Friday, March 7, 2008
Upcoming Topics
We will discussing various topics directly concerning or related to sculptors, sculpture,within the State of Arkansas. We welcome input from sculptors from around the state, help us preserve, promote and place sculpture from Arkansas Sculptors throughout Arkansas!
Monday, February 18, 2008
Simple Tips for Preserving Outdoor Bronze Sculpture
Outdoor bronze sculpture can can retain its original look and luster by following a few simple preservation tips. The process described should be applied at least a once a year, preferably late summer before winter sets in, typically a day when the temperature outside will reach 90 degrees or higher.
The first step in the process is to throughly clean the bronze removing any dirt or foreign elements. This is a simple process and can be accomplished by first brushing off any loose dirt with a soft bristle brush, followed by a through washing with a mild dish washing detergent using a sponge and soft brush to scrub off stubborn stains. Once you have completed the clean up with soap and water rinse the entire sculpture throughly. Having rinsed the sculpture you now need to completely dry it, use an automobile sham or lint free towel to dry the major areas, a electric or gas powered leaf blower will do an excellent job of completing the drying. Allow the sculpture to warm up after the final rinse and drying, once the bronze has warmed up in the sunlight it is time to apply the wax. Renaissance Wax or Johnson Paste Wax are two good waxes for this.
Ideally the bronze should be heated and the wax applied to the hot bronze, however this is not always viable for the homeowner, and you don't want to scorch the surface of the bronze. This is where allowing the bronze to heat up naturally under the hot sun comes in for the average person. Once the bronze is warm take a hair dryer or hot air gun and heat the wax in the can until it starts to soften and melt. Here again the can of wax can be set out in the sun and allowed to heat up. Liberally apply a coat of hot wax over the entire sculpture, allow this coat to dry, buff lightly and then apply two more coats of wax to the sculpture, these coats can be applied cold. Using a soft rag buff the wax between each coat. This will protect your bronze sculpture for the upcoming year.
Every third year you need to have the sculpture professionally cleaned, and the old wax coatings removed, this prevents the sculpture from going darker due to the many coats of wax. The wax removal process uses chemicals that should only be handled by professionals.
Follow these procedures and your treasure will remain looking good for generations to come.
The first step in the process is to throughly clean the bronze removing any dirt or foreign elements. This is a simple process and can be accomplished by first brushing off any loose dirt with a soft bristle brush, followed by a through washing with a mild dish washing detergent using a sponge and soft brush to scrub off stubborn stains. Once you have completed the clean up with soap and water rinse the entire sculpture throughly. Having rinsed the sculpture you now need to completely dry it, use an automobile sham or lint free towel to dry the major areas, a electric or gas powered leaf blower will do an excellent job of completing the drying. Allow the sculpture to warm up after the final rinse and drying, once the bronze has warmed up in the sunlight it is time to apply the wax. Renaissance Wax or Johnson Paste Wax are two good waxes for this.
Ideally the bronze should be heated and the wax applied to the hot bronze, however this is not always viable for the homeowner, and you don't want to scorch the surface of the bronze. This is where allowing the bronze to heat up naturally under the hot sun comes in for the average person. Once the bronze is warm take a hair dryer or hot air gun and heat the wax in the can until it starts to soften and melt. Here again the can of wax can be set out in the sun and allowed to heat up. Liberally apply a coat of hot wax over the entire sculpture, allow this coat to dry, buff lightly and then apply two more coats of wax to the sculpture, these coats can be applied cold. Using a soft rag buff the wax between each coat. This will protect your bronze sculpture for the upcoming year.
Every third year you need to have the sculpture professionally cleaned, and the old wax coatings removed, this prevents the sculpture from going darker due to the many coats of wax. The wax removal process uses chemicals that should only be handled by professionals.
Follow these procedures and your treasure will remain looking good for generations to come.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Tips for Becoming a More Professional Sculptor
There are many talented sculptors throughout the United States who go unnoticed! This is not because of the lack of talent but mainly due to improper marketing. A sculptor must consider his or herself a commodity and market themselves thusly. I will hit a few of the high points that have helped me throughout the years.
First and foremost one must establish an icon, trademark, or logo to be used with all forms of media. It will take a while but eventually, that logo becomes associated with a particular sculptor, while the public may not remember the name a logo usually sticks in their memory. Using the logo on all correspondence, resumes, portfolios and proposals shows professionalism! Maintain the same theme throughout!
Resumes are equally as important, but how much and what do you need to put in is the question. We have several resumes made up each with different and varying information, depending upon what we are submitting the resume for dictates which resume we send. An example would be if you are submitting a proposal for a monument, the resume you use should contain information regarding past commissions that relate to the specific subject. Lets say you have sculpture commissions or works that you have done in the abstract field and works you have done that are figurative; the request for proposals is on a figurative sculpture so simplify the resume you are sending and only include works in the figurative field. More is not always good, sometimes less is best. You don't have to list every single exhibit you have been in pick out the most prestigious and list only those. Don't make the review committee have to dig to find important information, put your resume on a diet and only provide the basic necessary information. If you were applying for a position where your knowledge of sculpture was the key issue then you should submit a resume containing information relative to your art education background. include art courses and workshops . A good rule of thumb is to keep the resume to two pages.
One of the most important aspects of responding to a RFQ (Request for Qualifications) or an RFP (Request for Proposals) is to read and follow directions! When they request 10 copies unbound, don't stable them together follow instructions, when they request images in a specific format i.e. Tiff don't send JPG and vice versa. We sending in a proposal that has a specific deadline, make sure your proposal is in the mail in plenty of time to reach it's intended destination (allow for delays in the postal service). It is always a good idea to request a delivery receipt with signature verification, that way you know when it got there and who signed for it, just in case it gets misplaced (this has happened before and having proof of date and delivery were grounds for reconsideration).
Professionally made business cards are a must! Now you can do these on your own computer but by all means use the best quality card stock and quality printer. The same thing applies to brochures, we make our own (we don't save any money because we use high quality photo, scored brochure stock) but here again we are not stuck with a 1000 printed brochures with the wrong email, phone or address. We can change photos and any other information and print just what we need for a show etc.
Photographs are a must, never too many! Take good quality photos of your work from varying angles and in different lighting conditions, use what looks best. Be sure to save the original copy, unedited in a high resolution, you can resize and format from the originals time and time again. You may be required to send in an 8 x10 photo, if all you have is 4x6 it never looks good when you scale it up, so pull up the original and make a copy to the specified size.
Portfolios are excellent tools to have on hand at all times! We generally carry 5 or 6 copies with us whenever we are traveling, here is the scenario; you are visiting New York and you walk into a gallery that happens to be showing sculptors who are producing works in a style similar to yours. The best way to get them to even look at your work is simply ask if you might leave your portfolio for them to review at their leisure, you drop off a copy of your portfolio and walk out. They might throw it in the trash, they might look at it and send it back to you, they might even file it for future reference or BAM! they might even get back to you about representing your work.
It's late, I'm tired but I hope this information is of some help!
Don't hold typos against me, my proof reader is busy on her own blog so it stands as is.
First and foremost one must establish an icon, trademark, or logo to be used with all forms of media. It will take a while but eventually, that logo becomes associated with a particular sculptor, while the public may not remember the name a logo usually sticks in their memory. Using the logo on all correspondence, resumes, portfolios and proposals shows professionalism! Maintain the same theme throughout!
Resumes are equally as important, but how much and what do you need to put in is the question. We have several resumes made up each with different and varying information, depending upon what we are submitting the resume for dictates which resume we send. An example would be if you are submitting a proposal for a monument, the resume you use should contain information regarding past commissions that relate to the specific subject. Lets say you have sculpture commissions or works that you have done in the abstract field and works you have done that are figurative; the request for proposals is on a figurative sculpture so simplify the resume you are sending and only include works in the figurative field. More is not always good, sometimes less is best. You don't have to list every single exhibit you have been in pick out the most prestigious and list only those. Don't make the review committee have to dig to find important information, put your resume on a diet and only provide the basic necessary information. If you were applying for a position where your knowledge of sculpture was the key issue then you should submit a resume containing information relative to your art education background. include art courses and workshops . A good rule of thumb is to keep the resume to two pages.
One of the most important aspects of responding to a RFQ (Request for Qualifications) or an RFP (Request for Proposals) is to read and follow directions! When they request 10 copies unbound, don't stable them together follow instructions, when they request images in a specific format i.e. Tiff don't send JPG and vice versa. We sending in a proposal that has a specific deadline, make sure your proposal is in the mail in plenty of time to reach it's intended destination (allow for delays in the postal service). It is always a good idea to request a delivery receipt with signature verification, that way you know when it got there and who signed for it, just in case it gets misplaced (this has happened before and having proof of date and delivery were grounds for reconsideration).
Professionally made business cards are a must! Now you can do these on your own computer but by all means use the best quality card stock and quality printer. The same thing applies to brochures, we make our own (we don't save any money because we use high quality photo, scored brochure stock) but here again we are not stuck with a 1000 printed brochures with the wrong email, phone or address. We can change photos and any other information and print just what we need for a show etc.
Photographs are a must, never too many! Take good quality photos of your work from varying angles and in different lighting conditions, use what looks best. Be sure to save the original copy, unedited in a high resolution, you can resize and format from the originals time and time again. You may be required to send in an 8 x10 photo, if all you have is 4x6 it never looks good when you scale it up, so pull up the original and make a copy to the specified size.
Portfolios are excellent tools to have on hand at all times! We generally carry 5 or 6 copies with us whenever we are traveling, here is the scenario; you are visiting New York and you walk into a gallery that happens to be showing sculptors who are producing works in a style similar to yours. The best way to get them to even look at your work is simply ask if you might leave your portfolio for them to review at their leisure, you drop off a copy of your portfolio and walk out. They might throw it in the trash, they might look at it and send it back to you, they might even file it for future reference or BAM! they might even get back to you about representing your work.
It's late, I'm tired but I hope this information is of some help!
Don't hold typos against me, my proof reader is busy on her own blog so it stands as is.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Public Sculpture That Can't be Photographed
Today's research has brought forth a new issue concerning public art. Copyright, infringement lawsuits over photos taken of public sculpture. Now before you start in on me, as a sculptor I am all too familiar with copyrights and art, but this even to me seems to smell of greed! When a sculptor creates a commissioned public work of art they know very well that the public is going to take photos of the masterpiece, while most sculptors retain artistic rights to their works, this is after all a public sculpture which is generally paid for from private or public funds and placed on public land. So why all the controversy, is a photo reproducing the sculptors work, not really, photos are two dimensional, sculpture is three dimensional (small print item in copyright laws about producing in different format), but that is another case for an argument for another time.
I personally as a sculptor relish the notion of someone wanting to take a photo of one of my sculptures. Why am I not upset over the photo "Free Advertising", so what if the photographer plans on selling the photo, guess what my sculpture is promoted one more time! Now it would be nice if the photographer placed a small credit somewhere for the sculptor but this is not entirely necessary.
So what of the sculptor who does not allow his public sculpture to be photographed, well now think about it, if no photos are allowed, controversy begins, it becomes a hot topic for the press and "BINGO" we have more advertising than one can pay for. Everyone wants to see the work of art than can't be photographed! The ensuing lawsuits have potential to bring in large amounts of revenue, one word "Greed".
I will say that it is common courtesy when attending a sculpture show to ask the sculptor if it is alright to take a photo of his or her work. Most sculptors who are secure in what they do will allow photographs, they know all to well that what they are doing probably has already been done, they just have a new twist on an old theme.
Museums on the other hand are a different story, they have valid reason for no photography. Security; museums often have works of art in the millions of dollars and they want to keep the museum security and layout knowledge to a bare minimum. Flash Damage; even though you are taking a photo of a sculpture there might be painting or textile nearby and photo flashes often produce harmful UV properties adversely affecting those works of art. Here again it is always good policy to ask before whipping out the trusty digital or cell phone and snapping a quick photo.
Someone want a photo of my sculpture! Drop me a line I'll make sure you get one.
I personally as a sculptor relish the notion of someone wanting to take a photo of one of my sculptures. Why am I not upset over the photo "Free Advertising", so what if the photographer plans on selling the photo, guess what my sculpture is promoted one more time! Now it would be nice if the photographer placed a small credit somewhere for the sculptor but this is not entirely necessary.
So what of the sculptor who does not allow his public sculpture to be photographed, well now think about it, if no photos are allowed, controversy begins, it becomes a hot topic for the press and "BINGO" we have more advertising than one can pay for. Everyone wants to see the work of art than can't be photographed! The ensuing lawsuits have potential to bring in large amounts of revenue, one word "Greed".
I will say that it is common courtesy when attending a sculpture show to ask the sculptor if it is alright to take a photo of his or her work. Most sculptors who are secure in what they do will allow photographs, they know all to well that what they are doing probably has already been done, they just have a new twist on an old theme.
Museums on the other hand are a different story, they have valid reason for no photography. Security; museums often have works of art in the millions of dollars and they want to keep the museum security and layout knowledge to a bare minimum. Flash Damage; even though you are taking a photo of a sculpture there might be painting or textile nearby and photo flashes often produce harmful UV properties adversely affecting those works of art. Here again it is always good policy to ask before whipping out the trusty digital or cell phone and snapping a quick photo.
Someone want a photo of my sculpture! Drop me a line I'll make sure you get one.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Importing Syndrome
When someone brings up the idea of importing sculpture to place in the fair city for their beautification project, I come unwired! I am truly amazed, right after the comment "We support our local Artist's" comes "What do you think about bringing in some sculpture from overseas to place around the city for our beautification project." Now is it just me or did the support for local artists' just go flying out the window! I understand budgets and managed spending, but there are truly viable options that could be put into play before resorting to buying imported sculpture, just because of budget constraints. Now don't get me wrong I have no objections to buying art from Sculptors who do not reside in our fair country( we own several works ourselves), but we are not talking about sculpture by sculptors but mass produced, poor quality, yard ornamentation, from mostly government owned business. Yes, the price is one fifth what you would pay for a work of art from a local sculptor, but is it worth putting local sculptors out of business! Now this fair city just happens to be listed as one of the top small art communities in the United States, will lining the streets with imported sculpture help them keep this status, I think NOT!
The views expressed are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of other sculptors or organizations with which I am affiliated.
The views expressed are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of other sculptors or organizations with which I am affiliated.
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