As I continued to work with my metal collection in my studio at MASS MoCA, the sculptures fell into three categories: self-standing (on a tabletop or pedestal), hanging, and on the wall. Here are 3 of my hanging sculptures.

This piece, Caps and Cans, is made from found bottle caps and flattened cans. The copper wire, holding all the circles, is old patinated phone wire that came down along the railroad tracks in Forge Village (Westford), Massachuettts where I used to live. I walked along those tracks, which also bordered Forge Pond, in all seasons, for many many days (even before I had Bird the dog)! Another great source of metal.

 

 

Two pieces on the wall.

 

 

 

As the snow banks melted away from the roadsides in North Adams, I found this fantastic piece of metal, just across the street from our resident apartment!

It isn’t attached yet, but I will find a way to make permanent the sculpture on the right.

 

 

 

 

A few other pieces that are “sketches” waiting to be made permanent. The blue metal is a piece of an old school locker that I found on a previous residency at MASS MoCA. It reminds me of the Hoosic River which once fueled the North Adams mills.

How quickly time moves forward! Its been almost a month since I returned home from MASS MoCA. Fortunately, all my finished sculptures and the rest of the metal collection fit in my Prius and rode safely back to Cape Cod. I added a table to my home studio as a specific place for the “road metal” sculptures and as a reminder that I have more work to do!

Don’t miss it! There are three great exhibitions now through April 20th at Cotuit Center for the Arts. My piece, Boogie Woogie, was selected for “Serious Fun”, a group show juried by Salley Mavor.

 

Mavor has a solo show running concurrently titled Liberty and Justice: The Sweet to Satirical Art of Salley Mavor — a wonderfully pointed and laugh-out-loud poke at our current political situation. Also on exhibit are the lush (get lost in) paintings of Georganna Lenssen: Reinventing the Real.

Broad Reach

3 Views

I’m thrilled to be back at The Studios at MASS MoCA for a 2-week residency. I decided to bring my 15+ year collection of “road metal” and focus on that for my project. The first task was to unpack and put all the pieces on the wall (or leaning against it). It was very satisfying for me to see all the metal displayed. I really like this as an installation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next challenge was to remove pieces from the wall and begin to create sculpture. This work “made itself” when the middle piece of metal balanced on the lower holey piece, then the arc slid into the crease of the middle piece and viola — so much fun! More to come….

The annual Old Frog Pond Farm Outdoor Sculpture Walk is coming up! For the first time, the exhibit is beginning in the spring and running for several months into the fall. Also for the first time, it’s a juried show with Nick Capasso (former curator at DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park and currently the director of the Fitchburg Art Museum) doing the jurying.

Last fall when I was visiting my Dad in Warwick, NY, I was captivated by beautiful orange fungus climbing up an ancient willow tree. This tree grows beside a stream in a town park, the same park where my sister, cousins and I played as kids when we visited our grandparents.

I knew when I saw the fungus that I wanted to do something with that image for Old Frog Pond Farm. I just wasn’t sure what or how! The material would have to be durable to withstand the weather conditions in New England through three seasons.

 

And it would need to be colorful enough to show up in the woods. I had an “ah-hah moment” and decided to work with my pile of bait bags, collected from the beaches of Cape Cod. The colors were right, the material would hold up, and I’ve been waiting for several years to be inspired with a good idea for those very special net bags.

I just found out today that Fungus Among Us has been selected by Nick Capasso to be part of the Old Frog Pond Farm Outdoor Sculpture Show! I feel honored and very excited. Put it on your calendar — the exhibit will be up from May 19 to October 14.