Mystic Effigies

Donna Dodson: Mystic Effigies
Show Dates: March 1-April 3
Opening Reception: March 1, 2013 5:00 PM to 7:30 PM  Artist Talk at 6pm

Leich Lathrop Gallery

Plazuela Sombra, 323 Romero St NW, Suite 1

Albuquerque, NM 87104

http://leichlathropgallery.blogspot.com/

Mama Duck, 18" tall, mulberry wood & paint, 2013

Dodson’s totemic animal goddess sculptures result from the methodical decisions and actions she makes wielding chainsaw and chisel to shape the wood, while interacting with its grain to create her forms in a fluid fashion. Her spontaneous prints, watercolors and drawings allow viewers a unique glimpse into her sculptural process. This series of abstracted animal figures reveals her process of using two-dimensional works to explore various possibilities of form and color normally restricted by sculptural materials. In other words, the same lines that define her sculptures, appear in her drawings and prints. Yet, there is a contrasting sensibility between the two and three dimensional renderings of her animal headed female figures. The experimental nature of Dodson’s two dimensional works represents uncharted paths that expand the possibilities of her sculptures.

Blue Headed Duck, 12" x 16" framed, watercolor 2012

‘My artwork celebrates the mystical relationship between human beings and the animal kingdom. Because there were no icons of women in the church that I grew up in, my vision is to create them. Through hybrid female-animal forms that I sculpt in wood, I flesh out 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 descriptive way, suggesting nostrils, and nipples or garments and fabric textures. I often stylize each piece to enhance the girl, woman, princess, 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. My inspiration comes from Egyptian, Native American and Indian art’

Donna Dodson graduated from Wellesley College in 1990 with a Bachelor of Arts. Since 2000, she has been honored with solo shows nationwide for her artwork. Dodson enjoys public speaking, and has been a guest speaker at conferences and panels in museums and universities throughout North America. Donna regularly contributes articles to the Boston Globe’s Global Business Hub blog that demonstrate the economic impact and global reach of the arts sector. In 2011 she participated in the Verbier 3D Foundation's Artist Residency and Sculpture Park in the Swiss Alps where she created monumental outdoor sculpture. In 2012, she exhibited at the Fountain Art Fair NYC in the historic 69^th Regiment Armory Building. In 2013, she will be returning to Europe, to exhibit her artwork in the Netherlands. 

The Black Mountain Walrus

The Jackson NH Chamber of Commerce hosts the annual Snow Sculpting event at Black Mountain. Last weekend, Andy Moerlein and I went up to make sculptures in the snow along with 15 other teams. Each team starts with a block of snow, 8 ft tall, 4 ft diameter, and 48 h to sculpt. We decided to create the Black Mountain Walrus this year. Check out the photos and myth below.

Black Mountain Walrus, 8 ft, snow 2013
Photo Credit: Keith Trexler 2013.

The Black Mountain Walrus

Fleeing melting ice in search of a sub zero landscape, the Black Mountain Walrus has brought her child to the ski slopes above Jackson NH. Seeking the familiar temperatures of the deep arctic, she was drawn to this frosty frontier.  Mother Walrus has known a lifetime of ice and frigid wind and has settled into Jackson like a second home.

Black Mountain Walrus, 8 ft, snow sculpture 2013
Photo credit: The Myth Makers

The Myth Makers

Andy Moerlein & Donna Dodson

The Myth Makers: Andy Moerlein and Donna Dodson
Photo Credit: Keith Trexler 2013.

Update: Channel 8 covered this story, see the video here. The Union Leader covered this story, read the full article here. Boston.com covered this story, read it here.

HEIGHT, WIDTH, DEPTH, TIME: BOSTON SCULPTORS CELEBRATES 20 YEARS

Opening Reception: Thursday, December 20, 6 - 8 pm

SOWA First Friday Reception: January 4, 5 - 8 pm

Artists' Talks: (Pecha Kucha format at 500 Harrison Ave, reception to follow in the gallery)

Sat. Jan. 5, 4:30 - 5:45 pm: Traditional and Non-Traditional Sculptural Materials in a Contemporary Context.
Speakers: Laura Baring-Gould, Rosalyn Driscoll, Donna Dodson, Peter Lipsitt, Susan Lyman, Nancy Milliken, Larry Pollans, Hannah Verlin, Joseph Wheelwright, Andy Zimmermann.
Moderator: Jean Mineo, Director

Wed. Jan. 23, 6:15 - 7:30 pm: Sculpture that Works with Audience: Kinetic, Interactive, Installation and Public Art.
Speakers: Caroline Bagenal, Gillian Christy, Beth Galston, Joyce McDaniel, Andy Moerlein, Kalimah Muhammad, Nancy Selvage, Mary Sherman, Dennis Svoronos, Kitty Wales.
Moderator: Murray Dewart, Co-founder. 

For the first time ever, an exhibition of all thirty-six current members and fifteen alumni showcases the diversity and brilliance of Boston Sculptors in a celebration of twenty years as a successful venue for contemporary sculpture in the Boston area.

Fifty-one artists, showing one or two works each, fill the gallery from floor to ceiling with work made in a rich range of styles and materials including traditional bronze, wood and stone, alongside non-traditional materials of newspaper, rawhide, trash, gourds and honey. In addition, viewers will see videos, kinetic, participatory and site-specific art.

The theme of Height, Width, Depth, Time - with the emphasis on time - is interpreted in a multitude of ways. All of the artists have chosen their particular sculptural form to address time's passage. This has been interpreted variously as the measurement of time, motion, growth, decay, the seasons, the universe, memory, timelessness, fragility and endurance.

Boston Sculptors Gallery was founded in 1992 by 18 prominent Boston-area artists to present and promote innovative, challenging sculpture and installations. As Boston's premiere venue for sculpture, it features exciting, diverse contemporary work by 36 members in two concurrent solo shows monthly in its spacious South End gallery.

In twenty years the cooperative has held over 227 exhibitions, supported the work of 58 sculptors with work in 48 US states and 36 foreign countries. The gallery will soon celebrate an attendance milestone of 100,00 visitors.

Photo credit: Andy Zimmermann

Gallery members have received numerous honors including 81 residencies, 315 awards or fellowships, and 134 grants. Members have taught in 70 settings, generated 169 permanent public art works and 308 temporary public art works, and are included in 1,100 private and public collections.

Boston Sculptors articulates, challenges and promotes the role of sculpture in the public sphere, in communities, and in the lives of individuals. We invite you to join us in celebrating 20 years of great accomplishment!

Boston Sculptors Gallery | 486 Harrison Avenue | Boston | MA | 02118, www.bostonsculptors.com. 
Gallery hours are Wed. - Sun. from 12 - 6 pm. Gallery Closed: December 24 - January 1 

Image: Tiger Mother, 18" tall, locust wood & paint, 2012 by Donna Dodson

She loves to march her children to the Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. But her idea of marching includes running barefoot on the beach. Inside her, beats a warm and joyful heart. 

Update: Big Red & Shiny published a write up on the gallery, click here to read the article.

November News

November 18th GRAND OPENING!

If you are in Anchorage or know art enthusiasts there, I will have work with Georgia Blue and Gina Hollomon at their NEWLY minted contemporary art venue:

blue.hollomon gallery

3555 Arctic Blvd, 5c

Anchorage, AK 99503

Seagull Cinderella, 15" tall, wood paint by Donna Dodson Photo Credit: Cliff Pfeiffer

Seagull Cinderella is as common as the birds we see at the beach. Yet she is uncommon, like Marilla in Anne of Green Gables, corseted and bound by the sweet virtues of her character. 

On another note, if you are in Albuquerque, New Mexico or know art enthusiasts there, 
I have work in the

Holiday Show at

Leich Lathrop Gallery 

Rhino Man, 16" tall, wood, enamel 2010 by Donna Dodson

Homage to H. C. Westerman, and his impenetrable nature. His work is enigmatic. His art is outside the canon and in it. In this piece, the juxtaposition of metallic paint and natural wood grain seemed like an anomaly: like H.C. Westerman himself.

Show dates: November 11, 2012- January 2, 2013

Featuring:  Laurie Alpert, Aaron Bass, Rosemary Breehl, Donna Dodson, Eason Eige, Adele Frances, C.A. Klimek, Chuck Lathrop,  Stephanie Lerma,  Andy Moerlein, Krittika Ramanujan, Stephanie Roberts-Camello, Carol Sanchez, Janet Yagoda Shagam, Harriette Tsosie.

Panda Bear, 16" tall, wood, paint 2010 by Donna Dodson

Panda bear is a bit rotund yet stylish in haute couture. She resembles the cute, 

adorable animals from China as much as the Venus of Willendorf. Stuck in between the wild mountain forests and domestic captivity, she wears her fur as an adornment of her native culture amidst the current lack thereof.

Birds of a Feather & Mid-October News

BIRDS of a Feather
Bird themed painting and sculpture
Suzette Jones, G.A. Scattergood-Moore, Donna Dodson and Andy Moerlein

October 15-November 16, 2012
Opening Reception: Tuesday, October 16, 5-7:30 p.m.

Gallery Hours:
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday: 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Wednesday and Friday: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Gallery at Dana Hall School
45 Dana Road
Wellesley, MA 02482-9010
Read more about the show online, 'Art Gallery features Bird Imagery.'

I will be exhibiting a few of my sculptures in this exhibition:

Culture Vulture I, 38" tall, wood, paint by Donna Dodson
The original Culture Vulture lurks on the edges of culture with hunger. Like an angel of mercy, she knows when to strike. Opportunistic by nature she preys on the vulnerabilities of others.

Red Tail Hawk, 41" tall, wood, pigment, enamel by Donna Dodson
Red Tail Hawk is common presence in our midst. Like a Haida sculpture, or a totem of a school marm, the steely gaze of her watchful eyes mind her charges with protection and good care.

Little Red Riding Hood, 32" tall, wood, paint by Donna Dodson
Little Red Riding Hood is anything but little. Her big feet threaten to stomp on any wolves, or predators that would dare to cross her path. Her big shoulders allude to her inner strength.

White Stork, 39" tall, wood, paint by Donna Dodson
White Stork brings the baby in her tummy instead of her beak. She is both a celebration of fertility and motherhood as well as a subversion of the popular myth of the baby bringer.

Update: This show was reviewed by Natasha Hampton on December 29, 2012 in the Hallmanac, Dana Hall School's online student produced news source.

Night Hunter

A burning owl fire sculpture by MythMakers Donna Dodson and Andy Moerlein
Fruitlands Museum, Harvard MA at 5:30p (dusk) on Saturday, October 27, 2012
Weather permitting! Please check the Fruitlands website for updates on the day of the event.

Owls hunt on silent wings, often unseen,  in the dark of night. For all of history, civilizations have celebrated their mystery in myths of magic and deep knowing. Celebrate the end of the season with Fruitlands Museum in a dusk ceremony of fire and community. Enjoy this family gathering with s'mores, cider, apples, and the grand finale of a forty foot flaming owl as the sun sets and the October Hunter's Full Moon rises over the late fall landscape.

This free community gathering sponsored by Fruitlands Museum and MythMakers Donna Dodson and Andy Moerlein.

Image: Phoenix, Fire Sculpture, by Myth Makers: Andy Moerlein and Donna Dodson