An Evening With The Artists
I had such a lovely evening! Two artists (Anthony Powell and Daniel Kerem) walked into our studio; one an extraordinary wood carver, sculptor, water-gilder and restorer, and the other one a fantastic metal worker and world traveler who speaks quite a few languages. As they were about to leave the studio I decided to invite them both to dinner, and so we all met at LaDuni for the evening. I couldn't get enough of the stories of travel to distant lands, art, and buttons (long story). The company was superb, the meal was fantastic, and the stories were to die for!
Earth Day Dallas 2011
I got a sweet message from Lanny at Earth Day Dallas and thought to pass the good news along.
I hope to see everyone downtown on April 22nd and 23rd in the Arts District. The Earth Day Dallas festivities will begin at 10 a.m. on both that Friday (the official Earth Day) and Saturday.
EXHIBITS, FUN, FOOD, and ENTERTAINMENT:
There will be live music at the Annette Strauss Artist square and One Arts Plaza.
I know Laimis is excited about this one: a bike rally on Saturday at One Arts Plaza! Oh Yes!
The Dallas Film Society will be presenting film shorts for your education and entertainment. You can even suggest an environmentally focused and engaging film by e-mailing to info@earthdaydallas.org
You'll get to hear the thoughts and insights of environmental experts and advocates. See the Event Calendar for specific times.
You'll have fun and learn how to be more environmentally conscious at the family picnic that Saturday, in the central portion of the Arts District.
There will even be Free Earth Day yoga classes!!!
Justin Terveen is Rescuing Japan! One Photo at a Time...
I was going to do my tiny little part and donate to the victims of Japan's terrible 9.0 earthquake & Tsunami, but before I had a chance to do so I logged onto my Facebook. Staring me in the face was a really awesome post by Justin Terveen:
Justin is like the official photographer of Dallas I think... anyway, I love his iconic images of Dallas' architecture. So, I clicked on the link and saw that he was getting out there and doing something really great. His images are up for grabs: printed, mounted, and ready to be hung in your favorite place. All the proceeds will go directly to those in need via American Red Cross.
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| Image donated by Justin Terveen for Japan's earthquake & Tsunami victims. |
I ended up donating my part after work today. No matter how large or small your donation, please take the time to give. I am sure that you would want your neighbor to do the same if you were in a terrible situation like this one or many other ones around the world and even in our own back yards. It's so simple these days; I'm sure that your local grocery stores will be taking $1, $2, $10 and so on donations, you can also do it online at the American Red Cross web site, you can even get one of Justin's beautiful photographs, or simply text REDCROSS to 90999 in order to donate $10.
The image above will hang in my living room; it will be a constant reminder that we all have the power to change the world for the better... one little piece at a time.
Small World: a Trip to the Ritz-Carlton
Today, Richard and I were invited by Kyle Crews to take a trip to the Ritz-Carlton; or more specifically, the Regency Row Homes. The Homes were designed by architect Robert A.M. Stern. Not familiar? How about the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts or the Disney Feature Animation Building in Burbank, California? Aha!
Anyhow, we ended up sneaking a peak at two showcase plans at The Tower Residences while we were there; one was designed by Carleton Varney, and the other by Jan Showers.
Carleton Varney, of course, is an interior designer who is well known for his hotel and resort restorations and a total color freak if you ask me, or just about anyone else out there. When I walked into one of the guest bathrooms, I totally fell in love with the bold organic patterns on the wall. It's not exactly something I would do in my own home, but it was awesome to see and appreciate.
Anyhow, we ended up sneaking a peak at two showcase plans at The Tower Residences while we were there; one was designed by Carleton Varney, and the other by Jan Showers.
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| Bedroom designed by Jan Showers; traditional design with a twist... all about clean lines and comfortable glamour. |
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| Bathroom designed by Carleton Varney for The Tower Residences in Dallas. |
A little, big, side note: So how small is the world, right? Carleton Varney is a protege of Doroty Draper; a truly innovative American woman and interior decorator. In 2006, the Women's Museum in Dallas hosted "In the Pink: The Legendary Life of Dorothy Draper." A very awesome aluminum stair railing built by Henry Potter, Richard Potter's grandfather, for the Stoneleigh Hotel, which Dorothy worked on, was taken out of the historical Stoneleigh and displaid at the exhibition. Kyle Crews was one of the organizers for the event, after which we (Potter Art Metal Studios) took the railing back to our shop and totally restored it. On top of that, the Stoneleigh decided to add on a fabulous new spa down stairs, so we made a brand new railing which matched the historical one made by Richard's grandfather. Cool, ha? Small world indeed...
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| Aluminum railing at the historical Stoneleigh Hotel in Dallas. |
Good Metalwork | Bad Metalwork
I suppose that at the end of the day, there is no such thing as bad or good metalwork (except, in some cases.) The best way to explain this is through cars... Everyone understand cars.
A Honda Civic is a very good car. A Maserati (just throwing out one everyone is familiar with) is also great car. Both are owned by people with great taste.
Now, I might be presumptuous here, but add the means to the taste, and from the choices above, most of us would be driving around town in the Maserati. All you have to do is look at the two next to each other and you'll feel the difference.
Same applies to metalwork.
I will be the first to say that I can not afford the metalwork I design and desire, but have a great appreciation for the skill it takes to make it and the feeling it gives me to see true beauty. This is why I love getting a new house, new style, new set of challenges to work on. I treat each project as if it was my very own, and always strive for it to reach its full potential. It drives me sooo crazy when I see a beautiful home filled with less then worthy of stair railings, chandeliers, doors, drive gates and so on.
For the most part, I can't blame the owners of the homes, as they are simply used to seeing the above described metalwork all around them, and simply don't realize that there is something which is worthy of being called an heirloom of the future; an antique. Not to mention that so many metal shops carelessly throw around labels such as "the finest", "hand wrought", and "attention to detail." Words like this should be chosen carefully; at least in my opinion.
This weekend, I will organize some photos so that I can visually explain the difference in metalwork, and true beauty.
***For more information on my designs and the ornamental ironwork and lighting our metalworkers fabricate right here in Dallas, Texas go to www.potterartmetal.com
A Honda Civic is a very good car. A Maserati (just throwing out one everyone is familiar with) is also great car. Both are owned by people with great taste.
Now, I might be presumptuous here, but add the means to the taste, and from the choices above, most of us would be driving around town in the Maserati. All you have to do is look at the two next to each other and you'll feel the difference.
Same applies to metalwork.
I will be the first to say that I can not afford the metalwork I design and desire, but have a great appreciation for the skill it takes to make it and the feeling it gives me to see true beauty. This is why I love getting a new house, new style, new set of challenges to work on. I treat each project as if it was my very own, and always strive for it to reach its full potential. It drives me sooo crazy when I see a beautiful home filled with less then worthy of stair railings, chandeliers, doors, drive gates and so on.
For the most part, I can't blame the owners of the homes, as they are simply used to seeing the above described metalwork all around them, and simply don't realize that there is something which is worthy of being called an heirloom of the future; an antique. Not to mention that so many metal shops carelessly throw around labels such as "the finest", "hand wrought", and "attention to detail." Words like this should be chosen carefully; at least in my opinion.
This weekend, I will organize some photos so that I can visually explain the difference in metalwork, and true beauty.
***For more information on my designs and the ornamental ironwork and lighting our metalworkers fabricate right here in Dallas, Texas go to www.potterartmetal.com
Mold Making
I had a question recently on the process of mold making.
Here is the most easy and painless way to make them: Go Talk To My Buddy Mitch Rogers!
He's the most sweet guy you'll ever meet and is super helpful. On top of it, he can explain to you exactly what materials to use for what job and so on. Mitch was actually nice enough to help me out with my Henry The Tortoise. I sculpted him and Mitch helped me with the mold, since I decided to do that on my own instead of hiring a professional mold maker. BITY (short of Brick In The Yard: his Mold Supply Company) has tons of options. With all the options it's very easy to get super confused, but I promise he'll talk you right through it all.
There are lots of different types of Molds (or Moulds) out there, but for our purposes, we'll stick with what I do.
For me, a mold is a some sort of a rubber or silicone, which is in a liquid form and usually contains two parts. When the two parts are mixed, the material can easily be applied with a brush onto a sculpted piece we want to cast in metal or plastic, or what ever else you desire.
It's much more complicated then this of course. There are the obvious issues with, lets say, a brushed on rubber mold: Take it off the turtle and the mold will flop. To fix this pesky problem you'll have to build a mother mold on top of your rubber mold. A mother mold is built from something that will turn hard, and therefore will be able to support the shape of the floppy rubber mold. I like to use a two part hard plastic or foam, or even plaster.
Another problem with a sculpture like Henry is that he's quite intricate... you can't just pull the mold off a piece like that. So what can be done about that? Well, the mold and mother mold will have to be engineered in parts which will be able to pull apart, but also stay together tightly for when you are ready to paint in the wax for the metal foundry or pur in some plastic for other purposes.
I'm sure your head hurts by now, so I suggest watching a few BITY videos... they'll greatly help you in your understanding of the process. I'm going to plug in a few below, but he's got many more you can check out on YouTube. If you have any questions, I'll try to help out.
Wrought vs. Cast
I live a dual art metal life... at Potter Art Metal Studios I work with Wrought Metal, and in my personal time I work with Cast Metal.
I always get this question: So what's the difference?
Here is the short and sweet version:
Wrought simply means that a piece of metal, usually a square or round bar or plate, is shaped by being hit with a hammer. In the case of wrought iron, the metal is usually placed in the forge until it's red hot so that it can be pliable. This is what we do at Potter Art Metal Studios. Via this process our artisans forge pieces and make chandeliers, fandeliers, lanterns, drive gates, table bases, window grilles, decorative hinges, doors, and many, many, more pieces designed by myself or other designers. The cool thing is that it's all custom, and therefore can be made into exactly what the client's dreams are. {I will explain the different forging techniques in my next post.}
***For more information on my designs and the ornamental ironwork and lighting our metalworkers fabricate right here in Dallas, Texas go to www.potterartmetal.com
I always get this question: So what's the difference?
Here is the short and sweet version:
Wrought simply means that a piece of metal, usually a square or round bar or plate, is shaped by being hit with a hammer. In the case of wrought iron, the metal is usually placed in the forge until it's red hot so that it can be pliable. This is what we do at Potter Art Metal Studios. Via this process our artisans forge pieces and make chandeliers, fandeliers, lanterns, drive gates, table bases, window grilles, decorative hinges, doors, and many, many, more pieces designed by myself or other designers. The cool thing is that it's all custom, and therefore can be made into exactly what the client's dreams are. {I will explain the different forging techniques in my next post.}
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| © All Rights Reserved |
As I mentioned earlier, my personal time is spent with metal casting. More accurately; creating my sculptures in clay, which is an important step in sand, spin, or lost wax casting.
The main difference in Wrought Metal and Casting is simple: casting is a process by which a metal such as bronze, iron, or aluminum has been melted down to a liquid, and then is forced into a mold (a negative of lets say a tortoise; an empty hole.) It's a great process... from my imagination, to clay, to a mold, a wax, to investment, to metal, to a bronze tortoise. And now you know! {I will explain what a mold is and the differences in the casting processes in the near future.}
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| © All Rights Reserved |
***For more information on my designs and the ornamental ironwork and lighting our metalworkers fabricate right here in Dallas, Texas go to www.potterartmetal.com
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