Journal Postings: Jeremy Holmes
| (02/21/09): New Installation at Hoffman Lane Bistro |  I proposed to do a project at a popular restaurant in Cooperstown, I installed this about 3 weeks ago it has given me some good local exposure and is a good lead up to my solo show in Cooperstown April 3rd. I called this What if Rivers Were Above Us? It is about 30 ft and hangs from the cieling.
I have been working in my studio the last 2 months while also working part time doing fine woodworking, it has given me some great practical skills, everything is going great in the studio, and I am excited for my show. |
| (02/21/09): New Installation at Hoffman Lane Bistro |  With me new camera I bought with the fellowship money I am able to capture the whole installation with a fish eye lens, otherwise it would have been impossible to see the whole sculpture. |
| (02/21/09): New Installation at Hoffman Lane Bistro |  a view from below. |
| (01/14/09): Fluxus Friday |  My great friend Benjamin Ayers who is a senior Sculpture major a Purchase College invited me to a show at the Neuburger Museum. I had five pieces in the show along with his work and a few other sculptures from other students. It was a great event and really nice to show in such an artsy setting as Purchase is. |
| (01/14/09): Work at Purchase |  A little more going on. |
| (01/14/09): Work at Purchase |  I started to really twist and torque a lot together just to see what would happen with more going on. I am learning a lot through these smaller works, and am going to start to work this type of busyness into larger installations on walls, ceilings and everywhere else. |
| (12/04/08): Blink Gallery at Saratoga Springs |  November was a very busy month for me, completing three different art openings in a month, the first opening was on Nov. 1st at Blink Gallery in Saratoga, NY. The opening was really fun and everyone was very enthusiastic about my work. It was a solo show in a small gallery about a restaurant, I had 10 pieces and 3 large installations, using unique spaces with-in the gallery. The photo to left is the main gallery space, where I installed ribbons of mahogany and ash, and complimented the space with 5 smaller sculptures. |
| (12/04/08): New Work at Saratoga |  These sculptures I made in my studio in Cooperstown NY for the Saratoga Show. |
| (12/04/08): New Work at Saratoga |  Clear finished sculpture. I like the simplicity that I am working in, and am coming up with a lot of places this idea can go. |
| (12/04/08): New Work at Saratoga |  Painting the edge on this pieces really makes it stand out, and I am going to continue to experiment with different, painting techniques and finishes. This work is the first time I have really introduced any type of color into sculpture, so I am excited to take advantage of different stains, dyes and coloring techniques that I learned at Anderson Ranch this summer. |
| (12/04/08): New Work at Saratoga |  Another Piece |
| (12/04/08): Hallway Installation at Saratoga |  This was the first time I did an installation above a hallway, it came out really well, and had a really nice feel as the viewer could walk down a have it above them. I kept the piece a natural finish with a black edge to add accent. It was assemble at the site, and bolted together to make one long piece. |
| (10/23/08): Updated Plan |  I have moved back to Cooperstown NY to help my father in his woodshop, and to make my work for upcoming shows. His shop has been a great asset and I have been able to set up a studio in the basement of our house temporarily. I have had very good luck lining up shows around the upstate NY area, and now have 5 art shows in the next 5 months, including 3 in November. I have decided to take the rest of my resources from the Fellowhip and completely focus on these shows. The shows are planned at these places and dates:
Nov 1st Feast Gallery. Solo. Saratoga, NY.
Nov 7th Newburger Museum. Group. Purchase College, NY.
Nov 14th Wip Works Gallery. Group. Winsor, NY.
Jan 15th Blink Gallery. Group. Boulder, CO.
April 3rd Cooperstown Art Association. Solo. Cooperstown, NY. |
| (10/23/08): Milling Process I Use |  I wanted to show the process I use to mill up my material for the recent sculptures. I have tried a few different processes but this system works the best. Here is the wood that I bought at Wightman's Lumber, it comes planed on both sides. |
| (10/23/08): Un Touched Boards |  The wood I use before I start |
| (10/23/08): Milling Process |  I plane one edge and then rip the correct width on the table saw. |
| (10/23/08): Milling Process | | Planing |
| (10/23/08): Milling Process |  Joining One Edge |
| (10/23/08): Milling Process |  After the wood is Joined on one Edge and cut on the Table saw I then rip the wood on edge to 5/32 inch from both sides on the table saw. |
| (10/23/08): Milling Process |  After I cut both edges on the table saw, I bring it to the band saw to finish the cut. I can't just use the bandsaw which would be ideal because it doesn't cut straight enought to be consistent, cutting the edges on the table saw give the bandsaw a clean guide. |
| (10/23/08): Milling Process |  Here are the pieces after I resaw them on the bandsaw. |
| (10/23/08): Milling Process |  Next I use the Planer to smooth the other side and thats the end of the process. |
| (10/08/08): Anderson Ranch Arts Center Class Review |  With all of the techniques I learned, the people I met, the place I was living, and the art that I made; Anderson Ranch was a life changing experience. I took four classes in 6 weeks with a one week break in the middle. Each class was very unique and the teaching styles very different. I was able to really absorb a lot of different woodworkers and sculptor’s ideas, plans, way of life, and survival skills as artists. Most of the time I was the youngest artist in the class, which was beneficial to learn from artist who have been doing it for so long. The classes were The Alchemy of an Idea with Erika Wanenmacher, Tangible Histories: building form through accretion with Barbara Cooper, Sculptural Woodturning with Betty Scarpino, and last was a two week Sculpture Intensive with James Surls.
I have attached the some of the finished work I completed at Anderson Ranch. |
| (10/08/08): Thin Mobius |  Made in the sculpture intensive. |
| (10/08/08): Hanging Mobile |  Made in Sculpture Intensive |
| (10/08/08): Wall Piece |  At Anderson Ranch, I focused on scale because I knew I had to send everything back to NY, this really made me think differently about space and the line quality of each piece, everything became more detailed. |
| (10/08/08): Tight blue knot |  I learned to use pipe bending as another way to make tighter bends in the wood, it is a heating system to bend wet wood over a hot pipe. |
| (10/08/08): Contained Tension Spiral |  I used a base here to keep the ends secure rather than attaching it back to itself, this is a very simple step, but I think I am going to incorporate solid wood pieces in future work. |
| (09/24/08): James Surls Studio Visit |  Surls studio was inspiring in itself, he just had a new building built by his home in Missouri Heights; and it was big, really big. He showed us the shop and his plans he has for finishing it, he had everything he could ever need for making sculptures up to 30 ft in size. He said he didn't plan for his work to get any smaller, so why not make it fit any idea he could come up with. He had a spot for shooting his finished work, and just a beautiful overall shop. |
| (09/24/08): James Surls Studio |  Completed parts waiting to be finished with a dead flat finish he uses, which I have started using on my work too. |
| (09/24/08): James Surls Studio Visit |  James is describing his process to the class. He uses an over beveled hatched to carve these pieces of basswood. |
| (09/24/08): James Surls Studio Visit |  His chopping technique was a series of light horizontal chops all the way down the piece, and then would chop vertical to remove the wood. It was interested to see him do it so fast and with such confidence, he's made 1000s of them so I guess that makes sense. |
| (09/24/08): James Surls Studio Visit |  He explained to us how he makes models to show his potential buyer, and how he makes editions of the models to give away and sell to friends. Here he showing us a model that he made in the shop. He works a lot with the local foundry to do his bronze casting |
| (09/24/08): James Surls Studio Visit |  The part that I really liked was seeing his gallery space. When he built his first studio he built the space to show his work must larger than the space he had to work. I found that amazing, because I find too often great art is thrown in storage. He was able to display it after he was complete, to show others, but to also reflect on for himself and really see what he created in a gallery setting. Genious. |
| (09/24/08): James Surls Studio Visit |  More of his work installed. |
| (09/24/08): James Surls Studio Visit |  I really liked these hanging pieces. |
| (09/24/08): James Surls Studio Visit |  More art of his. |
| (09/24/08): James Surls Studio Visit |  We were there for over 3 hours, and our last discussion was about staying original in your own work. Because once an artist developes a style that is popular, and people want that art idea and keep wanting it, it is hard to change because the audience is so receptive to that particular style. If the art is selling it is hard to change, because it might not be as sellable as the original style. I thought it was a very valid conversation because some artist get stuck doing the same thing for years. |
| (09/15/08): James Surls Studio Intensive |  I am now in the beginning the second week of James Surls two week intensive. Surls is originally from Texas, but now lives locally south of aspen in a town called Missouri Heights where he has his studio. He makes really interesting work with organic and plantlike flowers made from metal and carved wood. The class has 11 people total, everyone working in different materials, but most working in metal or wood. I have been continuing my ideas of bending, twisting and joining thin wood strips together, finding new ways to use the material and am now hanging pieces from the ceiling like mobiles.
As a class we have been having dinners at different classmates local houses, allowing me to see some of the beautiful places in Aspen. Tomorrow we head to James house for a studio visit which I’m excited about because he recently had a new studio build this year.
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| (09/14/08): Sculptural Woodturning |  This class with Betty Scarpino ran from Aug 25 to the 29th. I haven't
done much turning at all, so this class was a great intro to
woodturning, with a good grasp on ways to use it in non-traditional
ways. In the class we turned green and dried wood, then cut them up
to carve and shape different forms. I made 4 projects in total, and
felt confident at the end of the class about turning skills, and
different finishing techniques. We used milk paint for most of
coloring aspects, pigment/water combination mixture paint, a paint I
had never heard of.
The class was made up with all older men and women, most of which were
retired and now are hobbyists. It was great to be in a different age
group than I am used to, and got to know everyone on a personal level.
Anderson Ranch bring such interesting people, it has been a real
benefit to talk with so many artists |
| (09/14/08): Group Photo |  Barbara Cooper's Class. |
| (09/14/08): Arches National Park |  After Sculptural Woodturning I had some time off before my final class started, so I took a trip to Arches National Park in Utah for 3 days. We hiked, biked and camped in Moab, where the landscape is so drastically different from upstate NY where I'm from. We took some great photos and I found a lot of sculpture in the rocks there, being out west is such a great time. |
| (09/14/08): Arches National Park |  Balanced Rock |
| (09/14/08): Arches National Park |  Sunset with the rock sculptures |
| (09/12/08): Sculptural Woodturning | | This class with Betty Scarpino ran from Aug 25 to the 29th. I haven't done much turning at all, so this class was a great intro to woodturning, with a good grasp on ways to use it in non-traditional ways. In the class we turned green and dried wood, then cut them up to carve and shape different forms. I made 4 projects in total, and felt confident at the end of the class about turning skills, and different finishing techniques. We used milk paint for most of coloring aspects, pigment/water combination mixture paint, a paint I had never heard of.
The class was made up with all older men and women, most of which were retired and now are hobbyists. It was great to be in a different age group than I am used to, and got to know everyone on a personal level. Anderson Ranch bring such interesting people, it has been a real benefit to talk with so many artists.
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| (09/11/08): Tangible Histories building form through accretion |  My Second week at Anderson Ranch was a class with Barbara Cooper. She works with layers of veneers that are glued and stapled together, I really enjoy her art, and the process that she uses. The class was challenging and demanding, it was structured to use recycled materials in an additive way, something that was very new to me. I decided to use paper cups in one project that are thrown away at the Ranch. I cut them up in a spiral way, and then used staples to attach hundreds of these different shapes together. It was a very fast and smart way to get ideas out quickly and cheaply. I was hesitant at first because I didn’t think it was a material I wanted to spend a lot of time with, but it turned out that a lot of different layering ideas came out of it, which are very applicable to my current body of work. Barbara also showed us a lot of slides of contemporary artists working with similar additive processes, something that really helped me because not knowing other artists works has always been a drawback for me.
Outside of class I have been doing a lot of mountain biking and hiking, the Snowmass/Aspen area is full of things to do. Every Thursday there are free concerts on the ski mountain in Snowmass, and Aspen has free concerts every Sunday, which have been a lot of fun. I have found a good balance of art and leisure here, even though most of my time is spent in the studio. Being from Upstate NY, it is really great to be out in Colorado within the mountains and beautiful landscapes.
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| (09/11/08): Paul Soldner Studio Visit |  I was able to go to Paul Soldner's Studio in Aspen. He is a famous Ceramic sculptor who was one of the original founders of Anderson Ranch. He had built hand his house back in the 50s and has made art there ever since. He has his own gallery and a lot of his work displayed at his house, just an inspiring place in itself. Gave me ideas of building my own home and studio. He is over 80 yrs old now, talking to him was pretty hilarious, because he is quite the comedian and would never give you a straight answer, but it was a great experience. |
| (08/15/08): The Alchemy of an Idea |  Installation Photo |
| (08/15/08): Anderson Ranch Auction |  I donated a piece to the Ranch for a weekly auction they have to raise money and it sold for more than I imagined. It was exciting, and I also sold another piece as a result of that. Things are going well. This is a piece in progress, I have started to incorporate color using milk paint, this piece will get that too. |
| (08/15/08): The Alchemy of an Idea, 1st week at Anderson Ranch | | I just finished my first week at Anderson Ranch today. Very inspirational, motivated week, and am getting encouragement that makes me feel like I can make it as an artist. I took a class called The Alchemy of an Idea with sculptor Erika Wanenmacher, we became friends quickly and she really helped me a lot with where my work is going. The class was very open and I was able to make some ideas I have wanted to get out. I am working with ash wood and continue to experiment with the bending possibilities. I am now starting to make finished pieces, which is very rewarding. This type of artist community is full of people excited about what they are doing, and I feel I fit right in. I have been meeting a lot of great people and am glad that I am here for 5 more weeks. Colorado is gorgeous and I feel at home already. This photo is a temporary installation that I put on the lawn for an end of the week critique, everyone seems to be really receptive to what I am doing here, and many people come and talk with me at my studio. Life is good. |
| (08/05/08): Sodus Art Bank Residency | | I recently completed a Residency at the Sodus Art Bank in Sodus, NY where I studied with retired RIT Sculpture professor Bruce Sodervick. Sodervick is a painter, sculptor and a boat builder, working with him was truly inspiring, and is knowledge of multiple materials and critic was extremely beneficial to my work. At the residency I had my own apartment and own studio which gave me space to really develop multiple ideas during the 4 week period. There were five other artist involved in total all of which were mostly twice my age, which gave me a real chance to hear different art experiences. Everyone there was real excited about my Windgate Fellowship and my opportunity to start at such a young age, something that they wish they could have done straight out of school.
I experimented a lot with wood twisting and bending using new methods of soaking and steam bending. I built my own wood steamer, which allowed me to really manipulate different thicknesses of wood. The wood would turn into a noodle really, and then I would clamp them onto a form, but mostly just to a table after I wrestled the long lengths into abstract forms. After learning the limitations of steaming and soaking I began to really develop ideas of incorporating the new learned methods into my own sculpture. Using mostly ash I would attach the different abstract wood pieces together using bolts into endless twisting forms in both 3 dimensional spaces and on the walls.
Twice a week the group of painters and sculptors would meet. On Mondays we would meet to have a critique in each artist’s studio. They were some of the most useful critiques I had ever had; Sodervick would always have a very encouraging and thoughtful input. On Wednesdays one person would present their past work in a slide show and we would spend about 1 and ½ hours talking about the work and where it was heading. Both of these days I suggested doing, to get a better group dynamic and use each others different artistic backgrounds. It was very successful and now the residency plans to continue the same format for future residencies.
Outside of woodworking I was exposed to bronze casting at the residency. I made two finished pieces and really enjoyed the process. We used a simple method of carving out of epoxy sand blocks and then pouring the bronze into the carved blocks. Bronze is so expense, I’m glad my true material is cheaper and more readily available.
Overall this residency was my first studio time outside of school and gave me a great real life artist experience. I am excited to keep going. At the end of the residency I was asked to keep a piece I installed as a permanent installation at the Sodus Art Bank. It was a real nice honor.
After a week with family, on Friday August 8th I travel to Snowmass Village to attend Anderson Ranch School of Arts for 7 weeks. I will be taking 4 classes including The Alchemy of an Idea with Erika Wanenmacher, Tangible Histories: building form through accretion with Barbara Cooper, Sculptural Woodturning with Betty Scarpino and a Sculpture Studio Intensive with Instructors James Surls & Tai Pomara. I am really excited to get into the great studios at the Ranch; and meet all of the different artists that I will be working with.
I have also been working on my website which is HolmesArts.com.
The image to the left is the group I worked with at the Sodus Art Bank in front of the permanent installation I have there.
Thank you Center for Craft, Creativity and Design for giving me such a lifetime opportunity as the Windgate Fellowship.
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