"Useful" Art

One of the things that I have noticed while working in the sales gallery is the visitors' desire to buy things they can use. While they may connect with a painting or absolutely love a piece of sculpture, in these economic times many people justify their art purchases by getting something "useful."

Because it is wedding season, many people are on the hunt for beautiful yet functional gifts. These beautiful wood sushi trays and bowls by Bob Carls are very popular and despite my love for sushi, I think these would be great as cheese trays or even to hold a few of my favorite pieces of jewelry.

Since working at the Arts Center and being in such close contact with the beautiful work, I cannot tell you how much I enjoy (and look forward to buying) handmade ceramic dishware. I adore the colors of these beautifully-glazed pieces by Ken Chin-Purcell:

As well as the traditional look of these pieces by Nate and Hallie Evans:

Because I'm a college student who lives in a dorm and the microwave is the only real cooking tool I have access to, I really want a mug like the one pictured below (also by Nate and Hallie Evans). I love the organic look of the clay and I have a hunch that this shape would keep liquid hot for a long time.

In fact, you will probably be able to find me at the Luther library armed with an art book and this mug full of green tea all too soon!

Standard Issue Iron Pour 2010

The Standard Issue Iron Pour was one of the most exciting projects yet this summer, held
on Saturday, July 24, 2010, in Sylvan Park. Two workshops allowed 25 participants to carve a design into a scratch-block mold, which was then filled with molten iron at the Iron Pour.

In addition to the workshop participants, local artist and Iron Pour producer Karl Unnasch and a group of artists in residence worked on their own sand molds the week prior to the Pour. On the day of the Pour, these artists melted iron scraps and poured the glowing liquid metal into all of the molds. It was a very cool (though extremely hot!) project and we were all thrilled with how wonderful the cast iron looked after the sand molds were broken and the molten iron was cooled.

Here is a sombrero made by one of the artists in residence:

And here is the line-up of cooling plaques made by the 25 workshop participants:

Holding the Iron Pour in a public space like Sylvan Park was a very good way to attract people from off the streets who many not be exposed to it otherwise. I think most people are very curious about art, but may not think they have enough knowledge or courage to participate in a workshop or class. By hosting the Iron Pour in the park on a busy Saturday, we were able to teach people a lot about the creative process of casting iron -- and hopefully get them excited about future projects.