http://sculptorsjournal.com
http://dawntreestudio.com
http://henrymitchellsculptor.com
Copyright © 2005-2009 henry mitchell
Copyright for all artwork shown on this site resides with the artist.
http://dawntreestudio.com
http://henrymitchellsculptor.com
Copyright © 2005-2009 henry mitchell
Copyright for all artwork shown on this site resides with the artist.
Wednesday 13 May 2009- Cloudy most of the day and cool enough that I didn't have to turn on the fans in the yurt. It was good being able to listen to the birds speaking as I worked.
Except for a run downtown for meds and groceries, spent most of the day working on the "Glad" piece. Trying to keep this one simpler than most of the recent constructions. Just two or three simple textures, and as many shapes playing off one another around a single word of text. More like a string quartet than a symphony. The scale is modest as well, about 8 x 10 inches.
Keep it simple. Keep it clear. Keep it portable. Avoid clutter. That works as well for building a life as for making something to hang on your wall.
Except for a run downtown for meds and groceries, spent most of the day working on the "Glad" piece. Trying to keep this one simpler than most of the recent constructions. Just two or three simple textures, and as many shapes playing off one another around a single word of text. More like a string quartet than a symphony. The scale is modest as well, about 8 x 10 inches.
Keep it simple. Keep it clear. Keep it portable. Avoid clutter. That works as well for building a life as for making something to hang on your wall.
ABOVE:
Clover blooming by the door this morning. When the sun gets higher, bumble bees will have a riot here.
RIGHT:
The studio yurts at night, in summer often the best time to work.
Clover blooming by the door this morning. When the sun gets higher, bumble bees will have a riot here.
RIGHT:
The studio yurts at night, in summer often the best time to work.
Tonight after dinner, I went back out and worked on the "Glad" piece until about nine. By then it was dark, and a fine steady rain was coming down- a faint tattoo on the skin of the yurts. It was like being inside a whisper. So do we all live and move and have our being inside the fierce and gentle Word of God.
The work went well- too well, perhaps, as I wound up having to undo some things that seemed like a good idea until they had been done. Millie Moorhead, who was my dealer in Oxford, Mississippi for several years, used to tell me that my greatest weakness was my failure to recognize when I was done with a thing. Maybe she was right.
Millie's parties were legendary. She taught me most of what I know about hospitality. My grandfather liked to say the second greatest sin is to withhold hospitality. The greatest sin, he said, is to abuse it.
The work went well- too well, perhaps, as I wound up having to undo some things that seemed like a good idea until they had been done. Millie Moorhead, who was my dealer in Oxford, Mississippi for several years, used to tell me that my greatest weakness was my failure to recognize when I was done with a thing. Maybe she was right.
Millie's parties were legendary. She taught me most of what I know about hospitality. My grandfather liked to say the second greatest sin is to withhold hospitality. The greatest sin, he said, is to abuse it.
Thursday 14 May 2009- All day long the air was filled with the sound of bees. Pushed ahead with the "Glad" piece along with a free standing construction, in between the various chores involved with baking bread. The great thing about baking is that there are long spells of waiting between brief flurries of activity- spells that allow one to get on with life in the midst of providing fuel for it. At the end of the day I had a hundred rolls ready to feed my neighbors at Triune Mercy Center Sunday, and also had "Glad" assembled and shaped, ready for painting.
Painting is, in itself, a fairly lengthy process, usually taking longer than the fabrication. First there will be three coats of acrylic resin, followed by three coats of an industrial grade primer/sealer, then three coats of black gesso, then who knows how many applications of acrylic color and micaceous oxides to acheive the finished surface.
At left, is "Glad" in it's raw state, before any undercoat or finish is applied. Essentially, peices of cedar shakes removed from the house during our last remodeling project, some carved wooden letters, slices of pvc tubing cut from the yurt fames broken when ice brought them down during the winter, a sand dollar picked up on the beach during one of Jane Ella's worshops on the coast last year, and a blown halogen lamp from one of my worklights that went out while I was working last night.
Over several days numerous other objects and arrangements were floated, but this is what stuck. As I look at the piece, I'm intrigued by the warm tones of the wood, and I think I ought to do a wood assemblage with natural finishes; but in this one, I want to try to get the kind of colors I see in the clover that is blooming all around the yurts (top left).
Painting is, in itself, a fairly lengthy process, usually taking longer than the fabrication. First there will be three coats of acrylic resin, followed by three coats of an industrial grade primer/sealer, then three coats of black gesso, then who knows how many applications of acrylic color and micaceous oxides to acheive the finished surface.
At left, is "Glad" in it's raw state, before any undercoat or finish is applied. Essentially, peices of cedar shakes removed from the house during our last remodeling project, some carved wooden letters, slices of pvc tubing cut from the yurt fames broken when ice brought them down during the winter, a sand dollar picked up on the beach during one of Jane Ella's worshops on the coast last year, and a blown halogen lamp from one of my worklights that went out while I was working last night.
Over several days numerous other objects and arrangements were floated, but this is what stuck. As I look at the piece, I'm intrigued by the warm tones of the wood, and I think I ought to do a wood assemblage with natural finishes; but in this one, I want to try to get the kind of colors I see in the clover that is blooming all around the yurts (top left).
Saturday 16 May 2009- Multiflora Rose (right), the first rose of the season, with a pretty little flower and a fine sweet smell- and aggressive as kudzu. Constant vigilance is the price of being neighbor to this plant.
Today being my "day off," the morning was taken up baking bread for the dinner we're preparing tomorrow for 80-90 folks at Triune Mercy Center. Still, I spent a little time in the yurts this afternoon, applying a ground coat to the "Glad" piece, and starting to put together another construction with text, tentatively titled "Still." I'm acquiring a fair collection of works in progress. Before I run out of space, I need to complete one or two. Always, there are more ideas than time to see them through. Life is short and art is long.
I just realized that most of our kitchen crew for the meal at Triune tomorrow are artists of one sort or another: a sculptor, a painter, a potter, a furniture maker, and a couple of musicians. A friend said to me the other day that if you're looking for Christian charity, you're more likely to find it among artists, be they Christians or not, than among churched folks. I don't believe that is true, but it is close enough to being true to make one think. Perhaps artists, by the nature of their vocation, are unconsciously attuned to the Spirit of Christ, who regards us all as poor, and commands us to give generously out of our poverty until we are all made rich.
Monday 18 May 2009- Probably one reason being an artist suits me so well is that it is generally a solitary pursuit. On most days, the only fool I have to contend with is me. But it is more than that, I think. Making works of art is essentially a contemplative endeavor. It follows the natural cadence of the days and seasons, and every act is the visible fruit of some inner, hidden movement of the soul, already accomplished.
Today being my "day off," the morning was taken up baking bread for the dinner we're preparing tomorrow for 80-90 folks at Triune Mercy Center. Still, I spent a little time in the yurts this afternoon, applying a ground coat to the "Glad" piece, and starting to put together another construction with text, tentatively titled "Still." I'm acquiring a fair collection of works in progress. Before I run out of space, I need to complete one or two. Always, there are more ideas than time to see them through. Life is short and art is long.
I just realized that most of our kitchen crew for the meal at Triune tomorrow are artists of one sort or another: a sculptor, a painter, a potter, a furniture maker, and a couple of musicians. A friend said to me the other day that if you're looking for Christian charity, you're more likely to find it among artists, be they Christians or not, than among churched folks. I don't believe that is true, but it is close enough to being true to make one think. Perhaps artists, by the nature of their vocation, are unconsciously attuned to the Spirit of Christ, who regards us all as poor, and commands us to give generously out of our poverty until we are all made rich.
Monday 18 May 2009- Probably one reason being an artist suits me so well is that it is generally a solitary pursuit. On most days, the only fool I have to contend with is me. But it is more than that, I think. Making works of art is essentially a contemplative endeavor. It follows the natural cadence of the days and seasons, and every act is the visible fruit of some inner, hidden movement of the soul, already accomplished.
BELOW:
Ed Webb's angel window over our kitchen door shines a welcome to any tired soul coming in from the studio at night.
Ed Webb's angel window over our kitchen door shines a welcome to any tired soul coming in from the studio at night.
Tuesday 19 May 2009- Sometimes after a long day, if I am too tired after supper for any serious labor, I'll take a cup of tea out to the yurts, and simply sit and inquire of the day's work. If I am mystified or uncertain about how to proceed with a piece, often next morning's mission becomes clear during these little meditative sessions.
People have some notion about artists doing their work in flashing moments of inspiration. The flashing moments, if they come at all, are interspersed by long hours of physically and mentally demanding work. The process begins when one wakes and never quite ends- even in dreams, images arise and demand attention.
If this sounds like drudgery, it isn't; but making art is as constant as breathing. If you are born to this work, you are never quite at ease while doing anything else.
People have some notion about artists doing their work in flashing moments of inspiration. The flashing moments, if they come at all, are interspersed by long hours of physically and mentally demanding work. The process begins when one wakes and never quite ends- even in dreams, images arise and demand attention.
If this sounds like drudgery, it isn't; but making art is as constant as breathing. If you are born to this work, you are never quite at ease while doing anything else.
ABOVE:
"Rhiannon 3"- work in progress
RIGHT:
"Rhiannon 3"
gesso on paper
44 x 60 in.
"Rhiannon 3"- work in progress
RIGHT:
"Rhiannon 3"
gesso on paper
44 x 60 in.
Friday 22 May 2009- One of my art heroes, Mary Henry has died at age 96 in Seattle. Mary kept painting all her life, through rearing a family, a divorce, the death of her son, and only achieved professional recognition as an artist in her mid-seventies (so maybe there is hope yet for me). She painted severe geometric abstractions that were rendered joyous through her fearless use of color. Such plain dressed exuberance is at once comforting and uplifting- and profoundly unsettling. She was a working artist and gardener to the last. One wonders what she would have done next.
Saturday 23 May 2009- "Still" (left) is pretty much assembled now. I can think of other things to do to it, but it rests just as it is. I'm going to take Millie's advice for once and quit while I'm ahead. The next step is to glue all this stuff together.
This piece has pretty much depleted my stock of cedar shakes and carved letters. I need to lay hands on some new materials.
Whatever they are, they will lend their nature to the form and surfaces of whatever is made from them. There will be a shift, a change in the work that comes next.
Monday 25 May 2009- Last night a couple of friends came for dinner- people my daughter's age. We sat around and talked for hours. I had forgotten how earnest young people are, how full of outrage and possibilities. I need to recover some of that. I suppose I need to make more young friends. Most of the people I know now seem to be making a career out of getting old.
Tuesday 26 May 2009- George Fox had no use for the arts. George Fox would say a Friend should not be a practicing artist.
There is a lot that George Fox didn't know. I don't know what the Spirit of Christ said to George Fox; I must take George's word for that. I do know what Jesus says to me. That, I have to answer to.
This piece has pretty much depleted my stock of cedar shakes and carved letters. I need to lay hands on some new materials.
Whatever they are, they will lend their nature to the form and surfaces of whatever is made from them. There will be a shift, a change in the work that comes next.
Monday 25 May 2009- Last night a couple of friends came for dinner- people my daughter's age. We sat around and talked for hours. I had forgotten how earnest young people are, how full of outrage and possibilities. I need to recover some of that. I suppose I need to make more young friends. Most of the people I know now seem to be making a career out of getting old.
Tuesday 26 May 2009- George Fox had no use for the arts. George Fox would say a Friend should not be a practicing artist.
There is a lot that George Fox didn't know. I don't know what the Spirit of Christ said to George Fox; I must take George's word for that. I do know what Jesus says to me. That, I have to answer to.
Monday 1 June 2009- It must be summer, calendar notwithstanding. Lilies are blooming in front of the yurts (right), and a few surviving peas are blooming in the garden (below). Time to plant basil.
In printing mode this week. Have a few orders for the "Songs for all Seasons" folio to print, and today or tomorrow, the "Condor" paper from Hawk Mountain Papers and the folio covers from Neil Enns at Dane Creek Folios will be arriving. I'd be ahead of the game if I could get the reserved copies of the "Traveling Mercies" folio printed this week. As soon as that's done, I may need to set my attention to a new construction, as a church is threatening a commission that would be due around the end of August. Meanwhile, all my unfinished projects are perched around in the yurts like abandoned orphans. Neglected, but not forgotten.
In printing mode this week. Have a few orders for the "Songs for all Seasons" folio to print, and today or tomorrow, the "Condor" paper from Hawk Mountain Papers and the folio covers from Neil Enns at Dane Creek Folios will be arriving. I'd be ahead of the game if I could get the reserved copies of the "Traveling Mercies" folio printed this week. As soon as that's done, I may need to set my attention to a new construction, as a church is threatening a commission that would be due around the end of August. Meanwhile, all my unfinished projects are perched around in the yurts like abandoned orphans. Neglected, but not forgotten.
Wednesday 3 June 2009- In her marvelous little book, "Walking on Water- Reflections on Faith and Art", written close to thirty years ago, Madeleine L'Engle says, "An artist at work is in a condition of complete and total faith." That is very close to the truth. An artist has faith the way a farmer has faith when she gives her seed to the ground, the way Abraham had faith when he put his foot to the road not knowing when or where he would arrive. Faith is never as constant as Madeleine's statement might imply, but even in drought and storm, when faith is shaken, hope abides. Artists live in the country of perpetual hope.
Thursday 4 June 2009- Queen Ann's Lace (right), which excites my allergies wonderfully, is a fine and lovely plant to behold. I've never learned if the name derives from the flower or the leaf. I remember, as a boy, seeing these massed in abandoned fields, faces upturned to the sun in blinding unanimity- like armies of angels. On the day that I die, I will recall not the sneezes, but the glory.
Friday 5 June 2009- It appears I do have a commission to do a piece of work for a sacred space. I met yesterday with committee reps and architect. We did a walk-through of the building and picked a site for a fair sized wall-mounted piece. There is good light which will change through the day. The wall faces an entrance where people must pause long enough to see the art. The glory of this building is in its interior spaces, where art and architecture can each serve the another. I dare to hope this is one of those rare occasions when an artist can please a patron at the same time he satisfies his own aesthetic. The scary part is that there are only about ten weeks to complete the project.
Friday 5 June 2009- It appears I do have a commission to do a piece of work for a sacred space. I met yesterday with committee reps and architect. We did a walk-through of the building and picked a site for a fair sized wall-mounted piece. There is good light which will change through the day. The wall faces an entrance where people must pause long enough to see the art. The glory of this building is in its interior spaces, where art and architecture can each serve the another. I dare to hope this is one of those rare occasions when an artist can please a patron at the same time he satisfies his own aesthetic. The scary part is that there are only about ten weeks to complete the project.
Saturday 6 June 2009- I've submitted the initial preliminary concept sketch for the "Sheep Gate" commission. The form derives from the stonework (below) and the acoustic panel configurations in the building. The texts are all quotes from Jesus about the way into the Kingdom. The piece will be sited just inside an entrance which is approached through an elevated walkway.
LEFT:
"Glad"
10 x 8 x 3 in.
wood, found objects, micaceous oxides, acrylic
at Hand in Hand Gallery, Flat Rock NC
"Glad"
10 x 8 x 3 in.
wood, found objects, micaceous oxides, acrylic
at Hand in Hand Gallery, Flat Rock NC
Sunday 7 June 2009- Finished "Glad" (below)? The color is a bit extreme for my taste, but this is where it went. Perhaps by the cold light of dawn, something will demand to be done to it, but I'm trying to follow Christopher Onasanya's admonition, "In Africa, we start when we're ready and quit when we're done."
Tuesday 9 June 2009- Hand in Hand Gallery in Flat Rock, North Carolina, is currently exhibiting three of my constructions, "Glad" (above), "Lift 2" (right) and "Proximity 2" (below). David Voorhees and Molly Sharp are the owners, and are themselves accomplished artists.
ABOVE:
"Lift 2"
wood, terra cotta, stone, found objects, micaceous oxides, acrylic
16 x 16 x 5 in.
at Hand in Hand Gallery, Flat Rock NC
LEFT:
"Proximity 2"
wood, found objects, micaceous oxides, acrylic
24 x 24 x 4 in.
at Hand in Hand Gallery, Flat Rock NC
"Lift 2"
wood, terra cotta, stone, found objects, micaceous oxides, acrylic
16 x 16 x 5 in.
at Hand in Hand Gallery, Flat Rock NC
LEFT:
"Proximity 2"
wood, found objects, micaceous oxides, acrylic
24 x 24 x 4 in.
at Hand in Hand Gallery, Flat Rock NC
Wednesday 10 June 2009- David Voorhees bought "Flower Girl" (left) about thirty-five years ago. The figure is mabe a bit over three feet tall, carved in walnut. David sent this picture of it today. Although I would approach the subject differently now, it still speaks to me from that other life.
The "Condor" paper ordered for the "Traveling Mercies" folio (right) arrived from Hawk Mountain Paper this afternoon- and was worth the wait! I would like to get the reserved copies printed before the first of the week.
The "Condor" paper ordered for the "Traveling Mercies" folio (right) arrived from Hawk Mountain Paper this afternoon- and was worth the wait! I would like to get the reserved copies printed before the first of the week.
Photo by David Voorhees
