This article ran on December 1, 2011 in the Moscow-Pullman Daily News talking about public art in Moscow, Idaho.  Read the full article online.

Moscow Public Art Finalists: Art for the Masses

Three in running for public art project commission

By Alan Solan, Moscow-Pullman Daily News staff writer

Next year at this time, a tiny park at the south end of Moscow will be home
to a new piece of public art.

Three Northwest artists are finalists for the $35,000 commission. The
Artists submissions will be posted on Dec. 10 and will be available for public
comment. The three finalists will make their artist presentations 3-5 p.m. on
Dec. 16 at Moscow City Hall, and the public is welcome and invited to attend.
On Dec. 17, the selection committee will choose the artist for the Wren Welcome
Garden project.

The art will be placed in the Wren Welcome Garden, a quarter-acre park that
forms the southern gateway to Moscow’s downtown business district. The site is
on the north side of Jackson Street, adjacent to Gritman Medical Center and two
blocks from the University of Idaho campus.

The three finalists for the commission are Chris J. Wrench, of Hood River.,
Ore.; husband-and-wife team Jennifer Corio and Dave Frei of Vancouver, Wash.;
and Robert M. Horner of Port Townsend, Wash. » Continue reading “Corio & Frei Finalists for Public Art in Moscow, Idaho”

In late October Dave and I set off in a 22-ft Penske truck for southern California to install our latest two sculptures in two different juried exhibitions.  First stop San Diego where we installed our piece Sprouted Bumbershoot in the Urban Trees 7 exhibition.  » Continue reading “Two Sculptures, Two Exhibitions, One Long Trip”

Come late October when the rains have started here in the Portland area, Dave and I will be catching a little sunshine in Palm Desert, California. That’s where we will be installing our latest large scale metal sculpture Shapely Two. The piece was juried into the 2010-2012 El Paseo Sculpture Invitational along with 17 other sculptures from around the nation. The art will line El Paseo Drive, adding even more dazzle to the town’s glitzy shopping district. » Continue reading “Shapely Series Ready for Take-Off”

Who’s going to let a little rain stop them? Not the new woman in town in Bremerton, Washington.

Dave and I recently delivered our 6-foot sculpture Despite the Rain to Pam Bykonen, Arts Commission clerk for Bremerton and our main contact for the project. » Continue reading “An Ode to the Pacific Northwest in Bremerton, WA”

Back in February of 2009 we received an exciting email that started like this: 

Dear Jennifer & Dave:  Congratulations!  You have been chosen as one of the artists in the Sculptures on Pacific Avenue Project in Bremerton, Washington!

This kind of news is music to the ear of any artist trying to make it in the public art world.  We had entered a call-for-artists from the Bremerton Arts Commission for seven sculptures to be placed along their main downtown corridor as part of the city’s forward-thinking revitalization plan.  They ended up choosing 3 artists/teams, and specifically asked Dave and me to create a pedestrian-scale version of our sculpture Despite the Rain.

» Continue reading “Public Sculpture for Bremerton, WA”

Now comes the fun part.  I get to take the laser cut steel panels I showed you in the previous post and begin to form them into their intended shape.  When we built the first Shapely I chose to construct an internal armature to support the 16 gauge shell (shown in the next two pictures) . 

   » Continue reading “Shapely Two Progresses”

As we wind down from several architectural projects that have been keeping us hopping, Dave and I are finding the mental space and time to focus on sculpture.  I’ve been busily applying for calls-for-artists (’tis the season) while Dave’s been refining some of my sculpture designs using Rhino 3-d modeling software. 

Lately I’ve been hot on making a Shapely series as an exploration of color and shape.  The first Shapely, created earlier this year, was our foray into pure abstraction.  It was fun playing with simple shapes and bold colors, piecing them together to create an eye-catching form and color combination. 

Here’s the maiden Shapely:

Shapely Two, the sleeker cousin of the original has a more contemporary space age look:

I’m toying with a chartreuse green paired with a deep orange.  The color in this picture doesn’t exactly capture what I’m looking for, and it may well look very different on your screen, but it gives an idea of what I’m considering at the moment.  And I just may change my mind drastically as I get samples from Prismatic Powders and play with combinations from actual powder coat color palettes. 

Stay tuned as Shapely Two evolves from a computer model to a physical touchable sculpture.

The Shapely Series
A childlike fascination with bright colors and puzzle pieces resurfaces as we play with vivid yet simple shapes; piecing them together to create flowing lines and a sensuous, more grown-up form.

 I don’t remember who I overheard referring to our new sculpture as Hot Rod Angel, but I had to chuckle.  My original idea to explore bold metallic colors came from watching American Chopper and seeing the painters apply multiple layers of yellow and green to a new motorcycle tank.  It was bitchin’, and I couldn’t stop thinking about doing something like that on a sculpture.  When the idea for Rise landed on my sketchpad, I knew I found a place to try that rich color combination. 

There was a slight problem.  Dave and I have chosen not to use solvent based paints and have made a commitment to the powder coat process.  But try as I might, I couldn’t find any yellow-greens I liked in powder.

As the design for Rise started to crystallize, I got to thinking about red instead of yellow-green.  A deep, rich, translucent red.  Red like passion.  Red like the flow of blood.  A red that would enhance the meaning of Rise –  about striving to reach our human potential during our limited time on earth.  You can’t do that without quite a bit of fire and passion!  My hope was that red might help convey that, although Rise is angelic in her presence, she is very human in nature.

The choice has been well-received, with “Lollipop Red” wowing nearly everyone who sees it.   The color changes continuously throughout the day, and at the right time and angle looks as smooth & slick as enamel.  This has only fueled my desire to continue exploring rich translucent colors, and seeing just what we can do with some creative, high quality powder coat applications.  Thank you to the great folks at Masic, our powder coat supplier in Portland who has been very supportive of our work and our ideas‎.

Now onto my continued search for that perfect yellow-green…..

Rise returned from Masic, our powder-coat supplier, donned in a deep translucent and luscious red.  The red together with brushed stainless steel is exquisite and completes my vision for the sculpture.  To get some good shots of her we took her to our neighborhood park and waited for those magical moments of evening light.

Rise

This winged woman with her angelic presence is floating upwards, rising to meet the potential that lies within.

Rise

Strong Body.  Open Mind.  Full Spirit.

The Arts Commission of Bremerton, WA recently commissioned us to create a sculpture as part of their city’s downtown revitalization vision.  They commissioned seven sculptures, one of which is ours, to be placed along Pacific Avenue, the main walking corridor downtown . We are creating a pedestrian-scale version of our existing sculpture called Despite the Rain.  

            Despite the Rain - an ode to the Pacific Northwest weather (and not letting it get the best of you!)

The original version stands at 17″ high and is made from silicon bronze.  For Bremerton we will create a 5-6 foot version in stainless steel.  We will add color to the umbrella and the puddle. 

We are currently in contract negotiations and hope to begin work within a month.  Stay tuned for progress on this exciting project for us.