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