Urban Urchins in their new homes!

So they finally made it out into the world! Unfortunately, there have been a few incidences of kidnappings and violence (maybe someone needed a last minute gift), but hopefully they will at least last a little while!

In hindsight, I should have taken some more extreme measures to ensure their safety, but you live and you learn. I hope to do some more in the future and I'll be sure to put some additional thought into their placement and installation.

Anyway, here are some pics!

Happy Holidays, Friends!

Winter Book Project (Currently Untitled)

With the cold weather approaching, I've decided to hide away in my basement to work on a collection of fantasy storybook illustrations. The goal is to create a book, or unbound collection, that invites readers to use their imagination to develop narratives with the snippets of information provided with each illustration. Here are a few of the first completed pages...

Painted Urchins

These little guys are one step closer to being installed in the neighborhood. I just have to make their little accessories and then I'll be ready to put them out in the world. Keep your eyes peeled!

THE WAIT

random new painting for you...

acrylic on panel, 30"x 48"

Urban Urchins

Back in the beginning of August I received a grant from Soup N'At, which is an awesome event that funds artists and feeds folks delicious soup! My proposal was to make some small scale creatures to integrate within the urban infrastructure.

It took me some time to get around to it, but here's a bunch of them in their greenware state. I'm excited to get them fired, painted, and out in the world where they will be futzing with electricity in an attempt to stay warm, collecting acorns for the long winter, and digging through our trash, among other things! Be sure to keep your eyes peeled!

Barrels!

Here's my completed piece, Barrels!, for the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh's Tough Art Artist Residency. Check out the other Tough Art artists and their projects here!

Extra barrels? More fire pits!

So after completing Barrels! for the Children's Museum, I had a few extra oil drums sitting around and thought I would try a new idea I had for a shallow fire pit.

We already have a dependable one, however, so feel free to let me know if you have any interest in this guy! Cold weather's on its way and backyard fires with friends is a great way to stay warm!

Tethered Kites in their new home!

I took a road trip with a few pals and installed these kites in their newest location. They're currently outside the children's section of the main public library in Germantown, Tennessee.

They are there as part of the City of Germantown's Public Art Promenade Project.

Porter's Parking Patch (sorry for the delay)

I realized that I never put up any finished images of the pumpkin bike rack... so here are a few pictures of them in their new home in downtown Easton, Pa.

Turns out they are located right near where my grandfather's butcher shop used to be... Pretty crazy.

TEST!

Here's a quick video of an experiment for the sculpture for the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh... A few changes need to be made but it's coming along. 

Be sure to check out all the Tough Art projects at the Children's museum beginning mid-September!

Thank You SOUP N'AT!

I just want to thank SOUP N'AT and everyone that attended last night for supporting my project to make some little secret creatures on and around Penn Avenue in Friendship and Garfield!

If you're not familiar with SOUP N'AT, it's an awesome event that brings people together and supports the local arts. It's a quarterly event in which patrons pay for a delicious soup dinner and listen to artist proposals. Then everyone votes and the winner takes all the proceeds to support their proposed project. Check out their website or their facebook page if you'd like to learn more!!!

Tough Art Developments

Sorry for my long absence...This summer has been a busy one. I'm currently a resident in the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh's Tough Art Artist Residency, in which artists develop and fabricate interactive pieces for the museum floor. Here's a little video (feel free to ignore the background music) and a couple pictures that should give you a good idea of where my project is heading...

All of the Tough Art pieces will be installed and open to museum visitors in mid-September.

The Bike Mechanic

The Bike Mechanic was made for the silent auction at Bike Pittsburgh's party for Bikefest, which is this Friday!!! Check out the list of events for Bikefest here, which is going on now! And definitely check out the party... especially if you want to bid on this little guy...

A few side projects...

I had a little down time between projects over the past week or so and thought I might as well share with you a couple of the things that I tackled.

Recently, I took a short trip to Ithaca to visit my grandmother and a few other relatives. As is customary anytime someone visits my 98 year old grandmother, we rifled through her belongings to see if anything would catch my eye. I usually leave with one or two interesting finds. This time, besides the standard care package of food, I left with a wooden mail holder and this amazing pop-up valentine from the 1920's. Knowing I had the perfect piece of acrylic tube to house the 90 year old gem of a card, I brought it home and promised to keep it safe. Now this valentine, and the box I made to keep it safe, sits on our mantel for everyone to appreciate. 

Compare this to the 'angry birds' valentines kids pass around today. I think it's safe to say... "they just don't make 'em like they used to."

I was also finally able to make use of the 55 gallon drum that's been sitting in our yard for the last couple of years. Now we're ready for some summer evening fires with this tulip inspired fire pit.

Lastly, I made fender 2.0 for those thunderstorm bike rides. The new version is stained black to match my black stallion trek and features a steel hook to prevent the fender from loosening over time.

Pumpkins!

The pumpkin bike rack has been successfully delivered to its new home in Easton, PA. It is scheduled to be installed in mid June. Here are a few photos of it as it neared completion. Check back soon for pics of them out in the world!

FREEWHEEL

Finally, here are some pics! Special thanks to my friend Gabe Roth for helping me install and shoot the piece!

Installing 'Freewheel'

... I changed the name to 'Freewheel'

Pumpkin Bike Rack in Progress