I covered the September 6th unveiling of the Statue of Liberty in West Seattle in an earlier post. Judy and I drove over today, three weeks later, to hang at the Tulley’s Coffee Shop on Alki Ave and take in the Statue minus the huge crowd present at the unveiling. I shot the photos below about 11 am.

Click on photo for a larger image, look straight up from Judy's head and you'll see the Statue of Liberty sticking out of the roof a parked car - it's closer than it appears

View of Statue facing West, taken from steps leading to the plaza/bench area - people in photo are reading names of donors engraved on bricks

Northwest view - click photo for larger image and you'll see the Space Needle at center right

Southwest view

Issue #9 in the Indie Arts DVD magazine series has been released early. The information below appears on the PREVIEWS page on the Indie Arts DVD website, where you’ll find similar highlights for all Indie Arts DVDs.

PREVIEW GUIDE - ISSUE 9

Preview of Issue 9 – Fall 2008
RELEASE DATE:  October 1, 2008
Viewing Guide
Total Viewing Time: 1 hour 55 minutes
INDIE ARTS is two years old! This last regular issue of the DVD magazine has many special features in it including three videos which takes us to Southern Spain and Interviews with amazing artists and Art Gallery shows.

Featured Artist Michael Jacobs is a Mixed Media Maker and Author of Creative Correspondence and Books Unbound who says the most exciting aspect of his work is discovering new interactive ways of working with paper and mixed media. Learn how he began making books as sculptures, miniature books and creative correspondence.

Michael operating 'Cosmic Revolution #2' during interview

Indie Arts goes On-Location to Andalucia, Spain with a special visit to The Alhambra, a Moorish architectural wonder.

Interviews: Sue Robertson’s Joyful Art will inspire you to play and experiment with mixed media and to try new techniques that bring you joy. She talks about how her love of art supplies lead her to try out new styles of collage and mixed media. Visit The Salvage Studio in Edmonds, WA where they “Rescue Good Junk” and create whimsical and practical art from found objects. They are passionate about reusing castoff materials and combinbing them into inventive new forms.

Suzie Wolfer, LCSW talks about the process of making SoulCollage cards and how they can help you discover your inner allies and helpers. She also describes how she uses SoulCollage on a daily basis. Karen Landey, Video Producer of INDIE ARTS, steps out from behind the camera to share her experiences producing INDIE ARTS, the creative process and taking her video art to the next level.

Art Gallery Shows: Award-Winning Artist Lisa Bebi has a show of her Mixed Media and Collage Art. Linda Gaughran’s Mixed Media and Precious Metal Clay Jewelry is featured. Kelly Renae’s takes us around Southern Spain with her photographic Portrait of Andalusia.

Experience the moving and transformative work of an Art Journal Group Show that includes the artwork of 13 artists: Anne-Marie Colwell, Mary Gartner, Robin Katz, Julie Kessler, Laura Mosher, Susan Pins, Pat Remington, Marlene Schaus, M.K. Shaw, Cami Smith, Lauren Swing, Judy Tracy and Laurie Wack.

I met Steffanie Lorig when she participated in a workshop at our studio in 2004. She’s a graphic designer, author, and the founder and Executive Director of Art With Heart, a wonderful non-profit organization. This month’s Seattle Woman Magazine highlights Steffanie’s story about how she started Art with Heart and the books that have helped thousands of children around the world.

Art with Heart is a charitable 501c3 nonprofit organization that has had the privilege of helping over 36,000 children through the healing power of creativity. Our work supports fragile populations at times of crisis, such as after a diagnosis of cancer, a natural disaster, or the tragedy of a school shooting.

I recently participated in a fundraising event to benefit Art With Heart. This was the second time I volunteered and each time people played with wire. The first time, I worked with little people who made beautiful self-portraits from wire, and this time big people embellished a 5-foot tall wire figure I brought to the event.

Components for 'Wired for Art' figure, made from wire in various metals, gauges and colors

Gloria Wildeman, co-founder of Lionfish Creative, sponsored a meeting of the The Washington Technology Industry Association on September 10th at the Red Lion Hotel in downtown, Seattle. The coordinator for the event invited Art With Heart to be present. Steffanie wanted an interactive experience for the attendees, rather than simply having her staff sitting at a table with information. She contacted me and we met for coffee to brainstorm ideas. After considering several approaches, we settled on her original idea - an ‘exquisite corpse’ made of wire that the attendees could embellish.

Judging from the response, the attendees loved it! They jumped right in and rummaged through bowls of wire, beads, leather, etc., and made and attached lots of embellishments. We heard many ‘I’m not creative’ type comments, but even managed to talk these reluctant ‘non-artists’ into participating - and smiles appeared as they did so! Such is the power of art.

Enjoy the photos.

Washington Technology Meeting attendees making and adding embellishments

Helga Wissenbach, Production Manager for Able Innovations, with her embellishment - 'every girl needs a purse'

Gloria Wildeman of Lionfish Creative with knee embellishment

Close-up of 'Wired for Art' figure and unknown artist adding embellishment

'I'm not an artist' Erin Athene, President of Topaz Bridge, smiles after adding her embellishment

Art With Heart staff member Doris Wong Estridge holds 'Wired for Art' figure while Steffanie Lorig, Executive Director, speaks to attendees

Lisa Mackie, Art With Heart intern, displays completed 'Wired for Art' figure

Wire is flat out fun to work with. I’ve been playing with it as an art/craft medium for many years and find the process very addictive. Wire is cheap, readily available in many gauges, metals and colors, and working with wire requires only a few simple tools.

I’ve admired Alexander Calder (1898 - 1976) ever since I discovered his art at age seventeen, when his outdoor sculpture, Hello Girls, commissioned in 1964, was installed at the Los Angeles County Art Museum one year later. This water-powered sculpture totally blew me away. Calder worked extensively in wire throughout his 50-year career and is most widely known as the inventor of the art form we call the mobile.

Calder’s ‘Goldfish Bowl’, a charming, interactive wire sculpture made in 1929 as a last-minute addition to a gallery exhibit, is funky and playful, and turned out to be a big hit! He had used cranks earlier to make his circus figures move, but his Fishbowl was his first sculpture to incorporate a cranking mechanism. I’ve also seen this same sculpture titled ‘Fishbowl with Crank’.

I smile every time I look at the photo of Fishbowl With Crank. Even though I’ve viewed the photo numerous times, I can’t quite figure out Calder’s cranking mechanism. I’d love to see that crank up close and personal and turn it to make the fish ’swim’!

I decided to make a Fishbowl with Crank, and the result is shown below. I experimented with several different cranking mechanisms. The crank on my fishbowl differs from Calder’s, but it works nicely. I will make several more fishbowls and try different mechanisms. In the meantime, I am quite pleased with this one. It makes me smile, too!

My fishbowl project was fun and quite challenging at the same time. Here’s my challenge to all you wire artists out there - Check out the photo of Calder’s Goldfish Bowl, then construct one of your own! The only requirement is that one (or more) fish ’swim’ when the crank is turned. Then send me digital images of the result.

‘Judy’s Wine Caddy’ is another recently completed piece. Is it art? Is it craft? Is it both? Does it matter? This delicate-looking sculpture is actually quite sturdy - one of the attributes of wire sculptures I find appealing. Judy likes her personalized wine caddy and displays it on our kitchen counter when it’s not in use.

I recently finished shooting my first YouTube Video. Laugh at my very serious opening statements and watch me hold up and operate interactive card projects from my book Cards That Pop-Up, Flip and Slide, and then make two of the projects along with me as I walk you through step-by-step instructions. I couldn’t fit everything on one video - you’ll see the projects and the first two steps for making an Easel Card in Part 1. In part 2, I finish the Easel Card and step out a Slider Card. Both cards are versatile and can easily be adapted to different sizes, occasions, etc.

Thanks to Suzanne and Brian Glazer, owners of Pennywise Arts (studio and camera) and Noah Greer (editor) for their assistance on this project.