Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

Hello everyone, it has been a week of sickness around here. I think David is on the mend finally. Lots of commission work has been going on and we are starting to work on our festival calendar for 2017. There are some changes from what we normally do and we're branching out into some new areas. Not much else to update right now. I will definitely not be blogging until after the New Year so we hope you are all having a wonderful holiday season and to those who celebrate Christmas, Merry Christmas!! See you all in 2017. I hope it's a better year than 2016 was :)

Elisabeth  

Tis The Season To Be Sick And Behind On Everything

Merry-almost-Christmas and Happy Holidays! This past week, David has been covered up with commissions (thank you!) and he's been running a holiday sale on his Facebook/Instagram. And he's been sick all week. We're always thankful that he can stay home and do what he loves, but at times like these we're especially thankful. Just a few years ago at this time, he was in the middle of helping build an ENORMOUS barn. This is much better than that, I'm sure.

Today is the last day of the sale and each piece purchased is also an entry into a drawing for a free head. The drawing is tonight so good luck to those who bought. And THANK YOU. 

We hope you all have a wonderful holiday season and I will be blogging again soon.  

Elisabeth  

Thank You, Louisville!

 

 **Written Saturday 12/10/16

We're spending the weekend in Louisville, KY at the Flea Off Holiday Bazarre. It's an indoor (thankfully) holiday show at the Art Sanctuary. It's pretty awesome. 

My phone has developed a wonderful habit of not actually uploading any photos to the blog so I'm limited right now in my ability to blog our time here, at least in photos anyway.

Every time we do a show, we get new visitors to the site. So if you're new here, welcome! If you want more background or details on the work, there are earlier posts covering those things. Thanks for checking us out! If you have questions or are interested in a piece (or a custom-made commission), contact David either through the website email or check him out on Facebook and Instagram. 

Thank you all for reading! 

Elisabeth

Even Weirder Than Normal

I've been going back through the photo folders again and I started gathering heads that go beyond even the normal level of weirdness. 

Thanks for reading! 

~~Elisabeth

Storytime- The Scariest and Worst Trip

 **I know...this isn't the post I said I'd be doing. Or on the day I said I'd be posting it. I'm breaking every rule of good blogging and generally being flaky on here and I AM SO SORRY. I'm having a hard time juggling life, holidays, birthdays, business stuff and just being an adult. Thank you for your patience. Enjoy this storytime :)

 

A few years ago, probably 2013 or so, we were on our annual trip to Dallas for Deep Ellum. It was Easter weekend, which is usually a huge sales weekend for that festival. There is a big non-denominational Easter service at the festival and crowds are always record numbers. We were prepared for a great weekend. 

    Usually on Saturdays, we would walk to the Farmer's Market (Dallas Farmer's Market- check it out!) where we could sample all the delicious produce and meet the vendors there. There was a really nice lady there who told our son, "You come back in a few years when you're all grown up and let me see how you turned out. And listen to your Mama!" Anyway, we would walk and find things to do. We went to the grassy knoll and saw where President Kennedy was shot. We went to the Dallas Public Library where we saw the Constitution and an original piece of Shakespeare's work. It was always a fun adventure. 

   So this one Saturday, I had read about Thanksgiving Square.  

Wikipedia--"Thanks-Giving Square is a public-private complex in the City Center District of downtown Dallas, Texas (USA). Originally planned as the first of several traffic-relieving complexes in downtown Dallas, it was dedicated in 1976; at the time it was the first public-private partnership of its kind in Dallas. The complex consists of three components: a landscaped garden, a major section of the underground pedestrian network and the Bullington Truck Terminal. The City of Dallas leases the land and subsurface from the Thanks-Giving Foundation, but owns the underground structures." 

 

There's a beautiful park and a white spiral building that serves as a kind of sanctuary. Inside, the ceiling is a spiral of stained glass. It is truly remarkable and well-worth the walk downtown. We spent some time inside and then decided to head back. When we came out, there was some commotion nearby and we saw police cars. Someone nearby said, "There's a man with a gun!" I took our kids over to an area with a wall that separated us from where all the activity was and we waited there for a few minutes, then started making our way away from the area. There were police all around the entire block and we were shaken up. Later on the news, they said there had been a man on the roof of a parking garage and he was threatening to jump. Luckily, he didn't and there was no shooter. It's come up a few times since then and our kids always kind of chuckle at how I had them get down low behind a wall. But considering the numbers of active shootings we've had since then,  I stand beside my reaction 100%.

    The next day was Easter and we drove David into Dallas from Arlington. We were planning to spend the morning with family, having an Easter egg hunt before heading back to the festival. As we pulled into the driveway, my brother's dog ran out into traffic and....let's just say it was a bad weekend. Despite the fact that we had our largest number of sales at a festival, that was the worst festival weekend we ever had in Dallas. 

   Thanks for reading this sad story time. Just keeping it real for ya!

Elisabeth

   

Art or Craft

We have this discussion often in our house- what is art and what is craft? Usually, it comes up when we're looking at festivals to apply to and they're named "Arts and Crafts Fair" or "Fine Art Show". If it says "Fine Art", we generally steer clear. But the question of art or craft comes up quite a bit. We've had long conversations about this, as well as about the value of prints vs original work, etc. Art or craft seems to be an impossible question and one that has the potential to offend someone on either side. There are those stories about a man putting a toilet in a gallery and calling it art "because I say it's art".  There are artists who no longer make the work, but rather have workers do the actual WORK, but they are the "creator". See? It goes on and on.

    Well, when we did Crafty Bastards recently, I was sitting there watching David work on a head when no one else was in the booth. And it hit me out of nowhere. He wasn't creating with his HANDS as much as with his MIND and HEART. His hands were doing the work of manipulating the clay, but the vision and the creation was coming from somewhere deeper. The expression of an idea, the message, the true soul of the piece wasn't in his hands. His hands were a tool that his creative mind was using.

    When he talks about his artwork, he always says "I can draw and I can paint, but it never comes easy. These make themselves". I can relate a little to that because I always wanted to be a writer. I would toil over my typewriter for hours and hours on stories and always had a hard time ending them. They were terrible and I am not at all telling this story with any kind of ego, but one day, I sat down and this story came THROUGH me. It wrote itself. When I reread it, I started shaking and read it to my best friend, who cried. The story won a writing contest and I never did much editing to it. That happened once and never again. I was simply a conduit for something bigger. But David does this every day. He's made over 4,000 heads and each one is different. I watched it happen. I watched him create and I thought, "This is it. This is what art is. The origin isn't his hands, it's his heart". People respond with emotion TO the emotion. They see the joy that he is expressing when he creates.

  We may never answer these questions, and really what difference would it make if we could? But it was such a moment of understanding something deeper that day. And now when I look at his work, I see it even more for what it really is and see how others might view it. And also view all creative endeavors. None of this is meant to offend or at all imply that I have the answers. And certainly not to imply that craft is less valuable! If you're making something and it makes you happy, I say keep it up and ultimately, it doesn't matter what "category" it would fall into.

Thanks for reading-

Elisabeth

Tuesday Afternoon Q & A

We're both sitting here in the den/workspace. David is flipping through images, finding a background for a commission and I'm on an actual desktop (dinosaur) computer. I'm trying to get some blog posts done and scheduled, but have hit kind of a block. So I asked him- what if I just ask you questions and you answer them? 

 Q) What's the weirdest thing you've ever used in a head?

A)  Probably a mummified chicken head, bats or a fossilized chicken gullet.  (yeah....those would qualify).

 

Q) What was the most fun you ever had on one piece?

A) The one where I made the face, sliced it off, then made another face behind it so it was a mask. Any time I bring something from just an idea to occupying the real world, that's always cool.

 

Q) Why Sculpey and not traditional clay?

A) It allows me to make something and deal with both issues of color and form at the same time, instead of having to come back later for the color. It feels like it has more character and is more expressive when I sculpt with color. I couldn't imagine sculpting them in gray scale and then painting them, because you wouldn't get their true personality.

 

Q) Who is one artist you would want to meet? What artist has inspired you the most?

A) To name one person puts way too much credence on that one artist and his/her work. The artists that inspire me are all the ones who have created all the monsters I've ever seen in books and movies because those feed my vocabulary of monsters.

 

Q) What was the most interesting monster created?

A) Probably John Carpenter's  The Thing because of its ability to change. It isn't just what you see of it, it's the unlimited possibilities it represents.

 

Q) Has the internet helped or harmed art as a form of expression?

A) It's a double-edged sword. You're no longer limited to the local scene. You're able to see things beyond what you would see in magazines or whatever sci-fi movie is on TV. But on the other hand, it creates a lot of homogenization. It creates a trend that everyone caters to and has a tendency to make artists lazy and want to regurgitate others' ideas. Or they straight up rip them off. 

 

Q) If you could travel anywhere, where would it be?

A) I'd like to see the West Coast and share my art with people out there because I think they would get it. As far as another country, probably Spain. 

 

Q) Is there a piece that you sold and later wished you hadn't?

A) "Dictation"- the piece that used a chicken gullet. It was such a unique found object. But I know the piece is in the good hands of a collector in Dallas.

 

Q)  What's the biggest collector you have?

A) I have a couple in Virginia that collects my work and they have the largest collection at over 40 pieces. 

 

Q) Is there something you would want to work with as a found object but haven't been able to?

A) Nothing comes to mind. I'm always looking for interesting things. I would like to work in ceramics for the chance to work in a larger scale. 

 

There is something really weird about interviewing the person you've known since you were 12. I would make a terrible interviewer!  David says he makes a terrible interviewee :)  

 

Thanks for reading--

Elisabeth

 

On A Lighter Note

Wow, guys....rough times in the world. I'm not trying to make light of the volatile times we are in, but I just don't even know what to say. No matter how you might feel about politics and the issues going on, it's hard to see so much anger, frustration and fear. It can be hard to find joy and comfort in things when it feels like the world outside our door is falling completely apart. But at times like this, I think we all have the reserves somewhere deep down and can find a way to remember that there is always joy.  Sometimes we just need a little help. 

So this post is just going to be pictures of heads that make me smile and I hope they make you smile too.

   

I am just in awe as I look through all these pictures of heads. I mean, I see them all the time, but tonight it's like I am seeing them for the first time. And it did make me smile, but not just because of their goofy faces, crooked teeth and surprised expressions. It made me remember-- creativity will never die. Love will never die. Hope, optimism, the desire for truth, human connection. These will live on forever, no matter what is going on in the present time. 

Thanks for reading and for supporting art, friendship and all things that are good in the world--

Elisabeth

Part of Something Bigger

    I've been thinking about this for awhile, but the last week has made it even more relevant. This won't be a political post, but the underlying issues apply across the board. 

   I've spent a lot of time sitting in a booth at festivals, kind of involved but also not. I'm not the artist, but I'm part of it all. I'm sort of in-between. I also walk around and talk to other artists so I'm a customer, but not really. It's interesting being on both sides and finding myself asking artists questions that are exactly the questions people ask David.  

   I once went in this booth and fell in LOVE with this work. I wanted to own it (which rarely happens with almost any item, anywhere). The guy was reading and didn't even look up. He didn't acknowledge me. He didn't explain his work. I gave him my money anyway and I have the piece on our wall. But when I look at it, there's a little part of the whole thing that's tainted. I don't feel connected to anything surrounding it. Not to his story, not to his process, not really to the artwork itself. It's beautiful, but that's it.  

   Sales turned around for us at that first festival when David stood up and started connecting. When he explains his work and his message, people respond. It isn't a sales technique. It's just him. But when people leave our booth, most of the time they shake his hand (and often mine as well) and they say how nice it was to meet us. Whether they bought anything or not, we all feel that we just connected to another like mind and that is invaluable.  

    I don't really know what my point is with this really. In blog rules, I know I should have one. But today, I don't. I just want you all to know that when you come into our booth and look and talk, whether you buy something or not, you are all people and not customers. We remember your stories, your kids, your enthusiasm  and even your criticism if you have some. We value the time we spend with you. We appreciate your time and your opinions. We want people who buy David's work to look at it for years to come and for it be a reminder of something bigger. A new friendship, a new way of seeing things, or even just of time spent in connection with another human being. It is becoming more and more rare to truly connect to people outside our own little bubble and that is why I love art festivals.  

   Thank you for reading- 

Elisabeth and David

 

Storytime- Diamonds, Joints and Dollar Bills

   One of us tends to see every traveling opportunity as a chance to "see new things". The other, who shall remain nameless, is more of a "get there asap and you get to pee one time all day" kind of...person. So, one of us talked the other into stopping in Arkansas one time to visit Craters of Diamonds State Park. Ok, ok. It was my terrible idea. 

     We were on our way back from Texas anyway, I reasoned. It will be fun! It will be educational! We could get rich! So...we stopped our van with all our stuff on top of it and proceeded to go through whatever they have you do before you can go out in this field to look for diamonds. We were digging and it was SO HOT and dusty and no one was finding anything. Then I  found a dollar bill. So that was worth all the work. 

   We got back in the van and started driving again and I said, "Hey, look what I found. A dollar!" (I tend to be easily appeased). The dollar was rolled up and when I unrolled it, a half-smoked joint fell out onto my lap. Ummm...we had 2 kids in the back seat so I discreetly held it up for David to see, and then I put it on his leg. Right as a police car passed us. He said, "I DON'T WANT IT!" and put it back on my leg. So finally, I rolled down the window and tried to just casually toss it out. 

   Soon after, the one of us that collects road kill saw something he just couldn't pass up so we had to stop and get it. We then drove all the way home with a carcass wrapped up on top of our van. It's never boring, that's for sure. Almost makes me want to make another trip to the state park ;)

Thanks for reading!

~~Elisabeth

Thank You, Crafty Bastards

    We spent Saturday in The Gulch area of Nashville at the Crafty Bastards Arts and Crafts Fair. The weather was perfect, the event was well-organized and the people that came out were super friendly and enthusiastic. We made some new friends and got to see some we had met recently (Hi, Scott!) We also met 2 or 3 people there from Louisville, KY which was cool because it's one of our favorite cities. 

    Usually right after a festival, our website traffic shows a real spike so I'm assuming there might be some new readers, too. If so, welcome and thanks for stopping by. I realized recently I tend to write each post as a continuation from previous posts, assuming you will just read them in order. I know that isn't always the case, so I want to tell any newcomers a few things.  

   Earlier posts cover the process that goes into the heads and also the story of how they came to be. And just funny stories from our life together. If you have questions like "Why does he use road kill?" Or "How are the boxes made?" I encourage you to go back to the beginning. Or feel free to contact David through the site, Facebook or Instagram. He has a super quick response time and is always happy to answer any questions. 

   If we met you at a festival, thanks so much for coming in. We love meeting you and having conversations.  

   Thank you, Nashville Scene/Crafty Bastards for having us and for the FANTASTIC vendors' lunch.  

   To our readers and collectors- thank you for your support! 

Elisabeth and David 

 

 

Are We Crazy?

  We normally do a big show in Dallas each April and a pretty big show in Nashville in August. Sometimes we have a holiday show as well. This year, we went to Louisville, KY for 2 Flea Off shows and also to Bell Buckle, TN for a craft fair. But next year....we might be insane to be considering the plan we are cooking up.

    I don't want to "put the cart before the horse" so I won't be too specific. But next year's dream plan involves Florida in March, Atlanta and Louisville in April, Paducah (KY) in May...but June...oh boy, June might be TN one weekend, Virginia Beach one weekend (Hi, Tymm and Katie :)  and Athens, GA the next weekend. This doesn't sound too crazy, but TN would be Bonnaroo (if they'll have us) which involves being open 11am to 2am for four straight days. So, sleeping would be 3am or 4am until 9am maybe. And Virginia Beach is the following weekend and it's another 4 day show. We just think if you're gonna do something, DO IT BIG and pursue your dream.  July would be a slower month which might allow time for newer closer events like Chattanooga Market. August is always Tomato Fest, if we are accepted. And September we have been invited to do a new show in Louisville. 

    It's exciting to be branching out and seeking new opportunities, but it's also scary. Lots to figure out and of course, we are making a schedule with options built in because there is never a guarantee that we will get in to any of the above shows. But you have to dream, right?

  Wish us luck as we put together our calendar for jurying and start sending out applications!

Thanks for reading!

~~Elisabeth

November 5- Crafty Bastards

   We are so excited to be part of this event in Nashville. Please check out their website and get all the info. I've been seeing the pictures of the work that is there and I can't wait to check it all out in person. There are so many truly talented artists out there and to get to meet them and see their work in person is such an honor. 

"Crafty Bastards Arts & Crafts Fair is an exhibition and sale of handmade goods from independent artists that originated 13 years ago in Washington, D.C., presented by our sister publication, the Washington City Paper. Nashville Scene launched a version of the event in November 2014 as Crafts and Drafts, integrating a curated selection of beer for sale along with the handcrafted items, activities, entertainment and food truck fare. Following three successful iterations of Crafts and Drafts, Nashville Scene is relaunching the event in our market as Crafty Bastards, with artist submissions from a national level and relocating this outdoor event to The Gulch neighborhood on Saturday, November 5, 2016 from 10 AM - 4 PM. This is a FREE event!

 

Why are we doing it?
As Nashville’s premier alternative newsweekly, the Nashville Scene promotes underground art and strives to connect the voice and vision of independent artists with our readers. The festival creates an experience where consumers can discover unconventional, hard-to-find arts and crafts, meet the artists, and even make something themselves.  

What kinds of crafts will I find?
You will find talented artists handpicked by a select jury for their DIY chops and singular vision. There'll be surprises at every booth including unique homegoods, clothing, punk-rock baby clothes, handcrafted jewelry, plush toys, DIY kits, screen-printing, original art, locally produced food, and much more."

 

Isn't their graphic fantastic? 

 I tried to share a link to the work for you to look at, but really...just look up crafty bastards on Facebook or even google it and you can see all the vendors. It will be a really fun time AND benefits Goodwill. If you come to it, please come say hi.

Thanks for reading and we'd love to see some of you at this show.

~~Elisabeth

 

 

Don't Let Your Wife Name Your Artwork

  I decided for this post, I would just look through the photo folder and find pieces I like and share them. There are SO MANY heads in there and they aren't all named on the computer so to keep them straight, I decided to give them each a name just for reference. It's a good thing David names the work because my names included "Bucktooth" and "Door Face".  These guys are so cute and I'm sure their real names are way more creative. But to be honest, when I asked David what their names are, he doesn't remember all of them. What would YOU name them? 

Thanks so much for reading and being a supporter of art!

~~Elisabeth

The Finger- Anniversary Post

   October 19, 2013. David had recently completed a corporate commission in the Cummins Station building in Nashville. To get a jump on our big show in Dallas in April, he'd decided to spend a beautiful fall day making boxes. As he went to set up his tablesaw outside, I had this little nagging voice in the back of my head. Sometimes when you have anxiety issues, you ignore that little voice as just more worry.  Plus, he was pretty determined to get this done so I didn't think anymore about it.

   Late that afternoon, I was lying on the couch reading when the back door opened and he said, "Baby, we need to go to the hospital" but in this very calm voice. I thought we needed to VISIT someone in the hospital so I said, "Why?" And he said, "I messed up". He had a flannel shirt wrapped around his hand and I had no idea how bad it was. 

   We told our kids and jumped in the van. The city about 30 miles away has a much better hospital so I headed there going as fast as I comfortably could. When we got to the ER, I told David to sit down but he wanted to stand. The triage nurse unwrapped his hand and then suddenly, he knew he needed to sit. It was bad. He had run his right middle finger into the blade. They got us back pretty quickly and got him on morphine. I tried to get a picture of it before the doctor walked in and wasn't able to. I still regret that :) 

    The doctor on call said he would need surgery so they got him in pretty quick. They weren't sure what they would find or how extensive it would be. They were able to do the surgery without putting him all the way under, which he wasn't thrilled about. I spent the time making calls and texting, updating our kids and talking to his boss.

   It turned out he had shaved off part of the bone. The surgeon put pins in and sewed everything up the best he could. It looked gruesome and he wasn't sure if the bone would knit back together or not. It was the beginning of a long involved process. 

   We left the hospital about 10pm, after getting there around 4:30pm. David hadn't eaten and had been given large amounts of morphine. We drove around trying to find a pharmacy that was open all night. We finally went to Walgreens, where we found lots of other people who all seemed to have stories about chain saws, tablesaws and other horrible injuries.  There was also some puking in a Kroger parking lot. We still laugh about that part. He says he "threw up like a sorority girl".

    About a week later, David tried to go back to work. He worked construction and thought he could do as much as possible and just baby that hand. After one day, he came home and we knew that he just needed to focus on getting better. He had weekly doctor appointments and it was a slow process. The question was if the bone would actually fuse together and the finger could be spared, or if it would end in amputation. There was bandaging and cleaning and waiting. We were very thankful for that corporate commission because we lived off that for a few months.  

    The doctor started talking about a bone fusion surgery, using cadaver bone. Then he switched to using live bone from David's hip. Then he said it would possibly heal fine on its own. In the end, we decided to give it some time. Three years later, it's a little crooked and super sensitive. The first knuckle bone is completely fused and the finger will never be the same. He had physical therapy at one point and luckily, it's on his non-dominant hand (or as he says, his "dumb" hand). It was a scary and stressful time. But it's now a dramatic story with some really gross photos. Of course there was a head to commemorate the occasion.

 

 

    Thanks for reading- 

 ~~Elisabeth 

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Highs and Lows

   This weekend, while we were driving and setting up for the Webb School Art and Craft Show, I started thinking about the pros and cons of this setup we have. Some parts are so fun and amazing and others are harder than you'd think.

   David has always wanted to be a full time artist and for him to stay home doing what he loves is a dream come true. But doing festivals can be grueling and exhausting. You're either traveling and staying somewhere for the weekend, or you're driving each day to set up. For the Webb show, we chose to drive the hour and a half each way instead of getting a hotel. The drive was pretty easy and it's beautiful in this area. But it meant getting up at 4:30am to make it here. We arrived in the dark and saw the sunrise as we set up. 

     This life also means being self-employed so we have the taxes and the budgeting issues that all self-employed people have. When you're sitting at a show, you're generally aware of your bills that are sitting at home. It always works out, but there's a lot of hustling going on as we grow our business and I work 2 part time jobs. There is also the constant awareness that as we age, this way of life could become more difficult. We're planning to jury for Bonnaroo next year and the thought of being open for sales 11am to 2am for 4 days....that's daunting.  

   None of this is meant to be complaining. I'm so thankful that this is where we are. I love sitting here meeting people, watching them discover David's work. I am aware though that this is a lifestyle with its own issues, good and bad. I don't think I would want to live any other way. Today I am tired and reflective so thanks for reading :) 

   Thank you to the Bell Buckle Chamber of Commerce and the people of Bell Buckle who allow their little town to be taken over for the weekend. And thank you, ALWAYS, to those who support what David does with your kind words and your purchases. I didn't take many photos this weekend and this is my favorite. 

 

~~Elisabeth

Donuts and coffee (and hardcore hair) first thing in the morning

Donuts and coffee (and hardcore hair) first thing in the morning