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When I’m not sculpting or writing, you can find me out in the woods. I love nature. I started the Houston Women’s Hiking group to help ladies hike safely. We are now over 7,000 members. I love to encourage.

As many know, I have a YouTube channel for my art and one for the Alice project, but I also have another more recent one called Women Stepping Outside. The channel encourages women to step outdoors or step outside of their own emotional or spiritual confines to reach what they truly want to be. If you are interested in this channel, please subscribe. I’m having so much fun posting videos about the outdoors and encouraging women in life. You can also find Women Stepping Outside on Facebook and Instagram

Now, about this video and blog post.
I can’t build out my van for camping as I use it to haul sculptures and materials. However, I do love to camp and, I also have to travel for work, and my preferred lodging is my van. Slowly I have made modifications for my van, not permanent build-outs, but things that can be taken in and out of the van as needed.

My family and friends have purchased trailers. I love the ease of having a van and picking up when I want to, without having to go and get something, pay for a rental space etc. But I needed to make it a bit more comfortable so, I have done a few things like building out my bed and building this grub box.

A Camp Kitchen/Grub Box or Chuck box
The reason for having a grub box is that it keeps all of your kitchen and cooking things in one spot when camping. As this video states, I have gone through three in my life. They have gotten smaller over the years. This new design is my own, and I love it. Who would have thought a hunk of wood would make me feel so liberated? The design started as cardboard. Then I found this wonderful website called cutlistoptimizer.com. If you want to modify my design, just put your configurations in, and it will lay it out for you. How cool is that? I ended up not using wooden shelves and instead used only these drawer below that were hung on 2×2 rails. Less wood means a lighter grub box, which was my intention. Remember to account for the thickness of the wood when you are working out your dimensions and putting things together. My box is 20 inches wide by 17 3/4 deep by 22 1/2 inches tall. The box that sits on top is 20 inches wide, by 17 3/4 deep by 5 1/2 inches tall. The wings are 10″ tall (The measurements below don’t fit the latest version of my box, Some of the pieces I didn’t even use, but using cutlistoptimizer will make your configurations work just fine.)

The Drawers
I got mine from the Container store. They come in two parts- the drawers and the runners. Figure out what drawers you want, and then build your cabinet around that. I thought there were no drawers for the size of my grub box when I started, then, my daughter Christina Sizemore found some. She is excellent at finding things and helping others organize their trailers. My design was not wide enough to accomodate the drawers we found, so, I had to notch some things out. I might even make the grub box a bit deeper so the drawers could pull out easily. Otherwise you will have to assemble the drawers as you build the box, as I did. But that is up to you. As those who use their vehicles for camping know, every inch of space is accounted for.
The box for my drawers says the surface area covered is 16-7/8 x 20-3/4 inches with drawer installed.

Here are the other things I mentioned in the video.
* My tea pot * My fancy wine cup* My hot plate *My small, deep, one person electric skillet ,*My electric outlet * My coleman stool,

Hardware|
* My handles on each side *My cute latch on the front *The hardware latches to attach the tray to the grub box *The plastic trays *Those cool flush mount hinges *The cool night light.

You can get furniture grade pvc from Home depot. I did have to order the colored fittings through Formufit. The plywood I used was from home depot and I used 2×2 firing strips to frame the box and use on the wings for mounting.

When contacted by Homespun Haints about doing a podcast segment, I was, at first, a little reserved. I mean, what I do is very intimate. But the ladies handled the subject about sculpting the deceased with great dignity. I thought I would put together a blog post with some links to the things we talked about on the show. If you have not heard it yet, here is the link to the podcast The Woman Who Sculpts the Deceased.

I mentioned that Texas Country Reporter did a wonderful segment on my work with deceased loved ones. Here is that video.

“Bringing To Life The Spirit of The Deceased A Sculptor’s Journey” is the name of the book that I wrote in my undergraduate studies about my work with the deceased. I wish I had a publisher for it. I have been searching for a new publisher and or agent for several books. In this book, I documented four commissions Lucas, Patsy, Janine, and Richard. I also recored what it took to make those commissions, the unusual experiences and some of my journey about this gift, and the overabundance of empathy that enables me to connect to the deceased through their surviving loved ones. 

It is true. I develop a relationship with the deceased through my artwork. 

For those interested in knowing some of the research, I loved studying Paul Eckman’s facial action coding system and its relation to my ability to “feel” things from my subject matter. Funerary art is a fascinating subject, and the psychology and science behind the face and emotion will always intrigue me.  

I mention the mirror neuron study. PBS has a great episode on Mirror Neurons for anyone interested. Neuroscientist Vilayanur Ramchandran has some excellent research on this subject.

• In my undergraduate research, I asked two questions.
  1. How do I capture the essence of someone I have never known. 2. How do I cause an emotional reaction from my viewer. Of course, I had to take a hard look at my heightened empathy. You can imagine when, at the end, through the commission that was a suicide I discovered the science behind what I do. It blew my mind.

• The sculpture commissions I spoke about were Lucas, Patsy, Norma Janean 

• I love cemeteries and the cemetery sculpture I spoke of was of Victor Noir in the Pere Lachaise cemetery. “The statue of Victor Noir, famous for a protuberance in its trousers, has been touched by thousands of women since being placed in the Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris in 1981.”

• On the Homespun Haints podcast I spoke of the podcasts that my mother and I did. Actually it was mom, my daughter and myself. “Inspiration Generations, Three generations of christian women share their thoughts about different issues and aspects of life.” I started these because mom was homebound or often bed bound and this was her ministry. Here are some of the ones that I think might be of interest.

What Happens at death? 

SHOW NOTES

This podcast talks about the unusual circumstances and visits that Barbara had while in the hospital. The deceased came to visit. The experience of helping Barbara transition from this world to the next was incredible. Her daughter and granddaughter share some of the beautiful spirit lead moments before Barbara’s death and how God had the entire experience in his hand.

In loving memory of our co-host mom and grandmother, Barbara Ingersoll

On August 17th, 2009, Barbara Ingersoll went to be with the Lord. However, she will be greatly missed; however, her ministry and this podcast continue with her many years of journals.

Death of Parents and a Christian Jewish Friendship

SHOW NOTES

In this one I talk to mom about the death of a mom, just a few months before her death. Death is inevitable, but no one wants to go through the process of losing their mom or dad. It is part of being in the “sandwich” generation, and Bridgette shares her recent experience of holding her best friend’s hand as she sits in ICU and then the death of her friend’s mom. The women share the Jewish traditions of death and burial and the connection between Bridgette and her best friend. 

Then the women talk about gaining wisdom as we grow, and as we gain experience, we help the generations that come after us. 

I have not talked about all of this in a long time and it was fun for me to revisit the commissions, the unusual circumstances and my documentation. It has been a fascinating journey, as is each new deceased loved one that I get to meet.

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

Immediate action is needed concerning the
Senate Bill S. 2913 and House Bill H.R. 5889, the Orphan Works Acts of 2008.

America is known for the country that protects an individual’s rights. It is impossible for me to comprehend that my rights as an artist may soon drastically change, and that I could lose the rights to all the work that I have ever created.  When I first heard about this, it was so unbelievable that I thought that it must be a prank. But, with further investigation I found it was not.  In this article I will include a little about what I found and links with other articles for readers to peruse so that they can make their own informed decision.  I am also setting up interviews with several people including Copyright lawyers, those in the writers unions, and even those in the American Federation of Television and Radio artists, to name a few.  There is urgency in acting and spreading this information.  For whatever reason, this is moving through congress quite quickly and will affect your rights and possibly your income as a creative person.

As I find more information and create these interviews, I will pass them on to the Editors at Best of Artists and Artisans sculpture blog to be posted at their discretion. I will also post all of the information that I find on my home page blog, located at https://creativesculpture.com/blog

COPYRIGHT LAW AS IT STANDS TODAY
First, a few basics about copyright law as it stands today.  According to the copyright law of 1976, everything that you create is protected by copyright from the moment you create it, even if it is not registered. This is the way copyright is handled throughout the world. It was defined by the Berne convention, which is an international agreement concerning copyrights.

With the current Copyright law, you do need to register your work if you want to collect for statutory damages for infringement. If, however, your work is registered and you discover someone has stolen it and you file suit, statutory damages are punitive and can be quite severe for those infringing on someone’s rights. This very idea keeps many people honest about “taking” other people’s artwork.  

“It is not what it appears to be, it is a Trojan horse… Under this orphan works legislation, nothing you do would be protected unless it is registered with these commercial registries… they are orphaning all unregistered work”   Brad Holland

THE CHANGE IN LAWA radically proposed change to the US copyright law allows infringers to exploit the right of copyright holders with little or no penalty according to the Orphan Works Opposition Headquarters (OWOH). “Two bills currently on the “rocket docket” would let infringers “orphan” any copyrighted work whose owner the infringer failed to locate through a vaguely defined “reasonably diligent” search. The creative arts industry, including world-renowned artists, designers, photographers, manufacturers, and licensing businesses have united to oppose this legislation.”

The New Orphans Work Act declares that nothing you do would be protected unless you register it with a registry, placing a burden of diligence on the copyright owner.  It must also be stated that even though these bills are moving quite fast through congress, registries do not, at this time, exist.  These would be private registries where an artist would be responsible to register their art. In other words, every artist will have to pay to own their own work and each of their pieces will have to be registered, right down to the sketches in their sketchbook.   If they are not and someone comes across your work and they search these directories and do not find it, then they can say that they performed a “reasonably diligent search.” They can use your work at no cost. As I comprehend the ramifications of this, the works that are presently copyrighted would also have to be reregistered. The cost of registering each piece of artwork, nevertheless the time that it would take to register each piece of artwork throughout an artists lifetime, makes this task impossible and prohibitively expensive.

It is interesting to note the following—It is a violation of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works for any country to impose registration on a rights holder as a condition of protecting his copyright. See Article 5(2) “The enjoyment and the exercise of these rights shall not be subject to any formality (emphasis added).”, (From How the Orphan Works Bills Affect Visual Artists. Illustrators Partnership of American)

According to some of the interviews that I have listened to a creative person would also have to police their artwork, making sure that no one has taken it or it may be considered orphaned.” It is also said that you would have to reply to all inquiries on your artwork or it might be considered orphaned. All of this hardly leaves room for an artist to create.

OWOH states, “The new bills would severely “limit” financial penalties for infringing. Opponents charge this will encourage deliberate theft because statutory damages are the only tool the law gives copyright holders to prevent abuse– and they say it works. Penalties for infringement almost certainly deter rampant abuse by making it risky. But as medical illustrator Cynthia Turner notes ‘the new bills would protect infringers by denying artists damages, incurred court costs, attorneys’ fees and other expenses.'”

“Because these bills were planned behind closed doors, introduced with little warning and fast-tracked for imminent passage, a broad-based coalition of artists and trade associations say they have had little time to respond and generate public discussion. They say that a radical change in intellectual property law should not be rushed through Congress without public vetting. They are calling on Congress to slow down this legislation until it can be subjected to an open, informed and transparent public debate.”

Those in support of this bill are libraries and educators that claim that this bill is intended to give libraries and museums greater latitude to commercialize archived works. But, according to tp the OWOH, “critics charge the bills have been drafted so broadly they would permit any infringer to commercially exploit any copyrighted work, from professional art to family photos.” Those supporting the bill say that if artwork is worth something it should be registered. But if it is not worth something why would others want to take it?

Brad Holland of the Illustrators Partnership of America comments on the bill, ‘It is not what it appears to be, it is a Trojan horse… Under this orphan works legislation, nothing you do would be protected unless it is registered with these commercial registries… they are orphaning all unregistered work”  

I encourage you to become familiar with the bill and take action accordingly.  Your rights may be fading away without you even knowing it. If you would like to have your voice heard, The Illustrators Partnership of America has made it quite easy to take action. You can go to the web site and send an email, but faxes and letters are also encouraged.  Please keep coming back for further information on this subject and send a link to this blog to other creative people that you know.

OTHER RESOURCES

Don’t take my word for it. You must decide how important this is to you. Here are some places to start.

• A wonderful resource of articles about this bill put out by the Illustrators’ Partnership
  For comprehensive bill descriptions that describe the impact on visual artists:
  House Bill http://capwiz.com/illustratorspartnership/issues/bills/?billid=11320236
  Senate Bill http://capwiz.com/illustratorspartnership/issues/bills/?billid=11322171
• Video interview with brad Holland of the Illustrator’s Partnership
• American for the Arts on the Orphan words Legislation
• American Society of Media Photographs Update on 2008 Orphan Works Legislation
• Lawrence Lessig’s Op-Ed piece, in today’s New York Times
• Art Calendar article on the Orphan Works Act that also talks about Microsoft’s and Googles involvement.
• Public Knowledge concerning the Orphans work act
• Orphan Works Opposition Headquarters
• Plagiarism Today has several articles about the subject
• Attorney Tammy L Browning- Smith discusses the orphans works and Washington DC in her online blog Arts and crafts law
• Photography Director Rob Hagart discusses H.R.5889 ORPHAN WORKS ACT OF 2008 (INTRODUCED IN HOUSE)  on his online blog
• An article from The Artist Foundation about the Orphan works Act
• The American Society of Media photographers throws in the towel and gets behind the bill, Johnathan Bailey describes why in this article ASMP Supports Orphan Works Bill. This site also has a video
• Mind Your Business: Don’t Lose the Rights to Your Artistic Creations, Animation World Magazine’s Mark Simon reports on alarming new developments in his continuing campaign against the Orphan Works Act.
• Why the Orphan Works Act is Uncles Sam’s Thieves’ Charter written by the Editorial photographers United Kingdom and Ireland
• A podcast with Alex Saviuk cartoonist of the spider man comics

“As a figurative sculptor I am entranced with the human form, male, female, young or old.”

Created for Best of Artists and Artisans web site
By Bridgette Mongeon © 2007

Recently the editors of this column wrote me concerned that people were shying away from sending in nudes to the Best of Artists and Artisans art competitions. Are nudes a controversial subject to submit? As an artist I would certainly have to evaluate each competition carefully, before entering a nude. I posted this same topic on the sculpture community forum and received some enlightening responses.

Here are some of my own experiences with nude/naked art.

The human form is an important element of focus for any artist. My husband, who is also an artist, and I are always telling art students, “Draw from life, and make sure you can draw the human form.”

Working with nude models and creating paintings and sculptures of nudes are all part of the learning process. There was a time when there were more nudes in my repertoire of art. Although I rarely sculpt a nude these days, it is not because I have outgrown them. It is because of my very busy schedule, working with a live model would be a luxury; working from a live nude model would be a way to relax. All my work is through commission and I keep very busy doing just that. Unless someone commissioned me to create a nude, and I have had a few of those, then you won’t see many nudes coming out of my studio.

By far the piece that gets the most attention and always initiates comments from those who enter my studio is “Ethel” – a nude. It is also one of my favorites, and if I crave to do other nudes, it is because I have fallen in love with “Ethel” and want to see more of her, no pun intended. The Ethel sculpture startles individuals, but at the same time seems to make them secure within their own body.

Before the time of digital cameras, I would take pictures of the nude model, with their permission of course, and when they were not at the studio I could continue to work on the sculpture. There was a time when I was banned from coming to the local pharmacy photographic processing center, until they learned more about what I do, but even then they suggested I take these “type” of photographs to a professional lab.

The most controversial of nudes is the child nude. During the creation of “Le petit pollison,” individuals were concerned that you could tell the sex of the baby. It infuriated me that I should change my art to appease what others thought, but in the end I compromised by pushing down the child’s rear end.

I love sculpting children. I long to study that tiny little form, watch the process of the growth of the skull and bones, and yes I desire to sculpt nude children. To be perfectly honest I long to sculpt every human form. I’d love to find another Ethel, and would also love to sculpt a very old person as a nude. The thought of it immediately brings to mind the science behind what I am doing, how does the muscle and skeleton change over the years? But more than that, what emotion is exhibited from each form? The young child with his/her plump cheeks and swayed back, rear end sticking out and chin down initiates a feeling of innocence. On the contrary the frail form of the elderly, stature bent over with time, skin hanging, exhibits the ravages of life and in that wisdom. As a figurative sculptor I am entranced with the human form, male, female, young or old. When that longing is transmitted to the clay, accompanied by the emotion and the artistic passion, it can become an award-winning piece of art, one that, with the proper competition, could be submitted to without hesitation!