No ordinary path ~ Tidal Glider Ocean Coastal Wall Sculpture Wall Art

Like a snowflake and a thumbprint, there are no two identical ocean waves.  As I Triathlete and avid ocean swimmer I take the same roadway, highway, parkway, pathway to my training point.  That’s where the ordinary ends.

I plunge into a fluid, oscillating world and spot my bouncing turning point in the distance, backlit by morning orange.  With every propelling stroke, I ascend and descend with schools of tiny visitors darting left and right. Erratic synchronicity.

I sight my turn and adjust. Sight and adjust.  Sight and adjust. A large single seagull pilots over me.  Rhythm settles.  As the water darkens my navigation increases with my breathing.  The red turning buoy wanes but reappears.   Cadence resumes for a moment and I’m swiftly pushed closer to the splashing tethered ball as I turn.  New spot, new bearing, new course. No ordinary path.

Artist:                    Paul Shampine, Newtown, CT

Exhibit:                 No Ordinary Path, THE MONASTERY GALLERY OF ART

303 TUNXIS RD., WEST HARTFORD, CT 06107, 860.760.9766

Artwork:              Wall Sculpture

Detail:                   Seven hammered copper pods connected with four sets of intertwined receptor-tentacles.

Material:              Aluminum, Copper. Copper pods are heat-treated/naturally oxidized.

Size:                       Overall length, 33 inches, 17 inches wide, body depth, 4 inches

Price:                     $1,750

 

The constant is the variable. Synchronicity.

With Swimmers, I’ve created two strong overlapping independent patterns that bind to create organic synchronicity.

Tight ripples project human anxiety felt while negotiating open water.  Not an emotion I speculate our mammalian sisters and brothers experience. Despite the hours of open water swimming and experience I have training for triathlons, this anxiety naturally exists.  AKA survival.

The longer, flowing lines draw us in for the serenity, free floating and rhythmic sensations; slowing heart rate, epidural tingling, weightlessness and balance.

Joining them together are mammalian vessels of land and sea.  Pods of dolphin. Whales. Triathletes competing for space and propulsion. The constant is the variable. Synchronicity.

 

Puddles to play in…

I was raised in a simpler era. Didn’t know it then. You played outside with your friends. Played chase without gunshots or someone really chasing you.  Rode your bike without a helmet. Street lights came on, you went home. Ate dinner with your family and talked.  Actually talked.  Finished your homework, watched some TV (together) and went to bed.  Mom came up to kiss you goodnight.  Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

Unreal? Yep. My father just turned 80 and I reminded them both (father was an Engineer – Mother still paints) how very fortunate I was. I felt loved.  I felt safe.

Today?  I struggle to watch the news.  This is where we’ve arrived.  Fast.

What I do? I create paintings that erase all that.  Fast. It’s the new drug without side effects. And you won’t find it advertised between Breaking News stories…

The Journey to Light

My current palette plays with green and blue.  I apply multiple layers of color (10-20). Each layer receives its own special treatment; curing and manipulating with variations of heat and sanding.  Addition and subtraction.  Simple math applied to complex but serene, calming meditative art.  It’s not rare that initial layers reveal themselves in the end.  In THE JOURNEY TO LIGHT, I create a billowing mass of organic shapes that catch your eye, only to discover that they’re welcoming puddles to play in.  The movement shifts and becomes less disruptive moving upward toward a distinct stretch of light, releasing tension and allowing the senses to reset and follow the safety of a soft welcoming horizon.

That’s what I see. That’s how I feel.

You can take your time and make it a journey.  You can play in the puddles along the way.  It’s not division.  And I assure you that it’s not the blue light from your smartphone.  It’s hope.

Sustainable Eco-Friendly Art – My Beginning

The definition of “sustainable art” is quite broad.  My friends at Wikipedia: “art that is produced with consideration for the wider impact of the work and its reception in relationship to its environments (social, economic, biophysical, historical and cultural).”

For me, it started 20 years ago with a rusted, ruby red Ford F150 pickup creeping through South Boston, negotiating a small scrap yard of assorted metals bouncing in the back bed.  A colorful collection of metal rods, piping and jagged sheet steel obstructed my view as I slowly backed up to the loading dock of my studio on East Second Street.   “The Distillery”. My new home and the start of what I love doing to this day…transforming post-consumer/industrial waste into something aesthetically pleasing and of value.

The Distillery, East 2nd Street, South Boston, MA

I’m very fortunate to have my beginnings time-stamped by the entrance I was asked to design and construct for this great artist’s escape and personal sanctuary more than 20 years ago.  I’m happy to report that it’s still standing and we have both evolved and continue to embrace our days to come.

Breaking the Barrier, 24”x20”, acrylic on gallery wrap canvas, mixed media.

Today I’m challenged to break the barrier between traditional sculpture and paintings, and reinvent a new form of eco-friendly mixed media work that strongly drives the message of sustaining Mother Earth.   Recycle, reuse, upcycle and conserve.

This also marks the new beginning of my traditional blog as I transition the spotlight and share the sustainability stage with my new eco-friendly media and to include the creations of other environmentally driven artists.

So, welcome to Art4Eco. I’m not the sustainability or recycling police. Just a friendly reminder to recycle, reuse, upcycle and conserve.

If you are an eco-friendly artist or know of one, please contact me directly so we can list them in our directory.

Thank you. Best regards, Paul
Paul Shampine
paulshampine@gmail.com

My Broadway, My Super Bowl…the Refrigerator.

I just opened a new box of crayons. Can you smell that? Yep. Next to them, I have a fire-engine red piece of construction paper. Can you feel it? Yep. These two powerful items have a promise that’s never broken –  to bond and create a one-of-a-kind reflective piece of life.  Just like the special bond between a parent and a child or your best friend in school who you can’t wait to see at recess.

When you move the crayons over the paper, the line always gets wider, just like our world, expanding and growing. As you start to mix colors, they form layers, like our memories with time. It starts to take form.  It’s often not what we expected….sometimes better, sometimes worse. But we created it and it’s permanent. It may be lucky enough to reach the ultimate stage, the Broadway of this special art form, known as the refrigerator. Or it might find its way across the world, and into the hands of Yolie Moreno.

This is one of many sections..

Yolie, friend and sculpture fan (inspired my Gaia series) is the creator and shepherd of the Newtown Documentation Project – a laborious, but awe-inspiring task of documenting (digitally)  an international collection of 200,000+ gifts, cards, letters  and artwork collected on behalf of the fallen souls of Sandy Hook.   As the photo documentation continues at the Newtown Town Hall, and her deadline fast approaching, Yolie makes a video pass.

For now, Yolie is focusing on her deadline and is still contemplating the home and destiny of almost a million megabytes of precious treasures.

“They are still with you. It will be alright.”

I was lucky enough to touch the raw, loving and caring collection of these creations today. A very heavy crayon mark for me. In my last post, I talked about the importance of living a balanced life…trying to… and to help, I suggested an expressive drawing exercise…a loud coach or a whispering mother. Maybe one of these creations can be it for you. I’m very certain Neely, Dario, Maya, Red, Avril, Hannah, Jennifer and Michael won’t mind. In fact, I think that’s what they wanted. Use them to make something more.
Best, Paul
Paul Shampine

“I know how you feel…I lost someone before…”

“I grew up on 12/14/12”

Healing Newtown Through the Power of the Arts is lead by a strong team – Newtown Cultural Arts Commission, who is supported by the Cultural Alliance of Western Connecticut and the Connecticut Office of the Arts (COA). To learn how you can help: http://www.healingnewtown.org

Thank you.
Best, Paul
Paul Shampine
“Living Life with Balance”