Manami & Tsukiko













As featured in the last post, I recently started a series of Japanese Goddesses. The first two were featured at Gallery Nucleus's Sweet Streets Show last month. Below is a slideshow of the making of the first two pieces, Manami- the Ocean Goddess, and Tsukiko- the Moon Goddess. They are the first two in a series of seven Japanese Goddesses I am designing.

This has been a collaborative process that would have been impossible without some amazing artists. I'd love to take a moment to thank them for helping to execute my vision and truly honoring these two Goddesses that we all fell in love with. I felt that Manami and Tsukiko dictated to us how they wanted to look and be made.
We wanted to make them proud.

The key people that created these pieces with me were:

Tony Candelaria- My right hand man, who worked side by side with me on every step of this process and supported every crazy idea I had (with some crazy ones of his own). This guy is amazing. He is a wonderful combination of scrappy and polished.

Kingman "KC" Gallagher- You are amazing! KC, our fabrication consultant, has an insane amount of knowledge about... everything! He gave us the initial idea to laser cut the pieces after seeing my designs, and was always there when we needed advice or a strong hand.

Joe Mansfield of Engrave Your Tech- Joe is wonderfully calm and professional. He laser cut my designs perfectly. Check out the video he put together of him laser cutting Manami!

Heidi Armour- Heidi made Tsukiko's silver eyelash! What an amazing job!!!

Heidi Sowa- Our shipping consultant (and a great ceramics artist)! She taught us how to properly package the Goddesses to be safely and confidently sent to California.

Aaron Jarret- Aaron was a helpful painting consultant and did some beautiful painting on Tsukiko's hair.

Eden Sosa- Our Business Partner, she's the BEST! She helped me keep my mind straight!

I will talk a little bit about the Goddesses. My inspiration with the Goddesses was that they were so ingrained in the landscape of Japan, that they have become the landscape themselves. Who wouldn't want to live on a Moon Goddess?

Manami- Our Goddess of the Ocean. She is a strong, determined, fearless lady of change. She is wrapped in a blanket of water, like a cyclone. On the top of her hay-like hair sits a golden treehouse. If you decide to stay there, get ready for an wild ride!

Tsukiko- Our lovely Moon Goddess. She is the loving Goddess of Fertility. I wanted her to embody the mystery and beauty of the night's sky. Apartments with little cute babies hug the sides of her.

Thank you for watching and stay tuned for more Goddesses to come!

8 comments:

ricardo estecha said...

Muy interesante, a medio camino entre la escultura y la pintura.
Felicidades

ben said...

Stef, I love the new direction your art has taken. You are on a new creative level now!!!

xo...ben

72 said...

Awesome, great style. Do one about Kamikaze! I know is not as god but is the "divine wind" that helped the Samurais against the forces of one of Khan's descendants. : )
Would be cool

JAKE WYATT said...

Miss, these are really beautiful. I love the play between the flat, graphic shapes and the physical space in your goddesses. Thanks for sharing!

Rui Sousa said...

Fantastic work you have here! Really amazing!

If you have time, I invite you to watch my art work at
www.ruisousaartworks.blogspot.com

Best Regards

Rui Sousa

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