jim boles
artist's statement
Circular Obsessions is a sculpture series focusing on media in-the-round. From lathe turned objects to torch-worked glass spheres to cast bronze hemispheres, the circle and the sphere are the central motif revealed in continuously changing form, texture, color, and media.
The skills needed to execute these works is considerable. The primary ones are wood turning, glass casting and fusing, torch-worked glass, glass polishing, mold making, bronze casting, general metal work and finishing, copper plating, sand blasting, metal leafing, wood carving, and general wood working skills.
Jim usually starts with a series of thumbnail sketches which evolve over time into detailed drawings, often to scale. The lathe is then used to prototype the forms. The media for each section is chosen and sometimes found objects find their way into the design stage.
A visual integration of metal, glass, and wood is the aesthetic goal. An interplay exists between the elements: metals are fired into glass as a colorant; wood is used as a mold in glass forming; wood is also copper plated and becomes part of the final form; and found metal objects often play a central focal role and point of contrast yet complementing the glass.
In the end the various media must obtain a coherency, self-consistency and integrity.
What is it called when someone spends tens of thousands of dollars equipping a studio, and years playing with simple shapes not ever really understanding where it is all going?
Circular Obsessions.
The skills needed to execute these works is considerable. The primary ones are wood turning, glass casting and fusing, torch-worked glass, glass polishing, mold making, bronze casting, general metal work and finishing, copper plating, sand blasting, metal leafing, wood carving, and general wood working skills.
Jim usually starts with a series of thumbnail sketches which evolve over time into detailed drawings, often to scale. The lathe is then used to prototype the forms. The media for each section is chosen and sometimes found objects find their way into the design stage.
A visual integration of metal, glass, and wood is the aesthetic goal. An interplay exists between the elements: metals are fired into glass as a colorant; wood is used as a mold in glass forming; wood is also copper plated and becomes part of the final form; and found metal objects often play a central focal role and point of contrast yet complementing the glass.
In the end the various media must obtain a coherency, self-consistency and integrity.
What is it called when someone spends tens of thousands of dollars equipping a studio, and years playing with simple shapes not ever really understanding where it is all going?
Circular Obsessions.
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