call to artists

oops

2010-01-24T13:09:00.000-08:00

I have heard that artist need to perfect their technique, i am not sure whether or not i have one of these but i do know that i seem to have the need to try something new.

I have worked with stone for many years beginning early with landscapes,walks walls water features and boulders, and have had the pleasure of working with a Japanese landscape architect.

I believe its there where i got my first sense of looking at stone in a different way. There is a peacefulness a strength and a presence that a stone in nature has, one that Japanese architects seem to use. Its that stone that i like to maintain in my sculpture, not to say i don't want to evoke other feelings , but i like to maintain the stones "soul" or natural presence as part of the overall feel. This seems to run in direct conflict with where this improving technique seems to be leading me.

It has always been a problem to say i am a stone sculptor because when i hear those words i think of someone who changes a stone into another item, like a animal or person or a smoothed overworked organic shape. I do however admire the techniques used to become a sculptor, and i believe its this admiration that drives me to try to carve deeper into the stone.

I believe that this is what is making this project feel so unnatural, i am trying to make a shape but yet i am falling into the middle of not wanting too and not having the actual technique needed. We will see where this goes but here are so pictures of where i have been.

2010-01-18T07:34:00.000-08:00

Day 3 of banging on this stone and creating dust, it has begun to be difficult to just cut without any real vision. It seems that this allows a lot of questioning of each cut and removes many of the natural ideas that come even when a plan has been made.

While searching for the words to describe my early work i came upon a good web site http://www.authenticpromotion.com/

There is a lot of good information here about how to promote your work and one of the steps in promotion is to describe your work .

When i look at some of the things I've done in the past and try to find a connecting thread i think descriptive words like : clean lines, simple lines, simple designs, symbolizing strength , age and peacefulness.

I have a good friend ( not sure he uses that term) Walter Matia http://www.matia.com/ who's

opinion i respect and ask for many times . He stopped by the other day and without me knowing saw this new stone. A perfectly nice stone ruined would be the gist of it. To busy was another comment. At this point , with this piece i agreed.

2010-01-15T14:33:00.000-08:00

The routine was the same but the weather has changed . Its much warmer today and some ideas have begun for the new piece.

It still escapes me how ideas come, this project seems a little different in that i have started with nothing but the stone . The stone is a rather hard limestone with lots of nice color hopefully i take better photos in the future. The beginning size was approximately 4 foot by 2 foot by about 6 inches thick, it was bought from jack Irwin stone in rockville and was meant to be sold as natural steps.

In the past i have had a definite picture in my head of what i wanted to do, either from seeing the stone or from finding the stone that fit the idea and for the most part they stay very close to the original idea. ( i would really like to thank the 100 + people who now own those sculptures and hopefully still like them) Most of those ideas came from ideas created during the process of making the previous one.

It has seemed to me that most artist seem to have some explanation to what they were trying to portray it is that explanation that i am now trying to explore in my work. I will consider the common feels or themes in my finished work and explore how they have evolved or not into a style that will come naturally in this new sculpture. ha good luck with that...

2010-01-13T05:22:00.000-08:00

Today started the same as most, wake up get coffee and get everyone moving, clean kitchen area and dishwasher, make sure everyone really is moving and then put coat and boots on and make another coffee. I call the dogs and we walk past the greenhouses and the shop into the studio and turn on the heat. the ritual doesn't stop there i pick up a little and look at stones in hope that they somehow scream something at me, then its back to the house to get everyone out and to school. I spend the time on the way back from dropping them trying to convince myself that if i just start banging something will come to me and hoping that i will get back down there. Back into the house straighten up a little and call the dogs again here we go , grab the i-pod. these are a few pictures of the are of my studio that I'm able to close up and heat and the rock that will be the next sculpture i hope. greenhouse and yard looking bare till spring

2010-01-12T10:16:00.000-08:00

it appears to have been along time since i wrote here, and it appears it was the last time it was cold and i was having difficulty coming up with ideas. It is hard to have the desire to be inspired and not get there. When the ideas are flowing there is no stopping them it seems and you seldom question weather they are right, good or important. Maybe when you produce a lot of work you get a lot of feedback which boosts your energy. Well that's not the case at point . It's winter and cold and the garden shop is closed, the greenhouses empty, my studio although poorly done is closed and semi heated but cold and lonely. Rock and stone is stacked and ready although buried in snow or frozen to earth. New tools and equipment are waiting having been purchased in a need of inspiration and a new book called "art and fear" has been read.

David Therriault - Washington, DC | Facebook

2009-02-24T11:23:00.000-08:00

David Therriault - Washington, DC Facebook

2008-12-17T09:53:00.001-08:00

Artist's Statement
I do not collect stones from nature for those stones have avoided man’s improvements for centuries. We would do well to just visit those stones and see them for what they are: the soul of the earth, something that our manipulations cannot improve. Let them whisper; it’s what they do.I find stones that have been stolen, asked to change, ripped, chopped, moved, and piled for consumption. I try to tell their stories which always end the same way: the sand turned to glass, the iron to liquid. All return to the rock they began with and all form the silent whisper of a soul unchangeable.That said, really I just like to bang on rocks and it gives people something to say that I do for a living.
David Therriault

moving forwards

2008-12-11T14:47:00.000-08:00

I attended a lecture that focused on how an artist would get their work shown by galleries. It was held at Montgomery College in Silver Spring and had some great panelist with some great ideas. I was happy I attended, but there was no magic bullet to be found. The bottom line seemed to be not to haul your stuff to galleries unannounced. They don't like that, it seems, and rejection can be so hard, say after the first 100. But to get yourself out there. Take time off from your work to do your work. So OK, now that we are going to stop working and work on promoting it, what do we do? Their suggestions were first to work on your portfolio, pictures, bio, artist statement, etc. These are the packages that you will send out to galleries or juried shows. OK, this is doable, become a photographer and an effective writer and make a package that appears to show how great you are. Their second suggestion was to network--take classes, go to lectures, go to gallery openings, etc., meet people, get your name out there, and then when you meet the right person at the right time, get them to promote you. Now I'm tired and feel like I've chosen some other career path. This could be a full time job and one that is outside my comfort area. If your successful at this (could take a while), then you could become part of the "art scene." You will know people, be invited to openings and shows, and hopefully be picked up by a gallery that would promote show and sell your art. The problem is they get 40% and they get to be more connected to the people who appreciate your art then you do. So how do you have your cake and eat it too? How do you control your art, promote it and show it and sell it and create enough interest that people find you. OK, this is when I show you why I would make the big bucks if I had a job.

Answer: Promote yourself and your art directly to the public. We spend the same energy on that as we would on getting a gallery and we should be good. What if we were part of a larger group of artists who all promoted themselves, would they get noticed, would the word get out?What if they got together for art shows and sales. Would that get noticed? I'm thinking, yes. I'd like to have an art show and I would like to form a network of artists to promote it. E-mail me! I'm in my studio working.

take time from work to do your work

2008-12-08T13:35:00.000-08:00

I find it interesting that it took an injury to get me out of the studio long enough to write a small blog. I've owned and operated a retail garden shop/studio for 20 years. It is and I have been successful with it in many ways. It is my passion, it is my life and besides my family, which it has given me time to be with, it is my comfort zone.

So what's the problem? I think it's human nature and I know it's David's nature to need constant approval and I have found that this is my driving force.

When I can see a customer taken in by the feel of this store, or my sculpture, when I see them leave the real world and just relax even for a sec, I get the reassurance that what I am making whether it's a sculpture or a store is reaching out and affecting the world in a good way.

I have found that I can immerse myself in this creation; that I can exist and be happy. I can feel what I'm doing is right, but unless I leave this comfort zone and somehow get my ideas and creation out there, I may never reach enough people to say I made a difference.

This blog is my attempt to leave my comfort zone long enough to reach out to others for the mutual need of approval in what they do by others and to get more people to attend "Dave's world."