Freedom Forge is going full steam ahead with umbel production! All of the flowerhead parts have been fabricated and now we’re tweaking the angles to adjust for just the right amount of organic movement in each flower, allowing them to be uniform and unique all at the same time. The big stems are coming up next and then there will be an adventure to the galvanizer in the very near future!
This project is sponsored by:
I’m loving seeing the process of making the metal parts for A Feast of Flowers and luckily Kirk McNeill’s studio is right around the corner from mine, so I can pop over to see what Kirk and his team are up to.
In my last post, the flower head ‘arms’ were bent for the outer ring of flowers and now those arms are being riveted and welded to the base plate. Eventually the inner layers of flowers will be made the same way and stacked on top of this larger base plate. This is only one layer and they’re already looking so cool! More to come, stay tuned!
This project is sponsored by:
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY OPEN STUDIOS 2023
OCTOBER 14, 15, 21 & 22 | 10am – 5pm
ARTIST #297
EARTH ART STUDIO
2523 C MISSION ST | SANTA CRUZ
Please join me for my 18th and LAST year of participating in the Santa Cruz Open Studios Art Tour! The studio is going to be packed with art; new and old, big and small, so come find a treasure for your home or garden. Looking forward to seeing y’all in a few months!
photo: Crystal Birns
I’m excited to announce I’ve finally finished fabrication of all of the ceramic elements for A Feast of Fennels and every surface of the studio is covered in parts. Scroll down to see the progress on the metal fabrication happening!
Kirk McNeil and Franco Di Majo working on bending the rods that will create the flowerhead structures. Love the custom jig they made to get each curve just right. Can’t wait to see all these parts start to come together!
This project is sponsored by:
Here’s the monthly wrap up of everything going on at the studio…
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Umbels have been an inspiration for me for years now, and I’ve created numerous works based on their forms. I found this fennel umbel in full bloom on a morning walk the other day and had to share side-by-side views of my studio in full bloom next to these guys. Nature definitely inspires!
To learn more about A Feast of Fennels, click here.
This week, outside the studio…
The Outside Scoop is a weekly blog series that shares a little bit of what’s going on in my life outside of the studio. Please feel free to leave comments, I look forward to chatting with you here!
Apparently my blog feed has gotten stuck here on my website for the past month for unknown reasons and you have not been receiving your weekly The Dirt emails from me. Grrr…
I ~think~ I’ve fixed the issue and if the stars align, you should receive your regularly scheduled email on Friday morning. It should give you links to all the posts that got stuck or you might just get this post or possibly once again nothing at all will hit your inbox. sigh…
Thanks for your patience and fingers crossed we’ll be up and running again soon. You can always check out what I’m up to by navigating to The Dirt here. Including a scene from the studio here so you get a preview of what’s been going on!
Things are cranking along in the studio with A Feast of Flowers project!
There are over a hundred ceramic flower heads in my studio right now, on practically every surface. They are in varying stages of finishedness; from raw drying clay, to bisque fired pieces, to glazed pieces that haven’t been fired yet and finally to the first batch of finished flowers. I’m really loving how bright and colorful these came out and I can’t wait to see them up and silhouetted against the sky!
About the project: A Feast of Flowers will be six ceramic and steel sculptures inspired by the umbel flower structure of fennel plants. Placed staggered along the sides of the trail and silhouetted against the sky, the installation will create a sense of whimsy and wonder for the thousands of patrons who use the trail as well as bring an awareness to our connection with nature.
My inspiration for this particular installation comes from my exploration of the natural world, and my curiosity about identifying plants, especially the edible ones. As an amateur forager, every hike in the woods has become like a trip to the grocery store for me. Fennels are one of the most recognized edibles that grow in California, available for the taking, yet there is a tendency to not trust the wild plants. This disconnect we humans have with nature, the loss of knowledge about native plants and how that relates to the global issue of food insecurity are all concepts explored with this project.
It is also my hope that whimsical oversized flowers will create a fun and dramatic impact for the area, will draw locals and tourists alike outside to connect with nature, learn about local plants and of course take a moment to stop and smell the flowers.
This project is sponsored by:
This week, outside the studio…
The Outside Scoop is a weekly blog series that shares a little bit of what’s going on in my life outside of the studio. Please feel free to leave comments, I look forward to chatting with you here!