Cubes (Cubed) is my response to the current economic downturn (2008 to 2012).  My answer to what I should do about it and how to continue as an artist. I raised my fist at the universe and decided to go big.

This is by far the largest studio sculpture I’ve ever created.  That is, I created this work for my own delight with no impending sale or commission forthcoming.  Of course, I think people will find it infinitely appealing and it will sell at some point

This sculpture has been engineered and signed off on by an engineer and would look Amazing in a traffic circle, in front of your building, in a city, or even in your garden (I know it looks wonderfully at home in my garden).

Title:  Cubes (Cubed) or Cubes³

Media:  Stainless Steel

Date: 2011

Dimensions: 22′  x 8.5′ x 9′ (8.9 x 2.6 x 2.7 meters)

Price: $120,000

Contact me to find out more.

Nomad Hearts at the Bellevue Festival of the Arts

Bronze

6’6″ x 2’5″ x 8″
2.1 x .65 x .2 meters

$43,000

This incredible bronze sculpture inspires nearly all who see it. James rarely works in pure bronze without it being a commission due to the cost of raw materials and the time it takes to make everything perfect, but he was inspired to take a leap of faith on this beautiful piece. The inner sides of the hearts have been polished to mirror finishes. The photos here were taken at the Bellevue Festival of the Arts. More professional studio pictures will be available soon.

This is one of three in a series to be created. Of the two remaining, one will have handmade glass in the ‘hearts’ and the other will be a fountain.

Commissions are now being accepted for the remaining pieces in this series, and, of course, the particular work is currently available.

The title to this sculpture was inspired by an amazing singer/songwriter, Paula Tutmarc-Johnson. Her newest CD is titled “Nomad Heart”, and if you want to be amazed, please purchase your copy from her. They are available at Two Vaults Gallery and you can here samples HERE.

Detail of the high polish within each element.

James working on Nomad Hearts

Stainless Steel & Urethane Paint

2.50 x 1.10 x 1 meters

(8′ 2″ x 3′ 6″ x 3′ 8″)

$26,000

“Tuareg Moon”, and it’s sister piece, Tuareg Sun” were inspired by the Tuareg Nomads of the Sahara Desert. Recent travels found me about 20 kilometers past Timbuktu, and out into the most desolate place imaginable. This incredibly remote city of nearly 12,000 inhabitants is located in Mali in sub-Saharan Africa. The landscape was the utter definition of stark. There was beige sand everywhere and the buildings of this mythic city are created from mud which had dried to the same desert brown. The only color was the vivid robes of the proud Tuareg people. These robes are hand-dyed from indigo ink and the vision of a line of blue walking across the desert is something I will never forget.
The Tuareg I met on my journey were the hardest looking people I’ve ever come across, but even so, they are quick with a smile and laugh as if they are the songbirds of the desert. To this point in time, I only have two pieces which convey my trip in anyway, “Tuareg Moon” is a 1/4-scale model of what I truly want to create, but this will have to suffice until I receive a commission for the full-sized version.

The other completed piece is “Sahara Blue” and is a part of my Steel Canvas series. I have promised to send 10% of the selling price of this sculpture to the Tuareg depicted on one side of the Canvas.

Here are a couple of more pictures of this incredible piece:

Tuareg Moon in the Studio with James

Artsy shot taken at the Bellevue Festival of the Arts

Gazing into the waters of the Puget Sound.

Stainless Steel &
Columnar Basalt

7’11″ x 2′ x 1’9″
2.74 x .60 x .53 Meters

$5,800

Mist over the Sound
Heron sketches a new day
Its beak draws the lines
– James Kelsey

I’m often asked, “how long did that sculpture take you”, and my answer is oftentimes, “x number of days or weeks or months. This sculpture took many years to complete. Actually, there is only one sculpture in my portfolio that has taken more time and it is still awaiting word from the Muse as to which direction it is to go.

During it’s awkward phase, “Heron Sketches the Day” sat in my private collection. I knew it wasn’t ready for a gallery show, but I didn’t hate it either. I looked at it nearly every day for years and contimplated what it would become. Over all of this time, many friends and art collectors visited my studio and many of them said they saw the same thing. . . a bird. I saw it as well, and in the end, I saw what the Muse was trying to show me.

Early morning fog with the ferry Issaquah in the mist.

Stainless Steel
and Bronze

6′ x 2’6″ x 2′
1.83 x .76 x .61 meters

$15,500

Painted Steel, Stainless Steel
and Chinese Marble

5’5″ x 1’9″ x 2′
1.67 x .55 x .6 meters

$3,200

Bound Trident is a beautiful piece and fits very well within any garden setting. Because of its gorgeous green and white marble base, it’s also a wonderful indoor sculpture adding color and interest to any interior space.

Bound Trident at the gallery

Something interesting that may or may not related to this sculpture.

Another angle

Aircraft Aluminum

Variable: 6 feet to 27 feet tall
(2 x 8 meters)

AVAILABLE:  “Primary Geometry-Yellow:5″ ($8,100)

(not pictured, but similar to the silver piece below and yellow– This will be corrected in the near future.)

Primary Geometry - Red:6

“Primary Geometry is a series that I’ve been wanting to explore since my career as a sculptor began over a decade ago. It was inspired by my days working at a local metal fabrication shop whose owner gave me my first (and only) job as a welder. I would have to make precisely-sized cubes that would then be incorporated into the internal structure of cabinets and furniture for ships. I always thought there was a beauty in the creation of these shapes, although it wasn’t an observation held by others in the very gruff shop.

This will be a rare series for me in that it will be on-going; I love color variations on a theme, and this project lends itself perfectly to that. These first four are all of similarly-sized cubes, but I will be exploring that aspect of this project as well in the future. I will create some with very small cubes, but very high, and hopefully others as very large, commissioned sculptures.

If you would like to place a specific order for a size or color, please contact me.

Blue:5 (In the background is (left to right) Yellow:5, Helios, Tangerine Blade, and Red:6

Raw:5

Blue:4

Oooooh! Look! An artsy shot!

Painted Steel & Stainless Steel

49″ x 24″ x 14″
125 x 61 x 36cm

$3,800

Personal meaning is lost in the favor of pure abstraction of Kyoto Obelisk. The ancient form is re-thought in this more modern take. This fully-realized sculpture is actually a model for two larger pieces that James is looking to have commissions taken. One version would be a 15′ – 25′ and painted stainless steel, the other would be a 12′ Bronze.

Painted Steel and Stainless Steel

10’3″ x 4’5″ x 3’10″
3.12 x 1.35 x 1.17 Meters

Studio picture right after painting.

A detail of one of the stainless steel edges.

Just for scale, James steps into the shot.

A second angle of the sculpture.

Carved and Polished Columnar Basalt

4’6″ x 1’2″ x 1′
137 x 37 x 30 cm (each)

$16,000

THE PROCESS:

This piece is an example of an experiment going extremely right! It started with the concept of simply wondering if it could be done, and a year later, it was decided that, indeed, it could. The speakers you now see are attempts #4 and #5. Sadly, #1-3 all ended up in pieces on the studio floor.

These stone speakers have been carved from a single, six-sided column of Basalt, a volcanic rock found throughout western North America. Each speaker is actually a quarter of the original column. After cutting a full column in half and then in half again, I spent over 60 hours using a diamond-tipped core-drill to hollow them out. Their walls are approximately 3″ thick, and each completed speaker weighs in at a hefty 300 pounds (163 kgs).

After coring, holes were carved where the drivers would eventually be mounted, I carved and polished two of the four sides, leaving the other two sides and top in their natural form. Once I had finished, I delivered them to an incredible Seattle company who custom designs speakers and sound systems, Adire Audio.

THE STORY “HEIMDALL”:

In Nordic (Germanic) mythology, there is a flaming, three-stranded bridge that separates Asgard (heaven) from Midgard (earth). This is Bifrost Bridge, built by the gods out of red fire, green water, and blue air. Everyday the gods would ride across this bridge to Midgard in order to hold meetings.

Bifrost Bridge was protected by the god Heimdall, the guardian. Heimdall was ever-alert. He slept less than a bird, could see over 100 miles in the day or at night, and could hear the grass growing on the hillside.

Anytime Loki (the god of fire, trickster, and all-around evil guy) would gather the giants to attempt an attack on Asgard, Heimdall would blow his herald’s trumpet and summon the gods of Asgard and heroes of Midgard to fend them off.

THE TECHNOLOGY BEHIND THE PROJECT:

Adire Audio and I worked together throughout the process of creation. While I may be a fine artist, I readily admit that I don’t know all of the electronic details behind how these speakers function.

One of the requirements for the design was that the airspace within the speakers had to be of a specific volume for the woofer to operate properly. To this end, I had to construct integral steel bases to make up for the volume that I couldn’t get from the stone alone. Because I was raising up such a heavy stone, the base had to be heavy as well. To achieve that, the bottom of the base was cut from 2″ (51 mm) thick steel plate and the rest is from 1/4″ (6 mm) plate.

The base serves a dual purpose; it’s where the tuned port for the air movement is mounted as well as the area all of the electronics and crossovers units are secured.

Because of the thickness of the stone (3 – 6″ (76 – 152 mm) in most areas), this sculpture is the perfect location for audio drivers since none of their sonic energy is transferred into the stone itself (felt as vibration in normal speakers).

Adire Audio designed Heimdall’s Trumpet to be a very high efficiency loud speaker, created to be paired with Tube Amplifiers and other high end equipment. If you have any specific technical questions, e-mail me and I’ll find out for you as soon as possible.

AWARD-WINNING 2004 VSAC:

These speakers where judged at the 2004 VSAC (Vacuum State of the Art Conference) and are prize-winning. They received accolades during the entire 3-day world conference from both audiophiles and judges alike in the “Handcrafted” exhibition. While some of the 1/4 watt tube amplifiers were unable to power them properly, the 1 watt amplifiers did a fantastic job. For those of you with 100 watt or even 200 watt or more amplifiers, you can still pair your system with these speakers, but you’ll find that your volume control will never need to go up very much. As a matter of fact, the more you turn up normal amplifiers, the more distortion is brought into the output, so using the lower end of your system is the best way to use it anyway.

ADDITIONAL PHOTOS OF THE SPEAKERS (more will be added soon):

Heimdall's Tweeters

Midrange and Woofer are Excels, by SEAS

The Speakers are actually more 'triangle' shaped because of the 6-sided nature of the columns.

Notice how I left the tops and back sides in their natural form as to not forget their volcanic beginnings.

The 'chip' in the back of this stone occurred long ago and when the column of basalt was still a single form. It's a small 'proof' of the stone's origins and I chose the column because of it.