Buttermilk In May

In order to overcome the inherent complexity of the original image, I had to do this cutting with a higher level of abstraction than I would have liked.  I think the piece is successful but I'm not sure it's something I want to repeat. 

To the left is the off-axis, illustrating the thickness of the six individual layers.

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Glass & Concrete Candle - Small

The Glass & Concrete Candle seemed like a good choice for an existing design that I could simplify for sale on Etsy. (It can be purchased here.) I'd noticed that although the height of the candle looked cool, that the capillary action that fuels the flame wouldn't work once the oil level was more than a few inches below it, so I bought some glass vases that were shallow.

The image to the right is of the nearly completed foam object, ready to have its mold taken.  I usually build a foam mold of what I want to cast.  Because of its complexity, this time I did the reverse, creating the positive object first.

This is the completed object in a box ready to be filled halfway with molding rubber as shown in the picture below.

After the rubber material has cured, the two pieces to either side of the model are removed. They serve to create holes in the first half of the mold that the second half will "key" into to insure proper alignment during future castings.

The two part block mold had a couple of air bubbles in it that needed to be filled in. The foam pieces inserted into the mold allowed me to fill in those bubbles.

This is the finished cast, made from quick-setting concrete. I did this one just as a quick test to see how it would form against the mold and if air bubbles would be an issue. The wick hole has yet to be drilled in the cast.

Here are some additional shots of the finished piece.

You Can Hold On - Test Proof

This piece, based on a picture taken by the Russian photographer Evgeny Brook, used with his permission, was fun to create because unlike the earlier cuttings of full bodied men and women, up close the subject of this cutting becomes completely un-identifiable.

This piece was donated to a silent auction held to benefit The Trevor Project.  Bidder #161, thank you.

To the right is the off-axis shot illustrating the thickness of the layers..

Below is a close up straight-on view.

Two Students - Sample Paper Cutting

This photograph was taken by me on a cross-country road trip in 1995.

There was much debate over whether too much of the art of this photograph was being borrowed from the subject of it.

In the end I think that the original photograph conveys exactly what I want it to.

This piece is a sample, measuring only 8"x10".  Although it matches the colors of all of my previous blue cuttings, it differs in one crucial aspect - the layers are made of single sheets of paper, not mat boards.  This was done as a test of the single-sheet technique, and also because the image is substantially complex enough to be nearly impossible to cut of the thicker mats.

I do plan to execute the image at 30"x40".

Below is the off-axis photo, showing how the layers of individual color are much thinner.

Concrete Coasters

At the suggestion of friends I decided to set up an Etsy Store, Concrete Thinking, where I would offer for sale some of my concrete casts.

Since the vast majority of my casts are created using one-off paper molds I set about designing a few things suitable for use with rubber casting material from Polytek that I've used previously.

Coasters seemed straightforward enough.

They're 4" square and .75" thick, thicker than ordinary coasters, but I wanted to be sure they wouldn't crack too easily, and I generally like concrete when it gives the appearance of heaviness.

The image to the right is a shot of the first six coasters to come out of the mold.

The positive and negative casts shown are made of Polytek 7420.

An imperfection showed up along the top edges of the mold very early on and were subsequently cast into each of the coasters.  I'll correct this in subsequent molds.

The picture above is a wrapped up set of four of these coasters given as a gift.

Blue Stained Glass Panels

A number of years ago I took a class in the art of making stained glass panels that resulted in the Window piece.  These pieces are the first ones I've produced since that class.

I liked the organic lines of the candle boxes and decided to use them here.  I chose four different shades of blue glass (possibly with the cuttings in mind) and cut each of the pieces into identical designs.  I then re-arranged the smaller pieces into the four designs and leaded them together.

I originally thought I could cast them into the four sides of a concrete candlebox, but since firelight penetrates blue glass so poorly, I might just keep them as window decoration.  Below are close-ups of each piece.

Don't Lose Focus - Practice Cutting

Although the model has a beautifully developed body, I think his body pose is less than ideal, and his eyes, arguably the most emotive element of a face are cropped out.

What truly drew me to this shot was the background.  The model is running through a forest with dappled sunlight striking foliage behind him.  His back and shoulders are backlit.  The foliage in the original image is out of focus, and I wondered how I would go about using the cutting technique which has very discrete sharp lines defining the edges of color to create an image that was out of focus, which by its very nature has no such lines.

I think the result is successful.  This makes me want to work with other intentionally out-of-focus phtographs.  Below is the off-axis shot illustrating the complexity of the out-of-focus areas.

It should be noted that the piece is 16x20 and consists of seven layers.  The lightest of these is a little too light.  The highlight on his chest, distracts a little bit from the bright explosion of shades behind him.

Daibes Sunset - Test Cutting

This is the small scale test (16x20) for the same image as "skyline yellow" in more realistic colors.  The yellow shades of the previous piece were very close together tonally.  I think the more diverse spread of shades adds depth to the image.  Below is the off-axis shot.

Skyline Yellow Test Cutting

I wanted to expand the detail of the previous work so I recut the same image in the same colors at a larger scale, in this case, 16x20.  Below is the off-axis shot, illustrating the individual layers.



Skyline Yellow - Sample

Although this piece has a full compliment of seven layers, the tonal gradient across them (except for the black) is mild.  I think this piece is all about color selection.

It measures 8x10 so the relative depth of the layers is high, creating the shadows in the photograph above that I would normally try and minimize.  But here I feel they contribute to the finished product.  It might be worth exploring manipulating these shadows going forward.

Charlie in 7

This is the finished work first begun with the test cutting "It's Him or Me", last year.  It's based on a nude photograph of the model Charlie Rawlins, taken by Dylan Rosser, and used with his permission.

Unlike the test cutting it's completed in flesh colors and with extra layers that provide more detail and depth.

The image above is a photograph of the finished piece.  The one to the left is an off-axis shot.  Below is a close-up of his face.

One More Pull-up - Sample Cutting

This is one of the smaller 8x10 sample cuttings, done as a test.  The gradient change over the body is relatively simple.  I'd normally react to this by adding additional layers to increase the detail.  But the folds of the singlet around his knees are exceptionally complicated, more layers would make them even more so.

I'm not sure this test is successful.

This image has been cropped down from a larger shot.  I do not know the original photographer.

Men In Blue - Test Proof

I often do a test cutting of an image at a small scale, typically 16x20 to test out how it reads and to keep for myself when the final piece is sold.

In this instance, I cut the 16x20 piece for the photographer in exchange for the license - at his request.  This is the piece shown at the right.  It varies slightly from it's 8x10 brother, adding detail, but its third dimension reads much more clearly in the larger piece.

To the left is the off-axis shot clearly showing the individual layers of the finished piece.

I've had a few questions about the individual layers and how they look unassembled.  Layer #3 is shown to the right.  You can clearly see other future layers behind/ underneath it.

To the left are the original 8x10 sample and the younger 16x20 test side by side.  The larger image seems to be more easily read, but this could just be a function of the distance to the camera.

Exhausted- Sample Proof

This is a sample cutting, 8x10 of another photograph taken by Jeff Palmer, and used with his permission.

To the left is the off-axis shot of the above piece, illustrating the seven individual layers.

Men In Blue - Sample Proof

This cutting, based on the front cover of his book "Temptations", photographed by Jeff Palmer, and used with his permission, was more about chiaroscuro than any other piece of mine.

The figure on the left is almost completely in shadow.  Because of his body position and the relative brightness of his companion, his face and body detail is so well implied that one can almost see it, even though it isn't there.

This proof, unlike all the others measures only 8"x10".

Uncle Dave

My Uncle Dave, my mother's brother, passed away in late January.

A few years ago he and his wife retired and moved to North Carolina.  I wasn't able to make it to the funeral but wanted to do something to say good-bye.

I did this cutting, based on a photo taken at his sister's wedding.  It was the last time I saw him.

He will be missed.

Light Pipes & Sconce

In addition to the cast concrete logo, the office addition of 2007 invovlved other unique architectural features.  One of them was the idea of light pipes.

The design called for a half dozen individual offices to be positioned against the 12" thick, concrete block, outer wall of the building.  The original plan involved cutting windows in each of the partitioned offices.  When examination of the wall showed that it would be inadvisable to cut such large openings along the base of a 30' high wall, I came up with the idea to "pipe" in the light from outside.

Instead of cutting 4'x5' openings, we would instead core-drill a vertical row of 6 holes, each 2" in diameter.  Solid acrylic rods with sharpened polished ends would be inserted through the openings protruding from the otherwise flat surface of the exterior, and southern-exposed wall.  The sharpened ends would catch the sunlight, and act like giant fiberoptics

On the inside, a specially designed wooden light fixture (non-electrical) would support a seventh vertical acrylic rod, notched to receive the 6 that pierce the wall.  The seventh rod was actually inserted within and through a series of 6 acrylic cubes.  The cubes are strictly decorative, and help to mask the circular aspect of the pipes.

In order to demonstrate that the effect was possible, I built a functioning, scale model.  The seventh vertical rod is missing in this case, the six hornizontal ones in the model pipe light directly into the cubes.

The goal wasn't to provide a view like a window.  It was to allow the office occupant, with no access to the outside, to be able to discern the natural cycle of daylight time and weather conditions as indicated by the continuous change in the appearance, angle, and color of the light emerging from the pipes.

Because glare was expected to be an issue, the fixtures were located behind the desks of the office occupants, and not in line with the reflective view of any computer monitors.

The images above and to the right are of the finished full scale interior light fixture. 

To the left is a photograph of the scale model on a windowsill.  The back wall of the model is correctly scaled, and the light coming through the cubes is traveling through the equivalent of 16" of solid wall.

Below is the original concept sketch for the acrylic cubes and to the right is the to-scale working drawing of the sconce as constructed.

The Sob - Test Proof

This work, based on an image, "T" taken by photographer Rick Day (used with his permission) is different from all my previous work in several key aspects.

Although it was originally designed with six gradient layers, I added a seventh after the fact - in order to articulate the line between the wall and the floor. 

Differentiating this line made the model's body pop forward in a much more three dimensional way.

In addition, previous work all consisted of the black mat on top so that it could form the framing mat as well as the darkest shadows of the image.

The detail photograph to the right, shows the highlights and deep shadows in the legs and feet.  It was difficult to figure out the layering in such a tiny area.

The detail photograph below, shot off axis illustrates how the darker areas are the deepest.