Andy Kennedy

Space is the Place

Reflections on Meditation and Sculpture Process

Recently, my meditation practice expanded into my clay studio. There was a spontaneous notion to stop all action, pause every agenda, and sit in the middle of the floor. It was almost surprising how easy it was to do in that fairly busy place. There are hundreds of ceramic figures, raw and expressionistic, in some stage of aspirational metamorphosis. I had somehow discovered that sculpture process in the middle of all those pleading eyes, shouting color and texture, there is a serene place to sit in stillness.

A few months ago during Julian Voss-Andreae’s PNWS Zoom presentation, he mentioned the practice of meditation as an inspiration for art. Very quickly several people responded, a brief but energetic discussion about the challenges of regular meditation practice. This stood out to me: sculptors are into meditation. But it also made sense: I’m a sculptor and I’m into meditation as it’s essential to my sculpture process.

Meditation and Sculpture Process is Different For Every Artist

My meditation practice has found its own organic way over the decades. I took up Transcendental Meditation in High School, studied Buddhist forms in my college years, did the silent retreat in Thailand, and studied chakra theory. All of this has come together into a uniquely personal practice of wordless, keen observation, and intuition. I go where I need to go.

My art practice developed separately in parallel, but included creating objects and images of contemplation as well as performance art that has gravitated toward experiences that defy plain description: ecstasy, awe and improvisation. Conditioning myself before one of my live improvisational performances almost always includes meditation. I haven’t applied this rule to sculpting, probably because it’s already there. Meditation is already within sculpting and sculpting is within my meditation.

At that meeting, Julian also referred to the sculpture of Sir Antony Gormley as being inspired by meditation. There is a distinct similarity between these two artists: figures that reflect inward and seamlessly integrate with landscape, figures of dense materials that also dissolve into space. There is a simplicity and ease within these sculptures, but also a challenge. The center is always implied but never pinned down. I believe that we can never completely know what we are, but striving improves us, makes us more whole, and integrates us with others and the world. We will be endlessly looking and sharing what we see.

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Pacific Northwest Area Sculptors Explore Space at Sculpture Gallery

This month, our Making Space sculpture gallery show displayed the talent and commitment of both Pacific Northwest Sculptors and Northwest Stone Sculptors Association members. ArtReach Gallery is a huge space and we filled it with excellent examples of our work. We drew a steady stream of visitors. I heard many positive remarks about the quality of sculptures in the sculpture show from International Sculpture Conference participants. We presented ourselves well.

ArtReach Gallery Sculpture Show Sculptures - October 2019

Collaborating For A Sculpture Gallery Show

The effort required to assemble 39 pieces from 25 sculptors was epic. We had five or six sculptures between 5’ and 8’ tall. There were multiple stone sculptures nearly equaling the weight of their creators. My only regret is that the show only lasted four days.

The lack of sales was disappointing, but the boost in visibility and a few new memberships may have long term benefits for the organization. This was our first collaborative venture with NWSSA. I hope we will produce another show in the Seattle area. Sheldon Hurst, the curator at ArtReach has also suggested we display a few sculptures at ArtReach on an ongoing basis.

ArtReach Gallery Sculpture Show - October 2019

Special thanks to Bob Dale for identifying the space and making introductions. Working with Sheldon Hurst was as pleasant an experience as I’ve had in a long time. Additional thanks to Dave Gonzo and Andy Kennedy for moving pedestals to and from storage. A special thanks also go to Sue Quast for taking the lead on hospitality for our reception. And, no activity is complete without a thank you to George who helped with coordination and assisted in judging the entries. Shelly and Jessica worked kept us visible on social media. Thank you to all the participants who put a lot into getting work to and from the gallery for such a short event. And, finally, there are a number of NWSSA members who deserve a nod, including Cyra Jane and Carl Nelson whom I worked with directly.

Thanks to Marty Eichinger for co-hosting a reception for conference attendees and PNWS members. That was a great networking opportunity.

I’m sure I’ve overlooked a few others who also deserve to be thanked. My apologies.

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Sculptors Share Secrets At International Sculpture Day 2019

International Sculpture Day - May 2019 - 1

International Sculpture Day - May 2019 - 2

We’ve yet to have an International Sculpture Day celebration that was not a great success. This one was slimmed down from previous years in that it was to be merely a juried exhibition with a few artists demonstrating techniques. A budget was set for food and the demonstrators paid a small fee to participate. Sculptors Jesse Pierson and Dave Gonzo hosted at their studio on Franklin in SE Portland. Of course, this all sounds simple, but there are a tremendous number of tasks to complete to pull such a thing off. Firstly, you need postcards and publicity, find somebody to pour beer, and the food needs to be bought and set up. Also, where does one find a computer beefy enough to run Oculus Rift? At some point, Gonzo had to lower the giant spider down from the ceiling and build a fire in it. Suffice it to say there was plenty of thinking and heavy lifting involved to make the event a success.

International Sculpture Day Is Mainly A Social Event

I was a demonstrator and went with the intent of making a decent number of little creatures. I made a small lump. It was green and misshapen. That’s as far as I got. Afterward, I spent the rest of the time talking with one person after another. What a bunch of interesting people and what a remarkable evening.

Oculus Rift is a piece of the 3D system with a stereo headset primarily aimed at the gaming industry. One is immersed in a 3-dimensional environment usually with ample weaponry. Hand controls enable one to manipulate and/or operate virtual objects. Your virtual hands or tools mimic the movements of your real arms and hands. Of course, all this means it’s possible to make things as well. This resulted in one person after another sitting over in the corner with googles and hand controls making insane gestures. Alisa Looney, Chas Martin, Andy Kennedy, Joe Cartino, and I were the demonstrators. All were constantly engaged. Thanks, Dave and Jesse, and all who helped out. That was a really nice event.

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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”.

Sculpture Tools: Favorite tools for creating figurative ceramic sculpture

Andy Kennedy

Some rocks, a fork, a piece of wire, a wooden baseball bat. This is a short list of Favorite Tools for creating figurative ceramic sculpture. The rocks are chunks of concrete and asphalt that fit my hands. They are rough here and sharp there. I have memorized their shapes to intuit the best rock for sculpting the clay in the gesture of the moment. When I am deep in the process, this happens without thought. My name is Andy Kennedy and a lump of asphalt has become magical to me.

I asked our Pacific NW Sculptors president, George Heath, what would he like for an article in the newsletter? His reply suggested that I write about my bat; a gray, weather beaten, wooden baseball bat. He had seen me sculpting with the bat last September at the Fall Festival for the Arts in Troutdale. We were both demo (demonstration) artists there along with Dave Gonzales. To digress a little, I really recommend being a demo artist. I have done numerous demo gigs with Pacific NW Sculptors, and being with the public and your art process at the same time can make your art more authentic, more responsive, and more real.

Dave Gonzo got a few seconds of video of me using my bat and posted it to Instagram. In the video, you will notice that I’m holding the bat in the middle of its length, where it is balanced. This allows me to toss it in the air slightly and spin it 180 degrees, like a baton. With that flip the bat adjusts from a club to a prod and there is an easy flow to the gesture. Instead of writing more about this tool or the technique of its use, I’m going to attempt to refer to the frame of mind that I have during the process. There is a temptation to say, as with the asphalt chunk, this 180 flip happens without thinking, because there was no conscious intention to flip the bat. I never practiced this trick or considered ideas such as, “Can I do this?” or “Should I do this?”

I have the sense that the thinking is accelerated and nonlinear, guided by my focus on crafting the clay figure. I am alert to states of mind that seem suspended, paradoxical, timeless, and irrational. I believe this is what allows an artist to discover new forms and meaning. This is why our work can be considered priceless, because the value of this work should not be measured by a linear metric.

There is also an elegance and solidity to linear thought. This how we engineer our work to stand up against gravity. A thought building on the thoughts that came before, as in an essay. The focus of this essay is tools. The asphalt chunk and baseball bat are both used for blunt force to shape and texture the clay, but for building structure one tool more than any other helps me to sculpt: a fork. Learning to fuse together clay pieces is a most important technical skill for building clay objects. A fork looks like a tiny hand; consider that roughening and scoring into the clay where it is to stick to other roughened clay is like creating a series if hands that reach out to each other to hold fast the two joined parts. Structural strength only results when the two halves are sufficiently blended together by force and fork. Bonus feature: most fork handles can be used as a knife to cut into clay. A common household object useful for adding and subtracting from clay sculpture; definitely a Favorite Tool.

Andy Kennedy Hosts Sculptors Group

About twenty Pacific Northwest Sculptors group members and guests gathered at the home of fellow sculptor Andy Kennedy and his partner Stephanie Buddenbaum on the evening of October 19th for the group’s monthly informal get-together.

A different member artist hosts the gathering each month.

The potluck affair began with time to get reacquainted before everyone moved on to Kennedy’s studio out back. The studio is a converted garage teeming with hundreds of clay sculptures, large and small. Kennedy spoke informally about his work, saying he has “been doing raw expression in paint and clay for years,” since the late 1980s at The Evergreen State College at Olympia, Wash, where he completed a bachelor of arts program.

“Raw” is an apt description of many, if not most, of Kennedy’s sculptures on display in his studio. They are evocative of an experience he described at Evergreen in which he created drawings from photographs of dissected cadavers.

Most of his human-form sculptures—nearly all of the large body of work in his studio is human form—possess not an unsettling quality but an aura of “one step beyond,” a view of what it is like on the other side of where we are.

Kennedy describes this in another way on his website, “Objects that inform by asking the unanswerable.” Saying that “we should all draw more,” a remark that elicited a collective murmur of agreement from the room full of sculptors, Kennedy went on to share more of his 2-D work besides the cadaver drawings at Evergreen.

Interactivity Encouraged at Sculptors Group

In his slide show, he shared examples from a mostly pastel chalk series he called “missing children drawings,” adapted from images of missing children reproduced on milk cartons in a 1980’s nationwide awareness campaign about kidnapped children. Later, he created a public installation about the missing children. Besides working in clay, Kennedy also hand-builds in concrete on armatures, sometimes adding features in wood.

He has created several larger-scale outdoor installations in concrete, “yard sculptures” that, over time, are cloaked in vegetation and become integral with the environment they inhabit.

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Newport Visual Arts Center Opening Draws Crowd

Friday, Sept. 8, was a big day in Newport for members of Pacific Northwest Sculptors. That afternoon, the Newport Visual Arts Center, overlooking the Pacific Ocean, welcomed the pubic to “Variety of Visions: Work from the Pacific Northwest Sculptors.”

Sculptures in a wide range of media by 27 PNWS members were on display at the NVAC, a project of the Oregon Coast Council for the Arts.

PNWS President George Heath, whose schedule kept him from attending the opening, said of the show, “It looks amazing and very professional. We can be proud.” He volunteered high praise for PNWS Shows Coordinator Dave Gonzo. “What I did witness was what it took for Dave and his crew just to make the arrangements. The negotiations were challenging and there were some last-minute issues that seemed impossible to overcome, but Dave just took it head-on and made it happen,” said Heath. “It was a marvel to see.”

Newport Community Supports Visual Arts

Gonzo praised those who helped him make the show a reality. “With much hard work from all of the show committee and other members, it couldn’t have been done without them,” he said. “I would like to thank the show committee for stepping up in making the exhibition a reality. Chas Martin for the show title and taking submissions, Joe Cartino for creating the spreadsheets, Jessica Stroia and Sue Quast for handling the marketing, promotion, and social media along with Alisa Looney.”

Gonzo also thanked Craig Dorety and Andy Kennedy for their logistic support. In addition, Kennedy also wrote promotional copy, and Jill Townsend found hotel rooms at a discount for PNWS members. Gonzo expressed special appreciation for the contributions from Newport Visual Arts Center Director Tom Webb. “Working with Tom was a pleasure, and I learned much about putting on big exhibitions. With communication, understanding, and patience, we pulled off a great show.”

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Portland Celebrates International Sculpture Day 2017

Pacific Northwest Sculptors’ second annual celebration of International Sculpture Day on April 21 and 22 in Portland was an unqualified success, judging from comments after the event by its organizers, participants and guests.

Hosted at three neighboring venues in Southeast Portland’s Sellwood District and billed as “ International Sculpture Day PDX 2017, 3D Alchemy: Fusing Intellect, Intuition and Magic Into Sculpture,” the event featured leading local sculptors talking about their work, live demonstrations of sculptors at work, a tour of one sculptor’s cutting-edge, high-tech studio, an exhibit of sculptures by local artists, lots of good food and drink, a tango demonstration and, to wrap it all up, a dance party with live music.

PNWS member Alisa Looney was a driving force behind the event. It was her presentation at a members’ meeting at Marylhurst University near Lake Oswego about two years ago that led PNWS to commit to joining the celebration, observed around the world each April for the last three years.

Summing up this year’s event she said, “My feeling overall was that it was a wonderful event for all who attended. Our entire team was incredible, professional and dependable. Everyone really showed up and made sculpture to the public in a fresh way.”

Everyone on the organizing team and the other artists who were featured in the event worked hard and deserve considerable gratitude for their selfless contribution.

PNWS Members Create International Sculpture Day

PNWS President George Heath singled out Looney for her imagination and commitment to making Portland a part of this observance. He wrote to her after the recent event, “As for you, Wow! That was amazing. I rarely, if ever, have seen anybody pull off something like that with such aplomb. Nicely done.”

Looney said, “I was truly honored to receive this compliment on behalf of our team,” adding, “it would not have been possible to pull this off without even one of our amazing team members, artists, hosts, sponsors, volunteers and guests.”

Other members of the International Sculpture Day organizing team, all PNWS members, were Julian Voss-Andreae, Jennifer Corio, Dave Gonzo, Sam Hingston, and Sue Quast. Some of the planners were also featured artists at the event. Voss-Andreae opened his studio to the public where he led a tour and explained how he blends art and high-tech; he also was a featured speaker, along with Hingston, at the artist talks.

The other featured speakers were Chayo Wilson and Bill Leigh. Corio emceed the artist talks. Gonzo demonstrated sculptural welding techniques alongside fellow PNWS member Andy Kennedy who demonstrated ceramic work. Looney singled out Susan Schimelfining as one volunteer “who has not been mentioned enough.” Looney credited Schimelfining for planning and preparing the food available at various venues. “It was beautifully displayed and delicious as well,” said Looney. “She actually cooked the smoked chicken herself and went to great lengths to make it all work with the schedule of replenishing for each event.”

SE Portland Businesses Host Artists and Guests for International Sculpture Day

The event was sited at three locations in close proximity to one another along Southeast 17th Avenue: Anna Daedalus and Kerry Davis’s Roll-Up Photo Studio + Gallery, which was the venue of last year’s celebration, Voss-Andreae’s new studio, and Rachel Lidskog-Lim’s Dance With Joy Studios. Groups of artists and guests migrated together from one location to the next throughout the evening. Hingston thought the geography of the event added to its appeal. “I thought it was a really fun and engaging event.

The three locations gave the evening a lot of variety, and I thought having the group travel together brought a bit of adventure to the whole thing,” he said. He also had praise for his fellow planners. “It was a great experience working with the planning committee as well as the many people who helped to make it all happen.

It took a lot of effort from a lot of people, but it was certainly well worth it.” Corio was pleased with the outcome as well. “All and all, a smashing success! I am proud to be part of the planning team,” she said. She thought the audience at the artist presentations seemed “laid back and really interested in hearing what the artists had to say.” She said they asked “good questions” and with “a fair bit of laughter,” which, she added, made her job as emcee easier.

International Sculpture Day a Success

Corio summarized the event. “I felt a fun, joyful vibe throughout the evening. The show at Roll-Up (Gallery) was full of folks looking at art and enjoying themselves.” While it was difficult to count overall attendance at the event owing to its being spread out across three venues, it was possible to get a good count of the people attending the artist talks.

Corio and Looney agreed the number there was about 75 with a few others gathered just outside the door to the room where food and beverages were available. Paul Haist, the newsletter editor, who was focused on watching and photographing what was going on, though overall attendance could not be much less than about 200. The celebration would not have been possible without the generous support of many in the community including sponsors Cobalt Designworks, Dance With Joy Studios, Form 3D Foundry, Bill Leigh, Roll-Up Photo Studio + Gallery, the International Sculpture Center in Hamilton, N.J. (publishers of Sculpture Magazine) and Julian Voss-Andreae.

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