Thursday, December 9, 2010

Sculpture Scoop


Boston Sculptors Gallery
Group Sale
December 15 - December 24, 2010

· Opening Reception: Tuesday, December 14, 6-8 p.m.
· Special Gallery Hours: Monday-Friday, 12-7:30 p.m., Saturday-Sunday 10-7:30 p.m. and December 24th: 12-6 p.m.

From December 15-24, the Boston Sculptors Gallery is presenting Sculpture Scoop, a sale of sculpture, drawings, and jewelry by all 36 members of the gallery. For ten days the gallery will be opened for extended hours, making it the perfect part of your night out in the SOWA district.

With the majority of works priced under $300, this is a unique opportunity to own art created by some of the Boston area's premier sculptors. Included in show are many local artists with national reputations. Find a gift for the art lover in your life or begin your own sculpture collection.

I will be exhibiting earrings from the elephant princess jewelry collection, a few small bronzes, some computer prints and a selection of new monoprints. Hope you can stop by...

Images: 2" rapid prototypes [computer prints] 4"x4" marble bases

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Moose Myth: Maine





The Moose Myth: An Iconic figure of New Hampshire & Maine

We recently moved one of our Moose Myth sculptures from Portsmouth, NH to Portland, Maine with Chance Anderson, a friend who operates a boom truck and a 20 ft trailer. We built Moose Myth Portsmouth in June 2010 at Market Square as part of Art Speak, the City of Portsmouth Cultural Council's temporary art program, Overnight Art. The theme this year was bridges, and we chose the moose as an iconic symbol of New Hampshire and Maine, hence a bridge between the two neighboring states. Since we knew it was going to have to move or be removed in November 2011, we started looking around for a site in Maine, to fulfill our vision for this piece. Out of the blue, we got a call from Nancy Davidson, an independent curator who was putting together a show called 'Critters' at the Art Gallery of the University of New England in Portland, Maine. She asked us if we had indoor and outdoor animal themed pieces for her show, and when we told her about Moose Myth, she arranged a loan with the Director, Anne Zill. Moose Myth Portland Maine will be on view through July 2011 and Moose Myth Nashua will be on view indefinitely. More details below.

-Donna Dodson & Andy Moerlein

Moose Myth, New Hampshire
Bicentennial Park
66 Main Street
Nashua NH
on view indefinitely

Moose Myth, Maine
Art Gallery, University of New England
716 Stevens Avenue
Portland ME
on view through July 2011

Photo credit: Andy Moerlein

Update: Andy Moerlein made a video of Chance Anderson and Donna Dodson moving Moose Myth from Portsmouth New Hampshire to Portland Maine.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Two Upcoming Artist Talks in NYC

“What’s Old is New Again:
The Legacy of the Feminist Art Movement of the 1970’s”
Wednesday OCTOBER 20, 7pm
Panel discussion featuring Harriet Lyons along with regional artists; Damali Abrams, Orly Cogan, Donna Dodson and Chris Twomey
SOHO20 Gallery Chelsea
547 West 27th Street, Suite 301
New York, NY 10001

Harriet Lyons joined the original staff of Ms. magazine in 1972 as Visual Arts Editor. Good at sugar-coating the pill (''70s feminism was combat), she packaged celebrity cover features and special issues. She collaborated with Gloria Steinem on a groundbreaking essay on Marilyn Monroe, a combination cautionary tale and rescue fantasy. Lyons covered the pioneering ''70s Women's Art Movement and created the Family of Woman photography series for Ms. In 1977, she edited a special issue on the women's arts revolution. She conceived and produced the 1980 "Decade of Women" book, which won the Women in Communications Clarion Award. She is also a co-founder of the New York Feminist Art Institute (1979-1989) and the Coalition of Women's Art Organizations (1982- 1990). Lyons' collection of women's art includes works by Miriam Schapiro, Nancy Azara, Pat Steir, Alice Neel, Agnes Martin, Judy Chicago, Jane Kaufman, Mary Ellen Mark, Joan Roth, Imogen Cunningham, Gisele Freund, Elke Solomon, Betsy Damon and Mary Beth Edelson. Lyons moved on to newspaper journalism in 1980 at the Daily News, where as editor of the Sunday Magazine she commissioned many articles on the cultural life of the city that featured women artists and were photographed by Joyce Ravid, Amy Arbus and Nicole Bengiveno. She took breaks as press secretary to Brooklyn Borough President Howard Golden for the 1983 Brooklyn Bridge Centennial and later as senior editor for McCall's and Redbook magazines.

Damali Abrams is a video-performance artist living in New York. Her fictional television network, Self-Help TV, is an ongoing video-performance project, using her body and personal history as a point of departure. As a woman of color, she believes it is important to give visibility to people who are rarely represented.

Orly Cogan is a mixed media/fiber artist using vintage, printed fabrics and found embroideries, altering the traditional purpose. She explores common feminine archetypes and stereotypes such as Madonna/Whore, Pin-Up Girl, Lolita and the Femme Fatale and provokes questions such as what role do women want to play in society?

Donna Dodson is a sculptor whose art celebrates the mystical relationship between human beings and the animal kingdom. She creates standing animal-headed figures of the female form sculpted in wood, fusing feminine sensuality, sexuality and soul with a well-proportioned figurative vocabulary.

Chris Twomey's body of work, inspired by themes of origins and identity, involves film, performance, installation, digital media and sound. Using her own life and experience as springboard for meditations on the human condition and our interconnectivity, her work explores scientific, psychological, and conceptual ideas that impact our understanding of identity; from cradle to grave and beyond.


Three Dimensions: Hand or Digital
Sculptors consider the alternatives: Sculpting by hand vs. using digital machine technologies such as 3-D printing.
Thursday October 21, 2010, 7pm
Soho 20 Chelsea Gallery
547 West 27th Street, Suite 301
New York, NY 10001
Moderator: Doug Sheer, chairperson, ATOA
Participants:
Donna Dodson, wood carver
Ayami Aoyama, stone carver
Organizers:
Lynne Mayocole, ATOA President
Doug Sheer, ATOA Chairperson
ATOA's Critical Discussions in the Visual Arts are held at SOHO 20 Chelsea, 547 West 27th Street, Suite 301, NYC
Thursdays, at 7:00 PM, with doors opening at 6:30 PM. Check this site for dates and details, or call (212) 779-9250.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Sisterhood of Gallery Ehva


Gallery Artists & Friends Women's Week Group Show: Lisa Ventre, Julie Gorn, Leslie Gilliette Jackson, Rachel Brown, Meg Shields, Sterck/Rozo, Barbara Cohen, Zehra Khan, Alicia Henry, Jane Kogan, Donna Dodson, Jenny Fragosa, Lorrie Fredette, Irén Handschuh, and Jackie Reeves.

October 1-13, Opening Friday, October 8, 6-8pm
~ Meet the Artists: Saturday, October 9, 2-4pm

Gallery Ehva
Ewa Nogiec, Director
74 Shank Painter Road
P.O. Box 1426
Provincetown, MA 02657
508-487-0011
skype: ehva0011
www.galleryehva.com
art@galleryehva.com
Gallery hours:
Noon-6pm
Wednesday closed

Samurai Warrior,23" tall, osage orange wood and paint, 2009
Plain Jane, 21" tall, osage orange wood and paint, 2009

In keeping with the theme of the show, I am exhibiting these two sculptures that came from the same log. Hence, they are sister sculptures, from the the same family tree.

Here's an article from one very passionate collector of my elephant sculptures, Jim McDonald, former Director of the Art Connection,

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Jumping Off Of Cliff: A Tribute to H.C. Westermann

Jumping Off Of Cliff: A Tribute to H.C. Westermann
September 20 - November 1, 2010
Opening reception, October 17th, 2-4pm
Palmina F. and Stephen S. Pace Galleries
The Kenneth P. McCutchan Art Center
College of Liberal Arts
University of Southern Indiana
8600 University Boulevard
Evansville, IN 47712-3596

At first I thought of making a baboon-headed man or a mandrill headed man for this show. I am responding to the craftsmanship of H.C. Westerman’s work and his use of color. I was thinking that ‘Memorial to the Idea of Man If He Was an Idea ‘ was a signature piece and his most famous piece and that I had to use the same colors, red, white and blue, in my sculpture. H.C. Westerman to me is impenetrable. His work is enigmatic. His art is outside the cannon and in it. He seems not to be responding to other works of art in history or historical art movements but entirely caught up in his own world. Another famous image is of himself, shirtless, in a James Dean pose. I thought a rhinoceros better captured his physique and also his nature. Hence a rhino-man. With color, I usually don’t like to impose color like a mascot on my pieces or use it as a statement or a banner. I usually try hard to use color in a way that responds to the feeling of the wood or the wood grain. Hence the subtle grays, pinks and browns in the wood became silver, copper and gold in my piece. Yet the juxtaposition of metallic paint and natural wood grain seemed like an anomaly: like H.C. Westerman himself.

Rhino Man, 16" tall, maple wood & enamel, 2010 By Donna Dodson

Monday, September 13, 2010

Four Legged Art Exhibit


The Mill Brook Gallery & Sculpture Gardens

is pleased to present
Four Legged
Celebrating our
Animal Kingdom
Sept. 17- Nov. 14th

Please note: September 17-19
A percentage of each sale will benefit
the Concord-Merrimack Country SPCA

____________________


Reception:
Sunday
September 19th
1 pm - 5 pm

____________________


Join the cavalcade of animal lovers at Mill Brook Gallery for an artistic celebration of the animal kingdom.

Twenty-nine artists showcase their talents in this exciting visual arts menagerie featuring premier area artists.

You can lend your support to a noble cause! In addition to this truly astonishing exhibit, we are hosting a fund-raiser for the Concord-Merrimack SPCA. We appreciate and recognize all of their efforts on behalf of New Hampshire's animals.

____________________

Artists:
Megan Bogonovich, Walker Boyle,
Jane Butler, David Carroll,
Megan Chapman, Rosemary Conroy, Jeffrey Cooper, Elli Crocker,
Donna Dodson, Peter Dudley,
Liz Fletcher, Gary Hamel,
Mary Iselin, Al Jaeger,
Carol Lake, Wendy Klemperer,
Madeline Lord, Heidi Lorenz,
Glen MacInnis, Victoria Mauldin,
Melissa Miller, Annette Mitchell,
Andy Moerlein, Gloria Najecki,
Fleur Palau, Lynn Peterfreund,
Ilene Richard, Adele Sandborn,
Bob Shannahan and Patricia Verani

Gallery Hours
Tuesday - Sunday
11-5 and by appointment


The Mill Brook Gallery
& Sculpture Garden

236 Hopkinton Road
Concord, NH 03301
603.226.2046
www.TheMillBrookGallery.com

Silver Fox, 25" tall, wood, pigment & paint, 2009
Elephant Clown, 26" tall, wood, pigment &paint, 2009

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Two Sculptors in Two Dimensions


Two Sculptors in Two Dimensions: Donna Dodson & Andy Moerlein

Prints and drawings by sculptors Andy Moerlein of Bow NH and Donna Dodson of Boston MA are currently on view at University of New Hampshire School of Law, Two White Street, Concord NH. This show features two dimensional works paired with photographs of Dodson’s and Moerlein’s completed sculptures. The experimental nature of the art on display represents uncharted paths for these two sculptors. The exhibit is open to the public, free of charge, daily from September 7th through October 29th. For exhibit information, please call the University of New Hampshire School of Law at 603- 228-1541. The exhibit is on view on weekdays from 8 AM – 5 PM and weekends from 10 AM – 5 PM; closed on all legal holidays. The public is invited to meet the artists at a reception on Saturday October 9th, from 1p – 3p during Art Concord.

These well-known artists, each of whom has extensive portfolios of individual sculptural work, collaborated in the public arena on several large installations this summer. “Moose Myth” is a 22-foot-high structure built of saplings that dominates Bicentennial Park in Nashua NH. A twin “Moose Myth” sculpture is installed in Market Square in Portsmouth NH. In August, Dodson and Moerlein created and then burned a 22-foot-wide winged Phoenix as a part of WaterFire, the spectacular art event in Providence RI.

Dodson’s and Moerlein’s drawings and prints, paired with photographs of their sculptures, reveal their process of working. In particular, monoprints evoke their investigation of the “Moose Myth” concept and show a deep imagining of moose and human mythology.

Donna Dodson relates her two-dimensional work to her sculptural vocabulary. “Sculpture is the result of methodical decision making. My carved wood pieces represent a commitment to the material as well as an investment of time. Every gesture results from multiple carving techniques and tools. My drawings and monoprints, on the other hand, are more spontaneous and have a raw immediacy.” A series of monoprints depicting Dodson’s iconic elephant goddesses show her process of using flat works to explore various possibilities of form and color. These investigations invigorate her as an artist.

Andy Moerlein says, “My drawings are a necessary step in creating the work and they document my process of working. I must plan on paper what I hope to build, especially for any large scale installations. Because my outdoor sculptures often require vast amounts of material and assistance, I have little time on site to challenge proportions, scale, color or design.” Included in this exhibit is a series of prints “Hanging by a Thread.” These vivid images are explorations of ideas for a yet unrealized work.

Both sculptors are represented by Mill Brook Gallery in Concord, NH and are members of the Boston Sculptors Gallery.

Update: There will be an artist talk at the Bedford Library, 3 Meetinghouse Road, Bedford, NH 03110 on Monday September 13th at 8pm, sponsored by the Manchester Artists Association. The artists will present their individual & collaborative works.

Moose Myth I, monoprint, 2010 by Donna Dodson
Moose Myth, graphite, 2010 by Andy Moerlein

Monday, August 30, 2010

Sculpturefest 2010

Featured artists this year: Donna Dodson and Dimitri Gerakaris
Sculpture Fest 2010 will open with a reception for the artists and community
on Saturday September 4th, 4pm - 7pm, BYO Picnic
304 Prosper Road, Woodstock, VT.

Hathor is an Egyptian goddess who is depicted as a cow with a disc in between its horns or as a woman with cow ears. I imagine Hathor as a cow headed female figure who is similar in coloration to a Guernsey cow. She is not an anonymous member of the herd, she is distinctive in her long red gloves and daring in her unique array of markings. She is many things: daughter/mother, archetypal/individual, traditional/avant-garde. In short, a very complex creature.

Director Charlet Davenport has worked as an artist in Vermont since 1963. Currently her work in ceramic sculpture is influenced by many years of acting as Director of Sculpture Fest. Initially her ourdoor art installations were created on fibre glass mesh and installed in public spaces (St. Gaudens Historic National Park, The Rotunda at Dartmouth College Hopkins Center, the Vermont Carving Studio and Sculpture Center, the bank of the Hoosic River on Williams College Campus, Slater Mill, Pawtucket, RI, the TW Wood Art Center and a variety of other public and semi-public spaces.)

Peter Davenport, Co-Director of Sculpture Fest, is the one-man landscape force. Along with his duties as curator of the exhibition he aids artists in installing work, clearing sites, creating the signage, keeping everything clear for visitors as well as caring for the grounds throughout the exhibition time.

Upcoming Events: October 3rd
Noon: walk & talk with Featured Artist Dimitri Gerakaris
1PM: presentation by Featured Artist Donna Dodson
2PM: "Southwest Sculptors: Works Sited in the Land or Influenced by the Land," a talk by Moira Geoffrion, visiting from the University of Arizona at Tucson
Starting at noon: at the King Farm, Jeff Levison and young friends will build a dome on site.

Image: Hathor, 8 ft tall, styrofoam, cement & paint, 2010 by Donna Dodson

Update: Andy Moerlein made a video of Moving Donna Dodson's Hathor

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Boston Sculptors Gallery: Small Works








In 2008, I sculpted the Elephant Princess out of a piece of white cedar that was given to me by my friends in Weston, Massachusetts. The finished piece was 19” tall and I took the wood sculpture up to CaddEdge in Londonderry, NH where it was scanned in 3D using a hand held laser device. The digital file was then manipulated in Sensable 3D software with a haptic device and sent to a 3D printer where it was printed at ¼ scale, approximately 6” tall. These limited edition 3D prints were fabricated out of gypsum, sand and an adhesive resin composite.
This rapid prototyping technology allowed me to create my artwork at a smaller more intimate scale. The abstraction and simplification of these figures added a new dimension to my sculptural vocabulary. Making this body of work meant satisfying my curiosity about new media, new materials and new possibilities.
This fall I will be exhibiting four of my small scale limited edition 3D computer prints at the Boston Sculptors Gallery in the front windows. My work will be on view from September 2010-December 2010 in this new mini gallery space that was designed to feature small works by artists who are members of the gallery. Save the date for the upcoming SOWA First Friday receptions on September 10, October 1, November 5 and December 3 from 5-8pm. Boston Sculptors Gallery is located at 486 Harrison Ave., Boston, MA 02118, Tel. 617-482-7781, Email: bostonsculptors@yahoo.com, Website: www.bostonsculptors.com.

Images: Elephant Princess, 19" tall, wood, 2008; E.Princess, 6" tall, 3D print, 2010; Elephant Nun, 32" tall, wood, 2007; E.Nun, 6" tall, 3D print, 2010; Pregnant Kangaroo, 29" tall, wood, 2006; Pregnant.K, 6" tall, 3D print, 2010; Lilac Rhino, 27" tall, wood, 2003; Lilac.R, 6" tall, 3D print, 2010.

Monday, August 16, 2010

The Mill Brook Gallery

Private Party for Artists @ The Mill Brook Gallery Sunday August 22nd

This event will bring an exciting variety of arts invested folk into one networking moment. Please try to be there! It might even be news worthy. It would be fun to see you.

I KNOW it is hard to imagine -- the drive -- the season -- etc, but we are trying to draw a fun, varied and important group of artists, sculptors and their friends to a party. Please try to attend. I can assure you EVERYONE will be there (who is ANYONE).

This is a Private Party of Mostly Sculptors and Painters (plus collectors, friends and curators) at Mill Brook Gallery and Sculpture Garden in Concord NH on Sunday August 22nd at 1:30pm. This event is hosted by Donna Dodson, Pamela R. Tarbell and Andy Moerlein. We will provide a light summer table of cold soups and bread. Additions to this midday repast are welcome but not expected of our guests. RSVP's help w/ planning, but please feel free to arrive spontaneously! Bring friends who might enjoy this remarkable and lively gathering of arts enthusiasts.

The Mill Brook Gallery and Sculpture Garden
236 Hopkinton Road, Concord, NH 03301
Tel. 603-226-2046
Website w/ directions: http://www.themillbrookgallery.com/
Hope to see you there!

Image: Giant Panda, 8 ft tall, mixed media, 2010 [newly installed at the Mill Brook Gallery]

Monday, August 9, 2010

Waterfire Providence


A fire sculpture of a Phoenix by artists Donna Dodson & Andy Moerlein was set alight on the confluence at the Steeple Street Bridge at 9:15pm during Waterfire Providence on Saturday August 14th. The artists built a 20 ft sapling structure, wrapped it with straw, soaked it in mineral oil and set it on fire. By synthesizing the elements of the natural world and a mythical creature, the artists' piece surged up from the earth in flame. Click here to see the full video by Robert Jean on Youtube.

Donna Dodson graduated cum laude from Wellesley College in 1990 with a Bachelor of Arts. Her pre-med studies and her passion for Egyptian art led her to study sculpture with Joseph Wheelwright at his studio in Boston in 1995. She continued her studies in sculpture with Peter Haines at his studio in Cambridge by learning how to abstract and resolve forms. Since 2000, Dodson has been honored with solo shows in New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, Kansas, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Dodson enjoys public speaking, and has been a guest speaker in conferences, panels and forums at the University of Rhode Island, Pittsburg State University, School of Visual Art and Stonehill College. She is a member of the Boston Sculptors Gallery, College Art Association and the Wellesley College Friends of Art. In May 2007 she started the Art Salon Boston at her studio in Jamaica Plain to meet artists of all disciplines and host monthly conversations on topics of interest to artists in Boston and beyond.

‘My artwork celebrates the mystical relationship between human beings and the animal kingdom. My vision is to create standing animal-headed figures of the female form that are sculpted in wood. The challenge is to fuse feminine sensuality, sexuality and soul with a well-proportioned figurative vocabulary. The natural grain of the wood interacts with the form and shape of my sculptures in a fluid way. I often stylize each piece to enhance the girl, woman, queen or goddess within. The mouths, or in some cases beaks, are closed symbolizing the mysteries they embody. These figures are sculpted in sizes ranging from one to four feet tall. I use color in both subtle and bold ways to activate each piece. They are created as archetypes, and each one invites a personal experience from the viewer. The creative process that brings me to the completion of each work of art presents tremendous challenges, making my art a lifelong study with lessons for my eyes, hands, mind and spirit.’

Donna Dodson


Andy Moerlein is a nationally exhibited sculptor. His work has been shown in museums, sculpture gardens, and galleries from Alaska to New York. Mr. Moerlein has an extensive resume of public art works. This summer his work can be seen at Constellation Center’s Public Art Installation in Kendall Square Cambridge MA, Mill Brook Gallery and Sculpture Garden, Concord NH, the Riverway in Nashua NH, Market Square, Portsmouth NH, SculptureFest, Woodstock NY and Gallery Ehva in Provincetown MA. Mr. Moerlein’s installation work has also been featured indoors at venues such as the Johnson Museum, Ithaca NY, the Hood Museum, Hanover NH, the Currier Museum, Concord NH, the Everson Museum, Syracuse NY and a variety of private galleries and college art settings. His smaller models and indoor work will be featured in two summer shows. July 2nd and 9th his work opened at Gallery Ehva in Provincetown MA and then in September he will be showing wall works and new prints at Franklin Pierce Law School in Concord NH.

Mr. Moerlein has been an arts advocate, gallery director, educator, and professional juror for over 30 years. He has curated shows in Bend, OR; Rochester, NY; Brockport, NY; Ithaca, NY; and Manchester, NH. His articles and reviews have been published in numerous regional newspapers and arts magazines. He has been a teacher and gallery director at the Derryfield School in Manchester NH for 15 years. Moerlein holds a BA from Dartmouth College and an MFA from Cornell University. He lives in Bow, NH.

ARTIST STATEMENT
I spent most my childhood in the Alaskan outdoors. I have a personal familiarity with rural life. Daily work and physical challenges inform all my creative decisions. I love to observe and respond to the way the world is constructed.

There is a basic antagonism between all objects and beings. The equilibrium we see as our everyday world is the result of a beautiful and dynamic balance. The interface between roots and stone, dead flesh and water, frigid snow and warm earth is always a confrontation. My role as an artist is to present my personal understanding of this natural conflict. I contrive and imagine an interaction that is both sensual and manipulated. My work recognizes that my own narrative is part of this antagonism and balance.

Image: Phoenix, 20 ft fire sculpture, 2010

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Provincetown Art Association and Museum

MEMBER'S 12x12
EXHIBITION AND SILENT AUCTION

Annual Members’ 12x12 Exhibition and Silent Auction
July 23-Sept 11, 2010

Closing party September 11, 4pm
Final Bidding: September 11, 5pm

The 12x12 Exhibition and Silent Auction is an exciting event that draws artists and collectors together in support of the Provincetown Art Association and Museum.

Works by emerging and established artists hang side by side in this Members’ Open Exhibition, expressing a high level of achievement and a wide variety of subjects and styles. The Annual 12 x 12 is a perfect opportunity for collectors to view a broad range of local talent, and an exceptional venue for emerging artists seeking visibility.

Bidding starts at $125, climbing by demand throughout the one-month exhibition until the final hour of the silent auction. Participating artists agree to a 50% commission, with an option to donate their own percentage of the final sale to PAAM.

These commissions and donations provide funding for year-round art exhibitions and educational programming.

Diva, ink on panel, 2010 by Donna Dodson

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Children's Hospital Boston

Donna’s pre-med studies and her passion for Egyptian art led her to study wood and stone sculpture. African sculptures and Native American totems also influence her work. These iconic goddess figures are crafted with chainsaw, belt sanders, chisels, rasps and files. The figures are smoothed with sandpaper, colored with paint or pigment and finished with varnish and wax. She uses logs of osage orange wood from her grandfather’s farm in Illinois, and ash, pine and maple from New England. Each wood speaks a different language. Her figures are always female and range in size from one to four feet tall.
“My artwork celebrates the mystical relationship between human beings and the animal kingdom…The forms say something that words could simply not express. There is a tremendous challenge in making a work of art for all the trials, and progressions one experiences before the form will come alive and begin to resolve itself. Sculpture is labor and time intensive and making art is a lifelong study with lessons for the eye, the hand, the mind and the spirit.”
-Donna Dodson
July-September 2010

Monday, July 12, 2010

119 Gallery

MEMBERS' EXHIBIT
July 13-31st
Tuesday-Saturday, 12p-5p
Opening Reception:
Saturday, July 17th @ 3pm

Featuring the work of Marc Bisson, Amy Boger, Anne Brown, Joe Brown, Kathleen Cammarata, Steven Carvalho, Deidre Christiansen, David Crane, Mike Dailey, Ivy Demos, Donna Dodson, Lillian Hellen Graham, Chehalis Hegner, Jim Higgins, Dian Hosmer, Anna Isaak-Ross, Jim Jeffers, Jan M Johnson, Alyshia Lien, Denise Manseau, Nicole Mason, Bill McCann, Stephen Mishol, Andy Moerlein, Noredin Morgan, Dorothy Oja, John Riedell, Dan Rocha, Elaine Seidel, Dave Robinson, Dan Rocha, Elizabeth Sheehan, Margot Stage, Steve Syverson, Emile Tobenfeld, Gay Tracy, Michal Truelsen, Brenda Van Der Beek, Kellie Weeks, Jean Winslow & Jennifer Yeunger.

119 Gallery
119 Chelmsford St
Lowell MA 01851
978-452-8138

Elephant Matador, 20" tall, cherry wood & paint, 2008

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

On/Of/Like/About Paper

July 7 – August 15, 2010
Boston Sculptors Gallery
486 Harrison Avenue

First Friday Reception: July 9, 5 - 8pm
Opening Reception: August 6, 5 - 8pm
Gallery Hours: Wednesday - Sunday, 12pm – 6pm

Boston, MA: Paper is a rudimentary, but also versatile medium. It can be folded, cut, crumpled, scored, drawn on and written across. It can be used to convey important news, give instructions, tell stories, and reflect the most delicate of feelings. But, mainly, in On/Of/Like/About Paper at the Boston Sculptors Gallery this summer, it also occupies space.

On/Of/Like/About Paper celebrates this highly expressive medium with work by twenty-two of its members: B Amore, Caroline Bagenal, Kim Bernard, Ben Cariens, Murray Dewart, Donna Dodson, Rosalyn Driscoll, Laura Evans, Sarah Hutt, Peter Lipsitt, Michelle Lougee, Eric Sealine, Liz Shepherd, Julia Shepley, Mary Sherman, Jessica Straus, Marilu Swett, Hannah Verlin, Ellen Wetmore, Leslie Wilcox, Andy Zimmermann, and Leila Daw.

Some of the works suggest architectural models. Some are free-standing sculptures, reliefs, or installations. Still others are the stuff of a performance piece. However, all address the nature of paper -- its ability to convey ideas as well as its translucency, strength, frailty, texture, and above all, its marvelous mutability.

About the Boston Sculptors Gallery: Boston Sculptors Gallery is a landmark cooperative and has served as an alternative venue for exciting, innovative solo sculpture exhibitions since 1992. It is Boston’s premier venue for sculpture, featuring exciting and varied contemporary work by Boston area artists. Gallery membership has expanded to thirty-four exhibiting sculptors including returning members and a stable of new members.

This gallery is unusual in that it exclusively shows sculpture in a large space which is transformed every month by two of the thirty-four members of this group. Nick Capasso, Senior Curator of the DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park says, “the Boston Sculptors Gallery, one of the few cooperative sculpture galleries in the country, is among the most stimulating venues for three-dimensional contemporary art in the Northeast.”

For more information contact: Jean Mineo, Director

617.482.7781

director@bostonsculptors.com

www.bostonsculptors.com

White Elephant, 48" tall, paper & styrofoam, 2010

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Gallery Ehva

July 2-21, Opening Friday, July 2, 6-8pm

Donna Dodson: Sculpture: Elephant Parade
Lorrie Fredette: Extracting (in) formation
Joseph Knight: Jewelry: Elephant Princess Pendant Design
Andy Moerlein: Sculpture: Inside, Outside

~ Meet the Artists + Poetry Reading by Charlanne Kallay
Saturday, July 3, 2-4pm

Gallery Ehva
74 Shank Painter Road
Provincetown, MA 02657
508-487-0011
www.galleryehva.com
art@galleryehva.com

Elephant Princess, 19" tall, white cedar, pigment & paint, 2008
Photo credit: Clements Howcroft photography

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Sand Sculpture Event 2010


The fun started Friday, June 18th when 300 tons of sand was dropped on Hampton Beach and Greg Grady's group of sand sculptors started pounding up the sponsor site. The entire area is illuminated for night viewing through June 30th. The event is funded by the Hampton Beach Village District and Sponsors, in cooperation with The Hampton Area Chamber of Commerce and The NH Division of Parks.

This was my first time sculpting sand and I made a sand elephant and a sand jaguar for the demo site. All of the Master Sand Sculptors contribute creative pieces to the site and the logos of all of the major sponsors of the event are sculpted onto the demo site. This year's theme was Shangri-La or heaven on earth and I had a great time making magical works on art on the beach. The sand used for this event has more silt in it than regular beach sand and it is 'pounded up' or packed tightly using a tamp and water into wood and/or plastic forms which are then sculpted into temporary works of art on site.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

The Moose Myth


The Moose Myth

There is a story told of twin moose brothers, each robust and noble, who shared the Northern Kingdom. One fine day they met in a glade and neither would yield. They charged and impacted with a resounding crash of angry power. In the ensuing battle they entangled antlers in a death lock. Unable to separate, they continued to battle. After days of throwing their enmeshed antlers and bodies about, unable to eat or drink, exhausted, they were on the brink of death. A small child came upon the feuding but now feeble twins and offered to free them, but only if they would promise to live in peace. They thankfully accepted the offer.

Freed, the twins stood on two feet in honor of their human friend and lived their lives striving to solve conflicts with negotiation and compromise. They agreed that one would live by the sea and rule over the Portsmouth waterfront and all the bridges and seaways linking NH to the world. The other mighty moose would rule inland, near the confluence of the Nashua and Merrimack Rivers, majestically protecting the vital and diverse city of Nashua.

Two sculptures celebrate this myth:

Moose Myth Nashua
Bicentennial Park
66 Main Street
Nashua NH

Moose Myth Portsmouth
Market Square
Portsmouth NH

By Donna Dodson & Andy Moerlein

*Update: Foster's Daily Democrat and The Daily Portsmouth covered this piece.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Nashua Sculpture Symposium 2010

The artists, Donna Dodson and Andy Moerlein will build a Moose Myth in BiCentennial Park at 66 Main Street during the 2010 Nashua Sculpture Symposium May 16th - June 6th. This 20’ tall sculpture will incorporate Dodson's vocabulary of animal headed mythological figures and Moerlein's technique of sapling construction. This piece will reference the iconic quality of the moose and the mysterious nature of this wild animal. The monumental moose headed figure, striding along the river walk, will be a symbolic landmark. The overall feeling of the piece will be transcendent and magical.

Collaboration:
The collaboration between Moerlein and Dodson is born from a love of the wild. Moerlein takes inspiration from events in the natural world that leave visual marks which strike a narrative chord in the artist. Dodson takes inspiration from the mysterious nature of animals that spark her imagination. Together these artists seek to create a piece that will surge up from the earth as if it was a creation of nature.

There will be a reception with the artists on Sunday June 6th at Greeley House on Front Street in Nashua, NH at 2:30p.

Moose Myth drawing by Andy Moerlein, pencil on paper, 2010

Moose Myth

In the beginning,
a grid of all Earth’s possible fragrances
was encoded into a glyph of a Moose etched upon a rock.
Her own breath begat it as beast.

The heady suspense of being alive
pulsed its alertness into the erection of ears.
A percussion of antlers spread wide
to resound the essence of listening.

Sight, the seedbed of thought,
was blocked by the swelling hill of nose
as the Bull inhaled the love of the Planet.


A poem by Charlanne Kallay
In artistic collaboration
With sculptures by Donna Dodson

*Update: The Nashua Telegraph covered this piece in a recent front page article.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

White Elephant


BIG ART and small art
Correlated exhibitions of large-scale and small-scale sculpture on the front lawn of the Emerson Umbrella and in the Emerson Umbrella Gallery. Outdoor exhibition includes works by Michio Ihara, Dmitri Hadzi, Tomas Bernsten, Murray Dewart, Donna Dodson, Joe Montroy, Ethel Poindexter, Tim Rowan, Stacy Latt Savage, Carolyn Wirth and Bret Woodward. Indoor exhibition includes sculpture and sculptors’ maquettes, photographs, paintings and drawing. Opening Reception Thursday, May 20 from 6 to 8 pm. BIG ART will be on view May 15th through November 1st, 2010. small art May 15th through June 7.

The Gallery hours are:
Monday-Saturday: 9 am – 5 pm
Sunday: 1 pm- 5 pm
Emerson Umbrella Center for the Arts
40 Stow Street
Concord, MA 01742
978.371.0820
info@emersonumbrella.com

Update: 'Sculpture in the Grass: Emerson Umbrella Lawn Seeded with Large Works of Art' was reviewed
By Betsy Levinson on May 20, 2010 in the Concord Patch.

White Elephant

The Elephant is force enough in time to carry on.
No species was canny enough, voracious enough, audacious enough to assist her from existence.

Out of pleasure she’s fashioned immortal.
There she’s learning the value of play.
There she leaps up in forever joy
and thumps down, a calf, once again, on the clay.

The White Elephant has evolved tangible hope
and emanates its blessing.
Pitched at the point where existence was dawning
she guides into Passion the bored, yet still seeking.

Extinction would make her more interesting to many
but she’s not going to do that to us,
for her memory of origins discloses
that what we want to discover rose up out of dust.


A poem by Charlanne Kallay
In artistic collaboration
With sculptures by Donna Dodson

White Elephant, 8 ft tall, styrofoam & cement, 2010

Monday, May 3, 2010

Panda Bear

Studios Without Walls 2010: May 1st- June 13th, Temporary Sculpture along the Muddy River. Closing reception, Sunday June 13th, 1-5pm. Donna Dodson, Panda Bear, cement, styrofoam, paint.

The Panda Bear will travel to the Mill Brook Gallery, Concord, NH May 30th-October 17th for "The 13th Annual Invitational Outdoor Sculpture Exhibit." Sunday, May 30th 2-4pm: "Opening Celebration" For more information visit www.themillbrookgallery.com.

Poem by Charlanne Kallay:

Panda Bear

There’s been a seizure between her ears
excavating a fossil word
“adapt”.

Gloves of influence
cuff her instinct.
Her heart opens.

Excitation swells
as if her soul
is pushing out her skin.

She’s luminous.

Update: The Panda Bear was reviewed on Thats Boston as 'The most striking piece of the exhibit,' http://www.thatsboston.com

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Studios Without Walls 2010







Studios Without Walls 2010:
Temporary Sculpture along the Muddy River

I will be exhibiting my first large scale outdoor piece with Studios without Walls. I am posting several images, courtesy of Andy Moerlein, that show the process of making the piece including laminating two 8'x4'x2' billets of styrofoam, carving the giant panda bear, covering the piece in surface bonding cement& painting the piece. There are also a few images of the model or wood maquette of the Panda Bear, that measures approx. 16" tall, at the end of this post. Check my blog in a few days to see some images of the finished piece that will measure approx 8 ft tall, www.donnadodsonartist.blogspot.com.

Exhibition: May 1-June 13, Riverway Park, Brookline/Boston, MA
Hosted by Brookline Department of Parks and Recreation
Opening Celebration: May 1-2, 11AM-6 PM
Artist tours by Studios Without Walls hourly during Brookline Open Studios
Closing Reception: Sunday June 13, 1-5PM, Walkthrough with Artists & Park Ranger 2PM
Jazz Concert: The Joel Press Quartet, Sunday June 13—3-4:30PM
Exhibition is visible during daylight hours

Directions: The Riverway, Longwood T-Stop on the MBTA Green Line) Emerald Necklace-Riverway Park runs between Park Drive, Boston; the Riverway; Longwood Ave; and Chapel St., Brookline. Public access is at Park Drive, Chapel St., Longwood Ave. or Netherlands Road. On- street parking available in Brookline. Information: contact iNFO@studioswithoutwalls.org / 617-327-5171 /
www.Studioswithoutwalls.org

Participating artists include: Muriel Angelil, Myrna Balk, Camilo Cardenas, Donna Dodson, Louise Farrell, Janet Hansen Kawada, Karen Klein, Milan Klic, Bette Ann Libby, Lyn MacDonald, Elizabeth Michelman, Andy Moerlein, Joan Schwartz, Barbara Vogelsang, Jeanne Williamson, and Jim Wright.

For the third year, sculptors of Brookline-based STUDIOS WITHOUT WALLS return to exhibit temporary outdoor installation and sculpture along the banks of the Muddy River in Frederick Law Olmsted’s historic Emerald Necklace- Riverway Park. Sixteen artists present outdoor works in dialogue with their environment, community, and the world of art. The artists work in a variety of nontraditional materials---concrete, ceramic, Styrofoam, plastic sheeting, snow-fencing, metal, wire, recycled fibers, bone and feathers. Their forms are equally diverse, from elephants in the bush to translucent rocks; to poetic puzzles, oversized flowers and fungal invasions in the semi-natural parkland of Olmsted’s Emerald Necklace. Covering a broad range of subjects, the works subvert natural forms, decry environmental spoliation, invoke fertility and decay, up-end expectations of gravity and support, explode aesthetic theories, and provoke imaginative reverie.

STUDIOS WITHOUT WALLS has exhibited public art projects fostering individual expression for over ten years. The group also presents visual arts and cultural programming to students, seniors, and community groups in Brookline and Boston. Sponsors of its outdoor installations since 2007 have included the Brookline Commission for the Arts, the Brookline Parks and Open Space division and Environmental Education Program, the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, the Friends of the Muddy River, the Brookline Greenspace Alliance, the MassAudubon Society, Friends of the Carlton Street Footbridge, Church of Our Saviour, Brookline Arts Center, and the Olmsted National Historic Site.

On Sunday, June 13 at 3PM, a closing concert sponsored by Chobee Hoy Associates will be held near the Longwood T-Stop. Members of the Joel Press Jazz Quartet will perform straight-ahead jazz under the direction of Brookline/Brooklyn’s seasoned saxophonist Joel Press. Press has played jazz with roots and companionship in the music of Duke Ellington and John Coltrane for over fifty years.

"This program is supported in part by a grant from the Brookline Commission
for the Arts,, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts
Cultural Council, a state agency."

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Elephant Parade

For Immediate Release

Elephant Parade: Art by Donna Dodson on exhibit at New Hampton School’s Galletly Gallery

New Hampton, NH, March 13, 2010 – New Hampton School’s Galletly Gallery is pleased to host sculpture by Donna Dodson from April 1 through May 1, 2010. The public is cordially invited to an opening reception on Friday, April 2, from 5:30 to 7 pm. The reception will feature the “Elephant Princess” jewelry collection by Knight&Hammer Jewelers, inspired by Dodson’s work.

Elephant Parade is a gathering of 15 elegant wood sculptures of the female form with elephant heads. They range in size from 1 to 4 feet tall. Dodson uses the flow of the natural wood grain with the form of the sculpture to reveal and enhance the girl, woman, queen or goddess within. Their mouths are closed, symbolizing the mysteries they embody. Created as archetypes, these figures evoke a personal experience for the viewer. “My artwork celebrates the mystical relationship between human beings and the animal kingdom," says Dodson. "The challenge is to fuse feminine sensuality, sexuality and soul with a well-proportioned figurative vocabulary."

In November of 2009, Dodson exhibited a similar series of work, Elephant Tribe at the Boston Sculptors Gallery in Boston’s SoWa arts district. Says Dodson: "Both installations play upon themes of family identity and individualism, group dynamics, rank and order, kinship and clan, totem, mascot, personal spirituality, feminism and wild animals.”

The Elephant Princess jewelry collection is designed by Joseph Knight of Knight&Hammer Jewelers. For Knight, Dodson’s work "merged ancient cultural ideology with modern linear lines." Sharing a commitment for a better world, Dodson and Knight partnered with Dr. Stuart Pimm, founder of Saving Species. The “Elephant Princess” series, in necklace and earrings, is a limited edition series whose sale benefits "Saving Species." All jewelry is created by American craftsmen in fine sterling silver.

For more information, visit www. KnightandHammer.com and SavingSpecies.com. The Elephant Princess jewelry will only be on display at the reception, Friday, April 2.

Poetry written by Charlanne Kallay will accompany the elephants on parade. There will be a poetry reading and gallery talk on Friday April 2nd during the reception.

The Galletly Gallery is located on the second floor of New Hampton School’s Moore Center. The gallery is open to the public Monday through Friday from 8 am to 4 pm and on Saturdays from 9 am to noon. For directions and more information, please call 603-677-3513 or visit www.newhampton.org.

Update: The NY blogger, Joanne Mattera featured me as one of 3 sculptors to watch. I'm in good company with Nancy Azara and Ursula Von Rydingsvaard this month.

Prom Queen, 31" tall, poplar wood & paint, 2009
Photo credit: Clements Howcroft Photography

Monday, March 8, 2010

Go Green

Members' Open Exhibition:
Go Green

On view March 5 - April 18, 2010
Potluck opening reception March 12, 2010 at 6pm

A new exhibition at the Provincetown Art Association and Museum (PAAM) features work by emerging and established artists from within the PAAM membership. "Go Green," includes pieces that reference environmental awareness and/or are predominantly green in color.

Red Panda, 24" tall, wood & paint, 2005
Photo Credit: Bruno Giust

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Celestial Elephant

Celestial Elephant, 8' tall, snow sculpture, 2010 by Donna Dodson & Andy Moerlein, Black Mtn Ski Resort, Jackson, NH. [Invitational-Snow-Sculpting-Event]

This was my first event making a snow sculpture. I worked with my friend and fellow sculptor, Andy Moerlein on this piece. We heard about the event from Anne Alexander, a Maine sculptor and we consulted with her partner from last year, Sandy Moore who has inspired many people to try their hand at making snow sculptures. The event takes place from noon on Friday-noon on Sunday. Each team starts out with an 8ft cylinder of snow that was packed into a round form on site that measured 4 ft diameter. No colorants, power tools or armatures are allowed in the sculpture but the finished piece can be of any height and can spread out to 12 ft diameter. There were 12 teams- some novices like us and some experienced snow, ice and sand sculptors as well.

The snow this year was made on site at Black Mtn ski resort since there was not enough natural snow to hold the event on the common in the town of Jackson. The snow was soft to carve. We used hatchets, snow saws, and finished our piece with rough grit sandpaper belts. We worked on ladders as well as on our hands and knees. Keeping warm in the 0 degree weather was one of the biggest challenges but we had perfect sunny weather all weekend long. We experimented with water, slush and ice details as well. Snow does not hold fine details well but the surface is very dynamic and working at a monumental scale was very exciting. There are snow sculpture contests all over New England, North America and the world. We might try another event or try our hand at ice or sand sculpture in the future.

We decided to create a white elephant out of the snow, so we did some research...

A white elephant is an idiom for a valuable possession of which its owner cannot dispose and whose cost is out of proportion to its usefulness or worth.

To possess a white elephant was regarded as a sign of justice and power, peace and prosperity. The tradition derives from tales which associate a white elephant with the birth of Buddha, as his mother was reputed to have dreamed of a white elephant presenting her with a lotus flower, a symbol of wisdom and purity, on the eve of giving birth.

Because the animals were considered sacred and laws protected them from labor, receiving a gift of a white elephant was both a blessing and a curse: a blessing because the animal was sacred, and a curse because the animal had to be retained and could not be put to much practical use.

In the Pali scriptures it is duly set forth that the form under which Buddha will descend to the earth for the last time will be that of a beautiful young white elephant, open-jawed, with a head the color of cochineal, with tusks shining like silver, sparkling with gems, covered with a splendid netting of gold, perfect in organs and limbs, and majestic in appearance.