Newsletter, blog - Paula Zima.com-

This was the second year of the big gap, (see 2007 for the first year!)

The year started off with less snow than the year before, which was nice, snow gets to be kind of difficult if it hangs around too long. This year it was just enough to be pretty.

I started working on a new large sculpture of a frog. The mold of the previous one had been damaged beyond repair during our move. I was thinking I'd like to to make a new one anyway. This one was to be named "CAL" by the people who had requested the first of the edition of 4.

My usual way of starting a sculpture is to open my sketchbook and start playing with the form. I also like to reasearch what the actual critter looks like, and then modify, simplify, and goof around with realistic form.

When it was time to start the sculpture, I ordered a nice sized chunk of blue sculpting foam and some oil based clay. After the foam was basically shaped like a frog, I put clay on top of it and started refining the form, here is Cal in the clay. He is about 25" tall, and 30" long.

Look here to get a better idea of the process of creating a bronze sculpture, the only difference is that it shows a piece being worked directly in a water based clay, instead of using the block of foam as the armature.

Cal was cast at the Houser Inc. Foundry just down the road from where we are living. It's a beautiful clean well run foundry, on the grounds of the Allan Houser sculpture compound. The finished"Cal" is quite handsome if I do say so myself.

During this time Tom and I would get together with an old friend that just happens to also live down the road,
Jim Alford, a painter, as well as a teacher. We were talking about gaps,
or slumps, or how does an artist, me in particular, get that passionate feeling going stronger.

Jim asked me what I'd suggest to someone else, or a student who might be in a similar situation. My answer was "I would tell them to start drawing."

Later I showed him one of my recent books, that I'd finished and colored with watercolor. He sent me home with a gigantic roll of heavy white paper, photographic backdrop paper, about 9 feet wide. (Jim's own work is a combo of beautiful photographs of clouds, and airbrush and the computer.) suggesting that I start painting on it, enlarging some of my sketches. We all need friends to give us a push now and then.

After experimenting with brushes, and inks and paints, I settled on black semi -gloss outdoor house paint, and used regular acrylic paint for the colored washes. The first one used the entire
nine feet width of paper, so it is about 7ft. tall by 9ft. wide. I did about 15 large sketches.

Then my dear friend Jim suggested that I go back to oils, but keep the feeling of the big sketches.

The first one that I've started is on canvas, about 24"x 24"- based on a sketchbook page from a trip to Portugal a few years ago. I went with a girlfriend, Sheryl, to a riding school to learn more about classical dressage.

After our work, we'd venture out to explore Lisbon, I saw my first real castle. These older gents were playing cards around a solid limestone table, on stone benches, next to a large stone wall. The feeling was of an age old pastime, in an age old place.

I have several going right now, not finished yet. But, it feels at last that I'm out of the fallow stage and the seeds are developing into strong young plants.

See you in a while!- Paula

Feedback? Questions?

Talk to me!

Thank you!

Sept

For Peace Day on 21 September...
I will check my thoughts for peacefulness. What will you do? Visit www.peaceoneday.org