I am happy to report that my work will be featured Art Biologic, a juried exhibition at Hudson, New York’s Limner Gallery focusing on art inspired by nature and biology. The piece that got into this show, The space cadets flap their wings in three-part harmony, came together from a variety of sources, including manipulated anatomical diagrams, a vintage NASA poster, high resolution scans from dragonfly wings, and hand-drawn imagery.
The space cadets flap their wings in three-part harmony
I am happy to report that two of my drawings were accepted into the 34th Bradley International Print and Drawing Exhibition. This is the second longest running juried print and drawing show in the country, featuring 108 artists from around the world, so it feels particularly good to be a part of it. Here are images of the accepted drawings, both of which are mixed media works from 2009:
Feed the meat machine, mixed media on paper, 22” x 30”, 2009
Even cowmen get the blues, mixed media on vellum, 37” x 26, 2009
Just before Thanksgiving break, I attended the Nor’Easter Conference on Aesthetics and Practice in Cast Iron Art in Buffalo, New York. At the conference, artists Kurt Dyrhaug, Jeremy Entwistle, and myself had an excellent time presenting our panel discussion Collaborative Venture: Foundry Practice in the Age of Austerity. Besides other great panel discussions, this conference featured distinguished guest speakers, outstanding contemporary art exhibitions, and some truly impressive cupola furnaces, all of which left me looking forward to the next meeting of iron casting artists.
Last Friday, I took part in a collaborative iron pour with my sculpture students and Jeremy Entwistle’s sculpture students from the Fairmont State University Department of Art . This was my first time casting iron, and I was truly amazed at the way this process requires such intense teamwork and collaboration. We had excellent weather, there was great camaraderie among all participants, and everything went off without a hitch, so I definitely anticipate more collaborative iron casting in the near future.
With assistance from my class of summer sculpture students in WVU’s School of Art and Design, I helped Morgantown artist Jamie Lester create a life-size cast bronze German Shepherd sculpture for a memorial commemorating the canine heroes of 9/11. This memorial at Diamond in the Pines Park in Coram (Long Island), New York, pays tribute to the hundreds of rescue dogs that searched for survivors amid the debris from the collapse of the Twin Towers.
A ceremony was held earlier this month on the anniversary of the attacks to unveil the memorial to the public, and the finished work looks really fantastic. This was an incredibly challenging project, and it wouldn’t have come to such a successful resolution without the knowledge, effort, and labor put forth by my casting colleague Jeremy Entwistle and some amazing, long-distance metal casting consultation by sculptor Carey Netherton. Here are some images of the project, from start to finish.
More good news…this November, I will be participating in a panel discussion at the Nor’Easter Conference, Aesthetic and Practice in Cast Iron Art in Buffalo, New York. My colleague Jeremy Entwistle and I will be speaking about the collaborative foundry experience between our respective sculpture programs at Fairmont State University and West Virginia University. This conference has an amazing slate of speakers, artwork, and demonstrations, so we are truly honored to be a part of it.
My work will be on display in the upcoming exhibition Gallery Divided at the Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences of West Virginia in Charleston. Art faculty from West Virginia University and Marshall University will be paired together for this show, playing off the fierce rivalries between our football and basketball teams. The Charleston Gazette did a nice story about this exhibit which can be found here.
Here are some in progress images of two new forged steel text pieces. These works draw upon my knowledge of forging techniques to explore slang terminology, folk etymologies, and other forms of truncated language.
These sculptures began as elements of the steel matrix I used to make a series of branded woodblock prints and grew into two distinct forged steel panels. Now that these pieces are roughed out, I am going to spend time cleaning them up and figuring out how they are going to be displayed.
From June 8-10, I conducted live blacksmithing demonstrations as part of the Arts Alive on the River Festival at Hazel Ruby McQuain Park in Morgantown, WV. The festival featured a terrific lineup of visual and performing artists, top-notch musical acts, and fine local food and beverages. The weather was beautiful, the attendees were enthusiastic, and Arts Alive proved to be a resounding success. I had an awesome time demonstrating and I look forward to doing this again.
I am happy to report that one of my recently completed sculptures will be included in Forged, a group exhibition in Alexandria, Virginia, at the Torpedo Factory Art Center’s Target Gallery. 80 artists submitted work to this exhibition focusing on contemporary approaches to forged metal work, and only 21 total pieces were chosen, so I anticipate that this will be an excellent show.
Dylan Ethan Collins 