April 23-28, 2013
Downtown Oklahoma City

Sculpture Park is an area on the east lawn of Stage Center devoted entirely to showing medium and large size sculpture pieces. This curated exhibit allows only invited artists and Plaza Artists to exhibit.

I have really been into nets, tangles and webs lately. Do I feel trapped? Sometimes yes! Is this where all these ideas are coming from?

Joe Slack , curator of the Sculpture Park at the downtown Oklahoma City Festival of the Arts 2013, invited me to show my “Nodo” sculpture series this Spring.

Please see the below sketch for a reference to my sculptures for Festival of the Arts. I will be showing six spherical sculptures made from soldered copper tubing. Some sculptures will remain raw copper and the others will be powder coated or applied with a patina. I have had success working with this series and will continue to utilize this medium to create minimalist and organic sculpture in the future.

My Mom told me once that life is like a tapestry. On the front of the tapestry everything looks beautiful and perfect while the back side is knotted and imperfect. I like to think that these “tangles” are similar to that metaphor… Life can be perceived as a mess while you are going through it but the big picture, the lasting impression of your being is beautiful.

Progress.

Now it is time to solder. This is a 4 ft. sculpture… If my welds come out clean I will leave this raw copper. The scrappers are going to salivate over this cluster of copper… They could get good money at the salvage yard for their meth.

“Nodo” translates to “tangle” in Latin.  The “Nodo” series originally began as an experiment using copper to sculpt. Copper appealed to me because it was both malleable and rigid. It has now evolved as a way to address the metaphorical aspects of mental perception. It is my intention that each copper sculpture represents a life’s perspective from an ebb and flow approach.

Like life’s choices, the delicate balance of free forming and bending the copper into a spherical shape is achieved by allowing the copper to bend intuitively. The overall shape of the sculpture is achieved by an effort to create a perfect circle but the sculptures exist as imperfect spheres striving for a balance between control and spontaneity.

Forcing the copper to bend is similar to having expectations in life because it is both malleable and rigid. Kinks and breaks occur when too much torque is applied. Mistakes are made and then coils are joined together by couplings revealing where the copper would not comply with too much force. These areas of the sculpture reflect mistakes, problem solving and forward thinking.

Experimentation with finishes and patinas are ever evolving. I have been using a natural patina process to force a verdigris, left copper raw to age naturally or applied a powder coat to provide a spectrum of colors. The different finishes are meant to be as individual as we are human.

As the sculptures develop in real time, it’s like viewing my life’s choices. It appears to be nothing more than a jumble of copper—tangled, coupled, occasionally changing direction, and seemingly random. But things are not always what they seem. It is only when the sculpture is finished that the art: the array of colors, the free flowing lines, and the overall shape creates something to behold. Nothing good or bad is wasted.

All soldered together… now I am going to clean it and possibly leave it raw to naturally patina.

Below is a group shot of 5 white (part of Chandelier) and 2 raw copper (OKC Arts Fest)

Forming the copper tubing into the “tangled” sphere.

CHANDELIER – is by the definition: “A branched, decorative lighting fixture that holds a number of bulbs or candles and is suspended from a ceiling.” And Living Arts will exhibit 34 chandeliers in an exhibit entirely hung from the ceiling and only lit by the work itself.

Artists included in Chandelier are: Miriam Young, Charles Walker, Karl Engel, David Schlemme, Eric Fransen, Brad Kilmer, Jeri Fritz, Robbie Edwards & Christina Speligene, Tracey & Rick Beweley, Sue Moss Sullivan, Chuck Tomlins, Janet Duvall, Rachel Haynes, Janette Brown, E.G. Neal, R.C. Morrison, Lisa Jean Allswede, Steve Liggett, Mery McNett, Nicole McMahan, Caryl Morgan, Julie Clark, Sara Spurrier, Zachary Ernst, Lydia Cheshewalla, Price Jones, Colin Healey, Christie Owen, Rachel Neely, Natalie Legener, Klint Schor, Bobby Martin & Joel Armstrong.

The exhibit opens on the First Friday, April 5 from 6-9pm and will continue through April 25 with a Closing from 6-9pm.

Original Concept for the proposal

Since the powder coats have been popular I have decided to go all white on the chandelier. Here is the revised plan.

Forming

Soldering

Voila! Ready for the powder coater.

Powder coats are in and look excellent!

Revised plan. I think the cascade will look more dynamic.

All the hardware has been ordered so I just need to make a plate box where the hardwiring will be concealed.

I have to thank Don @ Plumbing Plus OKC, Eddie Jr. @ Cable Grippers NV, Joe @ Grand Brass CT!!!

New powder coated colors!!!

I am excited about these new powder coated Nodo sculptures. They are whimsical… almost like candy I want to eat. Plan on seeing more of this type of sculpture soon as I am busy in the studio all of March getting ready for 3 big shows in the Spring.

These 3 have sold but if you want one of your own contact me 405-604-7947 cell to customize color and size.

Chandelier @ Living Arts Tulsa

Friday, April 5, 2013 – 6:00 pm to Thursday, April 25, 2013 – 8:00 pm

Chandelier An Exhibition of Illuminated Objects

Over 30 Chandeliers from various talented artistics and craftsmen will be hanging from the ceiling at the Myers Gallery at Living Arts through the month of April. Opening on the first friday for the Friday Arts Crawl, chandeliers made from metal, wood, glass, clay, paper,plastics, etc. will be displayed and available for sale. A chandelier is a branched, decorative lighting fixture that holds a number of bulbs, candles or other methods of lighting and is suspended from the ceiling. These chandeliers will defy and redefine your vision of a chandelier.

Sculpture Park @ Downtown OKC Festival of the Arts 

April 23-28, 2013
Downtown Oklahoma City

Sculpture Park is an area on the east lawn of Stage Center devoted entirely to showing medium and large size sculpture pieces. This curated exhibit allows only invited artists and Plaza Artists to exhibit.

FRINGE @ Istvan

May 17, 2013

This is a conceptual show featuring the work of Fringe (Oklahoma City Women’s Art Organization.) This show will be centered around culture and cultivation.

AVAILABLE AT OKC’S BEST GALLERIES & SHOPS

OKC SCIENCE MUSEUM

STUDIO SIX

DRISHTI GALLERI

URBAN CORE

SHOP ONLINE: CO ART + DESIGN

I have sculpture and jewelry on display and for sale… come out and visit me at Studio Six this Friday:) Images below of the work I have on display & for sale. Thanks to Sue Sullivan, Regina Murphy and Mary Nickell for having me at their beautiful studio. It was a great success! Thank you to patrons and supporters of my art; Patty Newman, Randel and Dana Shadid and Linda Loo Tripp.

Check out “Soundscapes” @ Science Museum Oklahoma. I have an interactive sound sculpture “Tympanum” that combines percussion and sculpture. Every month I’ll have musicians demo / play the sculpture. Check out the sounds so far and read about the creative process below…

Above: “Tympanum” center, “Umbra Frames” sides, “Ledges” back wall by Christie Owen.

FEB 2013 Jonathan Martin & Clinton Avery Tharp play my sound sculpture “Tympanum” @ Science Museum Oklahoma Feb 2013. Check out Johnathon Martin’s band The Ugly Suit & Clinton with The Grown Ups. 

Opening night this guy rocked out… Wish I got his name? Danny ? Anyway, watching and listening to people play is the most exciting part of the project.

MARCH 2013 Lance Pelligrini from Gravity Propulsion System testing my sound sculpture “Tympanum” for the first time. It’s the first time Lance or anyone else has played it!

Creative process and production below.

12.1.12

I am starting my project for “Soundscapes.” Simply put, I need to have a sculpture that makes sound. I am a lover of percussion instruments (my husband is a drummer) and I am brainstorming…

12.2.12

Researching street drummers, hank drum, tongue drum, Udu drum, Cajon, Bass Pan… From this research, my brain started to conjure up organic shapes of various materials as percussional sculpture. Tomorrow I am meeting with 2 local drummers Mark Owen (husband) and Lance Pelligrini (both formerly of the band Gravity Propulsion System) for input on set up and acoustics. I would like to have them demo the sculpture opening night.

Here is a quick sketch of my plans that harken back to “Ex Nihilio” ( a steel sculpture I made for “Make art not Trash”.) Same sculptural concept overall, just with an acoustic element now.

Thoughts: Cymbals will be made from floating brass plates within triangular steel casings. The floor toms, snare and bass drum may be plasticine pads laid into steel and wooden triangles depending on the sound effect.

1.2.13

I have been researching various percussion instruments and have not found any triangular shaped drums at all. My big question now is how does the shape affect the sound? Digging around more there are claims that the round shape of a drum allows to sound to resonate more fully plus Uniform tension at all lugs can only be achieved with a round drum. A non round shell produces different patters, corners or angles may block vibrations… But, the cajon is square! My guess is that a traditional drum like a snare, tom or kick drum has to be round for durability, tension and resonance of sound. BUT, the slit drums, steel, drums, cajon, etc are non traditional therefore I can proceed with the triangular shape.

The other question is the height. I would like to have variations on the height of these drums.

I am going to cnc these wooden slit drums out and start there. This is all experimental so I just have to start by making one first.

01.10.12

Solid Works Rendering / Concept

1.2.13

Today I submitted a grant proposal – here is an excerpt…

The Oklahoma City Science Museum is exhibiting a group show entitled “Soundscapes” February 9^th, 2013. I have been invited to participate and I am asking for financial assistance as I am currently working on this project.

My concept for this show is to present a variety of hybrid percussive sculptures titled “Tympanum.” (Latin = Drum) I am presenting 8 to 9 modular structures of various heights and sizes that produce specific acoustics when struck with mallets. Triangular prisms form the base of the sculptures and are made from stained wood. The percussion heads are comprised of both metal and wood in various configurations to produce distinct tones. The base of each drum is a resonating chamber for the sound vibrations created when the tops are struck. Additionally, I have been asked to create wall pieces. To correspond with the freestanding sculptures, I will have multiple triangular wall pieces constructed from stained wood and steel attached to the wall. Some with acoustic elements and others as complimentary visuals, this assemblage will also allow reconfigurations in overall composition.

The fusion of sound and image lead me to research percussion instruments. From buskers banging on pots and pans for money, Caribbean steel pannists, legendary jazz and rock drummers to primitive people beating drums made of hollowed trees, the notion any material could become a drum gave way to my design.

An ancient type of idiophone called a tongue drum captured my attention. The tongue drum is one of the oldest instruments in human history. It is an enclosed rectangular box made of hardwood with slits on the top. The shell becomes the resonating chamber for the sound vibrations created when the tongues are struck.  I also stumbled upon the hang drum, which is similar in design but made from metal. These instruments are referred to as “drums” but are specifically called “struck idiophones.”

Through research, I also observed a profound dichotomy between wood and metal instruments. The contrast of materials produces a sensory message both carnal and industrial. Wood produces rich warm sounds representing the forest whereas metal tones ring and evoke ethereal and almost galactic vibes.

My work is generally minimalist in form and composition usually with an organic theme. I chose the prism shape for its simplistic aesthetic and to give the user configurative options and ergonomic comfort; the drum sculptures can be played individually, arranged together or apart in any order.

This project is innovative with respect to the triangular design. I have not found the triangular shape in any class of drums and discovered a non-round shell creates different patters of sound.

The Soundscapes exhibit allows my work to cross over to an auditory platform creating a limitless acoustic palette. This sculptural exploration of percussionist power revolutionizes concepts in sound and design while it engages the viewer to become participant.

1.11.13

Richie Knapp came up to the studio today. He is a wood expert and builds beautiful contemporary cabinets. He recommended I check out Pheonix Hardwood and Supply for the hardwood tops. Thanks for coming up to the studio Richie. It’s so awesome to have resourceful and sharing people around me. Check out Richie’s work.

1.15.13

K.I.S.S. “Keep it simple stupid”

My design is getting more simplified. More efficient. Making more sense to me. Last night my husband and I cut 30° angles on the table saw for the triangular bases. The sides are 3/4 Oak ply. We tried to do a 60° mitered corner but the process was not consistent and a little scary. Mark (my husband) made a jig for the table saw but running some of the larger sheets through was hit or miss on the cuts.

Today I am rounding up the hardwood for the tops. Going to Pheonix Hardwood & Ply.

Here is the revision for the tops.

Here is the wall design… The Science Museum wall are very large and beige so I am going with whites for contrast…

1.18.13 – 1.22.13

Thanks to Butch and Cynthia Curry!!! They spent the weekend with us prepping and running the CNC table to get the hardwood and plywood cut. I could hardly contain myself while I watched the CNC machine perform. Super super exciting!!!

Butch Curry

1.12.13

Some of the hardwood pieces are sounding good. They look super nice… but want to get them sounding cool. The hardwood is 1″ thick so we might plane it down 3/4″ and then 1/2″ to see what happens. It’s clear that the steel sheets do not resonate at all on the wooden chambers but they do when suspended. At this point, everything is cut out, looks great and now just needs to sound nice.

Sapele (African Mahogany) Hardwood with CNC slots cut out.

Plasma CNC on Perforated Sheet Metal

This one has 3 different tones. My husband Mark is gold… He has become my shop slave. It’s a fair trade afterall, I worked for him for 10 years… ha ha!

Additional art for the show. These will be suspended from the ceiling with lights passing through to create shadows. I thought of white washing the plywood. Did a sample and decided to go with raw material look instead.

Poor Ever! She has been also held captive at the studio.

1.15.13 – 1.28.13

Grinding & polishing the big gong.

My husband is testing with various mallets.

Lance Pelligrini making some nice beats.

I have paintings, sculpture & jewelry in this show. I am proud to be showing with Zach Burns, Krystle Brewer, Amy Coldren, Cindy Coleman, & Tim Towalczyk. Here are some photos of my work at this show.

presents

The works of Christie Owen.

On Monday November 19th Artwear will host an Artist reception for Christie Owen. We will have complimentary wine and hors d’oeurves for you to enjoy while viewing all of  the amazing art and Jewelry. Christie will be available to answer any questions regarding her art and she welcomes commision work.

Please join us Monday November 19th from 5pm-8pm

Pictures from Opening Night

The show is up until Feb 11th, 2012 so make sure to go check it out!

Huge thanks to Scott Henderson, Richard and crew at SMO for helping me get “Nodo” hung and lit!

Hope to see everyone there.

Photos from Opening Night.