Dangerous liasons, and my big news...

Naughty Rumpy and Pumpy mice rudely invading a Dan Ostermiller bronze...

I was dropping off some mice for this years Barkin' Ball at the Humane Society to benefit Santa Fe's animal shelter when I noticed a splendid sculpture by Dan Ostermiller...

I couldn't help myself: I just had to put Rumpy and Pumpy mice in there since the piece seemed to be made specially for them!

Rumpy and Pumpy mice

I wondered if I just left them there: would anyone think to move them, or just assume they were welded in place?!

I've had fun photographing Nosey mouse playing on Dan's famous bears before, which you can see if you click HERE.

Two other people's work that grabbed forcefully for my attention when we moved to Santa Fe were bronzes by Sisko, and Louise Peterson.
That was nearly six years ago.
Seeing all three of those represented around town gave me the kick up the pants I needed to get serious about sculpting.

I was struck by their obvious love of and respect for nature, and the elegant and restrained degree with which they stylized their designs.

My BIG news!

And now for my BIG NEWS which I'm exceedingly puffed up about right about now, just having got back from the mail box and all...

I have a letter informing me that I've been elected as a sculptor member to the National Sculpture Society!

From their website...'In 1893, our founding members, including Daniel Chester French, Augustus St. Gaudens, Stanford White and J.Q.A. Ward, established the Society to "spread the knowledge of good sculpture." Today, NSS continues to support sculpture as an active, vital, not-for-profit 501(c) 3 organization.'


Up 'till now I've been an associate member, which allows me to enter their annual shows, get the magazine and what have you.

But Elected Members are sculptors whose work is juried and voted on by other elected sculptor members and the NSS Board of Directors.

I imagine every artist relishes being recognized by their peers; not only that, but now I can officially put NSS after my name if I'm feeling flash!

Dan Ostermiller is currently president of the NSS (and not for the first time).
I hope he doesn't mind my little mice playing on his sculpture, otherwise I could find myself banned even before my certificate and pin arrive in the mail!

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Click these links to visit my website... SteveWorthingtonArt.com - Sculpture that loves you back

or my Etsy store, CritterVille

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Dan Ostermiller's iconic bears meet my little icon - Nosey mouse...!

Before I moved to Santa Fe I had never heard of Dan Ostermiller.
I'd never seen one of his iconic bronze bears for which he's become quite famous.
Come to think of it, I had never heard of any sculptors besides a handful I'd always been in awe of.
Like some classical Greek work, Michelangelo, Rodin, Barye, and a small bunch of others whose work I'd made drawings of when I worked in London in my 20's. That was all part of my figure drawing training, since it was rare to spot naked people standing artfully posed on the street.

Maybe I was hanging out in the wrong part of town!

Santa Fe is full of sculpture, and one artist whose work really popped my cork was Dan Ostermiller.
I did pottery class as a young teen at school, and made an assortment of animals. But since then I'd never given sculpture a serious try until I moved to Santa Fe.I loved Dan's work. It was expressive, realistic but not slavishly so, appealed to my taste and was very honest.
I snapped up a few of his Christmas animals from Nedra Matteucci's gallery on Paseo de Peralta and spent the next hour sitting on the curb enjoying them while we waited for a tow truck, since our car had just broken down.His work, more than anyone else's filled me with the desire to finally get seriously sculpting, since I knew I could do a good job of it if I put my mind to it.

Anyhow, we were in Nedra's again the other day, and while we strolled about the wonderful garden in the back I snapped a few pics of Nosey hanging out with his spiritual ancestors, if you will!

Thanks Dan (from Nosey and me) for being a large part of what inspired me to start meddling seriously with clay 3 years ago.
Above you can see Nosey's hanging out with one of Dan's elephants.

Yesterday was fun. A neighbor organized an art and craft fair on our village green (as it's known).
It was a fun opportunity to meet a bunch of neighbors for half a day while showing off my handiwork and seeing what others around here get up to creatively.
Thanks again to everyone who showed support, to Bruno for organzing, and thanks of course to those who bought something!

Let's do it again next year!

My website and Etsy store.