I' m realizing that the last time I posted was about this time last year to announce that my work was going to be featured in the Woodstock Sculpturefest. I don't think I ever posted the featured sculpture at that show. So here it is. I',m hoping to have another piece I am presently working on in this years show. Time will tell, I'll keep you posted.

Anne Dean Featured Artist at Sculpturefest

At long last the Heron is installed at the Woodstock Sculpturefest. After three years of working on this piece a week here and a week there, it feels good to see it finally standing upright on its pedestal. As a featured artist this year, I also will have other sculptures at the Sculpture Park.

Sept 5 - Oct 15 Sculpturefest: Featured artist Anne Dean

An annual show of outdoor sculpture featuring

New England Sculptors held each year during foliage season in Woodstock, Vermont.

Opening Reception

September 5, 2009,

4:00 PM to 7:00 PM

Prosper Road, Woodstock, VT
Open daily from dawn to dusk

Anne Dean

Preparing for the Woodstock Sculpturefest

My vegetable garden is almost in and I am getting ready to get back into the studio. As I plant the last of my lettuce transplants ideas are swirling around in my head. I will begin working over at the Carving Studio and Sculpture Center in West Rutland this month. This is in preparation for an exhibit coming up this fall at the Woodstock Sculpturefest. I plan to do a series on different seating ideas for the garden. While there I will also be completing a sculpture of a Great Blue Heron. See photo on previous blog entry. By going to the Carving Studio there are no household distractions so if the ADHD thing kicks in I can hop from sculpture to sculpture. I'm excited at the possibilities. The challenge is always to keep the ideas alive and actually bring them to fruition.
This weekend I will be attending a wood kiln building workshop down in Massachusetts. Depending on the itracacies of the kiln, I may attempt to build an outdoor kiln up here in which to fire large pieces.

-Anne Dean

Conundrum

West Rutland Marble Bench
currently located at the Vermont Arts Council Sculpture Garden

O. K. So I know I’m not alone here when I struggle to find the time to get into the studio. The question for me is why? Aside from the fact that I’m single, therefore all the myriad of household chores falls on me, there are many more subtle reasons that are far more interesting to contemplate. One would be the ADHD factor. As I bounce from one project to another, I wonder why one of those projects isn’t a hop into the studio. Two weekends ago, I participated in the Vermont Open Studio Tour. I gathered all my work I have in my house and brought it to my studio to display. I realized that I had seven different media represented that spanned ten years. Are we back to the ADHD factor, not being able to stick to one thing? I looked around and felt that I really shouldn’t be on this tour. I have done so little current work. I only have one piece in progress and that’s been in progress for the last three years!

Marble Great Blue Heron in process May '09

Well yeah, I did pick stone as a medium, very slow going. Anyway, the initial reason I signed up for the Open Studio was to give me some incentive to get into my studio. However, I took on a community project that took way more time than I thought it would. I’m sure some of you know how that goes. But I knew I had this Open Studio coming up so why did I even contemplate getting into something else. Maybe it’s the focus thing. Keep your eye on the ball! But there is something deeper. I think I have a deep handed down belief that art isn’t a valued enough vocation to spend much time on. If you don’t have a viable business and aren’t making lots of money, why do it. I know, I know, for arts sake. But it all seems so overwhelming to me to create a big business around art. The commitment can be a huge factor. I once did have a ceramics business with many galleries carrying my work. It was exhausting doing everything by myself. I loved making the work, but the wholesale shows, keeping track of orders, packing and shipping were really time consuming. Sure I could pay someone to help, but I was only making about $30,000. a year and that was working practically 24/7. And now there’s the whole technology thing to grapple with. Every time I think about a website or blog, all I can think of is that it’s just one more thing to keep track of and manage, one more thing to take up my time. So maybe the answer is to just dabble in art when I feel like it and if I finish something put it in a show somewhere. Just that!

-Anne Dean

We Are Born!

We five art-wise women are happy to announce the opening of our new blog. Please follow along with us as we discuss our new work, art in general, what we are planning, and what is on our minds.