Several cities in this area have public sculpture exhibitions. I have been fortunate enough to have been selected as a sculptor in some of them. Two years ago two of my sculptures were in the “Sculpture on Second” show here in Cedar Rapids and I got another two sculptures in last year too. This year I got two sculptures in the Quad Cities show and that paid me a nice honorarium that helped me buy a plasma cutter (so far untested). I have also applied but have not been selected in a couple of other cities.
Another show I have participated in over the last several years has been Cedar Rapids’ New Bohemia District’s 2x2xU exhibition. In that one the artist buys a 2′ x 2′ piece of plywood and can create any piece of artwork he wants. My entry this year was called Kon Tiki. Anyway, it looked like a Peruvian Death God. I made up the look of the piece as I went along but I must have had some deep memory lurking in my subconscious because when I came across an image of the Peruvian “Staff God” in a book I was reading (1491), my Kon Tiki sculpture had just about every traditional feature that the Staff God exhibited.
This year I tried applying in the Dubuque “Art on the River” show. I tried last year too but was unsuccessful in getting a sculpture accepted. I have been thinking about doing a series of sculptures that resemble the stellae in Aztec and Mayan art. The Kon Tiki piece and pictures of the “Staff God” inspired me, so I submitted an entry along those lines. This is what it looked like:
The piece was selected and I will be awarded another nice honorarium to help pay for its construction. The cutout of the man in the picture represents someone 5′-10″ tall. The sculpture will be about 3 feet wide and over 7 feet tall. It will be rusted steel with brass and aluminum for accents. It is the most ambitious sculpture I have attempted to date. As I make progress on it, it will be the subject of future blog entries.
Wow, congratulations, Butch!! That’s great.
So is that a picture of a full-size model (made of wood?) or something? It looks like a completed sculpture.
That looks great! I can’t wait to see it come to fruition.
The sculpture community has the pomposity to call the model a maquette. It is about 12″ tall. If you look at the picture you will see it was taken on our deck table. The unmbrella crank is clearly visible. When the sculpture is done it will be about 7′ tall. I only did one side for the maquette but it will be two-sided. The other side will look similar but will be a different interpretation within the overall shape.
Wow, I feel like a retard.
Very cool, tho. I like your new artistic direction.
Wow, Butch, I didn’t know you were doing all this. I’m so impressed and happy for myself at the same time….cause maybe some of those same talent genes got passed along to me and mine.
I love all the reserve art dna stuff I can get. You’re really talented and good for you to submit again when they rejected it the first year.
Yehhhhhhh for persistence.
Love ya
Your CUZ – leah
Wow, Butch, I didn’t know you were doing all this. I’m so impressed and happy for myself at the same time….cause maybe some of those same talent genes got passed along to me and mine.
I love all the reserve art dna stuff I can get. You’re really talented and good for you to submit again when they rejected it the first year.
Yehhhhhhh for persistence.
Love ya
Your CUZ – leah
great stuff butch–keep us posted
No wonder Rachel is artistically blessed.
We will follow your progress with great interest.
Can a Mother brag too much? the sculptures are wonderful Butch
really good
Cool