Star-Spangled Spectacular (+More Mural Photos)

The Star-Spangled 200 was Baltimore's big to-do this year.  This month commemorated the completion of Francis Scott Key's "Defense of Fort M'Henry" which evolved into our national anthem. The Maryland War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission provided the funding, and was the reason behind the sidewalk mural I was painting last summer.

In a press release from the Visionary Museum, the mural is said to be a

"lively, complimentary and decidedly pro-peace take on Baltimore’s and America’s extraordinary true history."

We finished well into the cold season, but the snow and ice were generally good to the work. Here are the new and final additions not shown in previous posts.

The southern end of the mural features Chief Tecumseh from an anamorphic 3-D perspective, the far north side (museum entrance to Covington St.) are the written lines of his beautiful famous speech. 

Portraits of notable Baltimore natives were also painted near the main entrance of the museum. 

Tall Ships and Blue Angels (Featured ship: El Galeon Andalucia).

September 14, 2014 Canton Waterfront Park; Baltimore provided the people with Maryland's largest fireworks display to date.

(“So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart. Trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their view, and demand that they respect yours. Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life. Seek to make your life long and its purpose in the service of your people. Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide.

Always give a word or a sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend, even a stranger, when in a lonely place. Show respect to all people and grovel to none.When you arise in the morning give thanks for the food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself. Abuse no one and no thing, for abuse turns the wise ones to fools and robs the spirit of its vision.When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with the fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song and die like a hero going home."-Chief Tecumseh)

Mosaics for the American Visionary Art Museum

Cutting glass, mirrors, fingers, etc. 

I've been working for the Visionary Museum in Baltimore, and artist Mari Gardner for several months building the rest of the mirror and mosaic panels that cover the outside of the AVAM building. 

Progress charts and layout diagrams. Install to begin August (or September) 2014. This faces Covington Street, Key Highway, and Federal Hill Park.

Grouted, polished and completed panels. There are just under 200, 30"x60" Durock cement panels, made beautiful.

Laid out for grouting and stacked for slow-drying.

Process plans.

We also get to work with some of the boys in the Schaefer House of Baltimore (Juvenile Services) ages 14 to 17. We teach them the mosaicing processes, they get to make their own pieces, and they add to our final panels with circles and 3-D pop-out spheres. They do amazing and wild work, see below!

Extra addition: old school overhead projector lenses, sprayed and coated with super-glam car paint.

Painting Repair 2

Oil on canvas with a 5" tear. Look closely in this rip, it's my cat. This repair was more self-explanitory that the last, the most important part being the painting replication. I patched the back with a piece  of size-appropriate canvas using Nova Gel, sanded the duct tape off the front (note: not a painting I own, or made) and primed the new patched "strip" area. Mixed new paint colors to match. 

Painting Repair

Two 36"x42", oil on wood panel portraits recently sold (very happy to say goodbye)! I couldn't send them off without fixing the warped curvature that made them unable to hang or lay flat. In the past, I attached an extra wire to two screws in the offending corners and twisted tight, which eventually was useless. New simple steps: corner brackets, and a 50" screen door turnbuckle. 

Corner brackets in place. This one needed a third hole drilled into center to accamodate the length of the turnbuckle. S hook used to connect.

This worked well for a 42" painting; different sizes are available, or you may have to cut the flat end of the rod with metal clippers where it makes sense. The size/length of the S hook (or other clip) will also make a difference. I think these are 25mm. Tighten in center until the panel is laying flat.

New Pieces

I have a tiny show hanging at The Metropolitan, 169 West St. in Annapolis, until the end of February alongside of Laura Gallagher. All pieces below are new! 

Falling Apart Looks Really Good

20"x24"

Acrylic on canvas

The Real Kind

18"x14"

Acrylic on canvas

All of It

30"x42"

Acrylic on wood

details

 

Swatch tags

Stephanie & Laura

Why Not..

24"x30" acrylic on OSB

From here to there. Highway inspiration. Of course there are dozens of explanations, but it may have been stolen (the irony) because it's not there now.

New Index

I was curious to see if I would work better (+faster) with a hands-on version of "every piece of artwork I've ever made" in tiny piece of paper form. It helps and I love it. It's like an odd little game every time I comb the images selecting which work samples to send off. 

Just for the sake of place holders I used things that were unfinished (pear below) but only one shot per mural. New categories coming soon on scbaker.com.

Found: North American Slides

Another tiny, red-toned drawing;

5"x7" ink, acrylic, pastel on paper. 

Based on slide below:

Whose slides?

In 2010 I used to go to the American Corner/Federalsburg, MD auctions. This is deep into Maryland's Eastern Shore.  One night I took three slide packs from a completely discarded table where everything was free, after the winning bidder took only what they were gunning for. They are labeled Alaska 1965, Plane trip to Slippery Rock, Some beautiful mountain landscapes, Cabin Caliadonia [meaning Caledonia?] *Special one, Mary & Walter, and Beach scenes. They are all very gorgeous slide photos. This particular one is a runway in Canada, of which there were several. Out of 90 slides, there is only one with people, (two people standing on a beach). There has to be some universal old photo lost and found. The ones I saw online seem junky. So if you read this and take interest, pass it along. 

Key info: slides, Alaska, Maryland, A. Curtis Andrew Auction, 1965, Canada, Caledonia, Walter & Mary.

Black Walnut, Classics, and Cold

Happy New Year. This is a photo from 1948 of my grandmother giving my grandfather (not married until 1950) Japanese silk pajamas. My mom stated that it was probably a smoking suit. Dreamy AND fun. In the vein of curious gifts, my parents gave my brother tap shoes for Christmas this year. 

Black walnut tree cross sections from the Anderson Farm in Ohio, made into lovely hangables:

Proof that the new-old 1977 F150 still looks so beautiful even in the snow.

Eventually I hung a white artificial tree from the ceiling by guitar rack, (not realizing the ceiling-tree's sudden popularity) but because it's so logical with annoying pets. This wood ornament was a gift from Collodi, Italy, the town where Pinocchio was from!