Wimberley is located in the beautiful Texas Hill Country. This eclectic artist community located +-45 minutes southwest of Austin and +-1.25 hour northeast of San Antonio, has significant amounts of flowing water in the form of rivers, creeks, dry creeks, tributaries, etc. Wimberley is also the home to the Corral Theater, one of the last walk-in outdoor theaters in the US. (Bring your own lawn-chair if you like, but most certainly don’t bring your own popcorn, because the Corral has the best ever.) The town fairly recently purchased Blue Hole, which was a privately owned stretch of land on Cypress Creek that has giant Cypress trees growing along the banks with rope swings for the adventurous flying swimmers. Have I mentioned the Wimberley Zip Line Adventures? Yes, we have quite the renowned one here. Come check it out, along with Wimberley Market Days, 7-A Ranch Resort and of course, our cute little town has great shopping.
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Our visit to Ishmael Soto’s studio and home in Blue, TX
Sculptor Ishmael Soto and ceramicist Julie Isaacson came to see us at our Satellite Gallery in Austin. We all hit it off fabulously and so were invited to visit Ishmael at his home and studio in Blue (near Lexington). Ishmael has developed quite a compound for himself and his very large family. He hand-built three homes on his +-50 acre place in the woods and has a wonderful and serene lifestyle that he willingly shared with Cecilia and I. We spent most of a day touring and admiring his artworks, kilns, gardens, books, knives and homes. He even cooked us lunch, which is apparently not a common event. We had the privilege of seeing some of the treasured works he has produced over many years, and uses in his day to day life. It was such a treat. To top off this wonderful day, Ish agreed to let Fe29 represent him and we all three worked in the rain, to fill up our entire truck with as many sculptures as would fit to bring back to Wimberley for our opening that is scheduled for late July/early August. It was like Christmas when we returned to the Art Lab and began unpacking and arranging his works. They look so good among the other pieces and we feel privileged to be representing such an icon.
At 80 years old, Ish was more than a little skeptical when Cecilia asked him to consider collaborating with another of our metal artists. The look on his face was priceless when she first brought up the subject, but she proceeded to hand over to him a favorite unfinished work. The artist had made numerous unsuccessful attempts to finish the work and hoped that Ishmael may just have what it takes to turn it into something they can both be proud of. While Ishmael has stated more than once that he doesn’t do collaborations, as a little more time has passed, he seems to be warming up to the idea. Last time we met with him at ACC he mentioned something about putting it through the roller, so, watch this space for his first collaboration. I think this old dog will be learning a few new tricks!
Croix Williamson joins Fe29
Croix Williamson is a very talented young fellow that has been pursuing his love of art for many years. His experience as a blacksmith/metalworker has given his creative side a natural place to flow. And, flow it does! Check out the images of his latest “5 Square Knots”. He says he has never been good at math, but I’m not sure I believe him, as he uses math to work out the complicated schematics for each of these before he picks up his torch and commences cutting. Then comes the bending, and assembling, and… Voila! A 5-Square Knot results. And, that’s not all he’s good at. Check out all of his other works on our site and stay tuned, as he’s just getting revved up.
Inside the Fe29 Lab
Well, change is a commonplace word around here, as things change on a regular basis, let me tell you. The grounds and facilities of Fe29 outside the small Texas hill country town of Wimberley are a peaceful and safe place and one in which creative juices flow freely. I have included a sampling of photos taken inside the Art Lab so you can see how lucky we are! Notice the large I-Beam across the center with two hoists for lifting heavy artworks or materials. It sure came in handy when unloading our new 1200lb shear, brake, roll and the railroad iron used in the sculpture “On Track”. Check out the galvanized metal walls protecting the 12″ of insulation from the flames and sparks generated around here on a regular basis. High end Low-E French doors have been re-purposed into windows – one that allows for a line of sight from inside the Art Lab up to the second floor deck of the Coop, and the other one that allows artists working in the finishing room to check out progress in the main shop. A couple of years ago a friend donated a large 12′ x 7′ insulated door to our cause. It turned out to be perfect for the giant pocket door between the main room of the Lab and the Finishing room. We also have racks for storage of materials and art (completed and in-process), as well as a scaffold and of course a myriad of hand and power tools.
So, check out our website and if you are interested in any aspect of what we do, please come on out to Wimberley, as we love to visit about Art. See “Contact us” for just that! See you soon…
Featured Artist: Chris Cander
Chris Cander is an exceptionally talented young woman that we are lucky to have amongst our ranks. She is a writer of childrens’ books, a novelist, poet, martial artist and now a REAL artist! Chris is adept with words and has a vocabulary that is awe-inspiring. In collaboration with some of our metal artists, furniture makers, welders, etc. she has added words that permanently instill deeper meaning to their works. Chris is very creative with the shaping, size and meaning of these words that she so thoughtfully melds with the works of other artists.
And smart as a whip she is… We thought we would be able to trip her up when calling with a request for a poem to be welded onto the top of the section of rail road iron which embodies the work we lovingly call, “On Track”. ” We need a poem that is 54″ long, 1.5″ high and about inner strength.” It took her all of a few hours to come back with the perfect answer!
I have taken an excerpt out of Chris’ blog on her Chris Cander Author site to include here: “I was honored that Fe29 asked me to co-create something with one of their artists. The piece I began with is a long sheet of copper, oxidized an oceanic green and then texturized to resemble the magnified surface of a canvas. It had three gentle swells, which look like waves. Taking the artist’s life journey into consideration I wrote a poem that I hoped would reflect her story and enhance in some small way her piece of art”.
“The Journey” is twelve lines long, and can be read either starting at the first line or in reverse, starting at the last, with the meaning slightly altered depending on the direction. To incorporate it into the piece, I stamped the lines using letter stamps and a hammer, alternating the direction of each line to encourage viewers to begin reading at either end. I was quite moved by the process of physically transcribing my verse onto the piece. It was the first time I had ever collaborated with another artist in such a way. I hope it won’t be the last.”
THE JOURNEY
To get where I thought I most wanted to be
Away from all the incongruities and absurdities
I pressed myself
To you
I lashed and thrummed my way
Pulsing through torpor and even, sometimes, joy
I lolled and swam and slipped
Alone
Crossing that predatory ocean of loss
Between What-was and What-might-have-been
And, despite spending so much time thusly
I ended up exactly where I am
We are so glad and so lucky to have Chris on board. Stay tuned for more works with her words…