Sunday, December 31, 2006

Whirligig Stand

 
Whirligig Stand, 55″ (140 cm) tall, electric conduit, mahogany, screws
 
 
I made two whirligig stands. There is a hook beneath the bottom wood disk from which to hang a weight, so they won’t blow over outside in a high wind. It also offers a way to show them inside. I made the stands tall enough so that the whirligig is at eye level or a little higher. This has the effect of making the whirligig and stand a definite physical presence, an object that commands a space of its own. Where an object is in the viewer’s field of vision - down low, at eye level or up high - creates definite emotion in the viewer. For example, something smaller than us, low in our field of vision, is more easily assessed as unimportant or not threatening than something higher up in our field of vision, especially if the viewer is not sure what the object is. Something else happens to the whirligig when I mount it on the stand. The way I happened to make the stand and the whiligig, they take on the appearance of an “apparatus” of some kind. I like this effect and I may be able to enhance the effect even more. Bonuses like these always happen when I’m developing an idea. It’s important to take advantage of them. The possibilities revealed in the creative process are endless. The hard part for me, at 63 years old, is to decide to which possibility I will commit my time and energy.
 
I haven’t decided what color to paint the wood disks, but I’m going to paint the conduit gray or silver.
Posted by Chuck in 20:40:05 | Permalink | Comments (1) »

Sunday, December 24, 2006

Whirligig #31

 
 
Whirligig #31, 24″ x 18″ (58cm x 43cm), pencil on paper
 
Whirligig #31 will have four oval blades and be vertically oriented. From the side the oval blades appear circular when projected in the plane of the encompassing vane or perpendicular to it. The blades are oval when projected on a plane 45 degrees from the encompassing vane. (This is one of those times when language fails miserably.) The effect is that the blades will appear circular to oval as they rotate through the vane depending on where the viewer is. I’m going to lighten the blade construction a bit. The axel and the hub will rotate together. The bearings will be in the housings to either side. I haven’t decided yet whether to disclose the details of construction for the hubs and housings.
 
If the few of you who visit my blog may be wondering, I’m not going to complete whirligig #29. It’s assembled, primed and it works, but it is neither visually successful nor mechanically elegant.
Posted by Chuck in 17:22:16 | Permalink | Comments (1) »

Thursday, December 21, 2006

Whirligig #30

 
 
 
Whirligig #30, 20″h x 15″w x 7 1/2″d (51cm x 38cm x 10cm), aircraft plywood, mahogany, metal parts
 
 
the new
Whirligig #30
with eye-defying
Triple Blade Action
and
Six Bearings
for smooth movement
Zypher Rated*
*blade movement in 2 mph breeze
 
For live action go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzNR98RORFA
Posted by Chuck in 22:50:40 | Permalink | Comments (1) »

Monday, December 11, 2006

More Whirligigs Coming

 
Plane for Whirligig #30, 24″ x 18″ (61cm x 46cm), pencil on paper
 
 
This whirligig, already well under way, will have three sets of rotating blades, the outer two sets going one direction and the center set going in the opposite direction.
 
 
Whirligig #29 being fitted with blades in the ultramodern Whirligig Design and Development laboratory.  That is my lovely assistant in the background.
 
Posted by Chuck in 05:19:04 | Permalink | Comments (1) »

Friday, December 8, 2006

Edna & Chuck Do More Drawings Together

 
Untitled Drawing, 29″ x 23″ (74cm x 58cm), charcoal on rag 2 ply Bristol
 
 
 
Untitled Drawing, 29″ x 23″ (74cm x 58cm), charcoal on rag 2 ply Bristol
 
 
 
Untitled Drawing, 29″ x 23″ (74cm x 58cm), charcoal on rag 2 ply Bristol
 
 

 
Untitled Drawing, 29″ x 23″ (74cm x 58cm), charcoal on rag 2 ply Bristol
 
 
Last Tuesday, December 5, Edna and I got together again in my studio to do some more drawing. We spent the morning developing some images from parts of that day’s work and last Tuesday’s work. In the afternoon we worked on four finished drawings on Strathmore 2 ply rag Bristol. The material we’re working with is black pastel, kneaded eraser, soap eraser and plastic eraser. Each eraser has its own character. The subject here is the black pastel and the kind of marks it makes and our response to each others marks. The Strathmore Bristol has a vellum (slightly textured) surface that accepts the pastel well and takes repeated erasures without scuffing up. Our way of sharing the work is sort of musical. One of us makes a mark(s), the opening theme, the other embellishes the preceeding mark or answers with another mark. Sometimes it’s a duet. In this way the drawing’s composition evolves. Sometimes an earlier passage needs subduing (erasing) or strengthening. The drawing’s melody tells us when we’re done. This is a lot like the tango: each of us has to trust the other in leading and following to make one dance.
 
We quit a little early and stopped at a neaby community college where all the buildings are fairly new and the walls mostly bare. We made some enquiries about hanging work. Folks we talked to hadn’t even thought about it, but were interested. Virgin walls!
Posted by Chuck in 03:52:50 | Permalink | Comments (4)

Monday, December 4, 2006

Whirligig #28 in Motion

For a look at Whirligig #28 in motion go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYGM_KJz5vM
Posted by Chuck in 19:16:30 | Permalink | No Comments »

Sunday, December 3, 2006

Rail Runner Windscreen Project - Downtown Albuquerque Installation

 
Transportation Theme (Downtown Albuquerque), 60″ x 88″ (152cm x 224cm), etched tempered glass
 
 
Transportation Theme (Downtown Albuquerque), 60″ x 88″ (152cm x 224cm), etched tempered glass
 
 
Transportation Theme (Downtown Albuquerque), 60″ x 88″ (152cm x 224cm), etched tempered glass
 
 
The etched glass panels have been installed at the downtown Albuquerque Rail Runner Express station. There are four panels for this installation and not six as for the eight other stations. For this site I used two sets of wheels, steam locomotive drive wheels and wagon wheels. I used the positive and negative images for each pair. At the time of the photo, the station walls had not been stuccoed nor the handrails fully installed. The blue tape is left from installation of the stainless steel frames for the glass. Compare these photos with my simulation entered Tuesday, June 20, 2006.

Posted by Chuck in 05:21:49 | Permalink | No Comments »

Friday, December 1, 2006

Placitas Artist Series Group Exhibit 2006

Tulip Variation #28, 40″ x 30″(101cm x 73cm), acrylic on polyester canvas
Another Bunch of Flowers
from
Chuck Dunbar
as part of a group exhibition
(Lisa Chernoff, Marilyn Dillard, Lynn Hartenberger)
at the Las Placitas Presbyterian Church, Placitas, NM
(7 miles east of I-25 on NM 165, exit 242)
Art work on display from December 3 to January 5, 2007
Call 867-5718 for hours
Las Placitas Artist Series invites you to attend
a reception and exhibition for the artists
Sunday, December 17, 2006
1:30 - 3:00 PM
join us at 3:00 PM for
Santa Fe Pro Musica
A program of seasonal music
Tickets may be purchased at the door or call
PAS Hotline 867-8080 for more information

see more of Chuck Dunbar’s artwork at
http://charlesdunbarartist.com

Posted by Chuck in 03:51:45 | Permalink | No Comments »