Mixed media artist Dolores Crain shows broad imagination in her work

When Dolores Crain begins a project, there’s no telling what she might use to bring the image she has in her mind to reality. She looks around for anything at hand and incorporates it into her piece.

“I call myself a multimedia person,” she says, laughing. “If I’m interested, I’ll do it.”

From installation art to sculpture, paintings to transfers, she experiments with media and methods to create eclectic pieces which entertain and delight the viewer. Among the pieces currently on display at Artists’ Galleries de Juneau, one of the galleries where she exhibits, visitors will find whimsical birdhouses and fine paintings, among other styles of art.

During a recent Third Thursday event at the gallery, Crain demonstrated her work with transfer images. She used a prepared surface-canvas or wood, for example-and glued an image in place. The image rested face down on the surface and attached using a medium such as gesso. The images were printed from her artwork on paper. Once the image dried in place, she sprayed the back of the paper with water and rolled the excess paper off, leaving the image in place. Once the paper is removed to her satisfaction, she seals the piece.

Allen “Alpo” Poche, her “other half,” likens her to an art hurricane. She started with photography, then moved into other avenues. She earned a BFA, then went on to earn her MFA from Florida State University. Never static, she has occasionally put her art on hold but never lost her fire for it. She’s been back in art fulltime for about two years.

Crain was the eldest of nine children raised on a farm and notes “…we entertained ourselves visually. We were isolated, living on the farmland except for school.” The children made their own fun, building huts in the field, holding circuses or plays in the barn and making their own playthings, such as homemade greeting cards. Those early experiences led her to her love of all things artistic.

Her works have won awards at the Slidell Art League. Other works have hung at such galleries as The Cutting Edge Center for the Arts.

“I know what I get out of it [her work] …I want them to give it a chance and get what they get out of it,” she says, hoping each viewer will see a personal message in her work.

With her wide array of skills, Crain can provide something for every taste. Her creativity leads to imaginative use of materials and images to amaze those fortunate enough to see her work.

Originally appeared 03/07/2016 at http://www.examiner.com/article/mixed-media-artist-dolores-crain-shows-broad-imagination-her-work

Climbing and sculpture define a life lived creatively

For artist Jeremy Thomley, life must be lived in the moment. Thomley suffers from cystic fibrosis, a lung disease that regularly puts him in the hospital and hovers as a constant threat over his activities. His response to the ailment leads him to fill his days with things that create joy and beauty. He travels the world climbing whatever he can find to climb, then returns to his south Mississippi studio at Mohawk Steel Company to tell the stories of the climbs in powerful sculptures of steel.

Whimsical metal Whomping Willow

Some of his work is whimsical, like the giant replica of a fictional tree that he is creating from discarded farm machinery. A century of outdated equipment finds new purpose as a child’s fantasy play land. The finished tree will measure more than 30 feet tall. The pieces of equipment, many of which move, form the steps and levels for a climber to ascend to the crow’s nest at the top.

A passion to climb

As part of his climbing passion, Thomley holds climbing parties in his studio. The wall behind him contains climbing holds. He does some work for a climbing hold manufacturer in Phoenix as part of his delight in the process. Planning his climbing trips keeps him going during the all-too-familiar hospitalizations.

Bottle trees garner second looks

His bottle trees stretch steel fingers upward and outward, ready to accept the colorful glass bottles that will adorn them. Thomley forms many of his trees from rebar, adding the texture of the metal to the graceful shape. He explains that, besides being an artistic element in the piece, rebar allows him to make less expensive bottle trees and therefore more affordable trees.

A bottle tree with a twist

Thomley was a speech communication major in college. He uses those skills to tell stories through sculpture. One of his professors requested a tree that would allow his wife to display her glasswork. Thomley adapted the traditional bottle tree to include hooks on the ends to support the woman’s art.

A stone 'lung' takes form

Of all of his projects, the one dearest to his heart is his Anthem series, images reflecting lungs and rib cages. With his own history of breathing problems, it’s no wonder that he finds allure in images about “containing breath or breaking free” as he works. This lung started as a piece of stone he found in Colorado on a climbing excursion.

 

Thomley shows his diversity with lungs that can burn

A figure of a human torso contains tubing to permit the pipes to be ignited, lighting the room and pulsing with life. A portable fuel tank attaches below the pipes, providing the fuel for the display. The polished metal against the rougher rusted backdrop creates a startling contrast.

A rib cage awaits lungs

A rib cage formed from metal rods awaits the installation of lungs to complete the piece. The structure sits in Thomley’s studio among other projects in various stages of completion. Thomley hopes that his Anthem series will create an enduring legacy, reminding viewers of the preciousness of the gift of breath.

A glass lung takes shape

Working with a glassblower colleague, Thomley has created delicate glass lungs for a piece in the Anthem series. The mottled coloring calls to mind the fragile sacs within human lungs, and their importance in the process of breathing.

 

An inside view of a glass lung

Thomley shows the interior of the glass lung. He also collaborates with a woodworking friend for other depictions of lungs. Many of his pieces are on display at Artwistic Revolution Cooperative Gallery in Columbia, Miss. He combines his talent for metal art and the shadow of perhaps having only “one more summer” to create powerful sculptures that delight and inspire.

 Originally appeared on 09/08/2013 at http://www.examiner.com/list/climbing-and-sculpture-define-a-life-lived-creatively

Bottle bush, bottle tree: Southern yard art with glass

Across the South, a form of yard art exists that can be simple or intricate, puzzling or straightforward. The bottle bush or bottle tree combines empty bottles and metal spikes to create colorful sculptures that can enhance a yard and start many conversations. Don't confuse this delight with a bottle brush plant, an actual botanical entity whose flowers resemble it's namesake.

While the roots of the art form are open to debate, the artists are content to simply enjoy. Author Felder Rushing has tracked down many of the explanations for bottle trees and recounts them in his book “Bottle trees…and other whimsical glass art for the garden.” He discusses the European and African stories behind the sculptures.

Jan Breaux, co-owner of GardenSpot Nursery at 770 Robert Boulevard in Slidell, Louisiana, reminds patrons that the bottles are believed to capture evil spirits and prevent them from entering the home. Her shop features a giant bottle tree as installation art, along with smaller versions that can be put in flower pots or the ground. Her staff can customize bottle trees according to the purchasers design.

A bottle tree can be a way of salvaging the dead trunk and branches of a tree. The addition of metal spikes can help to fill in any gaps. Others consist of rebar welded into intricate graceful shapes and adorned with colorful bottles. Some resemble trees, some look like beautiful bushes, while some appear as part of gateways or other parts of the landscape plan.

The gardener need not empty the bottles himself; Breaux and other vendors sell colorful bottles to meet the designer’ s needs. Other gardeners may use the bottle tree as a way of collecting bottles from memorable events. Some go with a monochromatic theme while others preferred the eclectic look of whatever bottles they have on hand.

Bottle trees save a large number of bottles from landfills and dumps while creating an artistic statement that can provide amazement, laughter and delight from the imaginative use of discarded glass. Whether you have one, want one or simply enjoy the beauty of colored glass, bottle trees are worth considering as a unique art form.

Originally published 6/20/13 at http://www.examiner.com/article/bottle-bush-bottle-tree-southern-yard-art-with-glass