Friday, February 29, 2008

Collaboration at the Celebration

Been down with a cold for a couple of days - back up and at it now. Just in time to start working on a collaborative project with fellow Celebration of Fine Art artist, Joe Woodford http://www.josephwoodford.com/. Joe is a potter. Dramatic and huge raku pots are his signature. We both have a love of things Oriental, Japanese in particular. So Joe threw a huge vessel and today I'll be working on incising a Geisha to fill the side and wrap around the sides and back. This is a completely new venture for both of us - I've never worked on pottery and Joe has never done figurative, detailed work. I'll get some pics up tonight, so keep watching.



On another subject, problems with my website and presumably this blog as well, have continued over the past couple of weeks. Most of you are finding me ok, but some are still getting only my old site. Once again, we're working on it, and hopefully in the next couple of days it will all be resolved. You can help me by emailing me if you are getting strange results when putting http://www.whitneypeckman.com/ in the address line, or when googling me. My old site has my name in script, while the new site name is in typeface and has a scrolling center image. Thanks for helping!

Saturday, February 23, 2008

Going Fast

Wow, half way through the Celebration of Fine Art in Scottsdale! The weeks are flying by and my inventory is shrinking...which is a really good thing, and thanks to all of you who've added my work to your collections. I'm working on a new piece of grasses and dragonflies but it was cold today so most of the work was about keeping my fingers warm.

The experience of working for 70 days in the company of about a hundred other artists is an amazing thing. My own work has become sculptural as a result of watching Kristine Poulson work on her clays of bronze vessels http://www.kristinepoulson.com/ . We have a common love of botanical themes and if you haven't seen her work you're missing a unique voice in the world of bronze. Here's the funny thing...Kristine started out doing mosaics! But another sculptor, Martha Pettigrew, urged her to try her hand at sculpting. A year later Kris was a full time sculptor and hasn't stopped since.

The exchange of ideas, materials, critiques, and most of all support on those not so great days is what makes this show so exceptional. The parties are pretty good too.

http://www.celebrateart.com

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Friends At Work




Michael Jones (left), steel sculptor and so GQ in his work clothes - at work at the Celebration of Fine Art, Scottsdale. Show runs through Mar. 23. Michael can tell you amazing stories about Native American petroglyphs and glass insulators (!)...interesting guy. http://www.michaeljonessculpture.com/
Eric Poulson , painter, also at work at the Celebration of Fine Art. Eric works with palette knives only and gets the most amazing effects in his paintings of gorgeous desert scenes, stone buildings, and my personal favorites, great ceramic pots of flowers. His little studies for larger paintings are fun to see grow up into full sized, and sometimes very large paintings. http://www.ericpoulson.com/

BlogSpot I Love You

Just changed over to Blogger and it was EZ, even for a dinasaur like myself! Hope this will be easier to respond to....let me know...

The Prickly Pear is finished and on display at the Celebration of Fine Art. Go to my website http://www.whitneypeckman.com/ to see more work and link to the show.

It's actually raining and thundering tonight in Scottsdale....amazing.

Long Weekend

Long weekend
February 18th, 2008
by Whitney
President’s Day weekend and a cold snap didn’t dissuade folks for coming to the show. I had the new piece, Prickly Pear, on display, tho it still needs waxing. It’s a real success as measured by what I had in my head. And…my daughter and two granddaughters came for the weekend. Wonderful break for me on Sat and for Syed today. Back to normal tomorrow and the beginning of a new piece.

http://www.celebrateart.com

Happy Valentine's Day

and by the way…
February 14th, 2008
by Whitney
HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!

Prickly Pear continued
February 14th, 2008
by Whitney
Finished the painting on this piece today. Tomorrow I’ll work on the finishes and it should be complete Sat or Sun. The deep relief carving really is accentuated by the painting, and the thin blossoms are delicate and luminescent…so far, so good.

Frustrations

FRUSTRATIONS!
February 13th, 2008
by Whitney
OK, so now I know how to put a pic up, but can’t figure out how to post all your comments (so far, nothing unpublishable…and that would not be a challenge). So, for now I’ll just be telling you about how the Prickly Pear is coming along. I have the color on and it’s looking very rich and dramatic. Tomorrow I’ll finish the deep shadows and post a pic for a look at the process. There is always a time during the creation of each piece that it looks wretched and I wonder if it’s all going to come together. I passed that point today, and boy, does it feel good! This is a majorly sculptural piece - a direction in which I hope to travel. See ya’!

http://www.celebrateart.com

Early Work

Early work
February 10th, 2008
by Whitney
A great time of the day for me is early on these sunny AZ mornings. The light is wonderful for working outside, which is where I need to be to continue carving on the Prickly Pear. I’m excited about how it’s coming along. Come to the Celebration and check out the process before it’s finished…it’s a beautiful day to go to an art show!

http://www.celebrateart.com

February 10th, 2008

It’s only two weeks of figuring out how to put pics on the blog…if you see Kay…tell her it’s a tough road! Anyway, I’m working hard on this gourd…Prickly Pears. Almost done with the carving…hope to have it finished in a week. The surface is built up with Apoxie Sculpt, then carved back into, with further relief carving into the gourd itself. The epoxy dust is very fine, necessitating serious mask wear. Does anyone make one of these masks to fit a woman’s face? I feel like there are gaps all around mine…I can tell by the sinus headaches I get. Maybe the dust in my head is what causes me to take two weeks to figure out loading the pic!

Celebration of Fine Art

From the Celebration of Fine Art
January 31st, 2008
by Whitney
Fantastic first two weeks here at the Celebration os Fine Art in Scottsdale! Thanks to all of you art addicts who continue to make this show my biggest and best. We’re rolling into Super Bowl weekend, so if you’re looking for a diversion from football, come on over and check out some of my new work, and see Syed’s new glass too.
The big Mesquite tree looks great as the backdrop to Michael Jones’ huge steel gate. And have we ever kicked it up a notch at our end of the big tents! Our “group of seven” spent the year planning our new “gallery” look and it’s fabulous. Each artist’s work complements the others - come watch the work being created.

http://www.celebrateart.com
http://www.syedartglass.com
http://www.michaeljonessculpture.com

Ilse Noor - Artist

Ilse Noor– Artist
January 14th, 2008
by Whitney
Last year I told you about Ilse Noor, whom I had the great pleasure to meet in Malaysia. This year we visited her again and saw her new work. These exquisite etchings are so refined and reflect such a delicate sensitivity that I was compelled to bring some home to show. I am in the process of having them framed and they will be available for viewing and for sale at East Square Artworks in June. Please visit Ilse’s website, http://www.ilsenoor.com/, to see more of her work. If you love etchings and despair of finding superior work, please contact me to see these pieces. You will not be disappointed.
Thank you for taking the time to visit my website, to read about our projects, and for your continued interest in my work.