OTHER PEOPLE'S WORK #1

I've been alluding to a secret "Big Project" for awhile now, something that's been forcing me to postpone my own work.  It's no longer a secret:  I'm moving.  I'll be relocating soon--just haven't set the firm date yet.  Since I've lived here for decades, you can imagine the level of sorting, packing, and disruption this will cause. 

It will be quite a while before I'm able to take time to implement any creative ideas of my own.  So I thought I'd show you some wonderful work other people are doing.  I'm intending this post to be the first of a series.

Let's begin with
Jon Cummings
of Cambridge, MA and Newfoundland, Canada.  Among his many other talents, Jon created these mad, wonderful sculptures from found objects. 

Click on any photo to view the complete piece (only partial thumbnail photos are below) and see its title and price.  Some pieces are not for sale. 
If you'd like to contact Jon, you can do so at:  617-448-3079

"AS IF GOLDFISH COULD SING" - NOT FOR SALE

"WIDE AWAKE" - $750

"THE DISCONTENTED AIR CADET" - $200

"HER HEADDRESS WOULD SOMETIMES REMIND HIM OF HOME" - $200

"IN BED WITH BAD MEMORIES" - $200

"HAVE YOU HUGGED YOUR CHILD TODAY?" - NOT FOR SALE

"IMPOSTOR" - $200

'HE NO LONGER DREAMS.' - NOT FOR SALE

"THE MEETING AND MATING OF THE BULL AND THE BIRD" - NOT FOR SALE

"SKIN AND BONES IN LOVE" - NOT FOR SALE

"ROCKET GIRL #1" - $200

"MIA, 1914" - $200

"THE LAST OF THE ROCKET GIRLS" - $200

"QUEEN OF THE JELLYFISH" - $750

How did I discover Jon?  First, his wife is a member of my rug hooking group, the Wooly Bullies.  In fact, it was Jon who suggested the name for the group 15 years ago.  Yes, we are named after that incredibly stupid song of yesteryear by Sam the Sham and the Pharoahs.  In case you need to hear the song, here it is.

Second, Jon used to share studio space at Joy Street Studios in Somerville, MA, with a close friend of mine.  When he cleaned out his studio, he left some of his work behind since he didn't have room to store it.  He put some of his pieces on the walls of my friend's woodworking shop.  I love the results from the way Jon has taken found objects and put them together to form these crazy sculptures! 

And because I'm not kidding when I say his work is "up" on the walls of my friend's shop, let me note that it's WAY WAY up on the walls, so I had to shoot these photos from underneath.  That accounts for the angle AND for the dust--they're up so high they haven't been dusted recently.  They aren't shown to their best advantage, but we do what we can, right?

And now a few thoughts on sculpture...

I say that the art of sculpture is eight times as great as any other art based on drawing, because a statue has eight views and they must all be equally good. (Benvenuto Cellini)

Sculpture occupies real space like we do... you walk around it and relate to it almost as another person or another object. (Chuck Close)

When you slow down enough to sculpt, you discover all kinds of things you never noticed before. (Karen Jobe)

A great sculpture can roll down a hill without breaking. (Michelangelo)

I would like to carve my novel in a piece of wood. (Georges Simenon)