... et voilà!

I just have to get back another day to take some photos with kids in the stairs. Because they were having a day off yesterday, which was the reason we chose that day for mounting the art pieces (two other artists also installed their art in other parts of the school the same day). I wonder how the kids reacted today?

mounting!

Today it finally happened. I'm super exhausted right now, but pleased.

at the industrial powder painter

Today I visited Guson, the industrial powder paint company that I use for my public commissions. There's a layer of grey dust over everything there and the place is probably a location trendy interior stylists would die for. I inspected all the parts for my commission - perfectly bright coloured looking kind of out of place - and packed them for tomorrow. Because tomorrow it is finally Mounting Day!

checking the fitting

I've tripple-checked the measurements for the hand rail - and made a real size 2D copy of the hand rail to test the fitting - to avoid any unpleasant surprises when it is time to mount the art piece. So everything should be fine ...

... and then superman

It feels great to finally see this commission taking form in real size. But in some way I feel like I'm working on a miniature now... because compared to the one I made two years ago it is kind of small. Superman above is one meter tall. The Phantom having a luncheon from 2011 would be - if he could stand up in his full hight - two and a half meter tall.

Snow White in progress

Snow white in progress; with distances marked out and then in a break when being welded by Arta.

back working!

I was waiting and waiting for a rainy day to go back working - not been that many rainy days this summer - but finally I had to go back anyway last week (in spite of sunshine). I'm now in the execution phase of this commission and it's exciting to see it all take form in aluminum. I like the way the aluminium looks in this phase in the workshop; rough edges, scratched and dirty with fingerprints. In some way I would like to keep it like this, but that's not what I promised to do ... so I can't.

no studio today either

Yesterday I was a little over-optimistic; I couldn't go to the studio today either - I had to fix with some files for the form cutting (I do all computer work at home) ...  Very often I wish I could have a competent assistant to delegate to ... like artists do in countries where there is more money in art!

... I'm still around

... but I'm so very busy in the real world; June means working on two public commissions (suggestion/execution) and teaching the summer course in big format screen printing (first day of the course tomorrow)!

simplified

On demand I've simplified my suggestion for that art piece in the stairs of a school (photo montage above). Let's hope they'll go for this one. And yes, this girl is still working every day! I've been so busy I've not even been active on Instagram ... Tomorrow I'm starting a new creative school project - a wall painting project again. And next week - yes yes yes!!! - I'll start moving into my new studio!

how busy should you appear to be?

almost done today with the model for my suggestion for a public art piece for a school (presentation on Friday)

I almost didn't get asked to sketch for this commission as the art consultant thought, when reading my blog in December, that I probably was too busy  ... (She didn't know about my super powers)

sketching, sketching

... I've been working on this for many days, but sometimes it feels like I'm just moving papers around or cutting them into pieces. This is a tricky one as you won't be able to see the whole art piece from any place. It will be more like you see fragments - so I try to make interesting fragments that you can read as a whole while walking the stairs, coming from a corridor etc. And having some surprises. I enjoy this challenge!

...like having Leonardo da Vinci as your dad

white balanced photo

in reality the colour tones appears differently because of the light conditions

I'm right now working on a suggestion for a public commission; an art piece to be in the stairs of a school (for students age 6-16). Yesterday I went to the school to check how some colours appear on the actual location,  to make some real life size tests (no, the art piece is not going to be in brown paper ...) and to double check some measurements.  I got some helpers (age around 7-8)  who turned up every break to assist me - and ask questions. Today I realized that some of the measurements were really weird ... but it doesn't matter; as one boy totally made my day: - Wow - you are an ARTIST! Having you as mum is like having Leonardo da Vinci as your dad! WOW! That is so cool! Do you also construct and invent things? here I was so tempted to totally lie, but said:  - I can also build some things, yes - You are very lucky to not be living in France because there girls are not allowed to be artists at all! At least not 2 years ago. ????  - I didn't know that, I said this also made me smile: Famous paintings improved by Cats .... I'm so cool ....