P.T. Artist Sandra Stowell

Sometimes broken is better, or at least fine! This piece began as a template for a low relief sculpture, but then became a piece of itself. But then broke, was badly repaired, didn’t matter, but too amusing to discard. Now it has been retrieved from the yard, embedded in fresh resin with some bits and bobs, and mounted for a return to the yard!

This figure of a draped and barefoot worker is a familiar one in recent art pieces; he appears in a number of different guises and media. Here he is rendered in rich metallic copper paint on clear acrylic that is slightly muddied with blue. The image above right is, of course, the digitally foiled version of this piece. Here he is now mounted in the front yard for all to see.

Call it digital magic, digital pixel dust, or just digital messing about! Whatever you decide to call it, this is sometimes fun, sometimes frustrating, and a terrible time sink! It is the work of a moment, and great fun, to click – click – click the phone camera on my daily walks!

But there is a bit more to my digital messing about: I load dozens of photos onto my desktop hard drive, categorize them, delete some (but not nearly enough!) and start editing. I have frequently spent hours trying to bring a bit of magic to an inadequate but somehow interesting photo, only to give up in despair. At other times the magic is already there, or is just a crop and tweak away!

My digital manipulations may be simple tweaks, that may include: boosting or lowering the saturation, modifying the hue or contrast, or a bit of cropping or straightening. At other times I go wild with digital effects applied to the whole or just part of an image. While I may be able to apply a digital transformation with one click, this is rarely the end of the process! Generally I continue to modify the results, and may get lost for hours. Sometimes to conclude that the original unmodified image is really the best, or to decide to discard the original along with the edits!

Currently I have three walking figures in work. I am creating a set of three strange human figures to be displayed together in an environment. These are hollow chested Walkers, and these thin distorted figures will walk in an equally odd grove of trees.

I consider my first Walker a prototype; I am not too fond of it! This figure uses walking poles for balance, and is already mounted to a modest wooden base and on display in my yard. I did add a layer of transparent red oxide acrylic paint to this figure, which may not be very durable out of doors. The sculpture itself should last a long time, per the material specifications. So this figure will be a test.

Two of the new Walkers are a dark brown, and the third in this group is a pewter grey. The idea is to use the chest openings in some way, but I also like them just left open. I may use the padlocks and keys as part of this work, TBD.

And the work continues, or maybe my making small figures two is just for pleasure! Anyway there is indeed more progress and more figures are nearing completion. I have two Sentinels, two completed Walkers, and another Walker under way.

There are all too many projects going in my studio currently. In addition to the Walkers & Sentinels, I am using the same sturdy material (Apoxie Sculpt) to make low relief casts of the individual “angels” in the mold of my “Mediation” piece. This is so much easier than building dams around the figures to cast them in clear resin! And the results have wonderful detail and can be mounted into/onto almost anything!

I have wanted these casts of my two favorite angels from this piece all along, as these two are the primary figures in the original interaction/mediation. The middle figure, the mediator, stands back in the center of the original work. I have not been quite satisfied with that figure. I may be able to use the mold of this center figure then modify it. Stand by to see if I can create a mediator that I like better!

But really the two powerful outside figures can interact on their own in a very interesting and satisfying way in the right context. I love the piece I have with these two figures in clear resin, mounted on acrylic; it works well for me. That piece is shown below. May I love the one I plan to create with the metallic tinted opaque figures also!