FEATURED ARTISTS for
JUNE
2006:
Saturday and Sunday | June 24 and 25, 2006
Presentations begin promptly at 1:30 pm & 3:30 pm
Dr. Marshall Cunningham
Sculptor
Willow City, Texas
Between Earth and Sky in the Hill Country of Texas
This series of Sculptures is born out of my relationship with my new environment in the Texas Hill Country. My new studio is located on a mountaintop with 360 degree views of the earth and the sky. Never before have I been so enthralled with my physical location. At first I felt overwhelmed by the ever-expanding horizon and the overlying night sky. But, over time and with contemplation of the scale and scope of things and my seemingly-small presence here, I have begun to realize that everything in this setting is related and is therefore of equal importance in creating the entire effect - and, the results as expressed in my work. In other words, this work yields an expression for me that the earth, sky, man, and all living things are interrelated and dependent. My newest work depicts this interdependence and relationship. They can therefore reflect those timeless themes of man's anxiety upon realizing the vastness of the universe; the effects of gravity on light; our relationship to the constellations and the cosmos; the concepts of an ever-expanding universe; the concept of light escaping black holes; etc., hopefully creating portals for thought....
Don Pullum
Akashic
Vineyards
Mason, Texas
An
Introduction to Wine and Food Pairing
Will you be one of the lucky ones? Don
will present a four-course meal - inviting four people from the
audience to join him as he discusses and
demonstrates proper food and wine pairing...
Don, a Harvard graduate, owns and manages Akashic Vineyard and is the winemaker for Sandstone Cellars Winery in Mason, Texas. When time permits, Don hosts wine and food pairing events for corporations and restaurants. In 2005, he was appointed by Texas Agriculture Commissioner Susan Combs to serve on the Texas Wine Industry Development Advisory Committee, a nineteen member committee that advises the Texas Agriculture Commissioner on matters affecting the Texas wine industry.
Don’s passion for wine began early in his life and continued to develop through several career reincarnations, from apprentice actor at the Trinity Square Repertory Theatre in Providence, Rhode Island, to banker in Houston, Texas and venture capitalist in Washington, D.C.
His career in the wine industry began in celebration of a spiritual pursuit, when Don and his wife, Diana Escobedo, planted the first acre of grapevines in Mason County, Texas at Akashic Vineyard in 1998. The focus of Akashic Vineyard and Sandstone Cellars Winery is to produce exceptional wines from Mediterranean varietals that reflect a sense of place. Don believes that at Akashic Vineyard, the labor and solitude offer him a spiritual path for contemplation, creation, and balance.
Arny Nadler
St. Louis, Missouri
SculptorNadler, who is currently an Assistant Professor of Art, at Washington University School of Art, in St. Louis, Missouri, will install a bronze sculpture on The Sculpture Ranch, and present an overview of his work.
As the son of an immigrant tool and die maker, I was trained at a very young age to look carefully at how things work, to steal with my eyes (as my father put it) while poring over the shops and drafting tables of his practice. The smell of machine grease and molten plastic that defined my Saturday mornings and summer vacations at that factory took an incredible hold, and I am certain that the work I do today is due in no small part to those many hours of looking.
At the heart of my activity as a sculptor is a fascination with form. I am awed when I watch a several ton cantilever bridge slowly rise, pause, then lower gently back down over the Des Plaines River in my home town of Chicago. I find the exoskeletons of crustaceans remarkably alluring. Feats of engineering, both utilitarian and evolutionary, have always appealed to me. This plurality gives me momentum.
If the certain satisfaction of crafting a well-made object were enough, I would undoubtedly fair better making tables and chairs. It is the specificity of construction in the absence of a specific function that intrigues me. Stealing, as my Romanian-Israeli father taught me to do, the skills of the welder, the tailor, the carpenter and, in recent work, perhaps the architect and engineer, I investigate these utilitarian forms stripped of their original practicality.www.ArnyNadler.com
Dr. Lydia Frenzel
San Marcos, Texas"Arts and Water Jet Cutting - How to do the Impossible."
Frenzel will discuss Waterjet cutting and engraving methods, with a special emphasis on applications for artists. She will provide an overview of applications for artists, including sculpture, stain glass windows, lighting designs, floor and wall inlays, and cutouts.
While the most widespread uses for pure waterjet cutting are disposable diapers, tissue paper, and automotive interiors - artists and architects have been creating beautiful designs in stone, metal, glass, and plastic with Abrasive Waterjet Cutting (AWJ) for many years. AWJ is widely used in industrial applications but under-appreciated in the arts. It is a secret that combines architectural, design, and the contracting communities and, according to Frenzel, begs to be used by more artists.
Dr. Frenzel will highlight two specific projects by Chicago –based Farrodyne U.S.A. Inc. Farrodyne designed the “New Altar Platform at Historic Old St. Patrick's Church”, a Chicago church that was built in 1854 and survived the city’s Great Fire of 1871. Farrodyne U.S.A. Inc. also played a key role in creating the first “shadow mural” in the U.S., recently unveiled at Randolph St. and the Kennedy Expressway in Chicago’s downtown area. www.farrodyne.com contains these projects and others.
Dr. Frenzel comes from the Texas Gulf coast and is a recognized authority on surface preparation.. She earned her doctorate in chemistry from the University of Texas and accepted a faculty position with the University of New Orleans where she pioneered marine research at the university with her grants from the Office of Naval Research and the NOAA Sea Grant Program. Since that time she has served on the Louisiana Task Force for Small Business Innovation, as research director for two international companies. She is also known for her work in developing special tumor tracing compounds in diagnosing breast cancer; discovering effective additives in antifouling paints; managing wax extraction in coal mining operations; and she has probably devised more ways to pump gravel down hole in the oil patch than any other researcher.
For further information, visit
www.Benini.com or call 830-868-5244.
The events are free of charge and open
to all.