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Last chance to view my exhibition!!!

My exhibition at Dock Gallery (Rotterdam, Netherlands) comes to an end this weekend. Sunday (October 9th) is your last opportunity to view ‘Carving at a Glacial Pace’ in its entirety (all 22 works). As the show comes to a close I wanted to share a few thoughts, images, and what the ‘Glacial Series’ and the show as a whole means to me:

CARVING AT A GLACIAL PACE

‘Carving at a Glacial Pace’, and the ‘Glacial Series’ featured, are inspired by the mountains and the glaciers that have sculpted these ethereal landscapes. It is based on both the places I have been and those I wish to visit. It’s about climbing and mountaineering, not of conquering these mountains but of being humbled by them. Within their craggy temples discoveries are made – those of self identity, passion, principals, and personal beliefs.

My first experience of magnificent alpine mountains were those of New Zealand’s Southern Alps. Later, I would visit the Swiss Alps, the Sierra Nevada range, the Pacific Northwest’s Cascade range, and Colorado’s Rocky Mountains. These places and their features have peaked my interest for years and have become my church – a place to truly set my imagination free… a place for adventure. Human beings need adventure as much as water needs a current in order to not stagnate. These wild places are vital to the human spirit and must be conserved.

“Once our natural splendor is destroyed, it can never be recaptured. And once man can no longer walk with beauty or wonder at nature, his spirit will wither and his sustenance be wasted.”
– Lyndon B. Johnson, President of the United States

‘Carving at a Glacial Place’ is also a reference to the time it takes my body of work to be completed. The grinding and shaping of the forms, lenses, textures, and polished edges take hours to complete. It is a slow trod not unlike the manner to which glaciers carve valleys. Time and true grit are necessary keys to the process.

In front of the most powerful waterfall in Europe – Dettifoss, Iceland. All of this water is from glacial melt and the spray from the falls rises 1 km into the air.

Icebergs which have calved off of the Breidamerkurjokull Glacier, Iceland. These will slowly float out to sea, only to be battered and washed ashore by the waves.

Washed up iceberg from the Jokulsarlon glacial lagoon, Iceland.

Victoria in front of the Solheimajokull Glacier, Iceland.

detail of ‘Grey Ice Water’

detail of ‘West Buttress’

detail of ‘Icefall’

detail of ‘Abraham Lake’

detail of ‘Firn’

detail of ‘Vespers’

Come meet me and view my latest work

As I mentioned in the previous post, the exhibition opening at Dock Gallery has been moved to September 10th, however I will only be in the gallery on September 3rd and 4th. The date had to be changed for the galleries own reasons, unfortunately that made it  impossible for me to be present for new dates. Please come visit me for a soft opening and reception on September 3rd at Dock Gallery where you will be able to meet me and view what I feel is my strongest artwork to date! Here are a few previews below…

‘A Frigid Silence’

‘Arctic Eyes’

‘Deep Blue Abyss’

‘Grey Ice Water’

‘Meltwater’

‘Set Adrift’

‘Erratic’

Exhibition Appearance Information

It is with sad news that I must inform anyone that follows my artwork or anyone interested in viewing my latest sculptures in Europe, the opening of the exhibition at Dock Gallery HAS BEEN MOVED to September 10th for the galleries own reasons. It is with my deepest regrets that I will NOT be present at the gallery on that opening. I am so frustrated and disappointed I will not be there to enjoy everyone’s reaction to what I feel is my best work to date. However, it is out of my control. 

As originally planned I will be at the Dock Gallery for a soft opening of my work on September 3rd and 4th where there will still be a small reception. Please come see me and view the artwork. 

Also happening nearby is Rotterdam’s ‘World Port Days‘ which will host naval activities, demonstrations, live music, and fireworks among other things. It should be fun. 

So again, just to clarify, the official opening is now Sept. 10th, but I will only be in the gallery on Sept. 3rd and 4th.

Please note that my appearance in the above ad is incorrect. 

Looking forward to seeing you there

‘Carving at a Glacial Pace’ hometown preview

From July 29th-31st, along with the Big Wills Arts Council, my wife and I hosted ‘Carving at a Glacial Pace’ for our hometown of Fort Payne, Alabama. Originally my vision for this event was to debut my latest work for my own community before it shipped to Europe for its official opening. ‘Carving at a Glacial Pace’ will open the evening of September 3rd at Dock Gallery in Rotterdam, Netherlands. This local show proved to be so much more than merely an art opening, but I am getting ahead of myself…

I had already been making the Glacial Series as early as 2013, but had temporarily moved away from it to pursue other projects. When Dock Gallery approached me about this solo show, I knew I wanted to focus on a centralized theme and see how far ideas could be pushed. Returning to the Glacial Series was only fitting as previous work had only scratched the surface of where this series could go.

I began working on sculptures for the Glacial Series and ‘Carving at a Glacial Pace’ around November/December of 2015. Not long after my good friends, David and Lesa Cummings whom are travel photographers, took a trip to Iceland, returning with marvelous images of glaciers, icebergs, mountains, and moraines. The exact subject matter I was working with. Along with photographs from my own adventures to the mountains of New Zealand, Washington, Colorado, and Switzerland, I began using the Cummings’ photos as reference for the sculptures.

When the time came to begin planning for the debut in Fort Payne, I thought what better than to also display the Cummings’ photography to tie the sculptures closer to their intended subject matter. I had no idea just how great it would allow the opening to flow. Add to that the gorgeous setting of Fort Payne’s own Coal & Iron Building, a food table fit for any professional gallery opening, and relentless marketing and promotion by both Big Wills Arts Council and Myself, and the outcome turned out to be bigger than I could have dreamed. ‘Carving at a Glacial Pace’ debuted as a social event bringing together not only our own community but art fans from the entire southeast. Throughout the weekend we would host nearly 300 attendees.

My sincere thanks to the Big Wills Arts Council for hosting the event; the city of Fort Payne for allowing the use of the Coal & Iron Building; Jeanne Manning and Ann Elton for making the setting even greater; Christy Brandon and Cindy Hill for the marvelous table spread; Orbix Hot Glass for allowing me to create my work at their studio; Eric Harper, Lori Cummings, and Anna Copeland for assisting me in the creation of what is in my opinion my best work to date, I could not have done this without you; David and Lesa Cummings for the use of their images as reference and for displaying their work during the exhibition; and lastly this event could have never happened, nor would it have been near as exceptional and professional, without my wife Victoria and Paige Davis, I am forever grateful. Lastly, thank you to our community for your support!

Front Page

Please don’t forget to pick up a copy of DeKalb county’s Times-Journal (Sat./Sun. July 23-24th) where I am featured. In the article I discuss the upcoming solo show ‘Carving at a Glacial Pace’ which will take place on September 4th in Rotterdam, Netherlands at Dock Gallery.

As a special treat for my community, the work will be previewed July 29th-31st in Fort Payne, Alabama for all to see, before the work is shipped off to Europe. I hope everyone could come out to see my new artwork. If that didn’t sound good enough, the photography of David and Lesa Cummings’ who will be showing their for the first time in print their recent Iceland photos (many of which were used as reference for the new glass sculptures).

New work has been photographed!

Last weekend photographer/friend David Cummings and I spent the afternoon taking photos of 10 new sculptures which will be part of the upcoming ‘Carving at a Glacial Pace’ exhibition at Dock Gallery in Rotterdam, Netherlands opening September 4th.

Also if you live in the Southeastern part of the United States please do not miss your opportunity to enjoy these works of art before they are shipped to Europe.

‘Action shot’ during our photoshoot

Local Exhibition of Europe-bound Artwork

The Big Wills Arts Council presents the artwork of Mark Leputa.

Glass artist Mark Leputa’s work has taken him all over the world. He’s shown his sculptures in places such as Florida, Texas, Colorado, Wyoming and the Netherlands. It’s these and other travels that have inspired his new Glacial Series, which will soon take him back to the Netherlands this September for another solo exhibiton.

The Big Wills Art Council would like to invite you to a preview Mark’s exhibition artwork before it leaves the US.

Also on display will be the photography of David & Lesa Cummings of Anniston, Alabama, whose photographs were often referenced for Mark’s glacial sculptures.

Join us at the artist reception for food, drinks and a presentation by Mark Leputa on Friday, July 29th from 6 – 9pm.

*The work will also be on display Saturday, July 30th and Sunday, July 31st from 12 – 3pm.

Upcoming exhibitions and progress of the newest artwork

As many of you know for the past year I have been diligently creating new artwork for my  second solo exhibition in Europe. This show will be opening at Dock Gallery in Rotterdam, Netherlands on September 4th. The ‘Glacial Series’ to be featured is based on mountainous environments and the glaciers that create them, which have peaked my interest for years. Through climbing and mountaineering, I get to experience these wild places, which in turn not only influence my artwork, but also my entire being. Just as the glaciers have shaped the landscapes, so too have they shaped my identity, passion, principals, and personal beliefs.

In my opinion these sculptures are some of my best and most personal. The process of creating and experimenting with this ‘Glacial Series’ has been fun and enlightening. Below is an update on the progress of some of the work. More working photos can be found in a previous post.

A stuffed-cup has been made and now waits to be heated back up before filling it with a large amount of glass and blowing it into a new form

After filling the cup it is blown into a form to later be cut and polished into its final shape

Flattening the form is sometimes hot work

Some of my closest workmates.- these diamond wheels are used to grind and cut patterns into the surface of the glass once it is cold.

Mapping out where the lenses will go

Once mapped out, the lenses are cut into place and must go through six different grinding wheels to bring them to a high gloss polish

Shaping the glass on the steel marver before inflating it

Through the use of colored ‘stuffed-cups’ I am able to put the color and patterns on the surface of each object in order to cut and carve through these layers once the glass is cold

These cups must be picked up and treated very carefully in order to keep from trapping unwanted air bubbles.

A large glacial lake is now completed in the hotshop. It much cool down very slowly in the kiln. Once room temperature it can be cut and carved into its final form.

On the left is an unfinished serac mapped out for grinding. The white surface will be cut  through in order to reveal the underlying blue glass.

Once the forms are cold they will be shaped into their final form through cutting and grinding.

Here is a stuffed-cup which was cameo engraved to create a pattern.

Looking into the same cup

The pattern is slightly manipulated and stretched once the cup is picked up and inflated

Mapping out lenses

Lenses carved into the surface and brought to a high polish

Patterns can also be manipulated with optics

Building an ice cave takes both skills learned in preschool as well as profession skill. Gluing is much less labor intensive than other forms of coldworking.

Cleaning up an object after polished the lenses.