Finishing the surfaces

If you came by the studio the past two weekends, you got a sneak peek at the progress on A Feast of Flowers, my public art project for the coastal rail trail. Two of the flower heads are finished and even got to experience their first rain. In the week in between Open Studios weekends, I’ve been working on the patina for the stems. I still have the four other flower heads to finish the patina surface on and then they will all be ready. The patina process is exhausting and exciting to see the acid change the surface of the galvanized metal instantly. I love the organic quality of the surface and the variety of reactions it has to the different areas on the metal.

If you missed seeing them at the studio, here’s a few pics of the progress… very excited to get these guys planted in the ground soon! Click here to learn more about A Feast of Flowers!

This project is sponsored by:

A Feast of Flowers | Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture

LAST CHANCE!

THE STUDIO OPENS TO THE PUBLIC FOR THE VERY LAST TIME THIS WEEKEND- DON’T MISS IT!

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY OPEN STUDIOS 2023

OCTOBER 21 & 22 | 10am – 5pm | ARTIST #297

2523 C MISSION ST SANTA CRUZ

AND if you’re on my mailing list be sure to bring your bonus coupon from your October email!

THIS IS IT! Open Studios 2023

Getting the studio ready! | the dirt | Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture

THE STUDIO OPENS TO THE PUBLIC FOR THE LAST TIME THIS WEEKEND- DON’T MISS IT!

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY OPEN STUDIOS 2023

OCTOBER 14, 15, 21 & 22 | 10am – 5pm | ARTIST #297

EARTH ART STUDIO | 2523 C MISSION ST | SANTA CRUZ

Please join me for my 18th and LAST year of participating in the Santa Cruz Open Studios Art Tour! The studio is going to be packed with art; new and old, big and small, so come find a treasure for your home or garden. Looking forward to seeing y’all soon!

AND if you’re on my mailing list be sure to bring your bonus coupon from your October email!

making progress…

All of the Feast of Flowers parts came back safely and super shiny from the galvanizer last week and after a little bit of clean up work, I was able to get two of them coated in a brown patina. The patina process was new to me and a little nerve-wracking as they are acid based products to clean the surface and then patina the surface. I don’t have any pictures of it but I was fully suited up with all my protective gear and a good respirator. The cleaner and patina actually smoke and bubble when they are put on the surface of the metal and then need to be doused with water to stop the process. I created troughs with plastic sheeting in the studio to collect all that run off so it can be disposed of properly – which was also a source of stress through the process. The final coat is a water-based sealant that gave a little shine to the surface as well as protect the patina and is graffiti resistant.

After I got the studio cleaned up from looking like a haz-mat site, I got to work attaching the ceramic flowers to their metal flower heads. These two are taking up a huge chunk of the studio space right now, but I think they look great. Two down and only four more to go!

And if you come by this weekend for Open Studios, you can see them up close and in person, we’ll be rolling them outside the studio so you won’t be able to miss them!

This project is sponsored by:

Winner #7 for the SC Awesome Foundation

The Santa Cruz Chapter of the Awesome Foundation picked its seventh winner! We love reviewing these amazing, creative ideas – keep them coming Santa Cruz! $1000 micro-grants are given out monthly.

Congrats to Tim Brady for their community project, A Good Gig – Full Time Musicians of Santa Cruz! Click here to learn more about this project.

Got an Awesome idea that needs a little funding? Pitch it here!

Getting the studio ready!

A few sneak peeks of the studio as we get ready for the last hurrah!

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY OPEN STUDIOS 2023

OCTOBER 14, 15, 21 & 22 | 10am – 5pm | ARTIST #297

EARTH ART STUDIO | 2523 C MISSION ST | SANTA CRUZ

Please join me for my 18th and LAST year of participating in the Santa Cruz Open Studios Art Tour! The studio is going to be packed with art; new and old, big and small, so come find a treasure for your home or garden. Looking forward to seeing y’all soon!

off to the galvy!

All of the metal parts for A Feast of Flowers have been fabricated and are now on a field trip to the galvanizer. Huge thanks to Kirk McNeill for helping load them up and to Fox Welding for transporting them for me. It was quite a puzzle getting them to fit onto the truck and arrange them to be safely transported. Although it may look like a daddy long leg spider convention on the back of the truck, we figured it out.

Now we just have to keep our fingers crossed that they make the journey to the zinc dip and back to the studio again without incident. I’m looking forward to seeing how they’ll look with the patina that will go over the zinc coating. Always an adventure making art!

This project is sponsored by:

A Feast of Flowers | Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture

nuevo estudio en el desierto!

I’ve shared that I’m moving my studio south of the border, but I haven’t shared pics of my new studio actually being built yet and some of you have been asking about the progress, so here ya go…

We worked with architect Kevin Wickham of Taller de Terreno Arquitectura to create this unique space. Here’s his model of the space, the big open windows will face our huge ocean views and look out over the small arroyo that runs through our property.

So far our builder has cleared the site, transplanted the trees that were in the way to another area of the property and has started building the footprint of the space, which will be a huge open space with a small baño and mini-kitchen with a long deck that runs the length of the building. We will also have a shipping container for more tools and storage alongside the building. Since we will be entirely off the grid here, we will add a solar system for power and a cistern for trucked in water added as well. I’m really excited to see this nearly 900 sq ft space take shape, here’s a few pics…

only 3 left in the shop

I’ve been busy getting the studio set up for Open Studios this October and wanted to share that there are only 3 framed Bone Series pieces left available. The two squares (seen in this photo) are 30″ x 30″ x 1″ and the last rectangle is 48″ x 24″ x 1″.

With their balance of organic and geometric shapes and amazing shadows these guys make really striking additions to any space. They can hang flush mounted on the wall or be suspended with cables to float off the wall.

Check out seeing them in situ, here, here and here for some ideas of what they can do to your space!

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