Ron Rodgers Blog

Time Away

2009-06-26T12:53:00.000-07:00

This is a short post to say i am still here but not active in my art. I have been tied up with by actual job not creating new pieces but that should all change next week. I am headed for 2 weeks of vacation in July and that is my time to create a new major piece. I plan on spending some major time in my studio.

I have added a photo of an older piece that gives me some inspiration.

Odd-Stritch

2009-06-05T13:43:00.000-07:00

This past week I completed another metal sculpture... The Odd-Stritch. It is another piece of whimsy and a result of picking up pieces and adding till i had a result. Yes I did cut off some pieces that didn't look right but I added them back on in other places.

The scrap that I use is unique and comes from work, I pay the going rate for scrap steel since we sell it to scrap dealers. So far I have accumulated a couple of hundered pounds of odd bits. My wife like it, she says it makes her smile every time she looks at it. Any time I can make my wife smile, is ok with me.

Last Carving Class May 2009

2009-06-05T13:26:00.000-07:00

May 30, 2009

This past week I held the final class I am teaching on wood carving. The subject of this class is a baby chickadee with a simple mount on a block of red cedar. I am a member and current vice president of the Champlain Valley Wood Carvers club, and have been for many years.

Teaching is a great way to understand the thought process and mechanics of sculpture. With wood carving as with stone work it is a reduction process to reveal the subject and teaching how to take away enough wood in one place and not to remove too much in another to get the desired results is a challenge. Teaching a class like this is all about being supportive and positive and adapting to the challenge of making minor corrections to individual works, without discouraging individuality in the results.

The people that I have had in my classes are mostly new carvers and I stress that this is more about learning technique than the finished result, but I will help them get a result. I only charge for the materials used in the class, the instruction is free. More about the club at a later date.

Ron

2009-05-25T18:30:00.000-07:00

The last week has had me in the studio more than ever and I actual got some things accomplished! I find that time flies in the shop, and now I have completed another piece.

Last fall I was commissioned to make a scuplture as a house warming gift. The finished piece was up to me but the suggestion was for a heron type of bird. I have been experimenting with recycling scrap granite counter top sink cutout pieces sinks about 1’ by 2’ for table tops. I split a piece in two and worked out a mounting so that the pieces are used a “Stone Winged Herron”.

Another event happened yesterday, a newly fledged gold finch landed on my wife’s shoulder. After taking some photos we going to place the bird in the feeder, when I when to move it I hopped up onto my arm. I think that it will be great reverence for one of my future wood sculptures.

Ron

Finding Time and Motivation

2009-05-18T19:31:00.000-07:00

After a little time spent reflecting on my motivation (or actually my lack of) for working on my art, I spent some time looking around on the web for ideas. I found a book and a web site called “I’d Rather Be in the Studio!”. I haven’t looked the site or ordered the book but the title caught my eye. That’s exactly how I feel at times but the hard part is breaking free of the rut of coming home from work and flopping down on the couch.

Breaking out of the daily grind of my day job and getting into my studio once I get home is a goal that I need to achieve. A little more searching and I read something about running a craft business and make time for the running of a business by setting aside a day specifically to get things done and not put it off.

Now for me it‘s a short leap to reversing that to setting aside a Sunday and a specific evening each week for studio time. That is going to be Tuesday. Writing the blog is also a motivator.

So what did I do? Ode to Joy – a metal sculpture made from steel scraps. I also finished off a little stone and wire sculpture that I had started.

I will see how this goes. I like the results so far!

Ron

The Begining

2009-05-12T14:20:00.000-07:00

Well this is finally happening, I decide to create a blog.It is more for me to journal my progress as an Artist than anything else.I love to create! The problem is that so many things catch my imagination and ideas are more plentiful than time. I am a wood sculptor, painter, craftsman, metal sculptor and software developer. The last one is my profession the others are extensions of my passion for design and construction.I still work full time, plus, so time to create my own works are limited. I have found that journaling my artistic activities help to keep me focused on moving forward. I have often had gaps in my artistic work cycle and find journaling is one way to keep the motivation.I created a web site www.rrrodgers.com and have posted some of my work on that site and will be updating it on a regular basis as i complete new works. I will add a link to this blog on my main site as well.I have also put up a site www.ChamplainValleyWoodCarvers.org. It is a group of friends that get together to carve. Some of the more advanced memeber give lessong on carving thechnique. I am currently teaching a basic class on carving a baby chickadee with power tools.Email me at ron@rrodgers.com if you want to contact me.