A Guitar Sculpture for Eva!

It is Eva’s birthday!

For her gift, I decided to do three things I like the most:

1. Make a festive guitar sculpture.
2. Repurpose advertising cards from department stores and paint swatches to make the guitar.
3. Ship the present in the mail.

Three hours later, Eva’s guitar sculpture is completed!

To make a guitar like this one, all you need is printed cardstock materials ( Post cards and paint swatches from your hardware store work very well), scissors, a brush, liquid glue that dries clear, water to clean the brush, and paper towels. My favorite glue is PVA. It is similar in color and viscosity to Elmer’s glue but, it has a powerful and quick bonding quality I admire in this acid-free product which is largely used for bookmaking.

For the base, I used a 4”x4” 3-D square panel, a small piece of wood, and a wood circle to elevate and elegantly present the sculpture as in a pedestal. Gray, flat latex paints were used for the base to produce a pleasing effect while unobstructed enhancing the colors of the sculpture. I glued the sculpture to the base with carpenter’s glue.

It is time to go to the post office. I hope Eva likes my birthday present!

To honor this celebration, I sign out with the virtuouso talent of Ramatis and Rose Max in this fabulous studio recording masterfully fusing Brasilian bossa nova and Jazz music!

Peace.

Advertisement

Henri Matisse’s BASKET with ORANGES, 1913

“Basket with Oranges” by Henri Matisse, is my most favorite still-life painting of the 20^th Century, and this hand-painted, life-size oils replica arrived at my front door today!

I have never bought a replica before and in fact, I love this painting so much I translated it once like a visual interpreter, 28 years ago using acrylic paints and paper cutouts -Which I think Master Matisse would have loved,- just to be gifted to an enchanted dear friend last year, as shown below.

I don’t regret my decision but, I have missed this painting so much, and…Since I didn’t find the time to paint it again, I decided to purchase a high-quality and framed replica recreated by an anonymus commecial painter to brighten my spirit every time I see it, just like when I saw the original painting during the Matisse Retrospective exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in New York city in 1992.

Such is the enduring seduction and healing properties of immortal art -Love at first sight!

I embrace your readership and leave you in the company of this equally immortal tango by Carlos Gardel, “Por Una Cabeza,” masterfully interpreted by virtuoso violinist, Nicola Benedetti and her amazing partner in the accordion!

Stay healthy and safe.  Enjoy!

 

The Ascension of Christ! – Inspired by my Central American Primitivist/Naive Painting Tradition!

It seems to me that I am beginning this post just the way George Lucas began the first installment of the last Star Wars trilogy – Backwards -Meaning, I should have started at the beginning, nor the end of these series! 🙂

In any case, while sorting through folders of photos on my digital library this afternoon, I joyfully found this painting I made in 2000, depicting my artistic and spiritual interpretation of the resurrection and Ascension of Jesus Christ!

This 24″ X 36″ acrylic painting on an oak wood panel, was commissioned by Archbishop Carrol High School in Washington, DC, USA, for their chapel, after they had commissioned me to paint and I created, The Passion of Christ -14 Stations of the Cross- and, The Nativity (Birth of Christ).
It all happened in one year, in which I produced 16 paintings to illustrate such a unique religious subject matter in an authentic naive, and colorful, Central American style to meet the vision of my patrons at Archbishop Carroll High School.

Then and now, I humbly feel blessed that the higher spirit guided my heart, mind, and hand to produce such a festive and contemporary rendition of one of the most enduring subjects in Christendom and in painting in Western Civilization!

I sign out with this instant-classic Nicaraguan folk song by Carlos Mejia Godoy in reverence to Jesus Christ’s philosophy and teology of liberation on social justice and human equality.

Be healthy and safe,. Peace!

 

 

Creating & Storing Memories on a New Sketchbook

Over the past few weeks life as I knew it came to a sudden halt and gradually, I found time to pause and reflect as the daily noise quiet down around me – Traffic, rush, stress- the ceaseless activity that propels and fuels our modern world. Out of this new sense of awareness – When I can clearly gaze and listen to the birds singing outside because there are hardly any helicopters and airplanes flying above the sky- I rekindled the passion to make a new sketchbook and work on it everyday to remind me that the best therapy for me in times of adversity is always art. Peace.

Be healthy and safe!

Imaginary Insect – A Distant Learning Cardboard Sculpture

This Imaginary Insect is another repurposed cardboard sculpture I built as a demo on virtual art classes, to inspire my 3^rd and 4^th Grade students while reviewing concepts and techniques on combining shape, form, balance, and linear patterns in 3-D artforms.

As we adapt to Distance Learning and limited art supplies for many students at home, recycling cardboard into art supports our continuous development of cognitive, spatial, and fine motor skills in purposefully constructing imaginative free-standing sculptures from empty tea, cereal, or any type of paper-based boxes.

Becoming ingenious, resourceful, appreciative, and adaptable are among the many valuable lessons of this historic period essential for our sanity, gratefulness, and survival for an uncertain future. Peace!

Stay Healthy and Safe.

Zebra Tower – A Distance Learning Cardboard Sculpture

This Zebra Tower is one of a few repurposed cardboard sculptures I have  recently built on virtual art classes with my 3^rd and 4^th Grade students, to enhance their appreciation for recycling packaging materials, while supporting their exploration of form and balance in the construction of free-standing abstract structures.

Distance Learning in Maryland from the safety of home-quarantine, became the norm in education on March 31, 2020. Statewide Public and Private schools officially closed on March 13 for the remainder of the academic year due to the COVID19 pandemic, thus swiftly transforming me into a Distant Learning art teacher!

Be Healthy and Safe.

 

Approaching Ceramic Glazing Not as A Potter but As A Painter

The traditional and fastest glazing techniques in ceramics are dipping a piece of pottery into a bucket of glaze or, pouring glaze into and over it.  Both techniques are equally effective, and they do require expediency and skill for a smooth and thorough finish.

Over the years, as a hand-builder ceramic artist I have seldom applied these glazing techniques on my ceramic works. That is because, even though I approach and model clay as a sculptor, the painter in me punctually appears with a bundle of brushes when is time to glaze!

Perhaps it is because my ceramic work tends to be decorative such as this new generation of organic bowls. Glazing with a brush is a tedious and time-consuming process of building layers of glaze to attain a rich and smooth finish -granted!  But the final product is worth the time and effort and tomorrow morning when I open my kiln, I hope to be pleasantly rewarded for my investment.

Peace!

The arched designs and adobe warmth of Santa Fe’s Kivas!

Santa Fe was founded by Spanish conquistadores in 1610. It is not only New Mexico’s state capital but technically, it is the oldest state capital in the USA!

Santa Fe sits on a semi-desert plateau 7,199 feet above sea level at the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo mountains.  Although this city is located in the South West of the United States, it is not as warm during the summer nor cool in the winter as Phoenix, Arizona or San Antonio, Texas!

Based on personal experiences, winter temperatures in Santa Fe may easily reach below zero temperatures when combined with the wind chill factor. Thus, every home in town, including the art galleries along Canyon Road have a kiva or fireplace – usually in the living room.

Last July as I visited many of Santa Fe’s art galleries along Canyon Road, I was as interested in documenting the inspiring artworks on displays as, the often overlooked traditional adobe kivas discretely present in each gallery even though they may no longer perform the original function they were intended to!

Peace!

 

 

Model Ships Drawings for A Kindred Spirit and French Host!

Reviewing and reserving lodging through airbnb is one of my favorite things to do when I am traveling domestically or abroad.  The personal connections that I make with local people and their lives are as enriching and memorable as visiting their city, state, province, country of origin or residence.  It is like reconnecting and sharing quality time with until then, unknown and scattered caring members of my global extended family!

Thus in one of my travels across the Atlantic Ocean, I met Pierre and his spouse while I stayed with my lovely wife for a few days in their airbnb apartment overlooking Mount Sainte Victoire – Not far from Paul Cezanne’s historic home and, one of  the artist’s recurring landscape painting subjects in Aix-en-Provance, France.

Pierre’s welcoming spirit and enthusiastic recommendations to visit many places in Provance was as contagious as it was informative.  I found equally inspiring his fine collection of wooden model sail ships skillfully hand-built by African artists -For I also collect historic model ships!  While at his apartment, I didn’t paint the imposing view of Mount Saint Victoire but instead, I left on his kitchen table as we departed, a bouquet of flowers for his wife and this watercolor painting of two of his favorite models with a note saying, “Merci mon amie!  Au Revoir!

Peace

 

A Multiple Reincarnation Shadow Box for The Buddha!

In my creative process, serendipity is like the Magician in Tarot or, the Joker in a conventional deck of cards. I never know when or how it will manifest itself, nor what it will throw at me to challenge my creativity and perseverance but, my intuition is usually alert to acknowledge its presence and over time, to discern its intentions and unveil its alchemical meaning!

A perfect illustration about serendipity is this multi-layered shadow box which, I began many years ago with the purchase of this miniature printed Buddha at a shop in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Eventually, I inlaid it inside the small, vertical and narrow box in the center as a portable shrine for my studio.  Over time and without purposefully looking I found at a yard sale a second box to perfectly fit the first one.  Then, a third box at a thrift shop, a fourth one at an antique shop, and a fifth one at a state sale.  With minor modifications or none, all wooden boxes fitted perfectly evolving into a multi-layer shadow box to illustrate the concept of reincarnation in Buddhism.  I added  a spinning top to symbolize the wheel of time, a transparent grid resembling the yearly calendar marking the seasons, and a stone face behind the calendar and below the Buddha depicting death.

I normally seal my shadow boxes with a clear glass panel when I consider them finish to turn them into time capsules but, for some reason, this reincarnation box remains open to chance!

Peace!