Bluebirds of Happiness

While at the Celebration of Fine Art  in Scottsdale, Arizona Ken Newman is working on six new sculptures. 

Every other week we will post an update on one of these sculptures. 

Bluebirds of Happiness, Bronze on Heart Rocks

New Female Figurative - Bronze

Run Free - Maquette for Monumental - Bronze

Frog - Fruitwood

Trout -Brazilian Mahogany

Kenworth Truck - Walnut  (Yes, he is still working on this one - plans to start silver leafing soon)

The first is the Bluebirds of Happiness - Inspired by a conversation with an individual who bought 50 pieces of art

featuring bluebirds for his 50th Wedding Anniversary. He loved Ken's work and suggested he consider sculpting

something with bluebirds. This fall, while in Tennessee we enjoyed watching two bluebirds, resulting in this sculpture. We have been collecting heart rocks for years - marrying the bronze to each 11 stones will be challenging.

Pre-Cast Bronze and Rock

The special "pre-cast" offers on the first 3 sculptures only are $3250, Initial Retail $3850

 (This is a small edition of 11)

Let us know if you are interested!  Sizes vary - 9"H x 10"L x4"W

1/2 down plus tax, balance and shipping due prior to shipping, estimated packing/shipping $40.

Delivery late Spring or Summer, or if you need it for a special day-let us know :)

To see this sculpture in person, visit the Celebration of Fine Art in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Visit our new website at Ken Newman Sculptures

When the mold is destroyed - Well Worn

• 

  Well Worn - Classic Patina

A couple weeks ago we sent notes out to clients who purchased Well Worn over the last several years. The 22 sculptures and 2 APs reside in states from California to the Long Island Sound.  Before we make a last wax of the sculpture for digital enlargement for a monumental sculpture in the future, we asked our clients which part of the mold they would like to receive.

Here are some of their comments:

• Congratulations on selling your last piece, I have a request.. As I have two boys I would like to give each of them one arm, if others do not request them.  via New York

• I am very much enjoying having Well Worn in my home so do many of my guests. If possible I would like the left boot. via Arkansas

• Thanks so much for thinking of me,  1, Boots, 2. Head, 3. Hands, 4. Arms, 5Legs, 6. Crate, 7. Back, 8. Stomach. via Texas

Well Worn - Blue Jean Patina

• We would love to have a piece of the mold, let us know which piece you have for us. via Virginia

•  Left Boot, Left Hand in that order. via California

• Excited to receive a piece of the mold, number 1 Head, via Washington State

• I specifically like the shoulder and neck area which is what initially drew me to the sculpture, But I also enjoy the strong shoulders and arms, The back and the head are also nice. The hands holding the shirt are a reminiscent sight I have seen many times. Just love the detail on the boots, ok, ok I love the entire piece!  via Idaho

• We thought we might enjoy a shoe from the mold, if one is available. We've never had the opportunity to select a piece of the mold before! Thank you. via Arizona

• How about the shirt?  via California

• I want the crate! via Utah

When we are ready to make the last wax for the digital enlargement, the first step of the monumental process, we will photograph the process...watch for updates in September.

At a 10 week show, you need to feel like you are at home. 

Visit us at the Celebration of Fine Art in Scottsdale Arizona.

Cory's Corner: Celebration of Fine Art

Cory's Corner: Celebration of Fine Art

Check out this link, Last year video's by Fox 10 News in Arizona at the Celebration of Fine Art featuring the artists in the NW corner of the tent!

Cory is heading back out today! www.celebrateart.com 

Wyoming Cowboy Joins National Artists at the Celebration of Fine Art in Scottsdale, Arizona | PRLog

Tom Lucas - Featured artist at the Celebration of Fine Art

Wyoming Cowboy Joins National Artists at the Celebration of Fine Art in Scottsdale, Arizona | PRLog

The Celebration of Fine Art - A Writer's Words

Ken Newman Sculptures

You can almost always tell when Ken is working. You can hear his hammer and chisel throughout the tents at the Celebration of Fine Art in Scottsdale, Arizona.  Without the noise to make it seem real, you might mistake Ken’s work as ancient, Druidic magic.

Although he works with bronze, too, you can tell Ken’s a woodsman.  He’s always busy with his hands, feeling and seeing beyond the known and revealing the unseen in the wood. He’s a wood whisperer of sorts.

Trying to describe what Ken does with or to the wood is somewhat difficult. He exposes the art in the wood.  He liberates the story that lies within the wood. He removed what is not necessary to reveal what is vital. Actually, describing his work is easy; realizing how much time, energy, patience, commitment, and persistence he invests into each piece suggests the true meaning of the man. He’s one of a kind.

Precipitous Drop - In Progress

Ken finds pieces of wood. He stacks them, stores them and sometimes turns them upside down. Ken has X-ray vision; he sees what no one else can see. With a spooky intuition developed through years of experience, Ken knows what the inside grain will reveal. Of course, wood work being what it is, he also knows how to adopt, adapt and improve his designs as he works. After all, that’s the secret of life, isn’t it?

Precipitous Drop - Completed

When he is finished – after months of work, hundreds of hours, and untold interruptions – Ken uses natural oils to tenderly heighten the beauty of the wood in order to direct the observer’s eye to the intricate maze of action and meaning. Whether it’s a fluffy bunny hiding behind a prickly cactus or an otter darting to the surface to snatch its supper, Ken’s sculptures are truly awe-inspiring.

Certainly, you realize when you see the sculptures that Ken’s talent is extremely rare; but the message of his work resonates deeply, too; No matter who a person is, no matter the person’s shape or size or gender or color, true beauty lies within. No matter what other people think about the “outside” what lies “inside” is what truly matters.

1.75 Sq Ft of Forest Floor

With Ken and his partner (his official storyteller) who can recount, almost to the hour, the how and when and where and why of each sculpture, its evolution from forest floor to mirrored stand. She surrounds him with an aura of sorts, like a wood nymph guarding a priest performing sacred rites in a secret grove.

In addition, Ken’s retriever seems quite satisfied as his master uses the most ancient and simple tools to liberate the art from the wood. Undoubtedly, a game of “catch the stick” ends differently at Ken’s house. To Ken, a convivial conservationist no stick is simple a piece of wood. It has potential, full of rich art.

By John Pinkerton, Arizona

Thank you John for putting your words on paper... we look forward to seeing you at the Celebration of Fine Art in Scottsdale, Arizona. 

The Celebration of Fine Art - Scottsdale Arizona

January 14-March 25 (Ten Weeks)

10am-6pm Daily

New Studio #227

New Tent Location - 101 @ Hayden Rd- South (Big White Tents)

Wood and Bronze Sculptures

1 Lab (Emma)

100 Working Artists

Sunshine Galore!

Visit us in Scottsdale at the Celebration of Fine Art!

         Location Map for Celebration of Fine Art

If you wish to use GPS, the nearest registered address is 17700 N Hayden Rd, which is about 1/2 mile south of our location. You’ll see our big white tents!

• Hours: Open daily 10am to 6pm
• Parking: Is FREE and on-site
• Tickets: $10.00 for adults and $8.00 for seniors and military. Children under 12 are admitted at no charge.

Note: your Celebration of Fine Art ™ ticket is an all-event pass, good for all 10 weeks of the show and sale.

The Beginning - Walking the Wood

Debbie’s View-The Beginning

Preface: Ken and I met back in the early nineties, he was finishing a custom home and had convinced the buyer that an exterior sculpture would be a great addition. They decided on eagles and he spent several months creating two life-size eagles from redwood perched on a spiral exterior staircase with an eagles nest. I met him for lunch frequently on the site and during those times we planned for a future in art. I was a resort manager with business and marketing background, we both had children in their teens.  We created a rough outline of a business plan with goals and expectations and as soon as the boys were off to work and college we sold the house, ventured to Idaho and began our journey in art.

Nesting Eagles - Truckee, California

As Ken begins a new wood sculpture, I look at the raw form of wood with so many questions. I have learned (and continue to be reminded) that it’s better to keep quiet and just watch the subject emerge because there are no answers, only exploration. So quietly I photograph the sculptures in various stages and angles. Don’t let anyone tell you that there are only four sides to wood or a sculpture.  Just when I think I found the best angle of a sculpture, another emerges. Remember, it is all about exploration.

There are no concrete plans when Ken begins a sculpture, he may do rough sketches of an animal, sometimes he just jots down abstract lines in his workbook and other times the only sketches that exist, are in his mind. 

Over the years, I have begun to accept the fact that each sculpture is a journey and are a reflection of his life experiences and only when he’s done will I begin to understand the full impact of the statement he creates within each artwork.

Prior to sculpting, many hours are spent late at night with what I call “Walking the Wood”.  Ken           investigates the wood, (remember they are raw forms, not blocks) aged and weathered with cracks, character and sometimes other organisms.  Just as a surgeon studies and evaluates a patient, it’s amazing to watch him patiently work the wood, probing, cutting, following the growth patterns, and knots.  Through this process he identifies the structure in the wood, its weakness, strengths, discovering its possibilities and potential. At the same time, he is researching intimately the animal’s characteristics, measurements and its habitat.  Ken’s visual memory of animals, along with books, specimens, calipers, pencils and sketchbooks are nearby as he continues “Walking the Wood”.

Next blog… as Ken begins the subtractive process Debbie gets out of the way when the chips begin to fly...

 Debbie

One Star to Good Sam Emergency Road Service –Not so Good Sam

Traveling in an RV can be challenging when you have an 1100 mile Road Trip.  You can be prepared – but things happen.  While making our way south for the winter, we noticed sparks out the passenger window on the 5^th wheel, okay actually Kenny noticed the sparks- yes the sparks were on my side and I should have noticed them first!  It was about 7pm and we were 20 some miles south of Lund, Nevada on a lonely stretch of Hwy 318. We were about 15 miles short of our planned rest-stop for the evening.

The flat was on the right side, so we pulled off the road as far as possible on a two-land highway and called Good Sam Emergency Roadside Service.  It was Saturday evening so we were hoping for a quick change before it got too late and too cold. Lows were expected in the teens.

Lance answered our call at Good Sam's and once we figured out exactly where we were (Our Garman GPS is wonderful). Lance assessed our emergency situation; we had a couple options, a change using the spare or a replacement tire. The replacement tire through a Goodyear dealer was 150 miles away, we considered this and Lance got a price of $425 for someone to come out and deliver it.  We then decided it was more important to get off the road, so we chose to just go for the change.  Lance went to work finding us someone.  After about an hour, we got a call back telling us they apologized for the delay, but they thought they found someone in Lund who could come out and once they confirmed the rate they would call back.  

Lance called back 45 minutes later apologizing that they couldn't find anyone, no one would come to our aid.  They had called the Highway Patrol – tired calling several people and no one could come until morning.  Ken asked what happened to the guy he had mentioned earlier, but Lance just stated he was very apologetic, and his supervisor informed him to tell us we were on our own,  if we found someone Good Sam would reimburse the cost.

Well, as you might imagine that didn't go over well on our end. Ken asked for his supervisor, he said he would put us on hold, and Ken said no, just put her on because she was the one that made the call to leave him stranded on the road in the middle of no-where.  He asked if it was okay to mute the call and she would be right on – a couple minutes later Phyllis came on and Ken asked how they could leave him on the road with semis in the middle of nowhere. She said, they had exhausted their search in finding help to change the tire and if he could find someone Good Sam would cover the cost. Ken asked her how she thought he would be successful at that when they weren't, it was now almost 10 pm.

 Ken explained our situation on the road and let her listen to the semis roaring by.  She said she was sorry. Then Ken explained that we have been paying for Good Sam Emergency Repair Service for years and if he went out there and changed the tire and there was any kind of incident, Good Sam would be liable for the damages, injury, etc.  She was sorry but there was nothing she could do. Then Ken asked if he could request a tow since he was parked partially on the highway.  She then said, "So you want to change this from a tire change to a tow", he said yes. She said she would put in the request and someone would call back.

Well, wouldn't you know it, Lance called back within 15 minutes and said he found someone outside Lund (20 miles away) he would be there in the 20/30 minutes to change the tire. In the meantime, Ken went out to check the damage, apparently a short 2x6 board from a semi lodged between the frame and tire wearing the tread completely off the rim. 

When the repairman showed up about 10:45pm, he said he would have been there 2-1/2 hours ago, except that the Good Sam never called back to authorize the work. The caller (Lance) had to check with his supervisor and she declined.  The repairman quickly got us back on the road. We even followed him home and he allowed us to park in his pasture overnight. We dropped the trailer there, while Ken headed back to Ely to get a tire. The repairman said there was a tire shop that had a weekend number for emergency service. On Sunday, after several hours we were back on the road – with a new 10 ply tire $240… 

***** Five Stars to Gardner's Garage of Lund Nevada for your great service and the extra mile you took to help us get back on our way- You are some special people! Thank You!

***** Five Stars and special thanks to Gale Oil and Tire, a Goodyear dealer in Ely, Nevada for opening on a Sunday morning.

* One Star to Good Sam for telling us there was no one willing to help us and not being completely honest with us about the repairman in limbo 26 miles away… the One Star is for the Good Sam operator Lance who tried his best!

Checking Attendance

This commission, started after conversations with the client. Those conversations generated six sketches with my thoughts related to his connections with his dog. The client chose the sketch below. His lab had passed; he provided several images and left me to create a piece of art.

Ken Newman Sculptures - Sketch

The idea was inspired by a video sent to me by a collector of Forever Ready.  It was of his lab in its’ last months. There was a split second that brought back a flood of memories of my old friends, for me it was the true spirit of the lab. I have always encouraged my dog to walk in front of me unleashed. It fosters confidence in our relationship.  In that video it was a dog that walks in confidence, although the walk showed signs of struggle, it never failed to stop or hesitate to turn and check on the welfare of their friend.

Ken Newman Sculptures - Attendance Study

The small lab study above was done in order to define the foot posture before enlarging the sculpture, which is about 10% larger than life.  The client approved the final clay in May and the bronze casting process is complete.

Taking Attendance - (c)Ken Newman Sculptures

The client agreed to let me bring the sculpture into inventory, the edition will be 11. To see the completed sculpture stop by Signature Gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona of visit me at the Celebration of Fine Art in Scottsdale this winter.