Sunday Sculpture Series

Indian Rice Grass, sculpted by artist Kevin Shaffer is part of Lafayette's Art on the Street Sculpture Walk.  This large sculpture is located on Chester Street at the back of Festival Plaza in Old Town Lafayette. 

This sculpture is from a series of oversize abstracted steel sculptures of native plants.  The inspiration for this piece comes from the native grasses that can be found in the grasslands around Lafayette and in eastern Colorado. 

This piece is 10 feet wide at the top and 16 feet tall, constructed of steel.  As with all the Art on the Street sculpture, this artwork is for sale; this one is $15,000.  For more information, or to purchase this art, contact the Public Art Committee. 

To view additional sculpture, look at the city webpage; and to vote for your favorite, go to the poll on this page.  The favorite artist will win the Jean Melblom People's Choice Award of $1000. 

Sunday Sculpture Series

The City of Lafayette Public Art Committee installed its third year of the Art on the Street Sculpture Walk at the end of May.  Sixteen sculpture were installed as part of this art on loan outdoor gallery.  I want to share our latest installations with you - we have a wide variety of work.  I shared last year's selection in a series of Sunday blog posts starting last November.  I will do the same again this year.  They are really better in person.  If you're local, come to Old Town Lafayette and take a walk to see for yourself.

While I don't have an absolute favorite, the first piece I want to introduce you to is Bruce Campbell's Peacock Goddess.  Campbell is a great local artist, with national acclaim.  His work is "recycled" and repurposed farm and other metal pieces. 

Utilizing salvaged industrial objects, Colorado artist Bruce Campbell merges painting and sculpture to create ancient contemporary artworks. The unique shapes and surface patinas, sculpted by time and weather, become an integral part of his imagery, which seemingly emerges from the intricately weathered surfaces.  Peacock Goddess is Campbell’s second work in Art on the Street.

The back of the piece is interesting as well, with a large peacock.  This piece sits on the lawn at Festival Plaza in Old Town Lafayette.  The Plaza is on Public Road at Chester Street.  It's a great gathering place, with park benches, a fountain, 4 pieces of art and the best sandwich and ice cream shop called Eats and Sweets. 

This work, and all the 16 pieces in the Art on the Street, are available for purchase.  This piece costs $20,000.  You may view the other 15 sculptures on the City of Lafayette website. 

Each of these sculpture is competing for a cash prize of $1,000.  If one of these sculptures is your favorite you can vote.  The poll can be found on the lower right of that page.  You can vote to support your favorite artist.

For more information, or to purchase this sculpture check out the Cultural Arts web page.  I hope you will enjoy my tour of Old Town Lafayette over the coming months.  I sure enjoy having this much art in my little community.

Sunday Sculpture Series

This piece, Sod Busters, is one of two final bronzes I will post from the 2010-2011 Art on the Street Sculpture walk in Lafayette, Colorado.  Local artist, William Tyree began his career in art after a full career in the field of engineering.  He began woodcarving and then moved into working in bronze.  He has been a bronze artist for 10 years.  Sod Busters took a year to carve from wood, and then another year to complete as a bronze sculpture. 

I find this piece so interesting, with its strong lines and element of power.  It is an historical piece for Lafayette, as well, as Lafayette was a farming and mining community in its early days.

Sod Busters, and the other 11 sculptures will be removed from their locations in the coming days.  They will be replaces with 16 new and exciting pieces as part of Lafayette's 2011-2012 Art on the Street.  I will be sure to share those pieces with you.

If you are interested in purchasing Sod Busters, or any one of our other pieces on display, you must act quickly.  Sod Busters costs $25,000 and can be purchased by contacting the Public Art Committee.

Rachel Hanson collage at The Purple Poppy

I am so excited - I am nearly bursting at the seams!
Rachel Hanson collage is now available at The Purple Poppy!


Rachel Hanson colleges, hung on the walls of The Purple Poppy.

 I have been making my collages with no real outlet, save the walls of my own studio.  While the creation is somewhat fulfilling on its own, when Angie, the proprietress of The Purple Poppy, asked to hang my work at her fabulous store, I was so excited!  (full disclosure, yes, Angie is my friend, but I have never pressured her to carry my work, in fact, I am not even sure I asked her to. I did write about the store last fall; you may remember this blog post.) 
So, I spent last week adding minor details to seven of my collages.  I put hangers on the back, and secret details, too.  She requested an artist statement.  That's a nerve wracking task, what to say about oneself.  Then I turned that into a collage, too.

On Friday, I delivered.  She hung the work.  I must say, it looks great!
So if you're local, stop by and take a look. Say hello to Angie or Kerry. Take a moment to shop; The Purple Poppy has fabulous things: art, furniture, home accessories, jewelry, gifts, and lots of unique items.  While you're there take a look at my work, too.  I hope you enjoy. 
(You can find The Purple Poppy at the SW corner of Arapaho Road and 95th St in Lafayette, CO)
And now, I can return to the studio and make some more collages.

Artist - Matthew Doubek (part 2)

This week I told you about local artist Matt Doubek.  I couldn't fit all I wanted to share into one post, so here's more on Matt.

(Photo courtesy Matt Doubek - from his facebook page.)

Matt's art encompasses painting, drawing, graphics, illustration, and collage.  He utilizes satire, whimsy and skill into his pieces. 


A work in progress for Every Good Cowboy (show at the Pirate Gallery)

 Not only does he make art for the walls, he makes creative installations and furniture items as we.  You can see this table as part of an installation at the Denver Art Museum's interactive display on the second floor. 

My girls were excited to see Matt's work at a recent trip to the Denver Art Museum.
 "His work is famous!"

Along with his friend and fellow artist Sam Mobley, Matt is opening a two man show of their take on Western Art.  It's sure to be filled with humor, whimsy and fun, along with great talent and skill.  To view more of Matt's work, check out the Pirate Gallery in Denver this month. 

The elusive Western Jackalope, photo courtesy Matt Doubek

(Oh - if you're looking for my Friday recipe, it will be posted later today)

Artist - Matthew Doubek

Mannequin hands creeping across the tops of the fluorescent lights at Matt Doubek's studio.

My daughter and I took a field trip to visit local artist Matt Doubek at his studio.  The studio, an unassuming, converted garage in the heart of Louisville, is jam packed with art supplies and collage materials and inspiration.  A veritable heaven for a pack-rat like myself and my 9 year-old.  I gave her the camera and she started snapping photos.  (So interesting to see what caught her eye.)
My purpose for going to Matt's studio was two-fold.  First, I wanted some inspiration and advice for my own collage work.  Second, I wanted my daughter to see a working artist in his element.  We were both thrilled with what we found.  It was a bonus that Matt was prepping for his upcoming show at the Pirate Gallery in Denver.
The studio itself is filled with pieces of past work, like this one:

There are sketches, scraps, and bits of inspiration everywhere you look:

He had several works in progress, the painting hanging against the cinder block wall, had some additional embellishments from his daughter, which Matt readily incorporates into his work:

And this sketch was waiting patiently on one of his work tables.  I can't wait to see what he does with it:

Matthew Doubek and Samuel Mobley's show Every Good Cowboy opens at the Pirate Gallery on February 4 and runs until February 20. 

Hope to see you there!