’s Elephant is the fifth in a series using giant puppets. Others are: The Giants Falls from the Sky, The Giants Falls from the Sky, Last Voyage, Return to Africa, The Giraffe Hunters, the Hidden Rinoceros.

I followed the link to YouTube and found many more videos about the girl, the elephant, and the giraffe. I have always loved dolls and the stories about dolls coming to life. Little people like The Borrowers, and giants always captured my imagination….this  reminds me of Gulliver’s travels, except the men and women who help this little girl through her adventure, seem to adore her. The girl and the elephant look amazingly real and if you use your imagination, you might be able to forget for a moment that they aren’t. I just had to share it with you.

I’m still finding other series like this one in an article at Socyberty.com called A Giant Awakes in Nantes. You can see many more photos by misterstf on Flickr.

Once you have watched the video above, you might want to double click on the video itself and it wil take you to YouTube where you can find many other related videos. It seems there is a giant spider too, that scales the sides of buildings. Enjoy!

Popularity: 59% [?]

Gelske Koopmans, a doll artist and member of DABIDA sent me a message pointing me to The Dutch and Belgian Institute of Doll Artists‘ website. I have been familiar with the work of some of the members of this group and was delighted to feature the Institute and show photos of some of the amazing work.

DABIDA was founded in 2006 by a small group of Dutch Doll Artists, who now make up the DABIDA board.

My only regret is that I just can’t post a picture from each artists, or speak about the ones I do feature. The good news is, all the DABIDA members have a page on the DABIDA website and many of them have a link to their personal sites. You can spend hours viewing each artist’s work.

Gelske Koopmans creates her dolls directly into porcelain- or stoneware clay. She says, “The beauty of making dolls is that it enables you to try out various creative skills”

She hand builds the head of the doll, arms and legs and sometimes the entire body. She can experiment with various kinds of glazes, for example in painting the face or the entire doll.

Geksje goes on the say, “I have to make clothes for the doll, sometimes of cloth and other times of clay. After all these years I am still excited about making dolls, because I am more and more able to make the image I have in mind.”

I’m so  impressed with the lace work on some of her figures and the beautiful faces that she creates.

The follow are just a few of the marvelous art dolls created by the members of DABIDA.

I want to thank Gelske Koopmans for contacting me and all the other artists for allowing me to feature them here. Again I regret not having room to feature them all. I hope you take the time to visit them on the DABIDA website in the members section.

Popularity: 74% [?]

Fantasy, furniture that moved and animals that talk, were a natural part of Cheryl Tall’s environment growing up, and no wonder, her parents were employed by Disney World!

My father worked on some of the building in Disney World and I wanted to live there, so I relate to Cheryl’s imagination and fascination with the absurd.

As Cheryl began to travel, visting art galleries and museums, and to study art history in college for completion of her Master’s Degree in Art, she was able to merge this early carnivalesqe imagery with increasingly more sophisticated techniques, and incorporate references to pop culture and surrealism.

When I spoke with Cheryl, I asked her if she would like share some insight to her work. I wanted to know what moves her and she replied, “What moves me is meaningful human contact.  I love to watch the crowds in airports, malls and parks, and see how people interact with each other.

“Absurd things make me laugh” she said, “things that are incongruous.  Charlie Chaplin, funny movies, Cirque du Soleil, mime artists.”

I asked Cheryl what she wants to give the viewer, “I want the viewer to leave with a smile, an intriguing thought.  Things are not always what you think they are, and there are many different levels of reality.”

“I’m frequently asked, Why the medieval clothing and buildings?  I see this particular time in history, say the 12th century, as a reference point.”

“It’s not that long ago compared to the age of the world – not even a 1000 years ago.  Yet all of human life experience was pretty similar for eons:  people walked or rode horses.  They made everything by hand.  They grew their own food.  Heat came from a fireplace or a campfire.  Life was lived at a very slow pace because of all the work needed just to eat and have shelter and clothing.”

“Things began to speed up.  Trains were invented and gas lights and printing presses. Things began to speed up even more.  We got electricity and cameras and guns and cars.”

“In the past 50 years, everyone got a computer, a cell phone, a digital camera, a wide screen TV.  News that used to take a year to arrive now is known instantaneously, all around the world.  We have Facebook, Twitter, emails, phone messages, texting, Myspace, etc.”

Cheryl continued, “Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by all of this.  Then I get my perspective back by mentally stepping into medieval garb and taking a look at all these modern things.  They look like magic, and illusion!  And maybe they are.”

Well Cheryl, maybe you’re right, maybe life is an illusion, but there is nothing deceptive in the  fun and delight that your sculptures bring the viewer. Your work is large and that in itself makes a statement about their permanency.

Cheryl works in her studio in Leucadia, CA, she teaches and exhibits her work in galleries around the country. Visit Cheryl Tall’s website for her busy schedule and to view more of her wonderful sculpture.

Popularity: 68% [?]

Christina Bothwell employs glass, clay, wood, paint and found objects in her revealing sculptures. She includes glass within glass and painting on top of glass. Clay and wood come together to add warmth to many of her creations.

I particularly love her “dreaming” sculptures. I have always believed that we go “home ” when we sleep and come back ready to try to remember who we really are and  create a wonderful day for ourselves by what we choose to think, say, and do.

Christina states on her website, “In my work I am drawn to the processes of birth, death, and renewal. What lies below the surface fascinates me and I try to capture the qualities of the “unseen” that express the sense of wonder that I feel in my daily existence. I am attracted to glass because it can do everything that other sculptural media can; in addition, it offers an inner space and transmits light.”

She goes on to say, “My subject matter includes babies, animals, and children as they embody the essence of vulnerability that is the underlying theme in my work. Currently I am exploring metamorphosis as a topic, and have been incorporating figures within figures in my pieces. Within each glass figure there is a smaller figure seen through the surface of the glass.”

She closes by saying, “I think of these pieces as souls, each being pregnant with their own potential, giving birth to new, improved versions of themselves.”

As the viewer I was captivated by her display of what lies beneath the surface of her figures. I felt as if I were looking more deeply than I should,  but unable to look away. We are more than our bodies and Christina’s figures cause us to pause and think about what truly lies within ourselves.

Christina is an accomplished artists with many solo and group exhibitions and numerous awards. She was the 2008 Winner of the Virginia A. Groot Foundation Award.

Visit Christina’s website for more of her award winning work.

Popularity: 63% [?]

I’ve been a fan of Jereme Crow ’s action filled paintings for quite awhile now. His figures are so alive, while his colors are soft and easy on the eye. I want to laugh and tap my feet, I can feel the motion.

On his web site Jereme writes,  ”To attempt to explain my paintings would be an after thought. They  are a celebration and exploration of the beauty of colour and the human form. I am attracted to dance as a source of inspiration because of the endless compositions created by the human form. The beauty, energy and emotion that is captured through movement. Art is beauty. Capturing a feeling, or an idea and  through the use of a subject attempting to create something beautiful.”

In my opinion, he has easily accomplished all of the above and something else as well. An involvement with the viewer.

After I contacted Jereme and while I was pouring over his site to choose paintings to feature here, I noticed a link to Sam Crow. I clicked and was taken to a very exciting blog featuring textile art by Jereme’s wife Sam. To my delight, not just textile art, but figurative textile art.

While Jereme’s paintings require the viewer to move, if not actually, then mentally, Sam’s work is more introspective, slowing the viewer down to  be self  analytical.

She states on her site in reference to a recent exhibition, “For this show, most of the women are sitting or lying down, exhausted or resting, this is because i am suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome at the moment and have to rest and sleep lots…… so i was focussing on that, and trying to incorporate my feelings about that and how it effects me and others, and trying to restrict myself to those sort of postures in a similar way that we are resticted often in our activities and have to force ourselves to stop and rest….which is hard when i work obsessively and have to be dragged away from the sewing machine!

I think as women, mothers, wives, even without chronic fatigue syndrome, we can all relate to those times of shear exhaustion.

I  love this one. Contemplation, a pause in a busy life…. a look, if you will, into the dream.

What a wonderful feeling this pictures leaves us with. Maybe after a good dance, a snugly rest is needed.

Jereme and Sam Crow live in South East Kent, UK

You can find out more about his talented couple by visiting their websites. Jereme Crow’s fabulous, lively art can be seen at Jereme Crow Fine Art and Sam Crow’s wonderful textile portraits can be view at Sam Crow Drawing with Stitches.

Popularity: 71% [?]