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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Pugnacious Mouse's first public appearance...public indecency and a tree frog guarding books.

Manitou Gallery is having a joint show for the better behaved of my sculptures and Jennifer O'Cualain's paintings tomorrow (Friday March 4).

Pugnacious Mouse will be making his first public appearance 'in the flesh', so to speak - for order taking purposes only, since my other 'metal master' is on the way to the foundry and if it gets lost in the mail I'll have this back-up ready.

Rumpy and Pumpy Mice weren't invited to the show, in fact they were asked to stay away since they have no sense of public decency and simply can't control themselves in front of people.

There'll be plenty of other newly finished things besides Pugnacious which will be at the show, and they'll be making their way onto these pages soon enough...

...here's a tree frog you can hang on the wall (or book case, or anywhere!)

Click these links to visit my website... SteveWorthingtonArt.com - Sculpture that loves you back
or my Etsy store, CritterVille

Show opens on Friday, and last chance for snapping up pre-orders on Kickstarter...

There's nothing like an upcoming show to make the gentle breeze of time passing turn into a gale and rip the pages off the calendar with frightening speed.

Especially when you're trying to get a few new pieces ready in time, and hoping a large piece arrives safely in time from a museum show the next state over.

Luckily I can rely on the handful of talented professionals I have come to know over the last few years to do a great job every time.  Thanks guys.

Testing my tree frog shoe horn for hangability before finishing, while Lee welds on a mouse tail...

Tree frogs with their sprues cut off

Snail end of one of my shoehorns. I might do this snail also as a stand-alone in the future...

Needs welding

Post weld hammering

Plenty of my old favorites will be in attendance, like my Monkey Discus Thrower, Bear Back Rider, various toads, and barring any disasters my large Sumo Toads, along with a handful of new pieces like various small turtles and tree frogs on a vine which are already installed, plus...

I've dropped off my artist's proof of 'Crossing Over' at Manitou, but several others (my tree frog  clinging on a wall, my wall hanging tree frog shoe horn, snail shoe horn, Pugnacious Mouse) should be ready this week, with my chameleon plaques not getting into my hot little hands until likely Thursday, which will give me just enough time to patina them before hanging.
Some of these new pieces will be mostly for order taking only, since  I've only had a few cast so far.


I also need to sort out the resin for my swimming turtles.

Anyhow, I'm very excited about it and I'm sure all will go well, even if it's just in time, although Manitou are also opening a new gallery at the bottom of Canyon Road which will have garden space to display outdoor sculptures, which is great!

So they'll be even busier than usual this next few weeks!

I'm the sculpture half of the show, so I'm proud to be sharing with painter Jennifer O'Cualain.
Her animal paintings will be the ideal complement to my bronze critters, and she generously painted a picture for my Mouse Project book.

Unfortunately my favorite mice are looking a bit too risque for this particular gallery.
I was a bit surprised since I never really saw myself as the Damien Hirst of Santa Fe!

 Rumpy Mouse and Pumpy Mouse - metal master, pre-patina

I'll be forced to sell them shadily on ever changing street corners from the trunk of my roving mouse mobile!
Coded messages shall appear in the newspaper, alerting those in the know where and when the next secret rendezvous will be...

My Kickstarter project is almost over, and I'm very happy to say that I achieved my funding goal early and then some thanks to the enthusiastic support of my backers who I'm delighted to say love what I do!
Which is extremely gratifying, and makes being an artist all the more rewarding.
Thanks backers!

It ends around midnight at the end of Sunday OOPS, I MEAN SATURDAY!, mountain time, so if you'd like a quick look before it ends you can click HERE.

Pugnacious metal master with a little metalwork to go before patina...

Click these links to visit my website... SteveWorthingtonArt.com - Sculpture that loves you back
or my Etsy store, CritterVille

More slow-moving chameleon action...(another bas relief plaque in the works)

Hot on the heels of my first chameleon bas relief plaque comes....
 .......ta daaa.........
....another chameleon bas relief plaque!

They aren't cast in bronze yet, but  have been molded and I have a couple of plaster casts to keep me going while the whole bronze casting machinery slowly grinds into motion.

Bronze pics coming soon...

Just like watching a chameleon in 'action', bronze casting is not a particularly speedy process.

Here's a couple of  'in progress' pics...

Meanwhile, at a top secret mouse breeding facility hidden deep inside the German countryside...

'Rein und raus' squeaks each tiny mouse (in perfectly synchronized unison of course).

Actually they aren't really in Germany, the pic just conjured up thoughts of German efficiency for some reason!

They are waxes awaiting investment and casting and metal chasing and finally then to receive their patinas.

Available for pre-order through my Kickstarter project (until Feb 26 2011) at a sizable discount before they hit the galleries...click HERE to learn more.

Meanwhile, since TX Cupcake never appeared to collect their prize,  tip top painter and next closest guesser (as per the rules) in my contest, Deborah Paris got her Nosey in the mail yesterday.

She's made painting her immediate surroundings her mission and her sensitive paintings on her blog are a must see...

Click these links to visit my website... SteveWorthingtonArt.com - Sculpture that loves you back
or my Etsy store, CritterVille

New mice launched through Kickstarter...Meet Pugnacious Mouse, and Rumpy and Pumpy Mice.

I said I'd be a little unconventional with the reveal of my new mice, so here I go...

I discovered Kickstarter recently and immediately knew I'd have to give it a try!

It's a brilliant way for people to get creative, meaningful or fun things done.
Or to pre-sell soon to be released creations for a limited time at a great price.

If you haven't heard of it before they're well worth a look.
Basically you launch a creative project stating the funding goal needed to complete it, and if people's pledges add up to your goal you get funded, and if not then no money changes hands.

But the great bit is the rewards.
You can offer different rewards if people pledge at least 'x' amount, or 'y' amount.
For my project (to turn my clay mice into bronze) the rewards for backers include getting one or more of the new mice at around 1/2 price thanks to their early commitment.

The down side is you then have to wait for them to get cast!

If you've seen clay originals displayed in galleries for pre-cast orders to be placed at a special rate, my project is an online version of that.

Anyhow, click HERE to see my project on Kickstarter...

And if you have any projects of your own that need financial help to get them off the ground, definitely give Kickstarter a look!

Click these links to visit my website... SteveWorthingtonArt.com - Sculpture that loves you back
or my Etsy store, CritterVille