New work and more new work in progress

Being an engineer, I am always problem solving. And being an artist, I am always striving to be creative and create new work. Seems like a good combo to me and but it can be an overdose of ideas floating in my head at all times.

I have made incense holders in the past and designed them such that the ash fell directly on the tray rather than creating a mess all around. These still work very well and have beautiful stamped patterns on them. A few months back I started thinking of how to make them even more interesting. This is when I designed a lidded incense holder. The lid has holes through which the incense smoke escapes making these smooth curvy patterns. Of course I went crazy decorating these lids. They took me forever but I love the way they look and especially when the incense is lit. I just posted some on Etsy in my shop.

Another I have had on my mind is oil vinegar bottles. I have been struggling to get a form which would work and had made a few prototypes but not to my liking. This is when observing everything around you becomes important. Just be aware and enjoy and take in all that you see. I was looking at the smoke patterns from the incense holders and decided that is the shape I want. I made a new extruder die, got to work and made these oil vinegar bottles. These still need to be decorated but couldn't wait to share my Aha! moment. Looking at the group photograph they look like dancers in Bollywood dance routine. LOL!

Edmonds Arts Festival Booth setup

Last weekend I was at the Edmonds Arts Festival and it was a good show. Had great conversations with new customers and also met other artists at the show. The work at this show was just beautiful.

We did have a challenging first day with the rain, but some how did survive it. I did make some changes in my booth setup and I would appreciate comments and suggestions.

Earlier I had a pale yellow background behind my grid wall, but now I changed that to black. I feel the black did make my pieces pop, but I am not sure if the white grid pattern over the black makes it look too busy? Sometimes I feel it makes it look dramatic, so people get encouraged to give the back wall a second look and walk in the booth.

BEFORE

AFTER

This part of the shelving is the same as before. The only change I made here was to add the black material on some of the shelves. I have decided to put it on all shelves next time. Gives the work a good pop and clean look.


This part I am still struggling with. Pedestals! These were cheap cardboard pedestals made from cardboard painted white with white sqaure framing which locked it square. With weights inside them they were stable, but with the rains, cardboard just doesn't cut it. Because of limited space in my car to take stuff to shows I need a more collapsable idea for pedestals. These cardboard pedestals flatten easily for transport but are not strong enough when wet and will just get ruined. Sonotube pedestals take too much room. And with several pieces kept on the pedestals I think it looses focus. So any ideas here are appreciated too.