Open Studio and Collective Consciousness Exhibition at The Compound Gallery

Last weekend, The Compound Gallery opened the "Collective" Consciousness" Exhibition and also held an Open Studio. I had the opportunity to show four of my sculptures (Easter Island 71, Carved by Time, Shockwave and Bubbles) as part of the Open Studio. One other piece (Three Perspectives) is shown until Dec. 16, 2016 as part of the "Collective Consciousness" exhibition curated by Toni Gentilli in the Studio Artist Gallery. Thanks to Matt and Lena for having me participate in this event and thanks to everyone who stopped by. It is always very gratifying to talk to people who are interested in my work and in art in general.

I am also very excited about having one other sculpture on display in the Berkeley Art Center from December 3, 2016 to January 8, 2017 as part of the BAC Artist Annual Exhibition. Stay tuned.  

The making of wooden sculpture "Easter Island 71"

After having created several sculptures by glueing redwood boards vertically, I started several sculptures by stacking pieces horizontally. In fact, I cut, sanded and glued 71 wood pieces for the Moai sculpture below. Many of the cut-out layers have a simple shape that is similar to the shape of Easter Island - that's why I named the sculpture "Easter Island 71".  Below are a few pictures that show the process steps of stacking, glueing, and carving.

Cutting out the board and stacking them 

Glueing the boards

Carving the head

Finally, after lots and lots of sanding, I applied several coats of linseed oil to bring out the warm colors of the redwood grain and to protect the wood. Take a look at the finished Easter Island 71 sculpture. 

Final carving and sanding

From old desk to a new sculpture

An old wooden oak desk was sitting outside, waiting to be hauled away. The veneer started to come off and I started to think about what to do with the nice weathered oak veneer. Oak is heavy, however, the veneer is light and flexible and when I cut the veneer in long strips I came up with the idea of making a simple yoga/meditation pose. I started with drawing a silhouete of a pose and then used the drawing to bend, glue and connect strips of veneer. 

Simple drawing of pose

Glueing multiple strips of veneer and holding them in place

Mounting on base board

It is fascinating how the glue between the layers of veneer holds the shape in place. Take a look at the finished sculpture here.

New Reclaimed Wood

Whenever I get new reclaimed redwood, I am surprised by how different a medium like wood can be. Each board offers one snapshot of an amazing variety of potential colors, grain, knots, and cracks. Certain pieces of wood show right away what they "want to be" in their new life as a sculpture (e.g. the unique circled grain of the Bubbles sculpture), others are more shy about it and it takes me a while to discover what I want to do with it. Take a look at a sample of boards I got a few weeks ago. 

Lazy afternoon Drawing

Several years ago, during a lazy afternoon with my kids, I drew this picture in pencil from a cover of our favorite "Calvin and Hobbes" book. The other day I found it in a stack of old artwork and I remembered why I like it so much. It inspires me to do something, and at the same time to do nothing and just relax - "because the days are just packed".