So much going on, So little time...

Remember how I said this week was really busy?

Well, here's round 2 of blogging!


In my first post, I rambled a bit about the joys of creation. This post gets down to the grittier aspects of the week.

First off... this whole month has been very expensive for me.

Truck registration had to be renewed. Spent some time down at the Scottish festival. Had to cut back hours at work in order to spend more time at my studio. Haven't really sold anything recently, but have been buying up supplies because I need to craft a ton of things in a very short amount of time. Had bills to pay.

In short... I ended up broke, really quick.



I tell you what... nothing ruins a week faster then realizing your broke and needing money and knowing you're S.O.L. until the next paycheck rolls in.

As fate would have it though... my aunt sent me a down payment on a big project she wants me to do. Thank god for good timing! Woo! Now I was finally able to sort out the expenses that had been hanging over my head.

I made sure to stash part of the payment into savings, but the rest went towards paying for that art festival and the torch kit. It's going to be months before I can get to her project... and in the mean time, my business has to make money, which means grabbing up opportunities to do just that. Like festivals. And markets.

I also need equipment. In this case... a new oxyacetylene torch kit! This has been on my 'Must Have' list for quite a while, and I finally had an opportunity to get it!

I am now lined up to attend the 4th of July, Sugar House Street Festival! It's a one day event where local artists and crafters gather to hock their wares. I did pretty good last year if I recall... and I'm hoping to do even better this year. Especially now that I have a better idea of what I'm doing. I just hope I can put together enough of an inventory for this, in the week or so I have left.

Despite the need to be at my shop, part of my business is networking. I have to talk to people. I have to make connections. I have to find places to show and sell my work locally. And I'm the only to do it. 

So part of my week was spent chatting with a local nursery called Growing Wild which features some of my art. I hadn't talked with the owner much since last year, so I was telling him what I was up to and what I'd been working on. In particular, I told him about how I was putting together animals out of tools, and that I'd been having a hard time finding things like shovels, rakes, etc... at which point he walks over to his shed and says "Oh, I have a ton of broken shovels. I don't know what to do with them, so I've just been sticking them in this bucket. You're welcome to have them."

...No way... Really!?

In 2 months of scrounging on my own, I'd only been able to turn up 2 shovels and a pitch fork. And now, in the span of a 10min conversation, I had a dozen of them, all set and ready to go!
That just made my day. I will have to make him a nice beetle or something out of one of those shovels.



Now, this was just the start of my week. I still had to swing over to the steel yard to pick up some more items I needed for a current commission, as well as some other supplies from Home Depot, and I had that Barn owl order to ship out. And once I had all this done, it was back to the shop.

I have a commission for a pet urn I've been working on, on and off, for a while now, and it's nearly done. It's proven to be more difficult and time consuming then I anticipated, and I've had to push it back a few times in order to complete orders for things on a deadline. But finally I'm nearly done and should be wrapping that up pretty quick and getting it out of my hair.

 I also finally sat down and completed the other half of the above commission, which are a set of paws to go on a mailbox. These were surprisingly time consuming to craft, but all in all, turned out very well. They're big paws too, with the largest being around 8in, and the smaller ones around 5 1/2in.

I'd say the biggest accomplishment of this week was finally creating a GOOD sign for my shop! Or rather... my booth I should say.

I've never really had a decent sign for my shop for when I was out attending markets and festivals and fairs. The old one was this super simple, ugly looking thing about the size of a dinner plate. Just a metal filter with a simple cut out over the top of it. It was meant only to be a placeholder until I crafted a good sign... which I never seemed to get around to... for like... the last year...

But with an art festival coming up, and new markets to try out, I decided it was time I made me a GOOD sign. One that properly represented my studio, my art, and my capabilities.

The Iron Phoenix. It is the name of my studio... it is the first design I ever created and built... it is my mascot... and thus, it seems appropriate that I should have an Iron Phoenix to hold my sign!

At 6ft tall, and 2ft across, this is definitely going to catch peoples attention, and its a unique and interesting way to display my studio and my work.

Since I have to set up / tear down my stands by myself fairly often, and everything has to fit in my truck, I made sure this whole thing could come apart, so that it could be transported easily.

This also gave me the perfect opportunity to try out my new toy! The biggest reason I picked up the torch kit was so I could create the beautiful rainbow heat coloring across my sculptures. And what better subject for its maiden voyage then my Iron Phoenix? After all... that's how I colored the original as well.

The week wrapped up with me dropping off this and my Punk Monkey (as seen above) at the Lehi Round Up art show. I'll know the results of that later this week.

I then had the pleasure of exploring the Utah Arts Festival! I dragged my bro and cousin up there and we looked around at all the vendors. I had to say hi to my former boss and another local artist, Fred Conlon of the Sugarpost. This was one of the art festival I had applied to, and had been rejected. Looking at it now, I'm glad I didn't make it in... I'm not sure I would've had anything to sell! Not with how swamped I've been. But I'm glad I went... it was cool seeing all the different varieties of art. But even more importantly... I realized that all the things I was seeing... weren't exactly incredible pieces of art. Yea, they were nice... but they weren't absolutely amazing. It helped me realize that my work was going to fit in just fine. And that was a nice confidence booster that I needed.

Hands you surprises...

Oh man, this week has been nuts!

So much has been going on in fact, that I'm gonna have to write a couple blog posts!

Unless of course ya'll like reading small novels....

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You know what I like about art?


About a week and a half ago, a customer purchased one of my Barn Owls from my Etsy Shop.

Since the only one I had left was the rusted up one on the back porch, I whipped her up a brand new one.

Now, the Barn Owl was a design I created last year (summer of 2011) while I was experimenting with horseshoes and wind chimes.

This was a really rough time for me. My business wasn't doing very well. I didn't have any work. My finances were hurting a lot. And I was always receiving 'suggestions' about what my art SHOULD be (which apparently was copies of the cheap, mass produced Walmart crap, because that's what people supposedly liked).

This all amounted to making me incredibly depressed and struggling to find ways of making fast, easy designs that didn't look like cheap crap. Which for some people, is very easy... but for me? Not so much... I don't do 'simple and cute' very well.

I also stumbled upon the discovery that making functional wind chimes that actually DID what they were suppose to do was not as easy as I thought it would be... apparently there's actually some SCIENCE that goes into those things, other then just hanging some bells off chains.

In the end... the best I could come up with was a spinner type thing. A spinner I tried to make as simple as possible, because I wanted these to be nice, affordable decorations that wouldn't consume a lot of time.

Well... unfortunately... though the design is fairly cute, it was still time consuming, and ultimately a little lacking. Which resulted in it not being much of a big seller. Which to me, felt like I'd wasted a huge amount of time and materials on a dud.

I didn't bother touching the design again.

Fast forward to a week and a half ago. Oh snap! Someone actually BOUGHT one of these little guys! Looks like I'll have to make one up!

Except... the design hadn't gotten any prettier in the year it'd been sitting around collecting dust. And if I was going to make up a new one... then gosh darn it! I was gonna do it right!

One of the things I am always doing is revising, adjusting, stream lining, and sometimes scrapping, old designs and ideas. Rarely is the first incarnation of a sculpture the best it will ever be. There is always room for improvement, and I like to improve.

That boring, kinda cute, kinda bleh Barn Owl design needed an overhaul. And I'd just been handed the perfect opportunity to do so.

I wanted to stick with the original design concept, but the tiny, pointy wings had to go! So did that ugly, wilty tail! And in their place... something much fluffier, broader, and cuter. Barn Owls are going to look stumpy and fat because of the horseshoe, so emphasizing that was going to look better.

I also replaced the flat, dead washer eyes with some big, bright, blue ones! My washer-and-marble technique has improved drastically since those early days, and I had a bunch of round marbles that needed a purpose.

The beak also broadened a bit, making it a little less angular.

All of this resulted in 'filling out' the owls shape, so it looked more natural, rather then super fat with a tiny face and tiny wings.

I tried out a new kind of chain... much smaller and lighter weight then the original chain, and a lot cleaner looking. The owl also received a new paint job. My previous owls paint was due to the fact that I'd cut the tail out of an old business sign. That wasn't going to work forever, and I wanted a cleaner, prettier alternative.

This same afternoon, I decided to try out another owl design. I was really liking where the new and improved Barn Owl was going, but I wanted to go a different route with the horseshoe, while still using the same design patterns.

That's another thing I like to do... patterns are almost NEVER solely exclusive to the sculpture I originally designed them for. Almost anything can have alternate applications.

You know what I really like about art?

Even though you are the creator, the designer, the architect, the painter, the writer, the 'wizard behind the magic'... even though you are there for every step of the creation process... the finished product can still surprise you.

Art has a mind of its own. Whether it's writing, dancing, singing, painting, digitalizing, sculpting, photographing... whatever it may be... when you sit down and start making something, there's no guarantee that it'll turn out how you had planned. Sometimes a design picks itself up and takes off in a direction you weren't expecting, and by the time you sit back and look at your finished piece, you think "Damn! You are one sexy devil."

That's kind of how I felt with this owl. I had a fair idea of what I was going for. Something a bit bigger then the Barn Owl, utilizing the same patterns. The only new thing really was making an actual head.

But when I finished putting this together... buffed him up, brushed some paint across its wings... all I could think was "OMG!! You turned out SO MORE AWESOME and cute and fluffy and 'hangs-perfectly-on-the-wall' then I had anticipated!"

That is what I love about art. Even though I create every piece with my own hand, it will still surprise me. It will do things I wasn't planning on. It'll change shapes and sizes and themes. Sudden flashes of inspiration will send me romping down a creative path I hadn't anticipated, dragging my poor sculpture behind me and winging it into a form it hadn't originally been intended for. And sometimes... yes, a fair bit of those sometimes... it'll turn out way uglier then I thought it would. But that is the beauty of art. It lives, it moves, it does the unexpected. Even its creators don't always know how it turns out.

And I for one like it that way!

This Year I will Be.... 2012

Hey everyone!

Been a while since I updated here... so much for that whole 'update every week thing' huh?

Well, in my defense... been pretty busy... and not neccessarily with much to report on!

Seeing as the summer is winding up and things are going to start getting really interesting here, I decided I needed to lay out my schedule! I'm not attending as many events as I did last year (mainly cuz most of those were huge flops and not worth wasting time on again), but the ones I am attending are new and pretty significant. For those of you who're interested in meeting me in person, or who'd like to support my work, or who're just interesting in knowing when and where I am doing things, then mark your calendars!

Note:  All locations are in Utah. I don't have anything going on outside of Utah just yet.

Art Shows 

- These are small, local art competitions I enter sculptures in. I did really well last year, so hopefully this year will be a winner as well!

South Jordan Art Show @ the Gale Center (10300 S. Beckstead Lane, S. Jordan)
May 15 - June 16
(I entered Umbrella Monkey and Tuleep Crawler in this show, and won 1st on the monkey. Woo! Had some stiff competition this year with a pair of cool ceramic vases)

Lehi Round-Up Art Show @ Lehi Arts Building (685 N. Center, Lehi)
June 25 - 30
(I entered my new Iron Phoenix sign stand and my Punk Monkey. Results still pending)

American Fork Steel Days Art Show @ American Fork Library (64 S. 100 E., American Fork)
July 19 - 21

Midvale Harvest Days Art Show @ Midvale City Park Bowery(425 W. 6th Ave., Midvale)
August 8 - 11

Sandy City Art Show @ Sandy Senior Center (9310 S. 1300 E., Sandy)
Not yet Listed

Farmers Markets

- A lot of local markets host not only food vendors but local artists as well. Last year I tried out a few, with minimal success. This year I wasn't able to attend many, but I am trying out a new one.

Sugar House Farmers Market @ Sugar House Park (1500 E 2100 S., Sugar House)
Runs July 13 - Oct. 19 - every Friday
I will be attending the opening day, and the ending day (as listed above). Depending on how the first day goes, I may or may not apply for other days later in the summer

(Possibly)  Park City Silly Market @ Park City
This one is still up for debate. Last year was not very lucrative, and it's very expensive. I may give it a shot towards the end of summer, but we'll see how things are going at that point.

(Possibly) Wheeler Farm Farmers Market @ Wheeler Farm (6351 S. 900 E.)
Runs every Sunday, 9am-2pm - June through October
I just recently found out about this, but after scouting it out, it looks promising! I'm a little too busy to try and do this right now, but I may give it a shot during September and October.

Art Festival

- Art Festivals are events specially designed to showcase artists and their work. These are usually big events, they require you to apply months in advance and are pretty significant if you can get in. I must have applied to at least a dozen this year, and got turned down by every one except...

Summerfest @ Bountiful City Park (200 W. 400N., Bountiful)
August 4 - 6
This will be my first official art festival! OMG!! This is going to be quite an experience... and I'm pretty sure I'm going to be totally unprepared and make a mess of it... But hopefully this will be the first in more big festivals to come!

4th of July Street Festival @ 2100 S. Highland Dr. (Sugar House)
July 4th
I will be attending this one day street festival this year. This is a really neat local event, and if you're looking for something to do on July 4th, then come down and support your local art community!

Local Shops to find my Art

- These are some local shops where I sell my work, or have it on display! There's also a few places here that I've talked to, and hopefully I will be able to make arrangements with them to sell my work on consignment!

The Bird House - 8610 S. State St., Sandy  (there's also a location in St. George) [Link]
This is a lawn and garden shop that sells outdoor decorations. It is a really cool place, with a lot of cool stuff. I've sold quite a bit of my work here, and I've gotten a lot of commissions through the owner. So far this has been my best success, and is a definite must if you're looking for yard art.

Growing Wild - 372 E. 2100 S. Sugar House  [Link]
This is a small nursery that specializes in native Utah plants and landscaping. It's a really cool place, with a different outlook on yard decorating. I have a few sculptures on display here that are available for sale. Really need to get over there and drop off a few more things!

Epic Puzzles and Games - 3612 W. 4700 S. West Valley & 785 E. 200 S. Ste 1. Lehi [Link]
I am not yet selling my work at these locations... but I've talked to the owners a bit and they've shown a lot of interest. I just need to contact them to sit down and actually make some plans! These will be great avenues to sell my fantasy art and gives me more excuses to craft gaming binders.

Game Haven - 1609 W. 9000 S. West Jordan [Link]
I am not yet selling my work here, but I've talked to the owner a bit and he's shown a lot of interest. I just need to sit down with him and actually make some plans! This will also be another good avenue for selling my fantasy art and gaming accessories.



Have I covered everything? I think so!

These plans are subject to change, of course, depending on how things shape up during the year. My fall and winter schedules are open so far, but we'll see if anything wanders in and takes up residence.

I'm really happy with how this year is turning out. I've had a lot more work, I have new opportunities, trying some new things, and have been, by far, much more successful then last year. With some luck, business will keep right on rolling into the holidays and hopefully next year will be even better!