Inspiration

Ancient Wisdom is a bronze sculpture that I did in 1988,  She was inspired by the night sky bejeweled with stars.

I had this idea and really, really wanted to make the sculpture.  So, I first made her in clay.  It took every last penny to my name to have her cast in bronze.  I just knew it would be fine to spend the money and have her cast.  Every thing turned out to perfection.  It's a long story but she was sold within two weeks and I had enough left to have a second one done.  That's what happens when we follow our knowingness.  I love this sculpture and am so happy that I listened to my inner voice that said, "Go for it".

I am forever grateful for the inspiration I felt to create this piece.  

Art Lesson that Rocks - Poetry in Motion

“Poetry is lofty thought or impassioned feeling expressed in imaginative words” 

www.dictionary.com

The poet within us speaks from a place within that we hold as extraordinary and symbolic.  It expresses the dance of life and our relation to it.  Well,  I never knew how beautiful a shell could be until I began to draw it in pen and ink.  In class we were asked to use several different styles available to the process.  I chose to use the six in the drawing below.  The exercise seemed simple enough at first.  Just draw a shell using pen and ink.  As I began to draw the life of the shell began to speak to me.  It held the patterns of an eternity and yet it was absolutely unique.  The pattern of the Golden Mean made curves and turns that captured my attention in a most unusual way.  The shell began to dance in my mind and we became “friends”.  It was poetry in motion.  So I suggest that if you sit quietly and begin to focus your attention on nature, the dance of life may just begin to fill you with the poetry in motion. Enjoy!

Art Lesson that Rocks - The Phoenix

The Phoenix is a sign of change, rebirth and new beginnings.  Well, I certainly experienced that when my sculpture of Tara, the Buddesatva of compassion, long life, healing and serenity, just fell apart before my eyes.  Wow!  I had worked on her late into the wee hours of the morning for days and there she was, lying in pieces.  I have to admit  that I had never done clay sculpture before and didn’t know the basics of preparing a piece for firing.  Especially a three foot high, dense, and heavy piece.  So, I would suggest that when working on a new medium, get help if you need to.  On the other hand, my life completely changed after Tara fell apart.

Yes, it was for the better.  Everything began to shift and change like sand beneath my feet.  I am ever so grateful and even though it seemed like a mistake at the time, I can now see that the falling apart, meant that I would come together again.  All new and excited about the change.  So if you think you’ve made a mistake or goofed something up just know that sometimes it is just a sign of new horizons to come.

Enjoy the journey!

Art Lesson that Rocks - Golden Mean

The Golden Mean 

Let's start this out with a some dynamic video

This is absolutely one of my favorites

A movie inspired on numbers, geometry and nature, by Cristóbal Vila · Go to www.etereaestudios.com for more info about movie · Music by Wim Mertens - "Often a bird" from the album "Jardin Clos", 1996 - © Usura - Published by Usura 2010 

And Now a Disney Cartoon from the 1950's

Donald Duck gets taught about Pythagoras, sacred geometry, and the fibonacci sequence!

Walt Disney being a 33rd degree free mason puts his knowledge in plain sight in this eye opening cartoon!

I was first introduced to the Golden Mean in an advertising design class in Eugene Oregon.  The beauty of it all took my breath away.  Something that was everywhere, common and yet so amazingly genius.  In the videos you learned about the golden ratio.  In art it is also as common as water.  People are naturally drawn to designs that incorporate the Golden Mean.  Yes, it's big in the advertising world.  Even a playing card is a golden ratio. I suggest studying the subject as much as possible and you'll see the magic of it all around you!

One aspect that intrigues me is the Mind or Consciousness behind the mathematics.  How does a flower know to grow in this sequence, or a sea shell or the that matter even our own bodies?  It must be a frequency or a code.  Like the genetic code.  The ratio is passed on from generation to generation and yet no two are exactly alike.  It is a living treasure with a mind and a focus.  Now contemplate that and let me know your thoughts.  Happy Drawing!

Art Lesson that Rocks - Role Models

The Flintstones Daily Comic Strip Original Art - Artist Gene Hazelton

 Hanna-Barbera Artwork: Crossing the Delaware - Artist Gene Hazelton

The definition of  a role model is:  A person whose behavior, example, or success is or can be emulated by others, especially by younger people.

As a child I was “wowed” by Gene Hazelton.  Micky Mouse, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Fantasia and all the magical Disney characters were amazing to me.  Gene Hazelton began as a cartoonist for Disney and I wanted to be just like him.  He was my Dad’s first cousin and he could not only draw cartoon characters but animate them.  My first drawings were cartoons and they were inspired by Gene.  We just never know who and how are lives may touch another. He had a huge influence on my child mind and I know he stirred the desire in me to begin drawing.  I am forever grateful.

Gene Hazelton

News From Me by Mark Evanier

Published Saturday, April 9, 2005 at 5:53 PM
“Sorry to report the recent passing (I don’t know precisely when) of the great cartoonist, Gene Hazelton, whose career stretched from Fantasia to Flintstones. Gene was born in 1919 and by his teenage years, he was a good enough cartoonist to get a job assisting Jimmy Hatlo on the popular newspaper panel, They’ll Do It Every Time. In 1939, he took a low-level job at Disney and set some sort of record for working his way up to gag man and animator. He animated the goat kids and cherabims in Fantasia and a number of sequences in Pinocchio.
When a strike was called at Disney in 1941, Gene moved on to other studios, including Warner Brothers where he did the main designs for the legendary short cartoon, Coal Black and De Sebben Dwarfs, directed by Bob Clampett. He also began doing a lot of magazine gag cartoons and commercial art.
Gene spent many years working with Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera at MGM on their Tom & Jerry cartoons and with Tex Avery on his highly-acclaimed shorts. When Gene Kelly wanted an animated sequence for his feature, Invitation to the Dance, Hazelton designed the “Sindbad the Sailor” sequence. There were also commercials and commercial jobs: The animated titles for the I Love Lucy TV show were also designed by Gene Hazelton — one of many such projects he handled for the studio.
When Hanna and Barbera started their own studio, Gene was a key artist in the establishment of its style and the development of the early H-B programs. He is often credited with the main design work of certain important characters, including Pebbles and Bamm Bamm. (It is said he based the image of Bamm Bamm on his own son.) Beginning in 1961, one of his main duties was to supervise the production of — and occasionally write or draw — the syndicated newspaper features of The Flintstones and Yogi Bear. Around 1974, he took over the writing and drawing of both strips full-time, doing them until 1988. (The distinctive inking on them was usually the work of Lee Hooper.) Following his retirement, he drew many of the Hanna-Barbera “sericels” that were sold through animation art galleries and also did some teaching, but his main interest became his golf game, which he honed until illness forced him to quit.

Gene was enormously well-respected by his peers and by many younger cartoonists who cite him as a personal and professional inspiration. I’m sure there will be more obits and tributes that will list his many other impressive credits. I’ll try to link to them as they appear.”

Art Lesson that Rocks - Grow Your Dream

I imagine that my thoughts are like a beautiful flower.  First the seed is planted

watered and nurtured. Before long roots begin to take hold in the soil and 

green shoots pop up in the sunlight.  Everyday I water my little plant and watch 

it as it grows.  I notice new leaves and the buds begin to form.  One day I

awaken to find that the seed has grown into a magnificent plant.  It's all 

dressed up with flowers and the aroma is intoxicating.  I'm in absolute joy.  

Everyday I tend to my drawing and lend to my growth. One day I awake and 

my dreams have grown and blossomed.  The roots are strong and deep.  The

lesson is to never give up.  Just love your dream, stay with it, and one day you 

will be in full bloom. Remember that every drawing begins with one single dot.  

It is like the seed and from that starting point, you can create anything!

Hazelton Art Works Website