Posts Tagged ‘studio’
Letters from France
I am writing to you today from Chateau d’Orquevaux in rural northeast France. The chateau sits atop a hill overlooking a pond filled by crystal clear water from a canal that runs along the edge of the little village of Orquevaux. There are perhaps only 80 people in the village, plus the 20 or so artists that come every month to the chateau to work.
It is ridiculously beautiful.
Read MoreThe Story of Hempel Studios, Part IV
For the people who visit Our Lady of Mercy, the sculptures point us to the Divine. The Stations of the Cross illustrate the Passion. They don’t merely retell an historical event but attempt to uncover some of the deeper spiritual truths. The Virgin Mary is celebrated as the mother of God but also as a woman whose act of faith changed the world. Her husband, St. Joseph, stands as a reminder to fathers and husbands of the important role that God has for them.
Read MoreThe Story of Hempel Studios, Part III
In my image, St. Joseph sits in his workshop with his carpenter’s angle in one hand dropping into his lap. A hammer and nails on the floor remind us of Christ’s passion. Joseph has just heard word from the angel in his dream about Jesus, and he stares into his hand, “Me, a father? The Son of God?!”
Read MoreThe Story of Hempel Studios, Part II
Most people imagine the artist caught up in fits of passion, creating, oblivious of the needs of daily life. We picture the sculptor chipping away in a frenzy of artistic ecstasy. The most exciting part of creating art is indeed the conceptual phase at the beginning.
Read MoreThe Story of Hempel Studios, Part I
God gave me a vision of a sculpture that I had to make. I pulled out a pen and sketched out the image on an overturned piece of stationary. I drew an image of a woman, shown from the waist up. Her head and eyes turned dramatically to one side as her body twisted in the opposite direction. The visual effect was that of a spiral.
Read MoreA Tale of Two Aprons
put on my kitchen apron. My aprons keep my clothes cleaner, certainly, but they are important for managing that mental shift I make everyday from working artist to working mother.
Read MoreHow to Commission a Sculpture
Have you imagined commissioning a sculpture?
Let’s say your family, a church, or organization wants to commission of a work of sculpture, but you have no idea where to begin or how to proceed. Here I will describe the process that I use in my studio.
Read MoreThe Story of Kemp Hall and my friend, Johan, a Flemish Surrealist
Several years back, a group of artists were working in a wonderful building named Kemp Hall in Frederick, Maryland. I met my friend, Johan Lowie there.
Read MoreNewest Work: St. Vincent de Paul
Newest Work: St. Vincent de Paul
Read MoreYou Cannot Succeed Without Failure
It is a mistake to suppose that men [or women] succeed through success; they much oftener succeed through failures. Precept, study, advice, and example could never have taught them so well as failure has done. Samuel Smiles (1812–1904), Scottish author and reformer “You cannot succeed without failure,” or so they say. It is difficult to…
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