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Commission
fine wirework by one of the world's foremost wire sculptors- call (707)
445-4931
February
28, 2006 :
Que
Banh of Victoria, BC Canada has won the February prize - a wire
Hummingbird sculpture!
|
February
27, 2006
LAST
CHANCE! Enter to win a wire sculpture - in our FREE
GIVEAWAY
Tomorrow
(that's Tuesday, Feb 28th) we'll select the Wire Hummingbird prize
winner and announce them on the Monthly
Giveaway
page. There's still time to squeak in with a last-minute entry - so
hurry!
Miscellaneous
February News
It's
been quiet but busy at the Wire Zoo studio - today we're photographing
several new small and medium works before shipping them out to the
people and galleries that ordered them.
On the farm, the first batch of chicks hatched - at 8 days old they're
healthy, robust and growing rapidly. At night, they hunt down moths
attracted to the light in their outdoor brooder.
March will have lots of news and photos - the Northwest Horse Source is
publishing an article on Elizabeth Berrien , and she'll appear at the
Northwest Horse Fair & Expo in Albany, Oregon in mid-March.
Watch this page - it's about to get real busy!
|
VALENTINE'S
DAY Feb 14, 2006
|
A note from the artist...
So I get jaded... as usual, my strategy was going to be to hit the
day-after Valentine's day 50% off sales in the Chocolate dept. I just
can't get serious about major marketing holidays - when if we don't go
out and spend spend SPEND we are somehow betraying our nation's economy
(already plenty betrayed by the export of so many jobs - but don't get
me started!)
I have a father-in-law who, bless him, actually complains if we send
him a store-bought Father's Day card - we only call him that day to
mutually razz the crass commercialization of our culture. We don't need
a Hallmark card to honor this good man - we do so by letting him know
how we appreciate him directly, at properly random times. And vice
versa.
Today has been fun, in its own loopy way. Windy and clear - pruned part
of a cherry tree, climbed down before the ladder and I blew over.
Checked the aviary. Sure enough, the cockatiels know damn well when
it's Valentine's Day - Every year, they mark the calendar and noisily
carry on in public, preparing for the next generation (sorry guys, I
have to do Planned Parenthood this spring - no time to hand-tame
cockatiel babies.)
In the living room incubator, 30 chicken eggs get ready to release baby
chicks (due Sunday/Monday). The nice ones are guranteed a posh life
exchanging free-range eggs for free-run privileges, the sociopathic
ones speak with Mr. Darwin and my arsenal of cookbooks.
I'm working things out with geese - Toulouse & embdens were
charming til puberty hit, then went sociopathic and offered to ingest
the neighbors' toddlers. They were delicious. The geese, I mean.
eventually I got hold of some Pilgrim goose eggs, a vintage American
breed. They are quite mellow, even as adults! Even at breeding
& nesting season, like right now, the goose girls will invite
me right into the nest and let me examine the eggs. They actually WANT
me there at hatch time, to help explain what's going on! I mean, you
sit on these eggs in a zoned-out trance state for a month, and suddenly
you're surrounded with scrabbly noisy little web-footed people?
Confusing, for a first-time goose mama.
This weekend Nick and I went to a local poultry show (bird flu? we'll
cope if and when it gets here). On behalf of our 18 laying hens, we
went recruiting for a couple roosters - the girls think their current
rooster is a wussy, and want a bit more action. We bought a brace of
black cochin roosters. WOW - they are HUGE!!! We call them the Poodle
Boys, because that is what they look like. Google up cochin roosters
and you'll understand waht I mean. The girls are impressed. ..
My grand intentions for the day (find cheap chocolate, build a second
henhouse, start the rainwater collection system, zap the local dogs
with electric fence + peanut butter) went down the drain early - I got
a call from another big agency for a bid for wire sculpture for a
medical convention. Lots of measurements and calculations...
In the meantime, I'll keep wiring the regular stuff. Did I mention Nick
came home with SUPERB chocolate from a local chocolatier, Sjaak's, and
a decent bottle of red wine? I accepted whole-heartedly, even if it IS
a commercially crass holiday. have already dispatched the Turkish
Coffee Chocolate, plus an undisclosed amount of the Pedroncelli Zin,
will now proceed to roasting an ex-sociopathic rooster with aromatic
veggies and rice.
Hope you all survivie and/or celebrate the day well...
|
 |
February's
prize is a 3-D
Hummingbird wire sculpture similar to this
one, hand-made by Elizabeth Berrien and suitable for hanging by a wall
or in a window. Enter our free
contest
now! |
January
29, 2006
CHINESE
NEW YEAR - YEAR OF THE DOG
|
|
Express
your appreciation for the devoted canines in your life - Commission a wire
portrait
to capture your tail-wagging friend's distinctive expression and spirit.
All breeds are possible, Elizabeth Berrien is expert at discerning and
delineating the specific lines that define an individual dog's unique
character. To see a variety of dog breeds in wire, explore our Dog
Page
Some other members of the Chinese Zodiac are the Rooster,
Ox and Pig,
Dragon,
Horse
and Tiger
|
Elizabeth
Berrien gets a bear hug from Biff, her 10-ft, 3D wire Kodiak
bear. |
Over
the years, Bears
have been one of Elizabeth's most challenging and rewarding subjects.
Living on a farm in rural Northern California, she has ample time to
watch Barnyard
Animals.
|
This
Rooster is modeled from one in Elizabeth's own barnyard flock. |
January
18, 2006
A
note Elizabeth Berrien wrote this AM to Marvin
Bartel,
author of a wire sculpture lesson plan:
"I'd like to express my appreciation for your outstanding wire
sculpture art lesson. You expand upon many topics dear to my heart -
open-ended creativity (which I call "Innovation"}, not "borrowing"
(which I also consider stealing), and varying the creative approach as
much as possible.
I agree, wire demonstrations should avoid any whiff of step-by-step
instruction or "here's some examples of early works for you to copy".
Then again, whenever I give a wire workshop I bring along some partial
works - having a bit of "knitting" while I stand and talk makes me more
focused and less fidgety. To spare participants from having to sit
patiently while I talk, I have wire stock distributed beforehand, so
they can tinker while I do. School-age kids make no effort whatsoever
to figure my technique, which is akin to freestyle bobbin lace gone
manic - they're busy inventing their own approach. College-age (up to
87) students sometimes get demanding - "hey, I want to learn how YOU do
it, NOW!" My answer is that as a master chef, I serve fine food but
don't feel compelled to hand out my personal recipes - but I can make
any dedicated person into a good cook.
I have a wire sculpture lesson [Teach
Innovative Wire Sculpture
]plan at http://www.wirelady.com/berrienwireteachpage.html,
which now has a link to your fine wire sculpture page. Wouldn't mind a
reciprocal link, but I leave the possibility up to you. Reciprocal
feedback would be every bit as welcome -
Your entire approach to creativity is wonderful. I'm glad that even in
"retirement" you carry on the good work via your website.
Finest regards,
Elizabeth Berrien |
|
Dancing
Bear! Flying Pig! Boot-Nosed Wyvern! Who says fine art has to be deadly
serious? Elizabeth enjoys working on the downright frivolous - a pair
of bears to dance beneath a plum tree? Absolutely! A life-sized flying
pig? Yes! Pigasus flies in Tasmania... See what happens when Whimsy
gets the better of the artist... |
 |
January
14, 2006
WIRELADY
WEBSITE WINS 2 GOLD MEDALS
|
Art Space
2000
Gold Medal
Website
Award of Excellence
2006-2007
 |
"...sites
are judged on content, functionality, graphics and usefulness
to the general public. We spend a lot of time reviewing sites and not
all make the grade. You have done a great job, keep up the good work!"
The Wirelady website is as low-tech as Elizabeth Berrien's sculptures
themselves. No gimmicks, bells or whistles... we designed and maintain
the whole thing using only a notepad.
A grateful tip of the Wirelady Hat to Web Mentor Howard,and his
wonderful Howard's
Web Page Help.
Without Howard's ever so diplomatically phrased feedback and guidance,
this site would still take 5 minutes to download, and be
near-impossible to navigate.
We also thank everyone who visits this site and gives us good feedback.
Every time one of you tells us what you'd like to see, or what you'd
like clarified, we can make the site a little better for everyone.
What would
you like to see next on this website?
Email us: wirezoo@earthlink.net
|
January
13, 2006 - Happy Friday the 13th!
|
 |
So
you wonder how a wire sculpture might look in your garden, or in a more
park-like public space? Well, we have FOUR new pages of Landscape
sculptures
for you...
Now you can envision life-sized wire animals in formal landscapes, wild
and rustic surroundings, even against the sky. If you've been wondering
how to add a spirit of mystery and grace with metal art for your
outdoor environment, commission one of Elizabeth Berrien's sensitively
wrought wire landscape sculptures.
|
January
9, 2006
By
popular demand - Expanded Traveling
Exhibit
Section
See
the 14-ft wire sculpture Giraffe, Tyrannosaurus Rex, and other
life-sized wire animal sculptures travel to different west coast
locations - Hayward City Hall, San Francisco's Randall Museum, the
Daly's complex in Fort Bragg, and in the Melvin Schuler Sculpture
Garden of the Morris Graves Museum of Art.
|
Happy
New Year! Stormy Weather...
The
lights came back on in our farmhouse and studio today - after a
four day outage!
We've weathered severe winter storms with 100mph winds, thunderstorms
and flooding. For a while, our entire Humboldt County was cut off in
all direction by floods and mudslides across the essential highways.
We did okay - stayed warm and dry with adequate food & water.
But we discovered we were less prepared than expected in several areas.
Our 5-gallon kerosene storage can was down to less than a quart, so we
had to ration lantern use and make the most of short winter daylight.
We were able to stock up on ice by day 3, but hope to have our
generator back online before the next big storm hits... |
New
Web Design for the New Year
We
hope you like the new look of the Wire Lady website - the deeper
background gives better contrast to the wire sculpture images. |
World
Class Wire Sculpture
· Elizabeth Berrien (707) 445-4931 · email wireladye@yahoo.com
Content and images
© 1968-2010 Elizabeth Berrien. All rights reserved.
·
Updated Aug 10, 2010 · this page valid HTML 4.01
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