Edward Bock - Artist

This is the sketch idea the client chose from four I submitted. 

The final piece will be 48" x 96" with the carved figures standing off the ground approx. an inch.
I'm in the middle of the production so I will post more to this blog as I progress as well as the final piece.  It's fun to have a deadline. :)

I'm still working on the background panel and I need to seal the piece.

One more day of work to go.  Tomorrow I will assemble the piece and take the record photographs.  Thursday afternoon the installation team will pick up the work.

This is the final work.  The art installers picked the piece up at 8am and by noon it was installed in it's new home, a large meeting room in the new Wells Fargo building next to the new football stadium in Minneapolis.  I am very pleased with the project and have a number of ideas for companion pieces to this work named   A City Built From Water, 48 x 96 inches printed carved acrylic mounted on acrylic on wood panel.

Although being an artist has the stigma of being a solitary experience, most that I know have quite a support group.  Perhaps the choices one makes come from a singular inner place but are certainly influenced by an outer life of experience and contact with people and the world.

I am especially lucky that I have that support from my wonderful wife, Mary.  She encourages me to pursue my passion and ideas, helps me stay organized, listens to me, is my first critic, shares her responses to the work, is patient, and non-judgmental.  She encourages me to take the time I need to explore and develop my art.

Tom Nelson stopped by the studio for a visit the other day and grabbed a quick candid shot of us.  He is a photographer/artist friend and does beautiful work.

Today is September 1st of Labor Day weekend and I am in the studio doing what I love, exploring and making art.   I have Dave Brubeck Jazz playing and a number of projects in various states of work.  There are carved acrylic figures with paint drying on them, figures ready to paint, cavases with various mixtures of pumice gel ready to be applied, and tools, paint, art supplies, etc.  To some people it would seem chaotic but it is like a symphony to me.  I'm making three pieces that could be hung together or stand alone.  The idea of 3 pieces working together appeals to me.

Today would have been my father's 97th birthday.  His name was Edward John Bock, Jr. and I am the 3rd.  I wish he were visiting in the studio now.  I miss him.