http://sculptorsjournal.com
http://dawntreestudio.com
http://henrymitchellsculptor.com
Copyright © 2005-2010 henry mitchell
Copyright for all artwork shown on this site resides with the artist.
http://dawntreestudio.com
http://henrymitchellsculptor.com
Copyright © 2005-2010 henry mitchell
Copyright for all artwork shown on this site resides with the artist.
Monday 24 August 2009- Turned off the belt sander to break for lunch, and the air was filled with the laughter of children at the school across the street; Immediately I realized how much I had missed them all summer.
I've been watchful on my morning walks, hoping to find a cast off rocker at a yard sale, or set out on the curb for the elves, that I could disassemble and work into a construction for David's show. But nothing has turned up, and I must get on with the project, so I am cheating by duplicating parts from Jane Ella's old rocker which belonged to her grandfather.
Strange, how all those years I was working as a carpenter and cabinet maker in order to earn a living, and railing against every day of it, I was learning the skills required to make the work I'm doing now.
Thursday 27 August 2009- "Red Chair" (right) will start to show some color next week. It contains reconfigured chair parts, a myrtle branch and a haiku. It's about four feet high. This is one of two pieces I'm working on for the "Chair" show at Hand in Hand Gallery, Flat Rock NC in October.
The fall greens are off to a good start in the yurts (below). Bruce Dern would feel right at home in there now. I can almost hear Joan Baez singing "Rejoicing in the Sun."
Friday 28 August 2009- Praise for the sweet rain! Praise for the cool morning!
I've been watchful on my morning walks, hoping to find a cast off rocker at a yard sale, or set out on the curb for the elves, that I could disassemble and work into a construction for David's show. But nothing has turned up, and I must get on with the project, so I am cheating by duplicating parts from Jane Ella's old rocker which belonged to her grandfather.
Strange, how all those years I was working as a carpenter and cabinet maker in order to earn a living, and railing against every day of it, I was learning the skills required to make the work I'm doing now.
Thursday 27 August 2009- "Red Chair" (right) will start to show some color next week. It contains reconfigured chair parts, a myrtle branch and a haiku. It's about four feet high. This is one of two pieces I'm working on for the "Chair" show at Hand in Hand Gallery, Flat Rock NC in October.
The fall greens are off to a good start in the yurts (below). Bruce Dern would feel right at home in there now. I can almost hear Joan Baez singing "Rejoicing in the Sun."
Friday 28 August 2009- Praise for the sweet rain! Praise for the cool morning!
Saturday 29 August 2009- All my adult life, I have yearned for a contemplative life, but it was only when I settled into my true work that the life I was seeking began to find me. Contemplation comes up where it can. You will not find contemplation by going off to hide on a mountain- unless that is where you happen to be living your life. For an artist, as John Rood said, "To work is to pray."
Tuesday 1 September 2009- Spent the last two days in the mountains at Saluda NC on a retreat. I was not hiding out. I went because I received an invitation which I accepted out of my spiritual neediness.
Wednesday 2 September 2009- My wife, although she is legally blind, has a better eye for color than I do. She's not distracted by detail. She sees the big shapes, the light and dark, the resonance of colors one against another. I've been plodding along painting the chair piece. I arrived at the red for the chair fairly readily (the chair is red because the haiku in the piece is about a red chair). I tried all my favorite colors then, but nothing meshed. Jane Ella walked by and remarked over her shoulder, "It needs some dirt on it."
"What?", I sputtered. "Earth colors," she said, and was out the door. Now I think I'm on the right track.
Tuesday 1 September 2009- Spent the last two days in the mountains at Saluda NC on a retreat. I was not hiding out. I went because I received an invitation which I accepted out of my spiritual neediness.
Wednesday 2 September 2009- My wife, although she is legally blind, has a better eye for color than I do. She's not distracted by detail. She sees the big shapes, the light and dark, the resonance of colors one against another. I've been plodding along painting the chair piece. I arrived at the red for the chair fairly readily (the chair is red because the haiku in the piece is about a red chair). I tried all my favorite colors then, but nothing meshed. Jane Ella walked by and remarked over her shoulder, "It needs some dirt on it."
"What?", I sputtered. "Earth colors," she said, and was out the door. Now I think I'm on the right track.
Friday 4 September 2009- Earth colors or not, this is where the "Red Chair" wound up (right). It seems a lot of trouble just to justify a red chair. I was more comfortable with it in it's unfinished state, before all the color. Yet, the color does lend the piece something of the presence and impact of a Japanese print. The text of the haiku seems very much at home. The myrtle branch at the top projects about a foot from the plane of the wall. That is not apparent in this picture.
Saturday 5 September 2009- It appears that ol' Henry has another bladder/prostate surgery in his immediate future. This is getting too regular for my taste.
Saturday 5 September 2009- It appears that ol' Henry has another bladder/prostate surgery in his immediate future. This is getting too regular for my taste.
ABOVE:
"Haiku # 1- Red Chair"
wood, found objects, micaceous oxides, acrylic
48 x 26 x 12 in.
"Haiku # 1- Red Chair"
wood, found objects, micaceous oxides, acrylic
48 x 26 x 12 in.
Sunday 6 September 2009- Most people will forgive a lie much more readily than they will forgive the truth.
Monday 7 September 2009- My mother used to say that artists, like children, should be seen and not heard. It is perhaps unfortunate that I have not taken her admonition more to heart.
Monday 7 September 2009- My mother used to say that artists, like children, should be seen and not heard. It is perhaps unfortunate that I have not taken her admonition more to heart.
Wednesday 9 September 2009- Mildly disconcerting to be in the last fortnight of summer and realize the season of the year probably corresponds to the season of your life. Some gentle rain over the next couple of weeks will set us up for a spectacular fall- who announced her approach on my back steps today (left).
The last day of summer will find me in surgery. I'm pushing to finish a second haiku piece for David Voorhees' show before Larry Hill wields his knife; After that, it will be three weeks before I can do any real work.
Friday 11 September 2009- Most of us self-proclaimed Christians try real hard to live for Jesus. If we would live with Jesus, we wouldn't have to try so hard.
The last day of summer will find me in surgery. I'm pushing to finish a second haiku piece for David Voorhees' show before Larry Hill wields his knife; After that, it will be three weeks before I can do any real work.
Friday 11 September 2009- Most of us self-proclaimed Christians try real hard to live for Jesus. If we would live with Jesus, we wouldn't have to try so hard.
Monday 14 September 2009- "Rocker" 48 x 26 x 5 in. (right), is assembled and ready for painting. I started applying primer/sealer today. I have a week to complete it before I report for surgery. If that happens, it will join "Red Chair" in the "Chair Show" at Hand in Hand Gallery. The show runs October 9th through November 29th.
Jane Ella and I spent Saturday at a Nexus retreat led by Kyle Matthews at a local church, which explored the "intersection of art and spirituality." It was entertaining; it was a rest, it was enlightening, and for me at least, it was disturbing.
Kyle, a musician and songwriter, used musical terms to describe the life of the soul. He began with the idea of melody, as the plot, or story line of a song, or of a life. The image resonated with me and I was immediately moved to pray a little prayer, "Lord, I want You to be in my story." I thought that was an appropriate response and that the Lord might be happy to hear that from me. A couple of hours later, when we came back from lunch (which was splendid- not the sort of church food I got as a kid), Kyle began to play the piano to get us quieted down, and out of the silence between the notes, the Lord said, "Henry, don't you understand that I want you to be in My Story?"
Jane Ella and I spent Saturday at a Nexus retreat led by Kyle Matthews at a local church, which explored the "intersection of art and spirituality." It was entertaining; it was a rest, it was enlightening, and for me at least, it was disturbing.
Kyle, a musician and songwriter, used musical terms to describe the life of the soul. He began with the idea of melody, as the plot, or story line of a song, or of a life. The image resonated with me and I was immediately moved to pray a little prayer, "Lord, I want You to be in my story." I thought that was an appropriate response and that the Lord might be happy to hear that from me. A couple of hours later, when we came back from lunch (which was splendid- not the sort of church food I got as a kid), Kyle began to play the piano to get us quieted down, and out of the silence between the notes, the Lord said, "Henry, don't you understand that I want you to be in My Story?"