Category: Whales

get stuffed! SPACES art gallery exhibition

I’m sure some of you are wondering how the adventurous whales have been doing at their art gallery home! So I’ll let you know… they’re awesome.

adventurous whales at spaces gallery, cleveland, ohio

adventurous whales - friendly seas; spaces gallery, cleveland, ohioThis is the first time I’ve ever had my work featured in a real gallery. Heck, this is the first time someone has referred to my plush as art! But I like being thought of as an artist, and I definitely like being able to put my creations in an open space for all to see.

SPACES gallery is a small contemporary art gallery located in Cleveland’s West Side. It’s definitely an interesting place. They tend to focus on unusual, highly modern, and highly interpretive forms of art, and even with this untraditional viewpoint they’re one of the most highly respected galleries in Cleveland.

There I was, little Sam, walking into a small art gallery with creaky wood floors and white walls bedecked with paintings. I turned the corner into the next room, and there they were– my whales and jellyfish suspended from the ceiling, floating against the bright white wall. It’s impossible to describe the wonder of the feeling. These are my creations, my pride and joy, put on display for everyone to see and marvel at and respect. Quite simply, I was overjoyed.

narwhal & arthur rouge at spaces gallery, cleveland, ohio

spaces gallery opening - photo by brenton pahl

photo by Brenton Pahl for SPACES gallery

get stuffed! plush exhibit at spaces gallery, cleveland, ohio - photo by jerry mann

photo by Jerry Mann for SPACES gallery

get stuffed! plush exhibit at spaces gallery, cleveland, ohio - photo by jerry mann

photo by Jerry Mann for SPACES gallery

I’ve never truly considered myself an artist. I’m a maker, a doer, a creator; but not an artist. It’s the engineering side of me, the practicality, that tells me to make things that people will use or hug or give, not things that people just look at. But to be told that I make things that are nice enough to be just looked at? That’s incredible! And the fact that I got to show my work next to the work of some ridiculously talented plush artists? What a privilege.

adventurous whales - friendly skies; spaces gallery, cleveland, ohio

So I understand, now, where artists come from. They want to see and be seen; they want to impact the world from inside the minds of the people. They want to make a difference just like anyone else. And I completely realize that there isn’t anything earth-shattering or symbolic about my adventurous whales… but all the same, I hope my art brought a few extra smiles to the world.

(this exhibit ran from November 9, 2010 to January 21, 2011. but i’m sure they wanted to keep the little guys there forever!)

adventurous whales

I just realized that, for the last week, I’ve had a picture of me with a mustache as the top entry. oops! Let’s slide that one down a bit…

And now I can tell you all about what the little vinyl circles, and the blue polar fleece “mustache”, and the surprises were all about! I was asked to send along a few pieces to be part of a gallery show, “Get Stuffed“, at SPACES gallery in downtown Cleveland!

Of course, I sent over a Narwhal. But I wanted to take this opportunity to make something really awesome and unique… so I came up with some Adventurous Whales.

Adventurous Whales – Friendly Seas
friendly seas - the submarine whale

friendly seas - the submarine whale

friendly seas - the submarine whale

Adventurous Whales – Friendly Skies
friendly skies - the airplane whale

friendly skies - the airplane whale

friendly skies - the airplane whale

They’re both made from polar fleece for the main body, with vinyl and pleather accents and appliques. They each have pleather bellies. I couldn’t have done this without my trusty teflon foot… sewing all that vinyl is tricky! It’s especially hard to work with since it manages to be both slippery and sticky, plus once you’ve poked a hole in it you can’t change your mind!

I’m very happy with how they turned out, and I’m still brainstorming more “adventurous whales” for the future! With only a week to work on it, I had to stick to two (and even that was a lot!). The gallery opened last night, but I haven’t been over yet to see how they look with all the other plush. It’s definitely good to sew something super unique every once in awhile… something that makes you say, “well, that’s awesome, but i’m never making another one of those!”

p.s. can you find the mustache?

super secret surprises

circles 
Last week I was working like crazy on a couple super awesome things… they were finished on Friday, but I’ll post the real posts later this week along with their corresponding exciting news.

In the meantime, here are some of my goofy “in-progress, super-secret” shots.

Hints:

  1. a royal blue mustache
  2. lots of painstakingly perfect vinyl applique
  3. a couple black plastic safety eyes
  4. three-quarters of a bag of fiberfill
  5. major feeling of accomplishment

    mustache?

    (i don’t even know.)

    silver pleather

    p.s. …notice anything new?