Created for Best of Artists and Artisans Website.
By Bridgette Mongeon © 2009

When apprentices enter the studio it’s not long before they gravitate to my bookshelves searching for resources on further education, or books that will inspire. I am quick to pull a couple of favorite sculpture books from my bookshelf and comment, “You must look at this book,” or “Every sculptor should have this on their shelf.” Though I never have enough art books and am always open to reviewing new books, I thought I would take some time to share with you a few of my favorites, those that I share with my students and apprentices.  

Modeling and Sculpting the Human Figure by Edouard Lanteri
Amazon $10.17

It is my opinion that no sculpture studio should be without Modeling and Sculpting the Human Figure by Edouard Lanteri. The author, Edouard Lanteri was a British sculptor 1848-1917. “The book is a gold mine of technical information, the kind of reference work that should be a lifelong studio companion to the figure sculptor,” as described in the introduction by sculptor, Nathon Cabot Hale.  The first of the Lanteri volumes was printed in 1911, my copy is a reprint with a copyright notice of 1965. 

Using this book as a study guide will offer the sculpting student a wealth of information that would only be attained in many years of study. Modeling and Sculpting the Human Figure covers portrait busts, full figures, measurements, building of armatures, scales and proportions, poses, and much more.  I have especially appreciated the section on draping cloth.  We all know that muslin, velvet and silk look different, but how does a sculptor portray the material in clay?  No beginning sculpting student or established studio should be without this book.

Modeling and Sculpting Animals by Eduard Lanteri
Amazon $11.65

Accompanying Lanteri’s book on Modeling and Sculpting the Human Figure is another book that was an original part of the 1911 edition—Modeling and Sculpting Animals. This book, with a forward written by friend and fellow sculptor Augusta Rodin covers what is in the Modeling and Sculpting the Human figure but in association with animals.  Comparative measurements, construction, anatomy, armatures, and much more are featured with a bull, lion and horse as the subjects. Modeling and Sculpting the Human Animals is another book that should be on every sculptor’s shelf.

Modeling the figure in Clay by Brunno Luchessi
Amazon $14.93

For another self-taught study on the human form, a book that can’t be beat is Bruno Lucchesi’s Modeling the figure in Clay.  In this book master sculptor Bruno Luchessi takes the artist through the entire process of creating a human form from skeleton to skin. Building the sculpture on a wire armature with bones, and then adding on the muscles and skin.  I have often thought that this type of book and training would be of considerable importance to massage therapists as well.  What better way to learn the anatomy and muscles of a client then to create the form from inside out in clay.    A student wanting to hone their skills in artist anatomy would find this book a valuable resource.

From Clay to Bronze by Tuck Langland
Amazon $21.45

For those sculptors who are working toward casting their artwork in bronze, and who may want to understand the process of bronze casting, Tuck Langland’s book From Clay to Bronze is another essential reference book for every sculptor’s bookshelf. Tuck takes us through every portion of bronze casting and even includes a section on the history of bronze casting.  The idea that bronze casting has changed so little over such a long period of time, never ceases to amaze me.

Though Tuck does designate some chapters to such things as materials, armatures and modeling, most of the book focuses on the process of reproduction. In-depth segments on making molds, casting, and even using other materials besides bronze for casting your artwork are covered.  Then Tuck takes the reader through the entire bronze process of waxes, investment, burning out, chasing, and even patinas and mounting.  I especially appreciate the color pages on the process of creating patinas.  Coloring a bronze using chemicals is called patination and is a true art in itself.  With a copyright of 1999 you know that the resources that Tuck lists are problaby still available and his suggestions of further reading are a way to continue your sculpture library.

For the small investment of $60.00 from Amazon (this could be less if you are buying used books), and the commitment of time and study of these materials, a beginning sculptor could, upon completion know that their study was at the same level as working under a master in a four year university. The only thing missing is the feedback from the master. 

It was the day before Mother’s Day, 24 years ago when the little sweet child was handed to me. Throughout her life my daughter always had a hard time getting out of the house on time, and that first day was no exception. Fourteen hours of labor, and four hours of pushing, I thought it would never happen. It was my wedding anniversary when I went into labor. I delivered her at 5:00 a.m. on Saturday morning. The next day was Mother’s Day!

I remember that first feeding, it felt so blissful, until…horrors upon horrorsI fell asleep. When I awoke, I remembered I had a baby, I remembered I was feeding her, but there was no baby in my arms. Yes, I actually looked over the side of the hospital bed, each side, and then under the covers. I was terrified, how could I be a fit mother if I would let my child fall on the floor the first day. There was no child. I rang the nurse. “MY BABY IS GONE!” I screamed. The nurse entered frantically, ” It is o.k.” The nurse worked hard to calm me down. “She is in the nursery. When we came in to check on you you were fast asleep, no one could wake you, I think that long and difficult delivery finally caught up with you, and so we brought her back to the nursery.”

I was crying.

I thought the nurse must think I was horrible, How would they ever let me leave the hospital with her? I certainly did not feel much better with her reply. I might not have let her fall on the floor crashing and causing irreparable brain damage, but I did let a total stranger take my child from my sleeping arms. What kind of mother was I? I know the nurse meant well but I was humiliated, and I simply blurted out, “I don’t believe you.” I said, “I want to see my baby.”

The nurse was smiling when she came back into my room, how could you not smile when you are carrying such a beautiful child. She put my bundle back into my arms. I should have apologized to the nurse, but I was still mortified and embarrassed by my own behavior and my apparent neglect.

I examined my Mother’s Day gift again. After the nurse left, I whispered to my baby, “I know you are my baby, they did not switch you.” Why I would think they would switch my baby, I do not know. Perhaps I had seen too many movies. “I know you are, not by the bracelet on your wrist, but because of those horrible marks on your head from the forceps delivery.” I stroked the marks, thankful for their identification, afraid, that adding to my chance of dropping my child, and having a stranger take her away I might also add not being able to recognize her to my list of horrors in those first hours of being a mom. “You sure were stubborn.” She sure was a sight with those red marks. But a beautiful sight. This sweet bundle just looked back at me, assured that I was the perfect mom. She trusted me, and she had this incredible ability to make all of my fears fade. At that moment, the room, the hospital, everything, even my husband, everything out of the small circle of her and I, the entire world simply disappeared. It was the strangest experience that I have ever had, I have never had one like it since. Everything simply disappeared but her and I.

Prior to this delivery I prayed at the church alter. I looked up at Father Lon and said, “Would you please pray for my baby?”

“For a healthy baby and a safe delivery,” He stated.

“Yes, that would be nice, but would you also pray that my baby, and my labrador retriever Conan, will get along? He is really a member of the family and I’m a little worried.”

“Hmmm,” Father Lon said, “I think there is a prayer about the lion laying with the lamb, let me see what we can do.”

We called our new baby and first child Christina. The name was picked by Conan, that same labrador. While reading baby names out loud, Conan’s head tipped to the side with intrigue as we read that baby name from a book. This was probably more due to the fact that the dog’s best canine playmate was named Nina, and this name sounded close to Christina, but the name took.

That first day in the hospital I saved her baby blanket that she had been wrapped in, took another from the supplies under her bassinet and sent the “smelly” one home with her father. “Let Conan smell this,” I said. “They say it might help introduce the baby. Tell him she is coming home soon.”

We were alone again. My favorite radio station played big band. I phoned them, ecstatic that it was going to be Mother’s Day, and it was my first day with my baby. “I’d like to request a song please.”

They asked, “What would you like?” I hadn’t thought of what song I wanted, I just said, “Anything that you want, as long as it is dedicated to this sweet thing in my arms.”

Not long after I heard the announcer. “Here is something for a special little baby that came into the world just in time to make her mommy a mother on Mother’s Day.” I listened intently to what they had chosen for my child.

“Aint she sweet, see her coming down the street. Now I ask you very confidentially aint she sweet.” It was the old song “aint she sweet?” by Gene Austin 1927. My toes wiggled under the sheets. I looked at her beautiful eyes, lips and nose, as I sang her song along with the radio, one of the many songs I would sing to her throughout her childhood. “Just cast an eye in her direction, Oh me oh my, aint that perfection? I repeat, don’t you think that is kinda neat, I ask you confidentially aint she sweet?”

I’m happy to report the lion did lay down with the lamb or should I say that the cherished family pet soon learned that his nose was an equal height to the high chair, and this new smelly, squiggly family member loved to throw food over the side of her high chair and giggle when Conan would quickly retrieve it and then, as if on command, he would put his nose back up, barely resting on her tray and look at her longingly. It caused an instant rapport. Yes, there was a period of time when Conan had a regular diet of Cheerios and baby food.

My baby was married this year, and I’m sure her husband agrees with the song that was played on her “birth” day. I can’t help but think it won’t be long before she is having a baby of her own, and Mother’s Day will become something that she no longer celebrates for someone else but is celebrated for her. Until then, I still find her incredibly sweet, and confidentially, she is still my baby girl and perfection.

Copyright 2009
Mongeon is a writer, sculptor, and speaker https://creativesculpture.com

Mother’s day might not be a happy day for all women. In fact, there may be some women who are, for whatever reason, estranged from their children or their may be children estranged from their mothers. For these people, watching happy families on Mother’s day can be quite painful. There is no doubt that the pain that is felt through and by these broken relationships or the injustices caused one to another is real. But this Mother’s day, begin to give yourself the gift of letting go. Let go of the pain, the anger, and the resentment, and begin to pray for forgiveness.

This is not an easy task. Withholding anger concerning your expectations of someone turns into resentment. Holding on to resentment makes you feel justified. However, there is documentation stating that resentment and unforgiveness can make you physically sick. It could even shorten your life. Resentment can cause depression, change blood pressure, and heart rate. Resentment releases stress hormones and maintaining that resentment can cause permanent physiological damage. In short, holding on to resentment causes more damage to you than the person you are angry at.

It is difficult to forgive someone who does not admit they are wrong or who has not asked to be forgiven. Pray that God softens your heart, and if you can pray for nothing else pray that God gives you what I call the “want tos.” “Lord help me to ‘want to’ forgive,” and try to remember when you too needed forgiveness.

Often the chance of reconciliation grows dimmer as the distance grows greater. At times it might feel like it is just easier not to try. If you are the person that needs forgiveness approach the one that you have hurt in a humble manor. Pray often to God to forgive you and to heal the relationship as you continue to try to reconcile. Also, forgive yourself. Barbara Ingersoll, known as Gram in our Inspirations/Generations podcast, said it took years for her to forgive herself for what she had done to her children. You must learn to forgive yourself as well.

Forgiveness can still happen after the death of a loved one. Once again pray that God heal the relationship. Nothing is too big for God. He can heal even through death. This will allow you to let go, and in turn it will give space in your heart for other blessings.

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. 

Eph 4:31-32

Copyright 2009
Mongeon is a writer, sculptor, and speaker https://creativesculpture.com

Created for Best of Artists and Artisans Website
By Bridgette Mongeon © 2009

We are in the middle of what some would call a holy season of Lent, leading up to Passover, and then Easter Sunday. This solemn time of reflection in faith caused me to seek sculpture that does the same. In this month’s article we will showcase the work of traditional “liturgical art,” as well as not so traditional art based on the faith or with a message of faith. When reviewing different artists it is important for me to hear the description of the art. A titled work and descriptions add life to the piece, gives it meaning and creates a rapport between viewer, art, and artist. Equally, there is an urgency in my discovery of the process of each individual artist. I want to know more about their own faith. What drives them to spend so many hours creating these images? Is it of necessity that they driven to create? Do they feel a message must be conveyed? Is there a spiritual dance between them and the Great Creator as they mingle passion, art and faith? Here are the answers of five passionate and spiritual artists.

ArtistAngela Johnson
www.ajsculptures.com
Art quietly speaks volumes. At this Easter time it gives me joy to share my pieces, Because of Love and Lazarus, Come Forth. The most fascinating aspect of art for me is what can be communicated from the artist to the viewer. Every artistic decision of compositional design is determined with the desire to share a perspective,

belief or quality about the subject being created. In the sculpture, Because of Love, it was my desire to portray the incomprehensible act of love of Jesus Christ is suffering the weight of the sins of the world. The majesty and power of His love is portrayed and embedded in this work. The strain of His muscles, His bearing being strong, yet submissive to the will of His Father are meant to draw the viewer into contemplation of His Great, Infinite sacrifice of Love.

Lazarus, Come Forth sculpturally depicts the miracle of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. The biblical account states that Lazarus had been in the grave four days. Beyond all the miracles Jesus Christ had already performed was this yet greater impossibility of raising someone from the dead long after their spirit had left the realm of earth. I think a great deal about the reaction of Mary and Martha as they struggle in amazement and disbelief as they see their brother who was one dead, alive again. When we pray and ask God to grant a blessing or we personally witness a miracle what is our reaction? How grateful and changed are we as we experience the power of God? Do we give God the glory or dismiss it as an unexplainable coincidence? 

Artist
William Leslie

www.PaperSunLightsculpture.com
At the heart of existence there shines a light; Ner Tamid, the flame of the Divine’s ever radiant Presence. This light, which emanates from the inside out, expresses the timeless ideals towards which all individuals and nations strive; Wisdom, Love, and Justice.

Wisdom is the knowledge of the true nature of the human condition and the Sacred Mystery; Love is found in the deep concern for the well being of all living things, especially the least advantaged and most vulnerable; and Justice is the manifestation of Wisdom and Love in action, the right ordering of society such that the dignity of all is cherished and protected.
These three virtues are expressed in the three upward aspiring fingers of the flame in this representation of Ner Tamid. Their unity and interdependence is signified by the manner in which the three fingers twist around each other after emerging from a common base.

It is the wish of the artist that this expression of the Eternal Flame inspire every individual and all nations to be exemplary lights to guide humanity through the dark night of these bewildering times, and to remind us of the undying presence of the Divine.

The aesthetic appeal of my lightsculptures is evocative of what we find beautiful in natural forms; the swirl of texture in marble or wood grain, the evolving folds in flowers or lichen, the patterns left in windswept or sea swept sand. Everywhere we look we see that nature prefers to move in graceful trails, or to organize itself in beautiful patterns.

I began thirty years ago calling my work “lanterns” or “artistic light fixtures.” Gradually my work has evolved to become more sculptural, less functional. While my clients (ranging from homes to businesses, hospitals to restaurants) are often seeking a source of illumination for an occupied space, they also desire something that stands alone as a work of art whether the light is on or off. It is this wish to grow beyond the functional, to create truly beautiful illuminated sculptural forms that motivates my efforts now.

Ner Tamid resides in Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Vista, CA.

ArtistNancy Winship Milliken
www.nancymilliken.com

Out of Many, One, dimensions variable upon installation (cross is 51”x51”x2”), wood, beeswax, honey, muslin, steel, 2008.
The piece is constructed out of honey frames from a bee hive. It has the balance of the Red Cross symbol as it hangs suspended from the ceiling. There is a waxed muslin catch-pan filled with honey underneath and waxed muslin is draped over the extended arms of the cross. There is a lovely sweet smell of wax and honey and a depth of natural color of the old honeycomb.

Out of Many, One, II, dimensions variable upon installation (cross is 51”x51”x2”), wood, beeswax, steel, polyester, 2009. The piece is similar to the above Out of Many, One description except without the catch-pan of honey and the material draped is interchangeable, purple for lent, red and black as needed. This cross now installed at Calvary Church in Stonington, Connecticut, will come down for Easter and be replaced with a cross that I have made out of the same frame construction, filled with white flowers.

The Lamb, installation size variable,( 7’, 10’, or 15’) wool, felt, polyester, 2009. The wool has been kept in the raw, so the smell of lanolin and animal is vaguely familiar, ancient, visceral. The wool is needle felted into a felt substrate, using an old technique employed by homesteaders all over the world. The subtle colors and design of the wool, the texture and smell present in contrast to the purple polyester shine adds intrigue and contemplation.

Artist Statement
Art for me is where science and the spiritual connect. For these above mentioned pieces the concepts of sacrifice and service were always front and center. Out of Many, One, is titled for both the collaborative work ethic and social constructs of the honeybee colony and our national motto, E Pluribus Unum, found on the seal of the United States and on our dollar bill. The bees work for the benefit the whole colony, even giving their lives in defense of their productive hive. With the recent colony collapse disorder that the nation’s bees have been experiencing, I believe the materials that I have chosen to be symbolic of not only humanitarian behaviors, but also reflective of our environmental impact on the honeybee.
In choosing the symbol of the cross, and in particular the Red Cross, I am referencing the humanitarian gesture of service to others with disregard to country borders, skin color, sexual orientation, wealth or religion. Anyone who has experienced a natural disaster, a manmade calamity, or even succumbed to the power of water while swimming knows the calming effect of the Red Cross symbol flying on a flag meaning help is near. It is powerful and instills the feeling of hope as well as symbolizing sacrifice and service. The lamb has historically been a symbol of sacrifice. The method of attaching the fiber by pushing the wool into the felt with a long needle is laborious and a nod to the essential work of the homesteader. The contrasting shiny purple material representative of the color for Lent and the practice of doing without highlights the natural and authentic smell and texture of the wool.

As a last note about these pieces: They personally symbolize the faith I have in my art. I made a change in my career two years ago and I need to have faith in the unknown, the unseen, the future. By using untraditional materials unconventionally in my art, I am entering un-chartered territory. These traditional symbols are a reminder, a flag, of faith in my art.

Artist
Robert Winkler
www.robertwinklerscupture.com

People often ask Robert Winkler what inspired one or another of his sculptures.

But, the more relevant question for Winkler is “what do his abstract forms inspire in the viewer?”—particularly in the case of Look Homeward, Angles. Like all of his works, it is deeply spiritual, humble in its simplicity and lack of ornamentation —with a minimal flow that allows the imagination to soar unimpeded. 

In Look Homeward, Angles, his graceful-gravity challenging forms seem to resist the downward pull of the Earth and reach heavenward.

In a recent series of interior sculptures, Grow Up, the prayerful attitudes and upward reach of the twisted forms are both a paean to ephemeral beauty and a moving metaphor for the human struggle to transcend.

Since the early ‘90’s, Robert Winkler has been manipulating volume, mass and balance to create a sense of movement. His interior works make use of surprising combinations of materials, such as aluminum, steel, hand-laid papers, vellum, tempered masonite, and cedar. His large-scale outdoor works are primarily constructed of cedar, an organic material whose surface changes over time. Above all, it is his ability to find infinite variation within a limited number of shapes that sets him apart. Without so much as a single curved cut of wood, he achieves serpentine, animated forms through the use of incremental gradations. It is a discipline that offers no hiding place for error, demanding meticulous workmanship.

Artist
Sean Matthews
www.flickr.com/photos/seansaltars

My first experience with sculpture dates back to childhood.  As a boy, Sunday Mass was the least exciting hour of the week and I often found myself daydreaming.  I can think back to a reoccurring daydream of the Church spontaneously bursting into flames during a Sunday morning celebration.  While the congregation was frantically storming the doors for safety, I was calmly carrying large marble sculptures of the Holy Family out from the fire.  I remember thinking how I would be the hero who saved works of art from a burning church.

From time to time, I still find myself daydreaming during Mass.  One Sunday, about six years ago, after my first semester of graduate school, I made a discovery that changed my process of object making.  During Mass, while we were solemnly kneeling, I noticed a predominant object for what seemed to be the first time.  I looked around the congregation and saw how all eyes were focused on the priest and the ritual he was performing around the altar.  I remember looking at the altar as if it were a piece of minimal sculpture anchored in the center of a highly conceptual, performance piece.  I was immediately inspired, and my mind began to race with ideas.  This was a defining moment for me as an artist.

From the beginning of civilization, in every culture around the world, sacred articles, such as altars, shrines, and sanctuaries have been used to connect us spiritually to a place outside the physical world. I have found the altar to be a unique tool that can take almost any form so long as it has been consecrated to a significant purpose.  The spiritual object symbolizes religious or secular memories and acts as a focal point where one prays, contemplates, or meditates.

I see the altar as a vehicle that drives a thought or a prayer into an intangible world.  It makes an imperceptible connection between the participant and a memory. It is the tool that connects us to a thought, emotion, or a recollection, making visible that which is invisible.  An altar can be specific to a location, or small enough to fit in one’s hand.  It can be personal or for others, and is possibly the only devotional object that can connect all people, around the world, from the beginning of time through to the present. 

My body of work revolves around the altar and its infinite forms. I explore the similarities between the altar and the object, and ask the viewer to determine the difference between the two. Form and craftsmanship is very important to my concepts because I believe that beauty in art is an extension of God.  Mark Rothko writes, “The artist m

ust have sufficient means at his command to achieve his objective so that his work becomes convincingly communicative.”

My latest work is inspired by a Sicilian tradition called St. Joseph Altars.  The focus of St Joseph Altars is baked goods and fruit.  Breads are baked in symbolic forms such as carpenter tools and tools of the Passion; every food item on the altar has a special meaning.  Because this tradition is practiced during Lent, meats are not included on the table.  I have appropriated the idea of building an altar to a saint, but instead of paying homage to Saint Joseph, I am communicating my gratitude to Saint Luke, the patron of sculptors.  In this body of work, small sculptures replace food.  The materials I use are found objects and recycled wood and steel.  My purpose for using these materials is to symbolize the Resurrection.

Altar XV
Plastic, cement and coffee beans,
Microlithic Altar
Wood and steal
A Bean Picker’s Altar
Wood, steel, coffee beans, coffee bean bag

All written work is copyrighted and cannot be used, whole or in part,
without the written consent of the author.

Created for Best of Artists and Artisans web site
By Bridgette Mongeon © 2008

Recently I received an e-mail in my inbox that caused me to clean my clay filled hands and take action.  It was from sculptor Boaz Vaadia in Brooklyn, NY, expressing urgency in supporting the Artist deduction bill S. 548 and HR 1524. The e-mail included links to Americans for the Arts. This is a wonderful organization that is working for each of us.  According to their website:

Americans for the Arts is the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts in America. With 45 years of service, we are dedicated to representing and serving local communities and creating opportunities for every American to participate in and appreciate all forms of the arts.

This bill S. 548 and HR 1524 is described on the Americans for the Arts policy and advocacy page, but let me sum it up in this article.

Since 1969 those working in the arts have not been allowed to deduct the fair market value of their artwork when donating it. The bill “would allow creators of original works to deduct the fair-market value of self-created works given to and retained by a nonprofit institution.”    Currently, those working in the arts can only deduct what it cost to create it. Here is some more information from the Americans for the Arts website that indicates the importance of this bill and how immediate the effect of the 1969 legislation was.

• The Museum of Modern Art in New York received 321 gifts from artists in the three years prior to 1969; in the three years after 1969 the museum received 28 works of art from artists—a decrease of more than 90 percent.
• The biggest loser was the Library of Congress, which annually received 15 to 20 large gifts of manuscripts from authors. In the four years after 1969, it received one gift.
• Dr. James Billington, Librarian of Congress, says, “The restoration of this tax deduction would vastly benefit our manuscript and music holdings, and remove the single major impediment to developing the Library’s graphic art holdings. [The] bill would also benefit local public and research libraries. When this tax deduction was allowed in the past, many urban and rural libraries profited from the donation of manuscripts and other memorabilia from authors and composers who wanted their creative output to be available for research in their local communities.”

H.R. 1524 and S. 548 are identical to legislation that the Senate has passed five times in the past few years, but that has not been reviewed by the House.  

This bill affects every creative person, not just sculptors.   Please take note. 

Since I learn best by example, here is one for you to ponder.   I have created a life-size newsboy sculpture.  There are 10 in the edition of the life size sculpture and they sell for $23,000. I have sold two in the edition. One for the Texas Press Association, who commissioned me to create the piece, the second for the Tabor City Tribune. It costs me approximately $6,000 to pour the newsboy in bronze.   I have worked hard to develop a reputation as an artist and to sell the remaining in the edition spending hours on press releases about “Carving newspaper headlines in history,”  documenting the process on my website and in an online video number one , and number two. I spent many hours and a great deal of money in mailings and marketing.   It would make my heart skip a beat if I could somehow get one of these newsboys into the Albright Knox Art Gallery in my home town of Buffalo, New York.  If somehow I could find the funds to pour the sculpture and donate it, and if they accepted the piece, I could only deduct the $6,000- the cost of pouring this sculpture as my tax deduction and not the entire $23,000  That is a loss of $17,000 of income for my sculpture and my pocket book.  However, if someone else bought the sculpture and donated it, they could deduct the entire $23,000.

Another example is a piece I am currently working on of Richard Hathaway of Vermont College Union Institute and Goddard College. I am donating my labor and part of the casting costs, a total of approximately $25,000.  The City of Montpelier has donated the cost of casting the sculpture. It will be installed this year at the TW Wood Gallery in Montpelier, Vermont. My taxable deduction for a year and a half worth of work $0.00.   

I contacted the executive director of the St. Louis Volunteer Lawyer and Accountants for the Arts. “Unfortunately, I often deliver bad news to artists: they can only claim the cost of their materials when they donate a work of art to a nonprofit organization, while a collector can claim the fair market value. The proposed legislation, which includes some caveats, would allow some artists to receive an equitable tax deduction. It’s been on the table before, but it looks like it has some momentum this year, so artists should take a moment to contact their legislators,” states Sue Greenberg.

The Americans for the Arts website makes it quite easy to get involved.  By going to the artist’s action center you can fill in your zip code and see if your senator supports the bill. There is a simple form for you to e-mail to your representative or print out a letter with your request for support.

I know it is difficult to take time away from our creativity to become politically involved.  It is however, very important to our livelihood.  Thank you for your support and your actions.

Here is an update on some of my Creative Endeavors!

Recent articles written by Ms. Mongeon
“Exploring Digital Technologies as Applied to Traditional Sculpting.” Sculpture Review. (Winter 2007) 30.

“The American.”  Sculpture Review. (Winter 2007) 32.“Artful Business-The Basics of Designing your Website.” Sculptural Pursuit. Vol. 7 No. 1. (Spring 2008) 50. March 2004

All written work is copyrighted and cannot be used, whole or in part,
without the written consent of the author.