Bryan Bortnem

Bryan Bortnem is a local sculptor from the Black Hills. He lives in Rutland and also works as a jeweler in Brookings. Bortnem has been working as an artist since 1976, when he began making scrimshaw on a bunch of different materials. Scrimshaw is when an artist makes pictures in different materials by carving or using colored designs. Bryan is a self-taught artist.  His work can be found in a lot of galleries around the Hills.

The materials he uses the most are torn paper, stone, and bone. His sculptures are made out of either Black Hills alabaster or Cheyenne River sandstone. Bortnem is also an accomplished gold and silversmith, and he makes handmade necklaces with those materials. Bryan’s work is not just limited to sculpting. He also paints and makes shaman necklaces and crafts using eagle feathers and silver.  All of his works are modern interpretations of traditional or tribal designs.

To see some of his art you can go to http://www.artistsoftheblackhills.com and click on his name.

Collages

Collages are an art form that involves using different media together to make a new picture. Different media common in collages include newspaper or magazine clippings, photos, colored papers, pages from books, and ribbons. Collages can include other more uncommon things like old gift cards or things from nature like leaves. After an artist has gathered all the objects they want to use, they glue them onto a canvas or larger piece of paper. They can range from simple collages that have pictures arranged in a grid, to complex where the pictures overlap each other to make another picture or shape.

I enjoy doing collages because I think they are a fun way to express your creativity. I usually use pictures I tear out of magazines or photos I’ve taken, and I like to use them to decorate a box or the cover of a journal. I’ve even made a collage on one of my trash cans with magazine pictures to make it less childish. My most recent collage is made out of old iTunes cards that I used to make a cover for a box I put pictures in. Collages are also a unique way to save old notes between friends or doodles you've drawn on your notes.

Local Workshop: Kumihimo Beaded Cord Bracelet

There will be two workshops for making Kumihimo beaded cord bracelets in Rapid City, taught by Linda Snedigar-Paulsen. Kumihimo is the Japanese art of board braiding, and is a beautiful and simple way to create beaded cording. In the workshop you will learn how to braid with eight strands while incorporating beds that are threaded onto your fiber. It creates an amazing and unique looking bracelet.

The workshops will be held Saturday, September 29 at 1:00 to 4:00 PM and Tuesday, October 9 at 6:00 to 9:00 PM at the Moonshadow Bead Studio, Studio B. The address is 318 Mt. Rushmore Road. Its 1/2 a block north of the Adoba Eco Hotel. You will get a kit that includes an instruction booklet, a Kumihimo disk, fiber/floss with beads threaded on, and end caps with clasp. The workshop is open to anyone 12 and up. It costs $25 and an additional $20 supply fee may be paid to the instructor.

Perspective Drawing

This is one of my favorite forms of art. In perspective drawing people use vanishing points to make objects appear far away. There are a lot of different forms of this but the easiest are one point and two point perspective.

In one-point perspective you only have one fixed vanishing point. Two-point perspective uses two vanishing points. I really enjoy two-point perspective because I find it a lot easier and more interesting to look at. You can draw cities and a room using two-point perspective, and the final project looks more 3-D than one point. In one-point you only have one view, so it’s better for drawing roads or a single city street.

It is really easy to learn how to draw with perspective. There are videos and instructions online that you can look up. The key to a good perspective drawing is being accurate and making sure all your lines are straight. A ruler is a very important tool to have, and I also recommend a mechanical pencil because the lead is thinner which gives you sharper lines.

 

Marshall Raeburn: An Artist From the Black Hills

One local artist I really admire is Marshall Raeburn. He grew up in Minnesota and worked as a janitor for the University of Minnesota for twenty six years. In 2000 Raeburn moved to South Dakota after taking a trip here. He now lives and works in Rapid City.

Raeburn does Found Object Art. FOA is a form of art where you use different "found" materials, such as broken glass and old machine parts. Marshall's genre of FOA is called junk art. I really admire his work because he is able to take something that people consider junk or trash and make it into something creative and unique.

Intro

Welcome! My blog is going to be all about art. I'll talk about different art forms that I like and I will also talk about different local art shows and contests. I'll also discuss some local artists that I'm interested in and tell you about local classes that are available.