I finally finished this set of four pieces, Quiver, Close Call, Rose, and Shuttle:

Quiver

Close Call

Rose

Shuttle

It was about a year from start to finish, though mostly because a lot of life got in the way. On the other hand, four pieces I’m proud of in a year is not so bad, and I probably shouldn’t be making them any faster lest they clog up my studio. And I did my first wall piece and a couple of practice 3d printed sculptures along the way too. 

This set of pieces is meaningful to me at the moment because it’s the first new set I’ve done since Filoli in 2015. When I was accepted into the Filoli show they let me bring new work and gave me a couple of months notice, so I made three new big pieces for the show (The Chase, The Drifter, and The View). The Chase I’d already drawn but hadn’t figured out how to build yet. It was a great success solving that problem and making the big pieces with the new technique. I still think that that technique is the most innovative thing I’ve designed. I’ll write another post about it. However, my excitement of the Filoli pieces was tempered by the fact that they corroded significantly within the few months they were installed. I thought they were stainless but I’d done it wrong. 

I was sent into another year’s research learning how not to do it wrong. Stainless steel 316, electropolishing the welding heat discoloration, and strong acid wash. Now my new work holds up like it should. If any of the Filoli pieces sell, I’ll refabricate them correctly. In 2016 I made two new pieces, one part of a set of larger pieces the rest of which never got built, and one extending my original block piece set. The rest of my time was spent playing catch-up with myself, refabricating old stuff that I couldn’t stand to see done wrong. 

Finally I’ve had the chance to see all that through and make a set of new work that is done correctly from the start, and finally it’s done. I’m very proud of these, they took quite a bit of grit to get through. 

But now this puts me in a position that feels quite odd. For years now I’ve been driven by this idea that I hadn’t done it yet, that I hadn’t put it together yet, I was still catching up and trying to do the work right. The block pieces started in December 2013 and now it’s February 2018 and finally I’ve gotten it out there. 

It’s really time for something new. Exciting, scary, and confusing.