A friend sent these pics to a friend, to a friend, to me.  Or something like that.  These are the works of James Corbett, an Australian artist that creates these sculptures using salvaged old car parts.  The details are absolutely stunning and further proof that art is truly in anything, it just takes free thinking and skilled design.

His sculptures are made of gears, spark plugs, exhaust, radiator, anything that the artist can achieve.  After spending weeks dedicated to locate suitable pieces, James meticulously cleaned every part and welds them together.  One of the pieces, a ram of spark plugs {ABOVE}, sold for a whopping $23,000!!

James says that welding and the sculpture of the parts is not the part that consumes most time of the artist. “Often the longest part of the process is finding old parts suitable for sculpture.” “On average, each piece takes a little over two weeks of work, but the larger pieces can take much longer”, he says.

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Technorati Tags: car art, car part sculpture, recycled art, recycled car parts, upcycled art, upcycled cars

Craig Bergsgaard brings Wild West living to your watering hole with this set of four liquor decanters with sculpted toppers.

Each of the Short Branch Ranch character decanters features a 100% pewter sculpture and rubber stopper atop a handsome glass carafe.
Price is $195 each ($780 for the set).

Meet the folks from Short Branch Ranch ~ each one has his own personality, just like the guys you know down at the bar!!

Meet Asa, the boss of Short Branch Ranch

Some call him iron-handed, he would say “focused”. Owning a ranch leaves no room for tomfoolery. On Asa’s ranch, the day starts before the sun comes up and keeps on goin’ until the work is done (and not a second before). 

He has no time to suffer deadbeats or troublemakers. Folks who cross him find themselves at the receiving end of a reminder of “who’s the boss ‘round here,” administered Barzell, Asa’s right-hand man. 

The way Asa sees it, his sternness is justified: Life is dog-eat-dog and without discipline he would never survive the revenuers, rustlers, and ruthless widows who vie for a piece of his ranching fortune. A private man, Asa does not share his thoughts and feelings—unless those thoughts include “Get back to work!” You can follow Asa’s musings the our Short Branch Twitter account, hashtag Asa (#Asa)

Meet Barzell, the ranch enforcer that you’ll only cross once.

“Thug” is such an unkind word.  It’s true, Barzell has cracked more than a few heads (and occasionally ribs) in his day, but those fellers needed thumping.

Barzell puts a boot heel on the neck of layabouts at the Short Branch Ranch, but he usually only ever has to exact justice once to get his message across. (As he sees it, he’s a peacekeeper, really.) 

What kind of background makes a man like Barzell? Most folks know not to ask.  You can catch Barzell’s grumbling on the Short Branch Twitter account, hashtag Barzell (#Barzell)

Meet Noble, ranch hand and ultimate example of the phrase “still waters run deep.”

Every ranch owner wants a man like Noble on his crew.  A sun-weathered beanpole of a man, Noble works hard and will do whatever’s needed with nary a word of complaint. In fact, he rarely speaks any words at all: “yup” and “nope” are about as chatty as he gets. 

True, Noble’s lack of small talk can make for a l-o-n-g day on the trail—but conversation is a small price to pay for a companion who takes heed of his surroundings and can be relied on during a fracas. 

 Noble is a man of few words, but we have got those few words for you on the Short Branch Twitter account, hashtag Noble (#Noble)

Meet El Ojo Uno, a smooth operator with an eye for the ladies…and a knack for losing at cards.

When El Ojo Uno makes his way into town, the merrymaking BEGINS.  Truth be told, after all these years of ranching, El Ojo Uno is a bit rough around the edges—but that doesn’t tarnish any of his charm. Quick to laugh and to pinch a shapely behind, ol’ one eye is always the life of the party. 

If you want to hear about the calamity that cost El Ojo Uno his right eye, he’ll willingly recount the tale—though the saga differs every time he tells it. As he sees it, there is no reason to let the truth get in the way of a good story. 

Speaking of good story, El Ojo Uno tells a few on the Short Branch Twitter account, hashtag ElOjoUno (#ElOjoUno)

COLLECT THE ENTIRE SET TODAY!!
And if you are interested in adding the fellers from Short Branch Ranch to your bar collection, please contact Craig Bergsgaard.

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Technorati Tags: craig bergsgaard, old west sculptures, Western bar, western decanters, western sculptor

A couple of weeks ago I posted some photos of the Cactus Creek Store after we re-freshed for fall.  In one of the photos we were showing off new art that we are carrying from Artist James Ayers.  He is incredibly talented and we are lucky enough to have a little interview with him here on CCD.com today…

CACTUS: Have you always been an artist?

JAMES: My art career started around Christmas when I was in the third grade. My class was instructed to draw pictures of Santa Claus and when the teacher held up my work for the class to see, dozens of kids insisted that I draw Santa for them, too.

By my junior year of high school, I was convinced that art was my calling. I made the assumption that I had to have a “safe” job, so after high school, I attended the Rhode Island School of Design and majored in commercial illustration.

My professional illustration career was short-lived. After illustrating a cookbook and a restaurant menu mat, I knew the nine-to-five commercial world was not for me. I taught school for a year and then threw myself into fine art full-time. I’ve not looked back since.

CACTUS: How do you describe your art?

JAMES: Respectful.  Because I portray historic Native American cultures, it is essential to me that the peoples I paint are accurate and authentic.

CACTUS: In what ways has your art evolved the most over the years?

JAMES: My biggest evolution was about 10 years ago, when I really began to master the use of color. I had always had a good sense of composition and the use of darks and lights, but once I learned how to achieve more with the color I use, it made my works stronger.

CACTUS: What inspires you?

JAMES: Everything! But mainly the smell of oil paints, a blank canvas, and the beauty of people and nature.

MORE AFTER THE BREAK >>>>>>>>>

CACTUS: How and when did you become interested in the Native American culture?

JAMES: When I first became a fine artist, I had the dream of portraying indigenous cultures from all over the world. I quickly that there was NO way I could ever hope to do that in my lifetime.

After spending two years living on reservations and learning about the indigenous cultures of North America, I discovered my calling. Over the years, I have tended to specialize further into the Great Plains and Southwest.

CACTUS: What is your creative process for creating a new piece?

JAMES: The inception of a piece is that spark of seeing something that catches my eye—it can be something small like the way light bounces off an object or some aspect of everyday activities. Sometimes, it is meeting someone that ignites an idea. 

For example, to prepare for my 2011 museum show on Navajo weaving traditions at the historic Toadlena Trading Post, I took several trips to meet the weavers, see hogans and ancient Navajo ruins, and trek through the reservation. I had so many ideas, I couldn’t wait to get them in my sketchbook.

After roughing out a sketch, then I go to my canvas and begin to paint. I work out the composition beforehand, and then develop the details right on the canvas.

CACTUS: Do you do commission work?

JAMES: Yes, on two levels.  The easiest way is when people let me know what subject matter interests them, when I paint something with that subject, I’ll offer fans “first crack” at buying the piece. There is no obligation; if they like it they can buy it, if not, they can pass.

The more technical way is a full commission where the client specifies exactly what they want the painting to portray and we undergo a contract to have me develop the work. This is a more labor-intensive process, so I charge more for these type of arrangements. I only accept one or two a year—right now I’m scheduling for 2013.

CACTUS: What are you planning for future projects?

JAMES: Right now, I’m focusing my time on portraiture. There are so many facets of historic Native American people that I still need to portray, so that will be the bulk of my upcoming work. I also plan on one or two large-scale scenes with multiple figures through the end of 2013.

CACTUS: Where can people purchase your art?

JAMES: My giclees are available at Cactus Creek! Also, you can see my originals on my website www.jamesayers.com, at one of my shows, or at Legacy Gallery in Scottsdale & Jackson Hole or Hayden Hays Gallery in Colorado Springs.

CACTUS: What has been your greatest achievement as an artist?JAMES: Two things… One, hearing from Native Americans how much they like my portrayals of their ancestral cultures. Every time I hear this kind of feedback, I feel like my path has been re-affirmed. 

Two, having one of my paintings added to the permanent collection of the famed Booth Museum of Western Art in Cartersville, Georgia. The painting, Prayers of the Shaman, was a very personal piece about healing and transition that I painted while my mother was battling cancer. So to have this piece in such a wonderful institution has been satisfying beyond measure.

CACTUS: If you weren’t an artist, what would you be?

JAMES: Archeologist or carpenter (or both!)

CACTUS: What is the perfect setting for your best creativity {time of day, weather outside, music in the air}?

JAMES: Mid- to late-afternoon with Native American music (flute, pow-wow, etc.) and minimal distractions. A sunny day also helps. 

CACTUS: What is the most important thing you are looking to convey when you create a new piece?

 JAMES: Without a doubt, emotion and spirit.  Every person depicted in my works is doing something: watching, hunting, healing, relaxing, etc. and I want people to instantly recognize the action and relate to it, too. Though we live 250 years later than the people I paint, our daily lives still have the same activities. Though we may “hunt” for information on the Internet instead of hunt for food, the human condition is the same. 

In terms of spirit, there is an underlying soul and motivation in everything we do. I try to capture this for each of my subjects.

What an amazing talent, I am so proud to have become acquainted with James and look forward to what comes next… BIG thanks!!!  fancy

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From Dolan about these materials… The pieces of ephemera that get stuck in life’s teeth tend to attract my attention the most.  I often say I collect like a scientist, I deliver like an evangelist, I sing like a sailor, and I think like a farmer, planting ideas and getting my hands dirty every day. All of the things I collect only live in my arms for a short time before I disassemble them, reassemble them, reinterpret them, or add them as ingredients to my next art meal. A snakeskin or rusted license plate to me is like a nugget of gold in the miners grip.

Dolan’s work and creative process continues to inspire me… thanks Dolan & Ali!!!  y’all are the best…

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Together with his wife Donna, Dave is the proprietor of the Newman Gallery in the heart of Prescott.  Next Saturday, July 2, 2011, they will be celebrating 10 years in business!!  It’s going to be a BIG-O party & I’d give my right eye to travel to Prescott to be there for the festivities but since I can’t be, maybe someone out there can go in my place??  Click HERE for more information!!

Here are a few of Dave’s newest works of art…

BIG Congrats to Dave & Donna on all of their hard work and great success…
I hope it’s one helluva 10th Anniversary Party!!!  +fancy

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from Cactus Creek STORE as well as past posts on Cactus Creek Daily. We appreciate Fancy letting us invade the blog for a day and share some of our favorite handmade finds inspired by the Southwest.

We’ve had serious Southwest fever ever since we visited New Mexico back in February {we recommend the Chocolate Turtle Bed & Breakfast in Corrales, NM just outside of Albuquerque, NM}. Three days of hiking through petroglyphs, canyons, and mesas provided inspiration for a whole new body of work by Dolan and, for me, an appreciation for new colors and patterns I’d never considered in my wardrobe or home. Check out more pictures from our trip below!!  It was fate that Cactus Creek Daily then profiled the Spanish Colonial home of Diane Keaton days after our return. I was hooked! So enjoy these Southwest finds and for more handmade favorites check out our monthly 15 Handmade Items We Love round up over on the Daily Dolan Geiman blog.

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Terry is a Colorado-based artist specializing in acrylics. Her bold, contemporary approach is characterized by her love of color, visceral painting style and strong sense of abstraction. Her canvases range in size from small paintings measuring 12 x 12 inches to large canvases of 5 x 6 feet. She creates individual images as well as diptychs, triptychs and quartets.
See more of Terry’s work on her website HERE.

“My art is freedom. It transforms me through everyday restrictions and brings me through to another time, another element, when all that matters is me, my canvas, and my art. I am growing…seeking and finding new insights into my life…and consequently my art.”

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 Before I sign off for the weekend I have someone I want you to meet… Tamara Ruiz, an artist living in Blair, Nebraska.  Over the years she has worked in ceramics, metalsmithing and her current medium, painting.

Ruiz has lived in the midwest her entire life ~ Missouri, Illinois, Kansas, and now Nebraska ~ which has impacted both the style and subject matter of her work.

Tamara’s art has been influenced by everythig from the geometry of the tilled fields and open prairies you find here in the Midwest, to the graphic style of old postcards and paint-by-numbers populating local garage sales.  Her style often consists of strong shapes and a well-defined color palette that keep the eye wandering and looking for more… For her subject matter Tamara draws on the environment around her, places she has visited, and everyday life, but each piece always begins with the same focus ~ shape and color.

In addition to her traditional art, Tamara is also a jewelry artist ~ her designs include cowgirl charm necklaces, southwestern talismans and assemblage necklaces. Bits of vintage jewelry, beads, buttons and fabrics, charms, found objects, beach stones, fossils, gemstones, freshwater pearls, individually wire wrapped beads, hand stamped narrative tags, and hand forged links and clasps are combined to create unique, wearable works of art.

Her signature wrap necklaces come in a longer length that can be worn long, or wrapped twice for a shorter version and a slightly different look. Hand stamped mixed metal tags are featured in most of her necklaces and she is happy to work with clients to customize jewelry with a favorite phrase, family or pet name.

Tamara currently has work in collections throughout the United States and countries including Norway and Singapore.  You can see all she offers, get more information, and shop online on her website, www.TamaraRuiz.com.

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 Buy them all HERE on the Amuck Designs ETSY Shop!!!

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 What a great way to have a tiny piece of hand painted art in your home without having to dedicate enormous space.  AND, they’re significantly less expensive this way.

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