Finished!!

I am back in Chicago after an intensive week putting together and installing Bration and Cutoff. I am so ecstatic about how the entire week played out. I had a few minor opportunities to deal with, but overall had a fantastic experience I will never forgot!

I stayed the whole week with Tom Scarff, curator of the Odyssey exhibit, who dubbed his home Art Camp. I shared the house with a number of other sculptors and we had a great time sharing meals, stories, ideas and feelings over the course of the week. Art Camp provided a chance to discuss happenings in the world (past, present and future) from an artist's perspective. Tom was a gracious host claiming he had a Georgian (the country not the state) house and to help ourselves. Thanks go out to Tom for his hospitality and for recognizing the passion I have for this art and giving me a chance.

Tom's home is on the beach in Michigan City, IN. It's a wonderful retreat from the city complete with an outdoor shower and hot tub, both steps from the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. It provided a calming landscape to come home to after long hours welding, grinding, and drilling – not necessarily in that order. Listening to the waves when I woke up each morning before the sun, helped to calm my nervous anticipation of how the day would go and hoping I remembered every detail or tool from my studio in Chicago. His home is also sans Internet connection and cell phone reception, which allowed me to really focus my energy to the art that was being created each day

The week ended with a tribute to the artists of the Odyssey exhibit of the last ten years. I was fortunate enough to be included in this group of amazing sculptors who have provided so much life to not only the campus of PNC, but also the campus of the entire world. You could feel the buzz and excitement in the dining room after the visual presentation of the more than 100 sculptures that called PNC home over the past ten years.

I am indebted to Terry Karpowicz for the use of his awesome Miller Trailblazer (gasoline powered welder), but more so for his experience and "know how" that helped me through the week. He was very supportive, quick to offer help and gently gave me pointers with a smile and superb sense of humor. He has amazing passion and energy for sculpture and I learned so much from just watching him. I hope to be able to work/learn form him in the future.

Pictured are (top left) Cutoff and (bottom right) Bration. I snapped these photos quickly, but they give you an idea of what I did last week. I will go into more detail when the weather is less beautiful and I'm drawn indoors...