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.

The original sculpture stands just 18 inches tall and is made from bronze sheet metal. I decided to make the Bremerton version out of steel & stainless steel, and to add color to the umbrella and puddle:

14 months later we have finally started fabrication!  Public art takes a great deal of patience for all involved, and we spent the year planning, negotiating contracts and waiting, waiting, waiting.  There were several times I worried the project might get cancelled due to budget cuts.  Nearly all city municipalities have made cuts throughout this recession, and unfortunatly many mistakenly see art as low hanging fruit.  I applaud the Bremerton Arts Commission for working hard to keep this project alive.  And a big thank you to Pam Byknonen who is our contact and a joy to work with. 

Here are some in-process shots to date:

This is the first of several blog posts about this project.  Stay tuned for more!

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) . 

Since Shapely and Shapely Two are intended for outdoor venues I want to ensure they can comfortably handle several people climbing on it as well as in-climate weather conditions. That armature worked well on Shapely but this time I decided to approach the structural requirements differently.  I am making the lower section out of 11 gauge (0.120″) instead of 16 gauge (0.060″)  material for several reasons.

• Shapely Two has  a much more, shall I say, svelte look, making it challenging to fit an armature inside.
• I was so happy with the rigidity of the box construction provided on the first Shapely that I am confident the added thickness will provide plenty of structure
• best of all, it simplifies construction.

There are no flat surfaces on Shapely Two. A characteristic of virtually all of Jennifer’s work.  Each side has varying degrees of curvature.  Some are small enough that I can easily position them using blocks,  clamps or just by pushing.

Others will require more aggressive forming to obtain the proper shape.  Since I have yet to acquire a slip roller, I use this low tech bender for shaping the sheets. It is effective but I have to be careful not to put kinks in the panels.

Before I start bending each panel I need to establish the  line it will curve along.  Once that line has been drawn I add perpendicular lines every few inches.  I align these perpendicular lines to the axis of the tube I am bending the sheet around.  Skipping this step would risk putting unwanted twist in the panel.

Here you can see how two of the panels are fitting up.  The closer I can get them to match without clamps the easier they are to tack together.  Minor gaps can be adjusted out during tacking and final welding.  

Another view of the fit up between the sides. The section closest to the camera will be pushed into position during tacking.

Once I am reasonably happy with the fit it is time to tack the panels together.  To ensure that the base will be ”square” I fixture the panels on the top of the work bench and true everything up.  You can’t have too many clamps. 

Tacks are small welds that temporarily lock the panels together but can be easily broken or cut if necessary.  I place tacks every 6″ to 12″ depending upon the curve.  The tighter the radius the closer the tacks are together. 

I am also paring the tacks so that any shrinkage at one  tack is counterbalanced by a tack on the other side of the panel.  This helps keep things from moving around. In the next picture all 4 sides are tacked together.  Now I will set this piece aside while I tack the mating section together.  Then I’ll come back and fit up the top plate (which must match the mating section) and install the bottom mounting plate.

I’ll cover that in the next post.

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.

Rise is the name of the sculpture we are currently working on.  This design was recently juried into a year-long Sculpture Without Walls exhibit in Moses Lake, Washington.  No time to waste — we are scheduled to install on May 23. 

Although chilly and wet, installation of Shapely in Puyallup’s Outdoor Gallery collection went smoothly, and we are quite happy with how she looks standing in the corner of the city’s vibrant downtown park.

                            Shapely

“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.”

Today we picked up Shapely from the powder-coater (Masic in Portland).  Dave assembled it in the studio to make sure everything’s good to go to Puyallup for installation in two days.  Perfect!  So at the last minute we rounded up some local friends and neighbors to help us celebrate and send her on her way.  She’ll be gone for at least two years.

Thanks to everyone who came; it was a fun time.  If someone could please send a photo of themself or anyone else (besides Dave and me) standing next to the sculpture, I’d love to post it.  I had hoped to take lots of photos of folks standing next to it, but apparently I can’t host and take photos at the same time!

Shapely, our current work in progress, is moving along nicely.  Shapely is a 9 foot brightly colored abstract piece that was juried into the Arts Downtown Outdoor Gallery in Puyallup, WA.  It will be in the exhibit along with several dozen other sculptures for 2 years; 2009 – 2011.  Shapely is based on a small cardboard model that I created 6 or 7 years ago.  Last year Dave started building a 3 foot maquette, hoping we’d like it enough to create a large scale version for the public realm.  And we did, and here’s what the big version looks like next to the maquette.