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PNWS Artist as Trickster

There doesn’t have to be a story connected to sculpture for it to mean something, but it can help to pass it’s meaning on, and bring it to a place where it’s valued more. Some folks are attached to valuing a sculpture in relation to it’s meaning. Does it have an interesting origin story, does it describe a narrative, or contain pathos, comedy, a psychology to be resolved? The relationship between an artist and their art is the medium of self discovery. It is the authenticity of that process which creates value, but defies description, and certainly defies questions of time or money. This is why it’s hard to price one’s art, and why I always dodge the question, How long did it take to make that?
While attempting to explain my sculpture, my process, my thinking at the last PNWS Member potluck. Someone asked about a sculpture on a back shelf , a wire, glass and concrete collaboration, Dave Gonzo and I made in 2016 titled: Prometheus.
The trickster god, Prometheus stole fire from Zeus, gave it to mortals, and then was cursed for his defiance. Zeus had him nailed to a mountain where an eagle would eat away at his liver and heart, which would grow back to be eaten again, which would repeat forever, but he gets rescued by Hercules. Gods and their fun, stories we can hold lightly, but return to again and again.

A hand gently grasps a sphere which extends into wildly radiating wire curves, all wiggling independently from each other, yellow glass accenting the gelatinous cloud of energy. All of this extending from a base of concrete and steel painted with a fantasy of fire and resembling a volcano. This is the frozen moment of creation, raw material/energy transformed into poetry. Besides stealing fire from the gods and giving it to humans, it’s said that Prometheus created humans from clay. A trickster god made we humans in an act of rebellion giving us the power to create civilization, culture and potentially the technology of our own destruction. Fire burns and forges form. That truth holds hope and fate, artists explaining the unexplainable, or what should be left to silence. But if we forget, where does that part of reality go to? A personal history lost forever, or enabling people with their own self-destruction.

Stories should not be bound by time, linear, word after word, beginning-middle-end. Reality as sculpture, as community, can be approached from many sides at once. Art as the means to understand ourselves, and gatherings to share what we know about the skillful use of these potentially destructive tools. Art makes life, the unbound space between the lines, at any scale; as above, so below, Prometheus unbound. Creativity unbound and supported by a community of artists. PNWS organizes events, networking, fostering collaboration and art shows, because we know the potential is exponential. We’ve just started.

+++Andy Kennedy, President PNWS

Nov 29th meeting at Marty Eichinger’s studio 2516 SE Division st Portland 4:30 Board meeting, 6pm Potluck

Home and Garden Show (February 2024) contact: Bob Deasy

CAVE gallery show contact: Terri Elioff, Sue Qwast, Toni Parque

Raku opportunity and Vancouver Arts & Music Festival, contact: Russ Ford

Troutdale Arts Festival contact: Marlena Neilson

Art & About

Looking for a resource to see what is happening in the local Portland art scene?

Check out this link: https://artandaboutpdx.com/?

Wear a mask!

I have been exploring masks for several years. Since our visit to Curry Design, I have started working with very crude kinetics. This is the first mask in motion. Currently on exhibit at Bruce Baughman Gallery in Tubac, AZ as part of the Dio de Los Muertos show.

I have also started applying my mask images to shirts.

Click images below for details.

Balancing Community and the Wild

We spend time in our own worlds, in our minds, in our studios, in that unique relationship between our hands and the materials we touch, bringing forth new and beautiful states of being, called art. And then we share that bizarre abundance discovered in our dream world; it rises to the surface and looks around, “Who else is here? Has anyone else discovered this strange world?”

Above: Ceramic portrait in Tillamook Bay by Andy Kennedy

PNWS can be the means to support your personal vision. It begins with recognizing other’s process, artists venturing into that strange place, going out on a limb, allowing for trial and misdirection. We can help each other with that recognition, the curiosity leading to discovery, to see what’s strange as appropriate. 2023 has been a good year for bold expressions and explorations.

Pictured: PNWS Vice President, Russell Ford at a Raku firing

PNWS provides the means for sculptors to connect, one dream world to another. Studio tours are a prime example; an artist shows their process, from ideas to finished works, with a willingness to discuss and spark between all the curious and creative people present. My hope is Pacific Northwest Sculptors can foster a rewilding of our spirits. Following creativity, with it’s highs and lows can be a pathway to self-discovery and communion, a way to find our humanness. PNWS is what we can make together: collaborations, raku firings, group shows, our website and outreach to other organization with mutually supportive Missions and beyond, sharing our artmaking beauty and wisdom with the public.

A few steps you can take:
If you are new to PNWS, please check in at our website <pnwsculptors.org> Login as a Member first before adding to your profile. As a Member of PNWS, you can create galleries of your art, and update everyone with posts about your art or anything you’d like to share with the world. This can happen through our social media as well. PNWS has two Facebook pages and Instagram to engage with as a contributor. Join and post to Members of Pacific NW Sculptors Group on Facebook right now. We’re actively seeking contributions to our Social media presence; contact Shelly Durica-Laiche <Indiometalarts@gmail.com>
There’s of support and re-engagement between the independent individual and their chosen community. Support for your vision happens when you engage in one form or another. It isn’t entirely predictable, how that cycle runs, but showing up is the first step. Sharing and witnessing others follows, and then supporting the structure that makes it possible is the ideal.

+++Andy Kennedy, President Pacific Northwest Sculptors

Artwork featured here, Sense of Tsunami by PNWS Member Mary Grout