Artist

My husband comes from a family of artists. His father is a noted sculptor/painter and his mom was curator of a gallery. She now also paints and at the age of 65, had her own solo exhibit recently. DH's three younger brothers are also into the arts. B is another multi-awarded sculptor, J is a portraitist, and K is a graphic arts designer.

Growing up, my DH was always surrounded by wonderful works of art as well as the artists who made them. He grew up calling national artists like Napoleon Abueva and Alejandro Roces titos. Since he was young he has been encouraged to draw, paint and sculpt. However, part of him resisted the seemingly inevitable expectation that he would also be an artist himself. So in college, he took up architecture and when he graduated, he set up a successful architectural firm with his classmates and friends. But the call of the arts is too strong to resist. And soon enough, he was back in the studio, painting, creating, sculpting and building monuments. To see a few of his works, see Cabbie's blog or click here.


Journaling Reads:
The sculptor represents the transition from one pose to another...he indicates how insensiby the first glides into the second. In his work we still see a part of what was and we discover a part of what is to be. - Auguste Rodin

There is no denying it. No more running away from it. It is in your blood. More than that, it's in your soul. You put your heart into it. It is who you are meant to be. You were born to be a true ARTIST.

Materials Used:
DCWV brown CS, DCWV Retro PPS, Canson tracing paper, Staedler triplus black, Sizzix Shadowbox aplhas, UTEE, faux metal book plates.

The Process:
This is my entry to Valerie Salmon's Sketch and Scrap challenge at MSW. When I saw the two photo sketch, I knew it was perfect for the two photos I had of DH sculpting. I chose the retro paper to establish that the young picture was taken in the 70s. I wanted a paper or color to show the new millenium too but couldn't quite figure out which. It was my DH's suggestion to use Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man for the half circles above and below the photos. I downloaded a copy of the image from the internet and printed it on white CS. I had to adjust the lower half a bit because Da Vinci's sketch is anatomically correct, and the male parts looked striking hanging just below my DH's photo. Now I know that this is an artwork and was not intended to be rated PG but you never know how some people would react. Case in point, my DH was commissioned to make more-than-life-size sculptures of horses. Being a true artist, he rendered horses that were anatomically realistic. The head of the committee, a very prim and proper old lady daintily requested him to remove the offending male parts. So if you see the castrated horse sculptures in Clark Airbase in Angeles City, that really was not my DH's doing.

But I digress. To complete the LO, I added bookplates indicating when and where the photos were taken. DH selected a quote from Rodin that he felt fit the photos. I actually finished the LO last Friday but left the title for last. I took the opportunity during Saturday's Scrapfest to use the Sizzix machine to cut the title. When I showed it to my DH he wanted it to be more 3D since as he said sculpture is a three-dimensional art. I didn't have enough supplies to do what he wanted so I heat embossed the letters with clear UTEE. I didn't paint the cardstock with acrylic paint so I guess the UTEE seeped through to the back of the CS, causing the brownish tinge in the letters. I didn't have time to make new ones though because I was running on a deadline. As always, DH says there's something missing in the finished LO but couldn't quite put a finger on it. That is what's frustrating about asking for his opinions. He would never really articulate them to you. Maybe because he is afraid to hurt my feelings, or maybe because the last time he did, I told him, but that's not the way scrapbookers do it. Hahaha. Occupational hazards of being married to an artist.

Thank you for viewing. If you want to see the finished sculpture at right, please click here.

I just learned that the deadline for the challenge has been moved to June 3. So maybe you can help me figure out what is "missing." Nina has already given me very good suggestions. I would appreciate your comments, too. But if I would actually be moved to change it, is another matter entirely. LOL. Sorry, but when I finish an LO, I do a lot of mental "what ifs" or "could haves", but so far, I have never gone back. But this may be different, if MSW would still allow me to post a new and improved version.