Sunday, October 05, 2008

Stealing Crow Show at Urban Artware







This month I am the featured artist at Urban Artware in downtown Winston Salem. Because of the season I decided to do a crow show. I wanted it to be super creepy and dark, but as the show got closer, I simply ran out of time. The image I had for this show was sooooo different than what actually was created that I was very disappointed in myself for not working harder and letting the show creep up on me. I do have a calendar. It would be helpful if I would use it.

Besides not having the show meet my vision for it, I will say that I am proud of the work. I just wanted it to be more cohesive. I think I needed a couple more months for the work to come together. Individually, the pieces stand on their own...at least I hope they do.

Here are some of the pieces in the show.

This first piece is a crow head box. The front crow head is the handle for a drawer that slides out to reveal a crow inside.
































There are thirteen crow rattles hanging on the wall.

















And here is the bird King and his bird girls. Above them are lino cuts printed on paper and on clay. I have been working on clay lino cuts for awhile. They are hit and miss at times. But I think these turned out nice. I love laminating the paper prints because they don't have to be framed and that eases the cost for the customer.







And these last little fellows happen to be my favorites. They are little crow box rattles and I love holding them. Each contain a little secret that no one can see on the inside of the unopenable box.

11 comments:

jafabrit said...

your work is just awesome, love the box with the drawer :)

Undaunted said...

Your show looks great Leanne!

I've been meaning to ask you how you make drawers, as you've made a piece with a draw in it before. I mean, how do you support it inside?

Leanne Pizio said...

Hey Ms. Jaffa,
Thank you so much. I have really enjoyed making these boxes, the creepier the better.
I am looking forward to making some bigger ones. this one is 6 inches square. I would like to do one at least 12 inches. We will see if I can manage that large of a piece....a good challenge.


Hey Ms. Un D,
Thank you so much.
The secret is a slab of clay placed under the drawer to support the weight of the drawer as it goes in and out.I usually place the slab in before I put the top on the box. Then I cut out the place where the drawer will go in. Don't forget before you close up the box to mark where the drawer will be.
They take a long time but they really aren't as hard as you might think. Make sure to let the clay get truly leather hard before you start to put it together.

Undaunted said...

Thanks Leanne, I'm just fascinated to know how you make these pieces. I'd love to try one but I think it might be a while before I get that adventurous!

Undaunted said...

How do you support the slab inside though? Any chance of a tutorial if you get time? :)

queencraftygirl said...

I love everything!!! See you soon!

Love,
Queencraftygirl

ArtPropelled said...

Yes, I agree with queencraftygirl. I love everything!

Leanne Pizio said...

Hey Un D,
Taking pictures for a tutorial right now. The weather is bad here so it may be a couple of days for the clay to get to the right hardness. But by the end of the weekend I should have something for you.
When I talked about the slab under the drawer I didn't explain enough. The slab is a vertically placed against the bottom of the box....I will just show you...it is so hard to explain in words.

Thank you Robyn and Miss Queen!
Glad you like the newer pieces!
Leanne

Undaunted said...

Thank you so mch Leanne, I look forward to seeing it!

Did you just teach yourself how to make these things, or did you learn these techniques from somewhere?

Leanne Pizio said...

Hey Un D,
I went to a work shop earlier this year and that is where I learned to make the boxes and alters.
The teachers were Lana Wilson and Margaret Bohles. Amazing artists and beautiful people. They taught me a lot.
And I am happy to pass it on!

Judi Tavill said...

really great!!!!