Studio Samples
current work. What we are working on now.
Derek Ulhman
Lately I’ve been working on small bronzes. They are of my “Critter” series which are pieces which are generally a prime form such as a pyramid or a cylinder which is cast. In the casting process I work within the mold to create a special textural element. As the piece is hardening I insert small gnarly tree branches. Once the piece is fully hardened and removed from the mold I turn it over and the branches become legs and another critter is born. In the textural areas I work in bright colors using a variety of techniques and the outer surfaces are highly polished. That is the part I am doing now.
Current Work
Susan Grissom
‘This series, “Grieving and Mourning” is about loss and the stages one goes through in the grieving process. In one of the works I write prose about death in order to understand “death” .It is written in canvas with charcoal, but then covered up in red, black and white paint to symbolize blood and mourning and the covering up my emotional reaction. The markings are hand prints and stick painting, to illustrate the cover up exposing the emotions of loss. This series is inspired by my own need to work through the long illness my brother has had and the realization that his life is coming to a close. As a painter, I paint my emotions. I do not have an idea of what is going to happen on the canvas, but I approach the canvas as an action painter and let it happen, which helps me to work through all I am feeling.’
Current Work
Elisa Keogh
Shooting shadows is something that I have always been compelled to do. I am intrigued by the mystery of their origin and the random possibilities of what they become visually. These two images are both from two different shadow series’ that I am currently working on. One is from my ‘Mystery Men’ series, where the images of figures are printed on metallic paper, and using reflective materials so that the viewers reflection is intentionally part of the piece. The other is from my ‘Dream Series’, entitled ‘Man of my Dreams’, which took 2nd place in the current Stamford Arts Association ‘Faces and Figures’ exhibition. This series looks at images that are both representational and fractured, reminding me of dream imagery where recognition of a person is more a sense than a clear image.
I’ve been working recently on some very quirky figurative paintings. The origin of these disturbing images is political as well as personally narrative. I have a few new paintings that started with old anatomy book “character expressions”. They so intrigued me, that I began to work with them and build a grouping called “fictive beings” . I have a group of four of these started. This one, called “The Scream” or “O” is finished.
In addition, I m at school a lot (I teach drawing at NCC). So, I’ve begun to play with clay in Joe Fucigna’s Ceramics class. I’ve taken these strange characters into a third dimension. They’re pretty cool looking and I get a kick out of building them.
