Studio-rama #2

SENSATIONS is now finished. I have been wrapping up several pieces as I ready to pack my tools in anticipation of teaching a two-week workshop in Queensland on January 7th. This has been a fertile time at the bench. I guess with all the child-care focus (we've got 2-year-old twins as well as a 10-year-old), my output comes in fits and starts. Add to that the fact that it has been some time since I allowed myself the time to play, and it is plain that I am bristling with avenues to explore.

A page from a beautiful 1790 book detailing the trial of Warren Hastings

will drape over the back of the can.

The splits allow for the paper to conform to the uneven surface.

A dove perches in the center.

Creating the bail, or hanging mechanism of the pendant,

out of 8-guage steel wire. A bit of grunting is obligatory here.

Creating the terminals for the leather cord.

The clasp, in progress.

The clasp, complete - a giant, oversized finish to the neckpiece.

I'm really loving this heavy steel wire - twice the guage of my beloved rebar wire.

SENSATIONS. Materials: Sterno can, steel wire, Victorian yellow glass, copper, crab claw, Labradorite, steel tack, color lithograph from 1880's, epoxy resin, book paper (c.1790), steel-point engraving (1850's), leather, paper, text, soil.

Have a lovely holiday, everyone! Thanks for looking.

- Keith

Studio-Rama #1

This is the first of an ongoing series of in-progress reports from the workbench.

Yesterday saw a good run of work out in my studio. Although I'm working on three pieces currently, I'll focus on the neckpiece below. About 15 years ago I was making a lot of work using tin cans as my structural element.
I've been off in other directions since, and it's always fascinating to me to revisit those older interests, with the added perspective of the years.

Here was my starting point - an empty Sterno can for keeping food warm. This is what the can looked like about three days ago, before crushing it. It was just the crushed can when I started yesterday morning.

After forming the dome into the back of the crushed can, I attached some very heavy-guage steel wire (maybe 6 guage??) on top and soldered where they twist together.

My bench at this stage.

Laying in the imagery that would form the background (a color lithograph from about 1880). I thinned the paper down significantly, so when I poured epoxy resin in, it would become very indistinct. That's a bead of labradorite.

The epoxy poured, objects added in (including the title, 'Sensations'), Victorian glass over the top, and here, clamped to set.

The chamber at this point. Notice how dislocated the face has become. Love that. Many people wouldn't even see the face now, but someone studying the piece close-up would see an eye, and the whole thing would change.

Building a set of bars to cage the glass in.

The cage, ready to be attached through the side panels of the tin can.

The piece as the day finished. Off to finish it (hopefully) today..

A Few Examples

For a vast gallery of my work, visit my website.

A Word of Introduction

WELCOME. I'm Keith Lo Bue, and since 1988 I've been creating objects - jewelry, sculpture, eyewear, digital collage - using, as my guiding palette, the immense world of found objects.

Many of these objects are centuries old, and they lead me to create works that seem to have been conjured from a rather improbable past. Presenting themselves as scientific instruments or devices of divination, these assemblies appear to have some particular function. Without that utility, however, these pieces are left with a sense of mystery; of questions yet to be answered.

Within these pages I hope to chronicle my journey as a maker of objects. In the last several years I have enjoyed photographing the objects I make on my bench as they come together. It gives me a visual diary - a map - of how my intuition guides my creative process. I will be posting pieces in progress as they develop, in the hopes of sharing some of the surprise and discovery that fuels every day in my studio.

Lastly, I will be using this forum to post anything pertinent to working with found objects, encompassing the work of others who have inspired me, whether in assemblage, collage, or wearable work.

Shall we dance?