OH+5 exhibition 2012

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  The OH+5 Borders Biennial Exhibition is currently at the Dairy Barn Arts Center in Athens, Ohio. I have two works in the show, but one of the pieces arrived broken. Yesterday Chris and I drove to Athens to see if the piece could be repaired. We got the “art surgery” completed in just under three hours and the piece, Bad Air Delivery, was on display two hours before the opening.

The winter weather slowed us down on the drive to Athens, and because we were concerned about conditions on the return trip, we left prior to the evening opening. We did get to see the exhibition, thanks to Andrea Lewis and staff, and the show looks great. I feel honored to be sharing space with these talented artists. Here are a few photos of the exhibition:

 

millrat therapy

This past week, while going through a box of old papers, I ran across a folder containing some poetry I had written in 1991. I remember this having been a stressful period, and I had been reading a book about writing poetry as a form of therapy. The book encouraged the reader not to judge what he or she might write, and not to worry about the quality of the end results. This was to be about process rather than product.

I recall working on several pieces and eventually typing up nine of the poems. I also created an accompanying collage or a drawing on each of the nine pages. I photocopied about fifteen sets, which I titled “Millrat Therapy“, and sent them to friends and family. I guess that was part of my “therapy”.  (It appears that I removed the illustration I did for Art in the Second Grade, which I believe I later re-used in a piece of artwork.) So after sleeping in a blue folder for twenty years, here are a few of the batch. If you click on each image, it should become larger for easier reading. Thanks for your interest.

How to make a piece of meat

Each January, West Liberty University’s Nutting Gallery is the venue for the annual Art Faculty Exhibition. And each year for the past twelve years the exhibition has a theme. This year the theme is MEAT. In my current blog entry I will show how one piece from my meat series came about. In the next few weeks I will post photos of the installed exhibition.

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‘Hoarders’ called, they want to see my studio!

Recently, Crafthaus, an online community of craft artists, did a feature on artists studios. Wow! I was flabbergasted! All these wonderful spaces….CONTROLLED spaces….with room to actually WORK! But then this past week, Seattle artist Jenny Fillius put a photo of her studio on Facebook. I looked at that photo and wondered to myself, “How does she work in there?” This thought was followed by some nervous laughter, since my own studio is some kind of semi-organized chaos. Now this was real….and very close to home!

A year ago, a couple from Cincinnati purchased a large piece of my work from the Wheeling Artisan Center. A few weeks after acquiring the piece, the couple called to tell me they were coming back to Wheeling and asked if they could meet me. We arranged a time and they stopped by the house. We sat in the living room and they went on about how they were enjoying their recent purchase. Then I heard he words that strike fear into artists whose work spaces are too small and too full: “May we see your studio?” I told them I don’t normally take anyone down there (it is located behind our house in a converted garage), and that it was really a mess. The couple promised to pay no attention to how messy it was, “We just want to see where you make your art!” This went on for several more minutes until finally I gave in.

As we walked to the studio, I continued to warn them that it was quite a mess. They assured me not to worry. As we entered the studio, the couple stopped and became quiet. Suddenly, one of them said, “How do you WORK in here?”

I ask myself that very question at times. How DO I work in here? Years ago my studio space was a spare bedroom with a table, paper, pencils, paint, and brushes. That was before I stared working in assemblage and tin. What a difference.

So here, for your enjoyment, are a few pictures I took this week of my studio. Do I wish it was less cluttered? Less chaotic? Easier to work in? Yes! Yes! Yes! Do I wish it was a bit larger? Another  YES! But here it is, as is! Hopefully a spring cleaning can be worked into the schedule soon, along with some much needed “materials inventory control”.

The Big Head Project

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In early October, my Sculpture I. class and I embarked on what came to be known as the “Big Head Project”, aka The Headline. Each student picked a celebrity and based on that character, created a large, paper mache head that would be worn in the annual Fantasy in Lights Parade in downtown Wheeling, WV. We had six weeks in which to design, build, and paint our heads. The students did a great job on a project that took a lot of time, sweat, and energy. Here is a slide show of our project from it’s start and right up to the parade. This project was created at West Liberty University.

Oglebayfest Artist Market 2011

Kyle Hallam and Robert Villamagna

This is the fourth year in a row that I have exhibited at the Oglebayfest Artist Market at Oglebay Park. For my wife, Chris, and I, the best part of this festival is that it is located right here in Wheeling, WV and only a mile and half from our house. Our friend Kyle Hallam, ceramic artist supreme, from Greene County, PA , did not do the Artist Market this year. However, Kyle did come up Saturday to spend the day with us at the fair. Another good friend, fiber artist Susan Levi-Goerlich of Columbia, MD, was unable to make it as well. We missed having Kyle and Susan as house guests this year.

From left: Artist Patricia Croft, Chris Villamagna, Susan Hogan, and the clay ninja, Lambros Tsuhlares.

The weather for Oglebayfest was the best I have ever seen……74 and sunny on Friday, 76 and sunny on Saturday, 80 and sunny on Sunday! Wow! It just does not get any better than that! And all that wonderful weather really brought out the people.

Bright, blue skies all weekend!

My booth at the Artist's Market.

Chris and I have a difficult time leaving an art fair without making a few purchases from fellow artists. We picked up a couple tankards from Lambros and a great pot from Arron

Clay artist Aaron Anslow with our new addition.

Our Anslow pot just before we decided to take it home.

Exhibitors Tim and Suz Pisano from Pittsburgh.

Booth of Pittsburgh watercolorist Jan Portnoy.

Lambros and I toast the weekend while trying out the new tankards he made.

It was a wonderful weekend with artist friends, visiting friends, seeing former and current students, good sales, fried potatoes, and beautiful weather sandwiched between two rain-filled weekends (Whew!) Just wish we could bottle this weekend and open it up every October!

2011 West Virginia Juried Exhibition

For 30 years the West Virginia Juried Exhibition has been held at the State Capitol complex in Charleston. Four years ago the biennial exhibition began to “travel”, first to Morgarntown, then to Huntington. This year it is in my own backyard, the Stifel Fine Arts Center in Wheeling. The number of works entered in this years exhibition was 450, an all time high, with 72 pieces being accepted by the jurors. I am always excited and honored to have my work included this exhibition, and this year two of my works were included. Several of my artist friends from the Wheeling area….Cheryl Harshman, Nancy Tirone, and Herb Weaver…..also had works in the exhibition. In this post I am giving you just a taste of the 72 works in the exhibition. I hope by seeing the some of the works in my blog that you will be encouraged to visit the Stifel Fine Arts Center and see the exhibition in person. The exhibition runs through January 2, 2012.

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Wheeling Arts Fest

Entrance to the Wheeling Arts Fest.

After a year in the planning, the Wheeling Arts Commission presented the first Wheeling Arts Fest. This showcase of art, music, theatre, and spoken word, was held in downtown Wheeling, WV, on and around the campus of WV Northern Community College. In my view, Arts Fest was a huge success!

Susan Hogan spent the early morning hours spraying the streets and sidewalks with the Arts Fest footprint!

Early morning set-up for the Artist Market.

For this first year, all spaces in the juried Artist Market were FREE! An optional tent rental fee. for those artists who did not own their own booth, was the only charge. I believe there were a total of 18 Artist Market booths, with several booths being shared by two artists. Eric Price, a former student of mine at West Liberty University, shared a space with me. This was Eric’s first time at presenting his work at an art festival.

Robert Villamagna and Eric Price.

One of Eric's bobble head sculptures.

Watercolorist extraordinair, Marilyn Phillis, and her palette.

The Marsh Wheeling String Band, one of several music groups performing throughout the day.

The Wheeling Arts Fest logo was created by West Liberty University student, Victoria Lavorini.

Chris Villamagna and one of her favorite authors, Keith Maillard, who was speaking in conjunction with Arts Fest.

The Artist Market.

At the wheel is ceramic artist, Paul Latos, along with some of his work.

West Liberty University international students stop by to say hello!

Rollin' Smoke, one of the food vendors, was quite popular.

Lambros Tsuhlares, aka Clay Ninja, demonstrating at the wheel.

By the end of the day, Lambros had created a table full of bowls!

Author Marc Harshman signs a book for a fan at the Spoken Word tent.

Central PA Festival of the Arts 2011

Wonderful weather, visiting with friends, and seeing new art. Those were the best parts of this years Central PA Festival of the Arts. My wife, Chris, and I have had the same booth space….B-8….almost every year since 1996. This year Chris surprised me with B-8 stickers that also included my website address. It was fun passing them out, and a great conversation starter with both the public and other artists. Sales of my work, while up from 2010, were hardly profitable. That being said, I’ll share with you the good parts of the four day experience, letting my photos tell the story.

Enjoy the slide show!

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Making of “Hunting Aliens”

The following series of photographs were taken as I was building the piece “Hunting Aliens”. The work is printed metal and brads on a birch panel; size is 24″x32″x1″. Thanks for your interest!

The idea for "Hunting Aliens" was sparked by the image of a duck hunter on a metal sign that I picked up at a flea market.

Using a Sharpie, I made a rough sketch of the layout directly on the panel. The automobile and the flying saucers were the first shapes I cut. I moved them around on the panel to get a feel for the look I wanted.

Chris and I had recently been in Sedona, AZ, and that landscape stuck in my head. A huge contrast to our WV hills. I cut out "Sedona-like" rock formations for my landscape.

Cutting out the hunter for his new environment.

Playing with the main shapes of the composition.

Deciding on the mid-ground portion of the landscape, which would be green foilage.

Foliage in place, and begining to create the foreground.

Continuing the foreground, plus I created a shadow for the automobile.

Ground work done, I begin to work on the sky.

Closing in the sky portion of the composition.Introducing the first alien and saucer.

Additional saucers are now in place and this piece is close to completion.

As a finishing touch I add the gunfire, and finish nailing any lose pieces.

"Hunting Aliens" completed!