TUBAC CENTER OF THE ARTS: FROM THE EARTH

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I am very pleased to announce that juror Bram Colby has invited two of my pieces, A FAMILY TREE, and SAND HILLS into the “From the Earth” Exhibition at the Tubac Center of the Arts in Tubac, Arizona. A nation-wide competition, “From the Earth” is an exhibition of art created from materials related to the earth including clay, bronze, ceramic, wood, glass, terra cotta, soapstone, and metal. A FAMILY TREE is composed of torch cut sheet steel on a cherry wood base while SAND HILLS is a free standing, hand built ceramic sculpture which uses texturing and metal oxides. The exhibition runs from January 19th until February 26th, 2018 at the Tubac Center of the Arts, 9 Plaza Rd, Tubac, AZ 85646 with an opening reception from 5 to7pm on January 19th. It’s warm there and both pieces are for sale.

FAMILY TREE

(C) JOHN FANSMITH 2018

FAMILY TREE is made from torch-cut sheet steel set on an artist made cherry wood base. With its material, hard edges, and asymmetrical form FAMILY TREE is intended as a perhaps more realistic depiction of a “family tree” than is usually presented and references that my family surname is derived from the German “pfannenschmidt” meaning “a metal worker”.  9 ½” x 12” x 5”

JUDGEMENT

(C) JOHN FANSMITH 2018

I don’t regard JUDGEMENT as one of my more subtle, abstract, or obscure pieces. The message is pretty straight forward with the only questions being: who or what is standing in judgement and what will be the result? I expect the answers to vary from person to person. Hand built and raku fired paper clay with a found object and bamboo resting on an MDF base.

THE ROOTS OF DANCE

(C) JOHN FANSMITH 2018

THE ROOTS OF DANCE started out with me finding some driftwood on a lakeshore which when combined together (with minor trimming) reminded me of a pair of dancers from a recently seen contemporary dance performance. I hope and believe that my ROOTS OF DANCE comes close to capturing the grace, power and enthusiasm of the original dancers. Found objects on an artist-made wooden base. 12” x 9” x 6 ½”

Wildfire

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I have relatives in California who smelled the smoke and saw the flames of the recent California wildfires. They were in no danger and didn’t have to evacuate, but the bags were packed. WILDFIRE, a hard plate monotype, is my effort to get a sense of, however vicariously, what it must have been like to experience that situation. Image: 19” x 14”, matted and framed to 28” x 22”

Reaching for Hope

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REACHING FOR HOPE is part of the “Expressive Hands” Series. Hand built from my own hand- made paper clay and raku fired using three different raku glazes, REACHING FOR HOPE poses a question for the viewer: is the lower hand helping or hindering, raising or pulling down? I must admit that my answer changes from time to time depending on my mood and recent experiences- straddling the thin line between optimism and pessimism. 9 ½” x 4” x 4”

Phoenix Rising

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PHOENIX RISING is an abstract rendition of the classic myth of the Phoenix, the bird that rises from its own ashes. In my version, the image of the Phoenix appears in outline through the smoke and ashes just to the left of center – though the eye is clearly visible. A hand inked and hand pulled hard plate monotype, PHOENIX RISING is matted and framed to 28” x 22

 

 

NIGHT WATCH

(C) JOHN FANSMITH 2017

NIGHT WATCH, a mixed media sculpture and off-shoot of the “Hooded Figure” series, pulls back the hood and adds a helmet, a shield, chain mail, and a torch, thereby moving away from the abstract form of the original pieces in the series to a more detailed and representational expression. Hand built and raku fired paper clay with steel wire, forsythia and Epoxy Sculpt on gneiss and set on an MDF base plate. 7 ½” x 8 ¾” x 3”

APOCALYPSE

(C) JOHN FANSMITH 2017

APOCALYPSE, a double plate collographic monoprint, the first non-ceramic piece in my Summer, 2017 “Hooded Figure” series, uses stylized black and white oval figures set against a roiling orange/red/black background to illustrate a central theme from the Book of Revelations. Hand inked and hand pulled. Image: 14” x 21 ½”, matted and framed to 22” x 28”.

NUCLEAR FAMILY: 2018

(C) JOHN FANSMITH 2017

NUCLEAR FAMILY: 2018 is a combination print and collage which superimposes two images (male and female) from my AN AMERICAN FACE Series on a hard surface monotype background in order to emphasize one of the many risks that the “nuclear family” will face in 2018. The angles and palette of the background, the merging of the images with the background at points, the disembodied nature of the images and the thin black border line all point to the other use of the term “nuclear”. Matted and framed to 18” x 14”.