Currieworks Fine Art

SQUIRREL!!

john — Sat, 13 Jun 2015 04:52:31 +0000

So what goes through a dog’s brain?
“…I like balls, balls and babies, babies are like puppies, babies smell funny, babies smell like milk and poop, I like poop, I like to eat poop, where is some poop, I want to find some poop, I want go for a walk, I like walks, I want to go for a walk right now, walking is fun when it is warm, who will take me for a walk, I can walk all day, I hate leashes, I like grass, grass feels cool, dirt is nice, nice and cool, mud is fun, mud smells like old fish, I like that smell, I wish I had some old fish to roll in, where are the fish, I––SQUIRREL!!”

Bronze, Approx. size 9″ H x 8″ W x 3 ” D

Bronze Basket 3: Walnut Brown

john — Sat, 13 Jun 2015 04:42:52 +0000

This is the third basket I sculpted. I started with hot, molten wax, hand-poured onto a sheet of wet canvas. Once cooled and solid, I peeled it off, tore it into strips and assembled it-free-hand over a bowl form, weaving it gently together, playing with the edges and texture as I went. And then a made a small spiral our of the same wax and pressed it into the bottom.

Once complete, the wax basket went through the lost wax process, making an investment, and hand-casting it in molten bronze. THEN I spent the prime of my life in the grinding room, cleaning up the raw casting, shaping and sanding and polishing it until the form was right. I used a liver of sulfur patina, followed by a hot wax––not a Brazilian hot wax––and a nap.

SQUARE ELEPHANT (small)

john — Sun, 07 Jun 2015 14:01:26 +0000

One of my first Square Menagerie animals and one of the few not perched on very tall legs.

Approx. 7″ W x 6″ H x 5″ W

BE STILL (relief)

john — Sat, 06 Jun 2015 13:45:01 +0000

My mother was a woman of a great and simple faith. This Bible verse, Psalm 46:10, was one of her favorites: “Be still and know that I am God.” Throughout her life, and the many storms that roiled the seas in it, she kept her heart centered on God, trusting Him, knowing that His love was steadfast and constant, that His presence was unwavering.

When I was in high school, for a calligraphy project in art class, I painted it on a small piece of slate for my mother. It sat on her kitchen window ledge for years, accompanying her through many moves and resting on nearly a dozen different window ledges, quietly reminding her of God’s faithfulness and gently calling her to hers. When she died, I was given it back; now it sits in my kitchen where I can see it every day.

I created this piece in memory of her. It was built from three thick layers of wax sheet, laid one upon the other, with the negative spaces then carved out and peeled away. The lettering was created the same way. Then it was hand-cast in bronze, and a hand-cut sheet of amber mica was affixed to the back of each side. The patina is built up in many layers, sealed with special lacquer, and then hand waxed and buffed.

The original hangs in our home. Every day, I am reminded of the need to be quiet, to reflect and trust in God’s presence. I have kept that painted piece of slate to remind me, too; this is for you.

This same design has been created as a four-sided lantern, also viewable on this site.

Bronze, 28″ W x 11″ H x 1″ D, 28 lbs.

TRIUMPHANT

john — Sat, 06 Jun 2015 13:30:31 +0000

We struggle,we seek,we pursue; the journey is long, the process, often
arduous.The challenges we face in this life are sometimes daunting and
the need to persevere sometimes feels like more than we can bear. Yet
we know that we must continue; giving in or giving up is not an option
which we want to contemplate.More than that,we want to be faithful,
trusting that God has a way. In that spirit of assurance,we will come past
the valleys,we will by His grace overcome the deep chasms and the
jagged crags and emerge stronger, better, triumphant.

I’ve made Triumphant with three different patinas. The featured image shows her in silver on light ferric brown; the second is in ferric brown; a third exists (where IS that photo?) with her skirt in a shiny mélange of faux gold, copper and silver leaf, plus light ferric brown skin tones. These two views also show her from both sides, in close-up and in her vital totality.

SQUARE RHINO (small)

john — Sat, 06 Jun 2015 13:20:34 +0000

One of my Square Menagerie creations

Bronze, Approx. 9’H 4″ W x 3″ W

Los Conejos

john — Fri, 05 Jun 2015 12:56:19 +0000

More story to come, but for now, these are larger versions in bronze of Los Conejitos, the tiny pewter rabbits that I made for my wife as a Christmas present and gave to her in Beijing in 2014 under the watchful gaze of our voluptuous, scantinly-clad black female chocolate Santa.

Honest.

Bronze, approx 7″ W x 7″ H x 4″ D

Woodroses

john — Wed, 03 Jun 2015 15:09:17 +0000

Three woodland fairies, the Wood Roses, scamper across a piece of tree bark in the forest. Each one is a fairy blossom, each one a beautiful rose. Look how much joy they scatter as they frolic!

Bronze, 9″ H x 14″ W x 5″ D

Golden Aspens (Framed)

john — Wed, 03 Jun 2015 13:52:49 +0000

Shhhhh. I have a secret.

This relief was originally done as a sand cast, molten bronze poured into a negative relief carved out of a block of man-made sandstone. It was directly inspired by a plein air painting I did in a lovely grove of aspens at the 7D Ranch outside of Cody, WY. I really liked the original casting, so I made a mold and have pulled a limited edition of bronzes from it.

But that’s not the secret.

Here it is, but you have to keep it quiet.

In 2013, I received a call from the office of the Secretary of Protocol for the Secretary of State of the Most Powerful Nation on Earth (which shall remain nameless). They were looking for a personal gift to be given by their Chief Executive to a senior official in the government of a Sweet Eden of a Nordic country. They were looking for an American artist with that national heritage and decided to look for same in Minnesota. That led them eventually to the Society of Minnesota Sculptors, of which I am a member, and our president, Thomas Zahn. Tom generously gave them the name of several artists, including me, and I was contacted directly thereafter. I actually do have that national blood in me on my father’s side, so it was Coincidence at Work. We chatted, they interviewed me, ran a background check, and selected this sculpture. Because it was going to be a personal gift from Him to That Official, I had a custom solid cherry frame made for it as well as a black shadowbox behind it into which the bronze relief was mounted.

My fabulous wife and partner, Jeannine, who is an amazing seamstress, volunteered to make a presentation bag to enclose the complete, framed piece, and made it out of olive Ultrasuede with three tie closures. Lovely!

It went off to The Capitol City and eventually crossed the ocean with Him and was presented in person during a personal visit with That Official.

Pretty amazing and unbelievable, right? But it’s all true. I was asked not to promote all of this, as it was a personal and not State gift, so I have very carefully deleted all names and identification of the people and countries involved…

And a funny sidebar? I was asked to give them a reduced-price deal, because that Very Large and Powerful Country’s State Department didn’t have a lot of money to spend…

Golden Brown Vase (short)

john — Wed, 03 Jun 2015 13:26:19 +0000