3D Neonscapes by Russ RuBert
Don’t know why I like these two photos so much. Maybe it’s a little neon yin and yang? Maybe it’s because I just learned that the grill-shapes came from the eyes of Griff’s hamburger guy, who had eyes with hamburger grills in the middle. Russ has rescued a lot of vintage neon over the years, from old restaurants going out of business or getting demolished. He stores it...
Read MoreVisiting Calder and other inspirations
Yesterday we went to visit this sculpture by one of my very favorite artists Calder, the master of cool shapes. I read somewhere he said, “My fan mail is enormous. Everyone is under six.” Unfortunately we missed the big Obama rally that was held underneath the sculpture by just a few hours, because we were inside at the conference listening to the history of this piece and how it...
Read MoreMoving a Sculpture, or this weekend reminds me why I make quilts
We finally got back up to Omaha to pick up this sculpture purchased at the Bemis Art Auction last fall. It will be a fun Memorial weekend project to move it back home for our new sculpture garden collection. It’s very heavy and awkward to move — took six guys to drag it to the edge of the loading dock at the Bemis, before it could be lifted with a fork truck. Opps, lost a wheel. ...
Read MoreInternational Quilt Study Center and Museum
While in Lincoln, I was able to sneak over to the new International Quilt Center and Museum very early in the morning before the sun rose, because I had heard the new sculpture in front of the building was beautifully lit. The sculpture by Linda Fleming is called “Reverie” (daydream) is wonderful to walk around and through — lots of different viewpoints and even some matching...
Read MoreOlympic Sculpture Park
Sunday was a beautiful day in Seattle. The last sunny day, my friend Susan told me, for the next nine months, so a great day to tour the new Olympic Sculpture Park. It’s a zigzaggy park that switches back and forth, up and down over reclaimed brown fields surrounding the railroad that runs along Elliot Bay. Here’s one of Calder’s stabiles (as opposed to his mobiles.) Look at the...
Read MoreOut the Front Door: In Memory of Pat Renick
This morning someone left the front door wide open, so that when I got up for breakfast, a huge gust of spring air hit me full face. I felt like I was almost drowning in the glorious morning air. Strange that I should feel so invigorated, since we had been up the whole night before, driving home from Cincinnati from the memorial celebration for Pat Renick or “Mother Art” as...
Read MoreArt Teachers’ Association Tours the Studio
Last week really did turn out to be a scrabble to get ready for a tour we agreed to months ago. The Missouri Art Educators Association had their state conference in Springfield, and one of the professional development tours was to visit Russ’s public art and studio . The only problem was Russ’s metal-working area was still full of water-damaged stuff. Actually, I shouldn’t say...
Read MorePositronic Neural Net
This interactive installation is called Positronic Neural Net by Russ RuBert. The frames are fabricated aluminum filled with fragments of found neon that are wired to motion sensors, so that different segments of neon light up in response to people walking around them. We had about a minute to take photos with all the neon completely lit last night — after they are plugged in, the neon...
Read MoreActive Neon
All the neon is in place and wired into circuits so that different sections will light up as people walk around the sculpture. The color of the glass tubes does not necessarily foretell the color of the light. This blue glass becomes pink when lit, and white becomes...
Read MoreInstallation at Grounds for Sculpture
Today I thought of Liza Lou (she’s an artist with a huge amount of patience that we’re studying on the Ragged Cloth Cafe this month) as I peeled tiny bits of protective paper off tiny intricate parts that Russ has made for the neon sculptures. These brackets he’s designed will be installed on the metal frames. Here’s me installing the brackets on the metal frames....
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