Outdoor Shows

I love art shows!

Yes, it is a hassle, involving applications, deadlines, photos, and heavy lifting. But I love talking to people who love art, especially sculpture.

So far this year I have done two: the Open Studios tour in Roanoke, and Sculpture in the South in Summerville SC.

We were at Mary Jane Burtch's new house for Open Studios. My studio is in the County, too far off the beaten track and with no parking. We have been showing at Mary Jane's for many years. She moved away from her old house on Grandin Road last year. We set up at Grandin Gardens then, just down the street, but this year we were in South Roanoke at Mary Jane's new studio.

We saw less traffic, but had good sales. The people who came wanted to see us! They didn't just happen by. Many old friends came, including one young collector who has bought a piece every year since she was eight years old! She's thirteen now.

Sculpture in the South was an awesome experience. Thirty-six sculptors from all over the US were there. Artists from as far away as Oregon, California, Colorado and Texas came to show their work. And it was wonderful! I have been following the careers of several of these people for 20 years, since I first began to carve stone. They are my heroes! It was an honor to show with them.

The show itself was by far the best organized of any that I have seen. They welcomed us with a "good Southern breakfast" on Friday as we set up. They provided tents and cashier services, as well as motorized carts and helpers to carry our work. Friday night there was a black tie gala, where I re-discovered the joys of shrimp and grits, low-country style! Our host was a bed and breakfast in an old Southern mansion. Everywhere you looked there was a piece of sculpture, purchased by the owner, not on loan from the artist.

Saturday and Sunday were warm, busy days. The low-country humidity came in with the heavy rains late Friday, but the rain left as quickly as it came. Attendance at the show was good. There was so much great sculpture to see! And, there were talks on clay sculpture, stone carving, and bronze casting by working sculptors. Saturday night and again on Sunday the artists enjoyed a great feast provided by local art patrons. The artists got a chance to get together and swap tips and stories. There is never enough time for this during the show. (The price of bronze and gasoline were big topics.)

I am looking forward to more shows in the Fall, when the weather is cooler. As I write this it is 95 degrees at 4 PM in these Virginia mountains, too hot to be outside.

Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose... sometimes it rains.
(apologies to "Bull Durham")

Baby Elephant

When we visited the San Francisco Zoo in October, I saw a young girl climbing on this wonderful statue of a seated baby elephant. It inspired me to create a baby elephant in pewter. And, of course, a seated donkey!



Here are my newest pewter miniatures. I gave my elephant a raised trunk for good luck.

You can buy them at Gallery 108 in Roanoke, VA, at the other galleries listed on my web site, or direct from me at Geer's Creations.

Traveling Workshops

Doing what you love to do, and having other people enjoy it is the best! Teaching children to sculpt is just that. I find it amazing that high school students, middle schoolers, and even elementary school students in the third grade are excited to learn how to carve stone. In as little as two hours they can make an animal fetish from Brazilian soapstone.

In addition to my usual schedule of after-school classes at Roanoke City and County Schools, and adult classes at the Art Museum in Roanoke, I did a series of "two-a-day" two-hour workshops at schools in Augusta County in November. Liz Moss of the Artisan Center of Virginia arranged them as part of the Center's outreach program. It gave me a chance to visit new schools and meet new teachers and students.

Thanks to the Artis Council of the Blue Ridge for organizing the Roanoke City School program, The Art Museum of Western Virginia for the adult program, and KICS for the Roanoke County schools. And special thanks for the efforts of Nancy Newhart Farrar for the Artist in Residency at Allegheny High School, and Liz Moss at the Artisan Center of Virginia for the Augusta County program.

Fall Show Season

October is Show Month for us, and this year was no exception. With an outdoor show every weekend, plus four month-long indoor exhibits, we were on the road most of the time. It was exhausting, but very rewarding. Shows are the lifeblood of our business. Thanks to all you buyers and fans!

We ended the month in San Francisco, a great city to inspire all that visit. We went to a shopping mall to see Bernie Buffano's sculpture - elegant yet simple, just what I want to create!

Next we visited the zoo to see the bears. California's state flag has a grizzly bear on it, yet there are no grizzlies left in the state - except at the San Francisco Zoo: two one-year old cubs. Wow! They are massive even when this young. The hair is long and the fat bump on their backs is very distinctive. Their original home was Montana. Mom was killed and the San Francisco Zoo built them a huge house and took them in. Great place with lots of room for them to grow.

The polar bears were great also. Huge, resting by the pool, waiting for the next meal, and mugging for the amateur photographers. Both the polar bears and the grizzlies looked strong and healthy.

The bears gave me food for the creative process. I am ready to start a new series of carvings. I also saw a baby elephant that will be in my pewter collection very soon.

Lynchburg Art Club Show

I love the Lynchburg Art Club Show at E. C. Glass! It is the first "out-of-town" show I ever did, about 18 years ago, and I've done it every year since. We always see lots of old friends from Lynchburg, and many fellow artists from Roanoke.This year I won a prize - the E. B. Fleet Award! Thanks to judge Andras J. Bality, organizer David Eakins, and all the people to work to make this a special day every year. And Congratulations to Michale Farrar of Clifton Forge for winning Best in Show! (That was Michael's Barbeque Dance on the cover of City Magazine last month.)

An Occasion for the Arts

We just returned from An Occasion for the Arts in Williamsburg. It was probably our best show ever! I love Williamsburg, for the art, for the history, and especially for the shopping! We always go a day early, so we will have time to visit the outlet mall.

This year we drove to Rocky Mount, NC to pick up Bella at the Rocky Mount Arts Center on Friday afternoon. We continued to Williamsburg after the reception, expecting to arrive by 11 or so. Surprize! Our GPS was set for the scenic route instead for the fastest, so we arrived after midnight. We did get to enjoy the Virginia Byway, which we had never seen (or heard of) before. Turns out it is a favorite route for our son Thom's scooter club. Too bad it was too dark and we were too tired to enjoy it.

We saw lots of old friends at AOFTA, both patrons and fellow artists. One lady in particular was waiting for us when we arrived to set up a 8 AM. (She's the owner of Kat-Kat Pal, one of my favorite commission pieces). We weren't there last year, so it was gratifying to hear folks say they missed us.

It was the hottest day we can remember for the show. I was dissappointed when they moved my booth from Duke of Glouster Street to Prince George, but it was a blessing. We were in the shade all day, and the reduced traffic on the side street gave people more time to browse. Altogether a wonderful experience!

Bath County Art Show

The Bath County Art Show was bigger than ever this year, with over six hundred works from nearly two hundred artists on display. The selection of sculpture was also much larger.

Many of our friends won prizes, including Mei Shu - 1st place for watercolor, and Betty Branch - 1st place for sculpture. Yumiko Ichikawa, Z.L. Feng, Barry Wolfe, Gina Lothian-Stanley, Michael Farrar, and Nancy Newhard also won prizes. Congratulations everyone!

As usual, many works were sold from the show.