Ax-Man Project Gear 10: Exhibition Finalist

Ax-Man Project Gear 10

The Ax-Man Project Gear 10 is a finalist in Exhibition Without Walls' Your Choice On-Line Juried Exhibition.

Eighty-seven photographers, digital artists, and graphic designers submitted 473 images. Twenty-five were selected as finalists, and if you click through the images, I promise that they will take your breath away.  

My entry, Ax-Man Project Gear 10, was inspired by a Gizmo I found during an early-summer Ax-Man run with Layl McDill, my WARM (Women's Art Resources of Minnesota) mentor. I now know that the Gizmo is a tool that people use to measure wire diameter. 

The Original Gear 10 Watercolor

I used it to make post-card sized watercolor paintings that I scanned and then (gleefully) manipulated in Photoshop. See all 10 here.

Gizmo from Ax-Man: non-stop inspiration

As a lucky participant in the Women's Art Resources of Minnesota (WARM) Mentor-Protege Program, I get to spend time with my mentor, Layl McDill, an extraordinary polymer clay artist.

Third Gear Painting: Posterized

Third Gear Painting

Two weeks ago our monthly meeting/field trip took us to Ax-Man, a surplus store on University Avenue in Saint Paul, and to the Bell Museum on the University of Minnesota Campus.

6th Gear Painting

We went to Ax-Man because I'd had a tiny moment in the workshop of a very talented guitar maker where the walls were covered with (to me) unknown gizmos, gadgets, and whatsis that cried out to become painting templates. While Ax-man was short of guitar-making tools, it was long on pieces that inspired me to go home and paint.

From the Ax-Man came the Gizmo, and from the Gizmo came "10 Gears." Each began as a post-card sized watercolor that I scanned into Photoshop and manipulated to make digital magic.