Thanks to Teri Barnett slash Esprit Design I was able to place three of my large pieces at a business in downtown Southport, IN. Although one has been hanging out for quite a while two were just delivered to there new home. Here they are before they got loaded for the trip.
I recently was able to do a billboard image through Indianapolis Arts Council and Clear Channel. The program is called High Art, you can see images from other artists in the current rotation here. You can also find out where my vinyl is currently on display from that link also. The image you see was shot in its first location on South Madison where East Street splits off on the south side of Indianapolis, but don’t look for it there anymore because it has moved.
Menu, a digital collage
The last few months I have been working on and off on some bronze castings, one of which is an astronaut on a rock. It is part of a series where I am exploring monuments, trophies and markers, not necessarily in that order.
The casting process is laborious if you are doing it all yourself. First you need to create the form. For the astronaut I started off with a plaster cast relief, a left and a right. For the rock, I used, well, a rock. Next you need to make a mold, I made a rubber and plaster molds for each piece, the rock was a two piece mold. Of course I had to do this project as a multiple, so for each piece, (left, right, rock), I next had to make a wax positive, this is essentially a wax casting of the finished piece. Then you sprue and gate the pieces. This is a process of channels that allows the metal to flow in and a way for the air to come out, think no voids I the final piece. Of course you can hang multiple pieces on each of the Spurs and gated mold to be cast. Next you dip the sprue and gated positives in a ceramic slip, then coat with sand until it’s about a quarter of an inch to three eights of an inch thick. Next you melt out the wax in a kiln or with a heat gun and your half way to finished, because after you pour the metal the work begins.
That work entails cutting the sprue and gates off of your finished pieces, grinding, lots of grinding in my case. Then I get to figure out how to assemble them. Here I went with screws, nuts and bolts, I could have welded… Next we polish and polish some more and we get to the step where we patina the final assembly. I went with a traditional brownish tone. Then you can polish it up a little more to add some depth and finally apply several coats of wax.
That’s all there is to it! Ugh.
Marathon Man is strutting his stuff at the Indianapolis International Airport. Here he is at the install looking good. Get up close and personal, snap a photo if you’re in the neighborhood, #marathonman, #floydwanblee.
One of the wonderful things I was able to do while working on my MFA was to get to print letterpress. You will find some of these prints under the heading “Printed Images”. I’ve divided these up into books and wall works. I’ve also included some of the post cards I started printing as linoleum blocks. These images show up in some of the other printed material as well as some new cut blocks.
These pieces are not strictly letterpress. These works are complex, printed and reprinted adding layer upon layer using a combination of inkjet, letterpress, block printing and in some cases drawing and painting.
One of these prints is shown here. This piece is entitled OPEN and was photographed in my studio at the time.
floyd.wanblee@gmail.com
Shot in my studio this piece is entitled open
Well I’m in the process of redoing my website, (i.e. update after much neglect). I’ll be posting pictures soon from my installation at EFAC, the Harrison Center Gymnasium and most recently Gallery 924. I also was included in a group show at IU Bloomington and an unusual installation piece for me in Budapest, both of which I will put something up for. Another exciting thing for me is the introduction of a new character I lovingly call Grumpy Fish. I like to think of him as a cross between Muddy Mud Skipper and Eeyore. You can take from him what you will.
first rendition of Grumpy Fish getting some much needed sun
Orange You Glad I Didn’t Say Banana was the title chosen for the installation of works I recently presented at Herron School of Art. This was part of the the Show of Masters Candidates for Fine Arts Degrees from Herron School of Art. This photo was taken from the entrance to the EFAC Galleries on IUPUI’s Campus, before the opening.
Knock, Knock…
I’m trying to get caught up on some of my neglected activities now that I am out of Grad School. One is to post pictures from some of my recent shows. This picture is from the installation “Orange You Glad I Didn’t Say Banana”. The installation relied heavily on the use of abundant window space, it was shot from outside the Gallery entrance, look for more images soon!
Detail from “Orange You Glad I Didn’t Say Banana” installation.
I recently worked on a series of books/boxes. This is the largest of them. The campfire used in this piece is cast out of aluminum and stands about 14 inches tall. The box is approximately 24 inches square and 4 inches tall when closed.
This campfire is cast in aluminum
This shot shows the inside lid.
Close-up shot with the “Activity Book” open
This is “Buy a Box of Happiness” open for display.
I currently have a piece in an exhibition at the Harrison Center for the Arts in Indianapolis. The show is entitled “Bookmark” and is put on in conjunction with the Herron Art Library. Here is a link to a short video from the opening: http://tinyurl.com/9qau3s7. More information about the Harrison Center is here: http://tinyurl.com/8fbzgve. My piece is titled “Gravity“; it is a folded postcard style book. Each image in the book has a short thought or description that precedes it.
angwywabbit.com 