As a sculptor, my language is material substance, and that which is not. I use many different media, ranging from light, electricity, words, space, time, ephemera, and found objects. The private life of objects, and memory.
Below you will find images of a few of my sculpture works and installation pieces.
Artwork: “Tree Rattle” Musical rattle made from a tree branch, bark and pine cone leaves. 2017. Private Collection.
Artwork: “An Oceanic Feeling” Musical Box & Accordion Book. 2016. Private collection of Saed Kakish.
Size: H 14″ x W 6″ x D 4″’
Exhibit: ’62 – ’16 MCAD ALUMNI TAKEOVER, City Wide Artists gallery, Minneapolis, MN.
Medium: Music box: Wood, hand-wound musical movement – tune: “Oh Dear, What Can the Matter Be?”, mechanical clockwork, glass. Accordion book stored in the music box: Fabriano paper, watercolor pencil, walnut dip pen ink.
Artist Statement: As a physical object, a book can only exist in one place at a time. A book lives through the interaction of its elements – the text, the pictures, the pages, the binding, the turning of the pages, the display – and the human being reading it. A page in a book is a section of time, and the words on the page are revealed by the physical turning of pages by your hand in time. Once immersed in the words of a book, time – an imaginary space, is suspended for the reader. The movement of mankind throughout time is a recurring pattern in the ocean currents. The ocean is always on the move.
Artwork: “Don’t Wait Up” This was an installation piece for a Valentine theme group show. Year: 2014
Material: Antique door, antique mechanical pocket watch, vintage film projector parts, color prints of vintage and new valentine illustrations.
Size: L 10’ x W 10’ x H 8’
Exhibit: Studio of Chris Nystrom, Northrup King Building, Minneapolis, MN.
Artwork: The “Pianos on Parade” theme piano for the Keys 4/4 Kids ‘Pianos on Parade 2013’ community project.
Year: 2013
Material: Vintage piano, latex paint, dip pen ink, antique glass clock face cover.
Size: H 55″ x W 64″
Exhibited at Saint Paul Saints Ballpark, Saint Paul, MN
In painting this piano as a guest artist for the Keys 4/4 Kids Pianos on Parade program, I was inspired by founder Newell H. Hill’s book, Octaves of Success.
In portraying Newell as an astronaut on the piano, saying to the universe, “All you need is to believe in yourself,” I thought of all the children he has helped through his Keys 4/4 Kids organization and its programs, starting out locally and now nationally, through the magic of music and the arts. I added another layer of dimension to the piece by installing an antique glass clock face cover on the piano, to enable viewers access into the inner space of the piano.
Artwork: “Syncopation” 2013
Material: Antique stair newel post, vintage maple bed posts, antique doorbell, vintage yardstick, vintage wood piano key mechanisms, antique mechanical pocket watches, color prints of antique children’s ABC book illustrations, used guitar strings. Size: H 47″ x W 28″
Exhibit: Studio of Chris Nystrom, Northrup King Building, Minneapolis, MN.
Exhibit of Hand-made Jewelry, Tangletown Art Crawl, Saint Paul, MN 2012
Artwork: “A Page” 2012
Material: Antique glass windows, vintage mechanical alarm clock, light, shadows, electricity.
Size: Glass window size is 14″ x 8.5″.
Exhibit: Studio of Chris Nystrom, Northrup King Building, Minneapolis, MN.
Artwork: “Duration” 2012
Material: Vintage wood, African Mahogany, metal, paper, thread.
Size: H20-3/4″ xW18″ x D6-3/8″
Exhibit: Studio of Chris Nystrom, Northrup King Building, Minneapolis, MN.
Artwork: “Inexperienced Operator” 2012
Material: Vintage wood, paper, waxed linen thread, metal, antique clockworks with key, vintage bone china.
Size: H44″ xW10″ x D5″
Exhibit: Studio of Chris Nystrom, Northrup King Building, Minneapolis, MN.
Artwork: “Time Deposit” 2009
Exhibit: Paradigm Shift: MCAD Alumni & Friends Honor Kinji Akagawa
Minneapolis College of Art & Design, Minneapolis, MN
Artwork: “Scala Tension” 2008. Private Collection.
Handmade fingerpicks I made to play my banjo with
Finis
Laurie A. Muir artist 