where has the time gone?

wow...August has flown by so far and shows no intentions to slow down through the end...

I think this is mostly due to the fact that I am finishing new works for the LEAP award exhibition at the Society of Contemporary Craft...I will be giving a public presentation on September 10 @ 6PM... And while I am visiting the wonderful state of Pennsylvania, I am also going to visit with Sue Amendolara, Cappy Counard and their advanced students, too, at Edinboro University on September 9...I'll be give a short version of my presentation and then I'll lead them through a fast-paced exploration of simple mechanical movement using nothing but easily manipulated and available materials (matt board, basswood, brass wire, glue). We'll be exploring levers, cranks, cams and linkages.

So, just to tease a bit, below is a model I made from matt-board of one of the new wearable playthings designs...the little hand is carved from basswood.

model of helping hand - wearable plaything

SNAG and LEAP...

Yeah! I'm off to Philadelphia today for the annual Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG) conference. Of course, most of my friends are already there and I'll be arriving to the hotel around midnight...hopefully someone will still be willing to have a beer downstairs.

And to confirm the emails I've been getting from some of you, YES...I did receive the LEAP award from the Society for Contemporary Craft in Pittsburgh, PA. I didn't mean to not announce it, just been busy (I start teaching the summer term next week). The two works that I submitted for the jurying (done by Gail M. Brown ) are Throbbing Heart and Polite Clapper...video off both can viewed at my website.

Polite Clapper

Throbbing Heart

Woohoo! Just thought I'd show a little video of my latest "research." I've been wanting to implement intermittent motion into some of my works in the future and this video is a simple hand-cranked version made from matt-board and wood. This example and more to come hopefully will be helpful when I teach two workshops this coming spring about simple mechanical motion for artists at Art League, Houston and through AMOA.

Also, a few days ago, as I was day dreaming while driving to San Antonio, I received a phone call letting me know that I am one of the finalists for the LEAP award through the Society for Contemporary Craft in PA...that'll brighten up a boring drive!