Boston Sculptors at U MA Lowell April 2 - 26, 2012

BOSTON SCULPTORS CELEBRATES ITS 20^TH ANNIVERSARY

Curated by Univ. MA Lowell (UML) professor Ellen Wetmore

Installation assistance by UML professor Jim Coates

Artist Reception and Gallery Talk with Gillian Christy: April 4, 5 - 7 pm

A Conversation with Nancy Selvage: April 23, 3-4:30 in O’Leary 222

Outdoor Exhibition continues through June 30

Lowell MA: The University Gallery at UMass Lowell is pleased to present a group exhibition of work by the Boston Sculptors. This exhibition highlights the variety of approaches to sculpture explored by 30 of the members and features an eclectic examination of materials and processes. The show includes works installed in the gallery and outdoors in the adjacent quad area. The Boston Sculptors is an artists’ cooperative whose founding members recognized in 1992 that there was a shortage of exhibition opportunities for sculpture in the Boston area. They set about to create more opportunities, in exhibition spaces, public galleries and in public art. What began as a series of conversations over dinner has, twenty years later, yielded two successful commercial galleries and numerous critically acclaimed shows.

Representative works from Massachusetts Cultural Council award-winning artists Laura Baring-Gould, Rosalyn Driscoll, Beth Galston, Mags Harries, Sarah Hutt, and Julia Shepley will be included as well as important works by B. Amore, Caroline Bagenal, Kim Bernard, Benjamin Cariens, Gillian Christy, Murray Dewart, Donna Dodson, Laura Evans, Sally S. Fine, Peter DeCamp Haines, Ken Hruby, David Lang, Michelle Lougee, Joyce McDaniels, Nancy Selvage, Jessica Straus, Marilu Swett, Dan Wills and Andy Zimmermann. Outdoor works are on view through June 30^th and include work by Andy Moerlein, Margaret Swan, Hannah Verlin, Joseph Wheelwright and Leslie Wilcox. This show is offered in conjunction with the yearlong activities throughout New England to celebrate the group’s twentieth anniversary.

Curator Ellen Wetmore is an established artist who has been a member of the Boston Sculptors Group for over eight years. She works with a variety of materials and media, including sculpture, video, sound art, and interactive environments. Ellen joined the UML Art Department faculty in 2008 and teaches foundation courses.

Jim Coates has taught sculpture at UML for over 30 years. He’s an established artist whose site-specific work revolves around an interest in shelter forms (primitive, modern and contemporary) and their ephemeral relationship to the natural environment.

The Dugan Gallery in Dugan Hall hosts a coinciding companion exhibition of sculpture by the B.F.A. students enrolled in the Spring 2012 Sculpture class working under the direction of Prof. Coates.

The University Gallery at UMass Lowell is coordinated by the Art Department and funded by the College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. Funding for the outdoor exhibition provided by the Lowell Cultural Council, a local agency, which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency. Additional funding provided by the Office of the Provost at UMass Lowell. All events are free, open to the public & handicapped accessible. Gallery Hours: Mon. – Thurs. 10 am - 7:30 pm, Fri. 11 am – 4 pm, Sat. by appt.

Stuff Moves: The Kinetic Sculptures of Kim Bernard

Originally published at: Boston Art Images Blog

the Paula Ogier galaxy of art

March 13, 2012 by Paula Ogier

Sculptor Kim Bernard demonstrates the Harmonograph

I visited the Boston Sculptors Gallery on a whim this past Sunday and was delighted to find Kim Bernard, the artist responsible for Stuff Moves, one of two exhibits happening there, overseeing the gallery that day and encouraging visitors to play with her installations. The spacious back half of the gallery was alive with eye-popping red balls — hanging from cables, topping off the ends of sticks and serving as the weights at the end of pendulums — but the star of the exhibit was movement. Bernard’s Stuff Moves exhibit is play, art, color, choreography and physics lesson combined, and part of its fun and refreshment lies in the viewer being allowed to physically engage with the installations. The result for me was a happy wonderment inspired by bright color, large scale wave-like fluidity, and the occasional surprise of motion taking unexpected turns.

She invited those of us in the gallery to take part as she introduced us to Harmonograph, a set of three wooden structures utilizing red balls for pendulums and a pulley string for controlling the up and down movement of an ink marker. The central structure has a top platform with piece of paper lying on it, and a pendulum that can be set into motion to make the paper gently move back and forth, up and down.

Sculptor Kim Bernard watches the Harmonograph's pen descend to the paper surface to make a drawing

When the pendulums of the two outer structures are pushed into movement, the viewer can lower the string holding the marker to let it create a drawing on the piece of paper. The effect on paper was highly reminiscent for me of the beloved Spirograph art toy of my childhood, except that in this case, once the pendulums have been set in motion, the forces of nature take over.

Bernard’s kinetic sculpture work comes from her fascination with movement and its basic laws. Another piece in the exhibit, Quantum Revival, was inspired by the Pendulum Wave, which she came across in researching pendulums.

Quantum Revival kinetic sculpture by Kim Bernard

Bernard first laid a series of hanging red balls into a shelf bin on the wall. As she released them all at once, we watched the balls take up an undulating pattern of movements, alternating between moving in sync, in waves, and in complementary step. The display was a lovely and seemingly choreographed dance.

“I certainly did not discover the Pendulum Wave,” says Bernard, “but rather ‘borrowed’ the idea to create a kinetic sculpture. Though I knew each pendulum needed to have an exact period, I did not know how to calculate the length to produce the exact number of oscillations. My son, who is a physics major at Harvard, knew the formula that would generate the cable lengths, hence the correct number of oscillations. In five minutes he produced a spread sheet with all of my cable lengths.”

Dance of Shive sculpture by Kim Bernard

Dance of Shive, another kinetic sculpture, was made up of 12 feet of nylon strapping stretched between two posts. The strapping held horizontal rods, each tipped with a small red bouncy ball. She welcomed us to move the rods, setting off a twirling wave of the 146 red balls. The effect was an ever-changing beautiful spiraling movement. I found the moving shadows it cast on the wall almost as enchanting as the piece itself in motion.

I was disappointed to learn I’d stumbled upon the exhibit on its final day — otherwise, I’d be encouraging you to pay a visit there. I did get a chance to talk with Kim Bernard about her work, though.

She has lived in Maine for 25 years, and works from a home studio in an attached barn. In the cold months, she works in a smaller, heated area in the barn, while in warmer months she can spread out into the entire lower level (her husband, a painter, has a studio on the second floor). If she really wants space or the wood shop, though, she will work there on milder winter days. “My step son is a custom surf board builder/designer and has a shop on the third floor of the barn,” says Bernard. “You might be interested to know that my 19-year old son will major in music at USM in the fall and my 22-year old physics major son is also a musician. My step daughter is a professional photographer in NYC. Need I say, we’re a creative bunch!”

PO: How do you work in your studio, and how often?

KB: It all depends on my exhibit schedule. For the three months leading up to my Stuff Moves exhibit at Boston Sculptors Gallery, I worked in my studio all day, every day. After I take a show down, I regroup, fill the well, research, you know…put some compost back into the soil. I always have ideas for future work. It’s a matter of what I’m most curious about, what I’m excited to investigate, what spaces I have to exhibit my work in. It’s often a matter of matching an opportunity with an idea that’s been fermenting for some time. My husband would tell you I’m a workaholic, I don’t agree. It’s a labor of love and I thoroughly enjoy what I do. If I’m not in my studio, I’m researching a future project, visiting a gallery or museum, or doing something art related.

What is atypical about this year is that I received 25K grant that has allowed me to reduce my teaching and focus on some specific projects: Build a Harmonograph, create some interactive kinetic sculpture, take a physic course, study cymatics to create an interactive sculpture, work with time-lapse video and investigate Body Sensor Networks. You can read more about that on my blog: http://kimbernard.blogspot.com/2012_01_01_archive.html

PO: Can you describe your general evolution toward doing what you’re doing now with sculpture? How did you start out? Were there any Aha moments for you along the way that pushed you in a particular direction?

KB: From the get-go, I’ve been a mover and a maker. As long as I can remember I have liked to make things and enjoyed dance. Six or so years ago I started questioning why I had two simultaneous but separate practices, one of creating 2-D work (in encaustic) and sculpture (in a variety of materials) and the other, a movement practice which has run the gamut of dance, martial arts and now yoga. I have always been aware of my body on space, ergonomics and kinesthetics. There was one particular ‘aha’ moment…I was assembling a sculpture that required that I bend, scoop up a piece of the sculpture, string it on steel rod in a spiral fashion (like a bead), then repeat the motion again and again. I became more interested in my body moving in space than the sculpture.

The reason why I make sculpture is probably because there is so much body work involved. So, I made it my assignment to bring these two pursuits together and now my work is about movement and nothing else. At first, that seemed limiting but now I realize it is infinitely expansive. At times that means I’m creating kinetic sculpture, sometimes it’s making contraptions that draws, sometimes that means I move and make marks as a record of my own movement. I’ve been playing with stop-motion video lately since it captures and allows me to study movement patterns.

With this exhibit of interactive kinetic sculpture people have often asked if I have a science background. I don’t. I studied sculpture for my BFA and MFA. My answer is that I am simply fascinated with movement and things that move, and that my work is an attempt to understand how things move. My way of doing that is with my hands and with my body.

To see the Stuff Moves exhibit in motion, watch this short video.

The Boston Sculptors Gallery is at 486 Harrison Avenue in the SOWA district of Boston’s South End. It functions as a cooperative, hosting two simultaneous solo shows each month featuring the works of its 34 members.

Note: Stuff Moves was on exhibit Feb. 8 - March 11, 2012

Originally posted on Boston.com
Posted by Devin Cole February 23, 2012 03:55 PM

About a Pear: Boston and the Business of Public Art

By Donna Dodson, Artist

Laura Baring-Gould, John McColgan and the Clapp Pear

Arts and Culture dynamically contribute to Boston’s business community. The New England Foundation for the Arts, NEFA, recently released its 2011 annual report, New England’s Creative Economy: Nonprofit sector impact. ‘In 2009, the spending of these 18,026 organizations amounted to nearly $3.7 billion, and they provided jobs for over 53,000 people.’ This sector has grown substantially since 2002, and these organizations have a track record for being a steady reliable industry, not susceptible to the ups and downs of the market economy.

NEFA’s study also demonstrates that direct spending results in significant indirect and induced impact on the region’s economy. ‘Nearly every dollar spent becomes sales to suppliers and income to employees. These businesses and employees, in turn, spend that money to buy goods and services to meet their own needs.’ Therefore, the $3.7 billion of art and culture spending has an indirect impact of $2.2 billion and an induced impact of $2.5 billion, providing a total of $8.4 billion in the New England economy. Within the workforce, the 53, 270 individuals employed by art and culture industries result in an additional 12,960 jobs as an indirect impact and an additional 17,000 jobs as an induced impact for a total of 83,330 jobs.

The last and perhaps the most important impact of nonprofit arts and cultural organization is ‘more than economic.’ The NEFA study highlights ‘visitor attraction impact’ where those who come to an art museum, historic site or cultural festival spend money on food, lodging, shopping, etc. in the local economy. These nonprofits also help ‘attract new residents and new businesses’ by providing key dollars and vitality to a community. The Fenway district in Boston exemplifies this where key cultural institutions such as the Museum of Fine Arts and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, are accompanied by teaching institutions like The Massachusetts College of Art and Design and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts that jointly bring visitors and students to Boston, provide key jobs across economic spectrums and greatly add to the vitality of Boston. This pattern is repeated across New England where museums, historic organizations, art and performance centers, gallery districts, artist’s housing, art schools and community centers contribute to the human capital of the region. The impact of this on the economy is significant and far reaching.

An interesting case study of the economic impact of art is told through a 17-year effort to bring public art to Edward Everett Square, in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood. Organized in 1995 by historian and archivist John McColgan with a network of dedicated residents, civic associations and historic organizations, the group advocated for public art to celebrate the historic legacy of the community. Recognizing the importance of urban planning and design, the community successfully enjoined the city of Boston to provide $2.2 million in public works capital funding to redesign and renovate Edward Everett Square, transforming traffic and pedestrian safety, green space and creating a pedestrian plaza for public art.

In 2003, Somerville Artist Laura Baring-Gould was commissioned to create the artwork with the important goal of celebrating history and place within a diverse community. Baring-Gould seized upon the area’s history as a 300 acre pear orchard, where a hybrid pear was first cultivated by the Clapp family. Clapp’s Favorite pear was renowned for it tough skin, but sweet and juicy fruit -- an apt metaphor, Baring-Gould felt, for the tenacity and good will of the community. The artist added ten additional smaller sized artworks to the design to celebrate modern aspects of Dorchester history, and led a community initiative to inscribe bricks with quotes and dedications celebrating contemporary Dorchester stories. In 2007, the 12 foot tall Clapp pear sculpture was installed in Edward Everett Square, along with the ten additional artworks. In addition, comprehensive text panels describing the project and area’s history were installed in 2011. Each event was magnificently celebrated by the community, local business, city and state officials.

When asked if the project met its stated goals John McColgan replied, ‘The Edward Everett Square art project has achieved the community vision, conceived in 1995, to reclaim this place as one of historical significance expressed through public art. The vision has now evolved and focuses more intensely on Edward Everett Square as an important cultural asset - one that may be used to promote awareness of art, culture and history, and to celebrate personal, community and national connections to Dorchester and Edward Everett Square.’ Laura Baring-Gould adds, ‘public art, when done well, can be a great addition to a community. Not only does the artwork create a landmark, but it contributes to a sense of importance and well being. All great cities have great art- several residents told me how much they feel the neighborhood has improved with the artworks that benefit us all.’

Coming up with the concept is perhaps the biggest challenge of the project, but in truth, the success of the project hinged upon the cooperation of all the players, and upon all the pieces falling into place. Project Artist Laura Baring-Gould worked closely with the community while John Mc Colgan organized civic involvement of many neighborhood associations. The City of Boston provided financial support, as well as tangible support from the Parks Department, Department of Public Works, Boston Art Commission and the Public Improvement Commission. Local businesses also supported the project as did many local elected officials at all levels of government. Private firms were contracted for the design of the project and labor was contracted from local companies and donated by the Bricklayers & Allied Craftsmen Union Local 3 Training Center. Finally, Corporate Sponsorship was committed by Waste Management Corporation for maintenance.

In other words, it was a true community effort, brought to bear with support from stakeholders throughout the neighborhood and city.

As a result of the Clapp Pear project and the Edward Everett Square renovation, the community has experienced tangible results such as increased property values, a changed sense of place and a renewed identity as diverse community which shares a common sense of history and experience. This artwork illustrates the role art can have in improving civic space, community pride and the overall experience of a neighborhood/important Boston gateway. The Clapp Pear made a place into a Place with history. It was the stimulus that mobilized $3 million of indirect and induced spending in Dorchester whose trickle down and ripple effects will continue to impact the future of the local businesses, and the people who live there, for many years to come.

Donna Dodson graduated cum laude from Wellesley College in 1990 with a Bachelor of Arts. Since 2000, Dodson has been honored with solo shows nationwide for her wood sculptures. Dodson enjoys public speaking, and has been a guest speaker in conferences, panels and forums at museums and universities in North America.

B. Amore: Invisible Odysseys

Invisible Odysseys: Art by Mexican Farmworkers runs Feb. 3 - April 28, 2012 at the Vermont Folklife Center in Middlebury, VT. The accompanying bi-lingual book of photographs and statements was partially funded by the Consulate General of Mexico in Boston and is available through Kokoro Press.

I co-ordinated this project with my friends, Susannah McCandless and Ethan Mitchell. We brought art materials to farmworkers who help keep the dairy industry alive here in Vermont. They live in isolation and fear on the farms because of their undocumented status and the color of their skin in Vermont. As one worker said, “I feel like a grain of brown rice in a sea of white rice.” Extraordinary works of art have emerged in the dioramas that they have created expressing their journeys. This is truly “work of the soul,” both moving and powerful, and links their journeys to the larger history of immigration.

I’ve created two companion pieces integrating farmorkers journeys from Mexico to Vermont – “Walk in my footsteps”(incorporating actual workers’ footprints) and “Workers’ Mandala; Tracing the journeys” (incorporating actual workers’ gloves). I hope that you may be able to view the show or , if not, perhaps purchase the book which eloquently represents the exhibit in image and text. - B. Amore

Boston Sculptors in New England and Beyond in 2012

Ongoing Exhibitions (check with venue for end date)

Gillian Christy: Winding Walk

Somersby Sculpture Park in Newburyport, MA (thru 2012)

http://www.somerbyslandingsculpturepark.org/index.html

Donna Dodson: Elephant Parade (thru 2012)

Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, 415 Summer St. Boston, MA

http://www.mccahome.com/bcec_art.html

Donna Dodson: Elephant Oracle

Sculpture Fest in Woodstock, VT

http://www.sculpturefest.org/index.html

Donna Dodson: Hathor and Giant Panda

Rockland Center for the Arts in Nyack, NY (thru 2014)

http://www.rocklandartcenter.org/

Donna Dodson: Baby Bringer

Verbier, Switzerland (thru 2012)

http://www.3-dfoundation.com/#

Mags Harries: Remediate/Re-Vision: Public Artists Engaging the Environment

Boyden Gallery, St. Mary's College, MD (thru March, 2012)

http://www.smcm.edu/boydengallery/remediate-re-vision.html

Mags Harries: The Art of H20

Peabody Essex Museum (thru July 8, 2012)

http://www.pem.org/exhibitions/134-ripple_effect_the_art_of_h20

Mags Harries: Clean Volts

Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Boston, MA (thru summer, 2012)

Joseph Wheelwright: Tree Figures

Katonah Museum, Katonah, NY (thru May 2012)

http://www.katonahmuseum.org

Joseph Wheelwright: Fox Face

installed at Southern New Hampshire University

http://www.snhu.edu

FEBRUARY

Andy Moerlein: Avian Instinct

Karl Drerup Art Gallery, Plymouth State College, NH, (2/7- 3/3, 2012)http://www.plymouth.edu/gallery

Michelle Lougee: Painting - Sculpture

Fountain Street Fine Art, Framingham, MA

Feb 10 - Mar 11, 2012. Reception: Feb. 11 5-7pm.

http://www.fountainstreetfineart.com

MARCH

Kim Bernard: Confluence

Morean Arts Center, St. Petersburg, FL (March 16 - May 28, 2012)

http://www.moreanartscenter.org

Nancy Selvage: "Sustainable Ceramics: Contradiction or Possibility?"

a talk at NCECA (National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts) Conference in Seattle, WA. March 29, 2012http://nceca.net/static/conference_program.php

APRIL

Boston Sculptors Celebrates its 20th Anniversary

UMass Lowell, University Gallery (April 2 - 27, 2012)

Artists: B. Amore, Laura Baring-Gould, Murray Dewart, Donna Dodson, Rosalyn Driscoll, Sally Fine, Beth Galston, Peter DeCamp Haines, Mags Harries, Sarah Hutt, Joyce McDaniel, Andy Moerlein, Julia Shepley, Hannah Verlin, and Dan Wills.

http://www.uml.edu/dept/art/galleries

Donna Dodson and Andy Moerlein

119 Gallery, Lowell MA (April 3 - 28, 2012)

http://www.119gallery.org/

Kim Bernard: Momentum X

George Marshall Store Gallery, York, ME (April 21 - May 27, 2012)

http://www.georgemarshallstoregallery.com

Donna Dodson

Stone Quarry Hill Art Park in Cazenovia, NY (April 29 - July 3, 2012)

http://www.stonequarryhillartpark.org/

Andy Zimmermann: a large outdoor sculpture

installed at Southern New Hampshire University, Manchester, NH

(April 15, 2012 - March 31, 2012)

http://www.snhu.edu/

MAY

Donna Dodson: Whale Figure for Cultural Pittsfield

a public art project in the birthplace of Herman Melville,

author of Moby Dick (May, 2012)

http://culturalpittsfield.blogspot.com/

JUNE / JULY / AUG

Boston Sculptors Exhibition: Change/Exchange

Ohio Sculpture Center, Cleveland, OH (June 8 - July 22, 2012)

Artists: Caroline Bagenal, Laura Evans, Peter Haines, Michelle Lougee, Nancy Selvage, Jessica Straus, Marilu Swett, Hannah Verlin, Andy Zimmermann.

http://www.sculpturecenter.org

Kim Bernard: The Engine

Biddeford, ME (June 12 - July 21, 2012: Artist Talk June 16 at 11 am)

http://www.feedtheengine.org

Donna Dodson

Stone Quarry Hill Art Park in Cazenovia, NY (April 29 - July 3, 2012)

http://www.stonequarryhillartpark.org/

Donna Dodson: Collection Connection

Nancy Margolis Gallery in New York, NY (July - August, 2012)

http://nancymargolisgallery.com/

FALL

Donna Dodson: Flock Together

Southern New Hampshire University's McInninch Gallery,

Manchester, NH (September 2012)

http://www.snhu.edu/908.asp

Kim Bernard: Discover Portsmouth

Portsmouth, NH (November 1 - 30, 2012)

http://www.portsmouthhistory.org/discover_portsmouth_center/exhibits

Artists Face the Economy

Artists use the tools of business to meet the market challenges of the economic slump.

Artists Andy Moerlein (L: Yearning) and Donna Dodson (R: Cardinal) are building a market for their work despite the slow economy. They are proving that they can succeed in the creative market by applying the tried and true methods of commercial enterprise: build name recognition, seek clients outside the familiar gallery setting, keep the attention of their established collector base, look for overseas opportunities, and encourage brand loyalty.

For the past two years the artists have been showing at Gallery Ehva in Provincetown MA. Dodson had an established reputation in this vital arts community, but Moerlein was a newcomer on the scene. To assure the newly established gallery was frequented by the important eyes on the cape, gallery Director Ewa Nogiec invited Moerlein to install several of his large outdoor sculptures in front of the gallery. These notable marks on the roadside art scene drew attention and sales.

Both artists recognized the value of the Provincetown Art Association Museum to the culture of the community and became members, adding their work to the annual shows and contributing to fundraisers. To enrich her familiarity with the collector base on the cape that frequented Gallery Ehva, Dodson took regular trips south from her home in Jamaica Plain for receptions and networking opportunities. She made over a dozen trips to meet interested people, be with peer artists and contribute socially to gallery events. Print ads by Dodson and Moerlein increased foot traffic inside the gallery. Each of these very active investments contributed to the artist's recognition in the community and generated an interest in their work.

Both artists have blogs and maintain extensive email networks They actively seek out interesting community leaders and engage them in conversations about art. Dodson is a connector for Boston World Partnership and Moerlein created a large scale art installation as part of the Concord NH Chamber of Commerce dinner. A fan of her work, businessman and designer Joseph Knight created a line of jewelry based on Dodson's elephant carvings. This relationship has lead to social and exhibition opportunities in the fashion centers of major cities. Exposure to a nontraditional art clientele has proven to be an education for both the artists and the fashion enthusiasts encountered.

Dodson and Moerlein sought opportunities overseas and were invited to a sculpture residency in Verbier Switzerland. The trip was an exceptional opportunity to experience how a small but dynamic mountain village invested in art. Community visionaries recognized that internationally acclaimed artists building sculptures in the heart of downtown could serve as an economic engine to awaken a quiet early summer season. This region of the Alps is known as a destination for alpine skiing, trekking and the renowned Verbier Music Festival. The residency is seen as a cultural draw for the quiet early summer months, as well as an all-season tourist attraction. This vision has resulted in the worlds highest mountain sculpture park.

Upon their return from Switzerland Dodson and Moerlein had a rich body of experiences they hoped to share with other artists, their collectors and curious curators. They invited eight artists who had traveled to make art in similar settings to a panel discussion on international residencies and symposia. The aim was not only to build a deeper dialogue about art as an economic and business catalyst, but also to connect diverse art interests in one room. Attendees included a representative from the state arts council, board members from a variety of nonprofit arts organizations, educators and business leaders. In a quiet economy, this diverse population of interests needs to gather and share information on how the arts can prove to be an catalyst for community growth. Moerlein and Dodson felt the outreach kept their international activities on the radar of people in the community who could most impact future opportunities.

Currently Donna Dodson and Andy Moerlein each have solo shows at the Boston Sculptors Gallery, 486 Harrison Avenue. Boston Sculptors Gallery is a cooperative gallery. Each artist plans their shows and publicity with only limited structural support. The single part time gallery employee helps with ideas and address lists, gallery members share in the gallery web site and press dissemination, but individual artists are tasked with making their show as success.

In the lead up to this show the artists have put together an ambitious series of incentives aimed at reaching a deep audience. To meet their business goals Dodson and Moerlein presented a teaser exhibit at Gallery Ehva in Provincetown MA this summer. They advertised both on the cape as well as in the broader New England art market covered by ArtScope Magazine. This exposure caught the attention of art critic Elizabeth Michelman who wrote an article about the couple's solo reputation and collaboration works. By fall there was good attention on the upcoming shows. The goal is to draw a familiar crowd out by assuring that they are aware of the shows and curious about the new body of work these two artists have spent the past two years creating. In a debut show, sales are very important to growing the reputation of an artist such as Moerlein whereas for Dodson, repeat sales on the heels of a successful first show solidify the market value of the new work.

A Facebook presence was key to their plan. The artist community is active. Images of their work in progress drew lively commentary that contributed to the ideas the artists were developing. These social network contacts often grew into dialogue and friendships. Both artists also use email notice to keep a large contact base informed of their concepts and works in progress.

Moerlein's home studio in Bow NH draws an audience from a very different network than the one Dodson has cultivated in Jamaica Plain. To draw their fan base close in the lead up to the show, the artists began a series of dinners and brunches. As with the audience of their panel discussion, the invited guests were selected from a diverse spectrum of community leaders. Increased sales were not a direct goal of these social events. Increased dialogue within these often isolated studio practices was important to the artists and they trusted that using a business model of increased visibility would have increased yield. The reputations exposed by their panel discussion, news articles and several visible commissions allowed the artists to send invitations to well established artists, important museum curators, busy collectors and generate a generous outpouring of well designed social events. The six meals were attended by over seventy five dynamic arts invested community leaders, most of who met together for the first time.

As part of one of these gatherings a bank president suggested that he would like to organize an event in the gallery, featuring the artists. He offered to bring notable clients from his community if Moerlein and Dodson could bring an interesting group of fellow sculptors for an exciting mixer. This event is an unexpected consequence of the pre-show social gatherings.

This week the artists set up their work in the gallery. They are both satisfied that they have laid the solid foundation for a successful show. Their preparation included the usual press releases to all the important news venues, but they also used the tools of good business:

1. Name recognition: Preview show, ads and articles in news venues, blog and Facebook presence.

2. Seek clients outside the familiar gallery setting: Invite creative arts board members to talks and meals. Travel overseas and build friendships/creative communities. Identify arts friendly business people and engage their interest and enthusiasm. Attend events such a fashion previews so they can learn from a similar, yet unconnected business model.

3. Build brand loyalty: The diners and brunches were well attended by collectors who owned the artist's work and by curators who had featured the artists in shows or collections.

4.Create a buzz: The artists understand that in the current economic climate an exciting preview and full frontal presence on social media are required to leverage reluctant investors. Their email lists are broadly selected and their postcards were mailed to an audience that has been chosen for reputation growth as well as future cultivation.

Donna Dodson and Andy Moerlein have made a determined effort to create a show that is not just an opportunity to present their work, but is also a vehicle for success beyond the sculpture shown. They are inspired to awaken a fan base that will take notice and grow with them as they build a career in a most unstructured creative market during an unsettled economic present.

Getting to Know Rosalyn Driscoll

Koo de Monde "brings together exceptional artists, designers and artisans with a global marketplace of sophisticated buyers. Our team of experienced curators scours the far corners of the earth searching for the hidden treasures of masters we like to call our exhibitors." And so perhaps it's no surprise they've teamed up with Boston Sculptor Rosalyn Driscoll. Be sure to check out their "touching" interview with Roz, which includes some simply gorgeous images of her work.