Amber Metz

Common Sculpture Tools – Orange Plastic Bowl

Andy Kennedy

A couple months ago I described some of my clay sculpting tools, a fork, a baseball bat, a stone with a sharp edge. Tools can also be a word or an idea, or a whole system of ideas, anything that can be used to affect change. The tools of this essay are vague abstractions grounded by physical elements of process. And presently featuring an orange plastic bowl, about 17” diameter and one inch thick all around.

It’s very rounded because this bowl was part of a sphere that was once a float for a fisherman’s net. I found this orange plastic bowl buried in sand on the beach of Ft. Stevens park by Astoria and hauled it home. It’s surprisingly heavy at over ten pounds. I’m going to pause, because there was a time when I did not know what this thing really could do. That was a time of unknowing, but keen recognition that this orange bowl seemed to have Potential written all over it. Like being handing a big puzzle piece that is connected to a huge new view of the world. Finding this orange hunk of plastic was like a wardrobe that leads to Narnia or hearing at a planning meeting for International Sculpture day that an empty storefront adjacent to the CAVE might be available for art installation.

There were a few moments in the middle of International Sculpture day within the bustle of other artists setting up demonstrations and Vancouver residents walking into the PNWS event. I was there, in the middle of an installation that I co-created with Amber Metz (AKA Aim Axon) called Meditation and Manipulation playing with one of the 200+ bamboo sticks that I brought into the CAVE Adjacent space over the month leading up to the event. I stood there observing yet another wondrous property of an orange plastic bowl, a piece of found object art that I now call the haFast forms a cone with my hand at the apex and I’m in that state of discovery and surrender to wonder spontaneously conjured, hyper-present, ready and willing, at the axis of crafting reality and it occurs to me, “The quality of this moment is the thing I want to share”.

The Belly – An interactive art installation of art in public places

Art Installation by Aim Axon

The senses, how enticing, visceral, our primal instincts… unnourished. The Belly was created to awaken our healthy and innate urges within ourselves, within nature itself. A 20 minute sensory experience crafted to open doors, unlocking the tight control that represses and denies the very essence of who we are and the Earth we live on.

Alisa Looney experiencing The Belly - an art installation by Aim Axion. — Alisa Looney experiencing The Belly

Into the chaotic jungle, through angles of bamboo, near the mind altering glows, enter The Belly. Feet undressed, pass through the veil, greeted by one glowing light. The ground soft, inviting a seat ~ lay ~ crawl ~ stretch. Look around, Earth is hiding in the darkness. Trees, flowers, scents of rosemary, lavender, and lemon. The sky has an underground feeling, wet and mountainous. Come closer to the light, see your reflection. Put your skin in the Earth and Water…touch your body…the elements so wonderful, so giving, have you forgotten?

It wasn’t who she thought she knew, but who they used to be
She whispered to the wind at night, preserving bits of memory…
Excerpt from the poem written by Jessica Stroia

Vibrating sound surrounds, undulating in emotional spectrum: fear, anger, repression, hunger, sexuality, ecstasy, sensuality, gentleness, unknowing, meditation, renewal. All here, seeping and pouring through our souls like the streams and rushes of Water.

Photo of The Belly - an art installation by Aim Axion.

As experiencers came out of The Belly with mud on their faces and a curious look in their eye, many greeted me with warm hugs. Some expressed they had feelings of being in the womb, being deep within and tending to the core. Being in a mystical and sacred place, similar to a sweat lodge. Being close to Earth’s weaving roots…

This journey has been so fruitful and fulfilling. Thank you all who interacted and took a moment to feel.

Musical appearances by:

• Nature – Spirit, Fire, Air, Water, Earth, the Crow and native birds

• Amber Metz (Aim Axon) – Composition and recording, female vocals, planetary patterns, bamboo, tingsha bells, chimes, xylophone, Tibetan singing bowls, wood drumming, rainstick, gong, whistles, effects

• Dave Gonzo – Dejembe drumming, bamboo, Rick Gregg’s bells

• Matt Weiers – Clarinet, flute, xylophone

• Chayo Wilson – Tibetan singing bowl, bells, xylophone

• Andy Kennedy – Male throat singing

Listen in a quiet and dark space at » www.aimaxon.bandcamp.com

Special thanks to:

The elements for nourishing our very existence, allowing us to feel the senses and experience this stay on Earth.

Andy Kennedy for stoking the fire to this conscious experiment, for being an intriguing collaborator and a whimsically supporting hand. Andy, thank you for creating the engaging jungle atmosphere outside The Belly room, which encouraged the audience to touch – play – wonder – let go.

Also within the jungle, Craig Dorety for lending his hallucination chamber and Joseph Cartino for his indigenous dangling decor.

Chayo Wilson for her spiritual guidance and all around kindness and support.

Matt Weiers for sharing audio knowledge and lending his recording equipment and handsomely crafted singing bowls.

Dave Gonzo for harnessing the essential and primal animalistic forces.

Jessica Stroia for her surreal poetry, elegant flower reef and veil decor.

Terri Elioff for her excellent seamstress skills that made the ground oh so comfortable.

Jennifer Corio and Art at the Cave gallery for making the use of this space possible.

And of course, to the Pacific NW Sculptors who donated materials and for their artistic encouragement.

Photo of Pacific Northwest Sculptors member Aim Axion inside The Belly - an art installation. — Amber Metz (Aim Axon)

Dave Gonzo Draws Sculptors Curious About Torch Welding Sculpture

PNWS members gathered at the studio of Dave Gonzo for a hands-on experience with torch welding sculpture. The Saturday event was the monthly meeting of PNWS members and guests hosted each month at a different member’s studio. The hosting member usually discusses his or her work and demonstrates how they work.

After an opening social hour, guests got reacquainted at a potluck lunch outdoors. Next, Gonzo invited everyone inside his historic small barn studio.

Since this was to be a hands-on event for sculptors interested in learning to weld, safety was the first order of business.

Lessons in Torch Welding Sculpture Classes

Gonzo who, besides his life as a sculptor also offers welding classes, explained how oxyacetylene works, what the risks are, and how to minimize those risks. A few of his guests stepped away from the large tanks of gases as he elaborated on the worst-case scenario.

He demonstrated how to perform basic tasks such as lighting the torch, which must be done in a specific sequence, and then how to adjust the flame with just the right mix of the two gasses.

The introductory lecture over, Gonzo called for volunteers. He had set up three welding stations. Amber Metz, who joined PNWS in March, was the first to step forward.

Besides sculpting in wax, clay, foam, and mixed media, she also creates two-dimensional art in pencil, ink, paint, and chalk. Gonzo patiently guided Metz through the basic technique of using the flame called the “cone” to perform the actual welding.

Metz grasped the technique quickly, and Gonzo turned her loose to practice on her own. Chayo Wilson was next, followed by Jacque Shayne.

To learn more about Pacific Northwest Sculptors events, contact us today!