My submissions for this week’s challenge:
Feb28
Tuesdays of Texture, Week 9, 2017
My submissions for this week’s challenge:
Monthly Archives: February 2017
Feb28
Rising Tide Sculpture
Richard Vest, the son of a commercial fisherman, grew up in San Francisco. Though he’s not interested in hauling fish from the sea in nets, he captures fish and wildlife in another way.
Even as a child, he loved to draw, and won prizes for his art. He attended San Francisco State University, where he earned degrees in Fine Art and Design/Technology and acquired his secondary teaching credential. He taught art and woodworking in the San Ramon, California, school district before devoting himself to his art full-time.
Richard Vest
Using his own photography of creatures as a reference, Vest first captures his subjects as a sketch. Then he selects his wood, and using various grinders and carving tools, crafts his remarkably detailed sculptures. Most are meant to hang on the wall, but he carves free-standing pieces as well.
All of Vest’s pieces are one-of-a-kind. He also produces artworks on commission, but due to differences in woodgrain and slight variations in execution, no two sculptures are ever exactly alike.
I first met Vest at the Tempe Festival of the Arts, where I was dazzled by an enormous bear, like this one, but larger. Vest is a popular participant at a number of shows every year.
For more information about the sculptures shown here, click the link below each photo. You can also visit his website and his Etsy shop.
Of course, I had to include the unicorn. But, obviously, Vest was not working from a photograph, because then he’d know real unicorns look more like goats than horses. (Sorry, Richard–I’m a medieval purist. I like my unicorns like the ones in the tapestries in The Cloisters.)
Note: all the photographs in this article are the property of Richard Vest. Used with permission. All photographs are copyrighted, and no part of any photo/carving may be reproduced by any means including photographically, mechanically, or digitally and is subject to all U.S. copyright laws.
Feb27
Share Your World – February 27, 2017
I’m playing along with Cee’s Share Your World Challenge today.
Ever ran out of gas in your vehicle?
Only once. My kids were little, and I had three of them in the car with me. The car conked out about a mile from home. This was in the 80s, long before cell phones. I took the stroller out of trunk, and the kids and I walked to my neighbor’s house. She kindly let me borrow a gas can, drove me to the gas station, and then to my car.
Which are better: black or green olives?
Of the two, I prefer green. But have you ever had kalamata olives? They’re fabulous, closer to the green in the sourness factor, and brownish in color.
If you were a great explorer, what would you explore?
I don’t have the courage of the great explorers. I’d rather go explore the more well-established places, where I can admire architecture and museums, anywhere in the world.
Quotes List: At least three of your favorite quotes?
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things (Philippians 4:8, NIV).–This is one of my life verses, and a standard I try to achieve my writing.
Found on Pinterest
Optional Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?
We’re working on fixing up our house. I am grateful that last week we had new gutters installed. And I look forward to every day. I have a wonderful life.
Feb27
Monday Morning Wisdom #91
There never yet have been, nor are there now, too many good books. –Martin Luther
Feb26
Weekend Writing Warriors: Andrea’s Snippet #43
Every Sunday, the Weekend Writing Warriors share 8-10-sentence snippets from their works-in-progress on their blogs for others to read and comment on. Join the fun! Click on the link to see the full list.
The Unicornologist ~ High school freshman Hillary Noone, on a field trip to The Cloisters, receives a prophecy: she is destined to save the unicorn. Though she shrugs it off as being preposterous, soon life imitates art, and she finds herself in mortal danger.
Hillary is camping in the woods by herself so she can keep an eye on the unicorn. She’s settled into a morning routine of going to the stream with her pot to gather water, so she can boil it for drinking. This morning, she also catches her breakfast.
Once there, she took a good look at her pot. The outside had blackened from the flames. Inside, dried noodles clung to the sides. She plunged the pot in the stream and scrubbed it with her washcloth. Little bits of noodle floated downstream.
Hillary’s conscience panged. Was it bad to put noodles in the stream?
She noticed a small fish gobbling up the noodles. Reflexively, her hand darted into the water and closed around the fish, who struggled, so she cupped her other hand around it as well. She walked over to a tree, gripped the fish securely by its tail and, squeezing her eyes shut tight, swung it against the tree trunk.
I know it’s short (the limit is ten sentences), but what do you think of this small excerpt from Chapter 22? Any suggestions on how I can make it better? Please comment below.
Feb26
From the Creator’s Heart #87
Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand (Isaiah 41: 10 NLT).
Feb25
Cowboys and Indians
Residents of Arizona are familiar with the Basha grocery empire. But not all are aware of the Basha family’s cultural legacy.
At Basha corporate headquarters in Chandler, Arizona, resides a phenomenal museum of Western American art, the Zelma Basha Salmeri Gallery, named after the aunt who inspired Eddie Basha’s lifelong love affair with art.
A small sampling of the extensive collection of over 3500 items:
El Encuentro by Paul Pletka
by Harrison Begay
Bowl, carved from wood and polished
Many panels of drawings of kachinas by Cecil Calnimptewa
A whole cabinet of fetishes, small animal carvings representing the spirits of the animals, and believed to have special powers.
by Bruce Green
Cowboy lighting his cigarette with a branding iron
Breaking Wild Horses by John Clymer
Devil’s Gate by John Clymer
The White Buffalo by John Clymer
The Peace Pipe by John Clymer
To get the full effect of this beautiful, detailed sculpture, it’s necessary to walk around it and view it from several angles.
Is it just me, or does the kachina on the left below resemble Rodin’s The Thinker?
And does the kachina on the left below resemble Rodin’s The Kiss?
I’ve enjoyed the Native American art at The Heard Museum in Phoenix, but I have a new appreciation for the cowboy artists as a result of seeing their work up close. If you’re ever in the area, make a point to stop and see the Eddie Basha Collection.
Feb24
Creative Juice #30
A baker’s dozen of artful articles (better for you than donuts!):
- Pretty mandalas.
- Illustrations of Barbara Bongini.
- Art. Color. Ballet.
- Shooting portrait photographs.
- A case FOR littering…
- Success secrets of geniuses.
- Six words that can prevent misunderstandings. (So much nicer than “Why are you telling me this?”)
- Use perspective like a fourth grader.
- Steampunk seafood?
- I always love it when Treadlemusic posts pictures of what her quilting group made.
- Living in a small town in Queens, New York.
- Are you looking for some songs that promote Christian values for your little ones?
- Want to improve yourself? Bring this reading list to the library with you.
Feb24
In the Meme Time: Processing Critiques
Feb23
Guest Post: Private Lives
Many thanks to Donna for this guest post, which first appeared on her blog (one of my favorites!), My OBT.
ARHtistic License 