artinjection : creations by dave stevenson

Introducing CRUSTACEA: New Steel & Resin SCULPTURE!

bigWaveDave — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 01:13:49 +0000

Forged from one half of the same sculpture that bore Pegasus, Crustacea is currently in primer/filler phase. More photos to follow once

detail-shot of new steel & resin sculpture

she’s top-coated.

The Genesis of Pegasus

bigWaveDave — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 19:59:11 +0000

All of my sculptures begin as small wire maquettes that adorn (and TAKEOVER!) the walls, floors, benches and shelves around here until they are chosen for enlargement. While looking through my collection today I found the wire-drawing that inspired my new steel & resin sculpture, Pegasus. Since young Pegasus scarcely resembles full-grown Pegasus, these photos are an excellent illustration of how much of a process my creative process really is.

I picked out this particular 14 inch maquette for enlargement about a year ago. The enlargement measured 4 feet in length yet “Pegasus” currently stands just 2 feet tall so, what happened?

Months of aggressive wire-resin-wrestling (add resin-carve-sand-file-add more resin-smash-crash-bang-smash-crash-bang, repeat) caused the piece to eventually break in half. I put the fragments aside for consideration for my February show at Les Artisans, in St. Barth’s. But by January I was still unsure about how to complete either of the broken sections, or if it was even possible. I left them to gather dust through the winter. When I returned from St. Barth’s in March I dragged one of the incomplete pieces onto my bench and resumed plastic surgery. Six weeks later, waa la!

Final step? Molding for casting into bronze!

Relic Reanimated: New Mount & Patina for the Artist’s Proof!

bigWaveDave — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 07:18:00 +0000

While working on “Nautilus” at the Polich-Tallix foundry, I decided that maybe it was time to dust off the artist’s proof of “Relic”, re-mount it and apply a fresh patina. Originally seated atop a stunning rock snatched roadside in Bozeman, it was never quite the right fit–the epoxy didn’t hold well–that sort of thing. Plus, my annual exhibition loomed and the old rock was nowhere to be found. I poked around for bronze scraps in the foundry’s shell-blast area and discovered the perfect replacement. 2 hours of hacking, sanding and grinding later, I had carved a new base. Although re-finishing Relic was an impromptu decision, it seems it was the right one; two days before the end of my trip to St. Barth’s, it sold. Relic is now relaxing in Canada.

Gems & Chimaeras: A Pirate’s Share of Bronze, Silver & Gold.

bigWaveDave — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 06:47:37 +0000

Nautilus Surfs St. Barth’s-Winter, 2010

bigWaveDave — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 04:26:25 +0000

Here are sample shots from my favorite photo shoot during this year’s Exhibition at Les Artisans in St. Barth’s. At 10 a.m. I loaded up my bulky new Samsonite hard-case–custom fitted for bronze–with one sculpture, one camera, two reflectors, a water bottle and three towels. The path to the beach from my house was straight down a steep hill, so gravity yanked me and my weighty rig awkwardly all the way there. I went up the steps to the entrance of the Isle de France Hotel right through the lobby and onto the sand (note to self; suitcase wheels, even fancy ones, don’t roll well on sand). To the chagrin of

Rake Boy (yes, the hotel rakes their beach!) I dug in for the next hour or so with one hand on the camera and the other poised directly above my subject; ready to seize 23lbs of bronze before Mother Nature could wash her away. After the shoot I borrowed a Champagne bucket to bathe “Nautilus”, downed an ice cold Presidente, took a quick swim and packed up my suitcase. As I retreated through the hotel, a guest took one look at my wet self with luggage and congratulated me on “making it”. “Yeah, quite a swim from the States. Perhaps next year I’ll leave from Europe…”

We’re in Kansas Forevermore…

bigWaveDave — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 04:07:45 +0000

Dragon, bronze, installed in Kansas

DRAGON, installed in front of a collector’s home this summer.

Channeling Cephalopods

bigWaveDave — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 04:42:56 +0000

I found myself watching an octopus eat another octopus on TV the other night. (Oh, the benefits of 800 channels!) It was fascinating~such brilliant, supple colors. Today I arrived at the Polich-Tallix foundry fully intending to apply a s i m p l e blue patina on my latest bronze sculpture, “Crush”. But with it’s sea-creature-like quality, apparently conjuring undersea cannibals was inevitable: 5 hours later, my calm ocean-blue intentions had burst into a painterly blend of blue, white, silver, blood-red, green and gold atop a marbleized black base.

CRUSH is a limited edition bronze series of eight sculptures. This first of the edition was cast after one artist’s proof. The resin & steel prototype shown is Nautilus (working title), currently in the molding phase of bronze casting.

Body Sculpture

bigWaveDave — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 04:07:33 +0000

Shot on my roof. With Film! I know, I know, how old-school of me. Been so long I actually had to replace the camera batteries first. I like juxtaposing my creations to illustrate their genesis. Like a family portrait, it emphasizes common origin, kinship, energy, contrast, dysfunction… Who said that?! The Artist’s Bracelet weighs a ton by the way. It feels Strong, Confident. Arm Armor.

Speaking of dysfunction, I re-mounted my favorite mutation, Daliguana (part flayed Naissance, disembodied L’iguane & surgically altered Balloon). Made with carefully discolored cast sterling silver, this reanimation boasts Ruby eyes and a bronze base.

Bozeman Artwalk…

bigWaveDave — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 02:20:06 +0000

sandingSandingSANDING…

bigWaveDave — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 21:55:03 +0000

One day this summer while belaying my rock climbing partner Alex, my left foot brushed up against a little piece of bark. Suddenly I was back at elementary school recess, sitting on the sidewalk rubbing bark against the pavement. What a rewarding feeling, creating smooth edges by the simple act of leaning on cement. What!?! I Hate sanding. Sculpting isn’t all giddy inspiration and staring off into space, it’s perpetual, monotonous, mind-numbing, mad droning sanding, SANDING! It seemed funny to me that the dullest part of my creative process is what survived The Early Years. Hypnotized by reverie I nearly missed the gravity of the moment. If Alex slipped and I failed a timely arrest, 180 very surprised pounds would free-fall right at me with predictable, irreversible urgency…

Sorry Alex (Close one!). Well it’s been a terrific season for sandpaper flattening. Recent commissions include a couple of large bronze sculptures, plus rings, bangles and a pair of 18K rose gold Dobermans. I even conjured up an odd family of mutant-sculptures by “mating” existing works: