studio photos

Angela Cunningham

Angela Cunningham

HyeSeung Mariage-Song and Jacob Collins

Arturo Garcia starting a still life painting

Happy Holidays!

Studio photos

More photos from around the studio.

Jiwoong Cheh teaching the Ecorche class

Carol Broman


Patricia Stratton


Elisabeth Ehmann

Instructor Camie Davis with Ken Salaz

Around the studio

Here's some more photos from around the studio last week. Also, for all you artists who spend all day with your ipods: here is a link where you can download an hour of free music to brighten your work day! This DJ set was put together for American Apparel stores by Luke Reynolds of Pictures And Sound & includes songs from M. Ward, Jenny Lewis, Fleet Foxes, Ratatat & M83.


Josh LaRock


Sculptor Mark

Chris Rigney's son came in for a visit the other day and jumped right in the routine

Philip Salamone


Instructor Edward Minoff with Lauren Sansariq

Ken Salaz

Jacob Collins

Will St. John awaits a worthy chess opponent . ..

Studio EIS report

Last night the reception at Studio EIS was incredible! The studio is huge and full of life sized figure sculptures. It's a little creepy being surrounded by all of them because they seem so alive. Right now they are in the middle of a very large military commission, so there are about 30 life sized soldiers in uniform and in very scary fighting poses. Standing among them felt like being in the middle of a battle.
GCA scupture teachers Jiwoong Cheh and Chris Waddell both work at Studio EIS as part of a team of artists. Each project is usually a collaboration of at least three different artists. For example, one project started with a real human skull found at Jamestown. A forensic specialist took the skull and re-created the human head according to the specific bone structure of the skull. Then Cheh took that head and used it as reference to create a more life-like portrait with emotional expression in the face. Other artists worked on the body, hands, and painting/detailing of the figure. The pose of the figure was chosen according to the age and health of the skull and other information available from the Jamestown archeological research. The teenage boy was portrayed stooped below a heavy load on his shoulders, working hard but looking up with a face that expressed the determination and hope of his youth.

I am not able to post any photos of the studio's commisioned pieces for legal reasons, so I can only share these few shots of Jiwoong Cheh's personal work.


Life sized portrait of Barack Obama

A collection of plaster casts from Cheh's sculpture projects

this one is about 6 inches tall


Here is one project we saw that I can post photos of. This commission was recently completed for Abraham Lincoln's summer cottage. It is a life sized bronze piece, you can read about it and view a slide show at these links.

After the reception we went out, where we were all very civilized, and not late for class the next morning. go team!

Travis, Rebecca, Nancy & Jacob

Brook, Me, Justine, Angela

Reception for Cheh & Chris tomorrow night

Tomorrow night (Thursday 12/11) GCA sculpture teachers Jiwoong Cheh & Chris Waddell will be at Studio EIS for a Behind-the-scenes viewing of their recently completed work. StudioEIS is a 3D design and fabrication studio with clients in the US, Europe and Asia. Studio EIS has been the leading force in the design and production of museum figures worldwide.

Please join us for a Cocktail Reception Celebrating the Completion of Three New Projects:

The National Infantry Museum, Columbus, Georgia

Educating the American Public on the Role of the Infantry in American History

Designed by: Christopher Chadbourn & Assoc. Inc.

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington D.C.

Written In Bone: Forensic Files of the 17th Century Chesapeake

Designed by: MFM Design

James Madison's Montpelier, Orange, Virginia

James and Dolley Madison, A Bronze Sculpture Commission

Sponsored by: Robert H. Smith

December 11, 2008 | 6PM - 8PM

StudioEIS
55 Washington Street, Suite 400 Brooklyn NY

DIRECTIONS

Corner of Washington and Front Streets, Dumbo BKLYN

#A to High St. #F to York St. and #2, #3 to Clark St.

blog buzz

Atlanta Art Gallery group show

Artist & Blogger Pat Aube Gray has written a very nice review of the recent Atlanta Art Gallery show - Jacob Collins and the Water Street Atelier. Click the link above to read her review. Also to see the images we have online from the show, you can go to the picassa album.

Visiting Christies

Christies Auction house is only 5 blocks from GCA and this week there were a bunch of great 18th / 19th century drawings & paintings there. These are some (unprofessional) photos I took the other day.


A cast drawing by Thomas Eakins when he was a student in 1869!




These drawings were done by Lilian Wescott Hale (1881-1963) She was the sister of Robert Beverly Hale, who was curator at the Met & teacher of artistic anatomy at the Art Student's League before he died in 1985.

Joseph Henry Sharp (1859-1953) Aspen in Twining Canon

Childe Hassam (1859-1935) , 5th Avenue Evening

Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902) Mont Blanc

Andrew Wyeth Race Bridge

Andrew Wyeth Cider Barrel

A Rediscovered Archive of Spanish Drawings: The Academia de San Fernando de Bellas Artes in Madrid

These 18th & 19th century academic drawings from the Academia de San Fernando we found on art historian Micah Christensen's blog. I've only posted 3 images here, so you should go to beardedroman.com to check out the rest & read about them.

The entire archive can be found online at the Biblioteca Universidad Complutense Madrid website.

The Academia de San Fernando de Bellas Artes was founded in 1752. Based in Madrid, it was one of several art academies in Spain (other cities with academies included Barcelona, Valencia, Zaragosa, and Seville). By the mid-nineteenth century, the Academia de San Fernando had become the dominant art academy in Spain and the model for art education throughout the country.

Anonymous (Spanish, c. 1890) Desnudo masculino en pie y de perfil apoyado en una vara. Graphite and pastel on paper. 61.9 BY 47.9CM. Colección de Bellas Artes, Universidad Complutense, Madrid.

Anonymous (Spanish). Colección de Bellas Artes, Universidad Complutense, Madrid.

G. Ponman (Spanish) Female figure from a Greek Relief Sculpture or Figura femenina (copia de un relieve griego). Pencil and pastel on paper. 62.9 BY 47.7CM. Colección de Bellas Artes, Universidad Complutense, Madrid.

As in Paris, students in Madrid’s arts academy studied, on average, for four years. Some went on to receive scholarships and study at the Spanish School in Rome. (Established in 1873, the Spanish sent winners of an annual competition on the equivalent of the French Prix de Rome.) Students at the Academia began by drawing from castes of isolated portions of statues. Then, they were allowed to study from full statues of classical origins, either from castes made of the Spanish Royal collection or from collections in Rome or Paris. Advanced students, were allowed to study from live models, who were often placed in the poses of classical statuary or from scenes in Old Master paintings. As the century progressed, classical poses increasingly gave way to more natural poses and depictions of the human figure.

Doing the turkey limbo

At the thanksgiving pot luck & limbo last wednesday, there was fierce competition under the pole. Greg Mortenson won the bendiest award.


Greg Mortenson (Limbo Champion!)

Leah Aron

Lauren Salm

Sarah Sarchin

Mason Sullivan

Making plaster casts

First year students have been spending a lot of time with these feature casts - practicing drawing, modeling, block-ins & sculpture from them. Last week we took our clay sculptures we've been working on & learned how to make our own plaster molds & casts. It's more complicated than we thought! It takes some patience & precision to mix the plaster just right and make the mold before the plaster solidifies.


Carla Crawford's clay eye, with the plaster cast we've been working from next to it.


Lauren Salm making a plaster mold of her ear


Sarah Hodges plastering up her nose


Instructor Chris Waddell working with Victoria Herrera


Ashley Howell cleaning out her ear mold


Remi Cardenas & Neal Esplin removing a finished plaster mold from the armature


Me & Carla bringing back the art of knitting