Flatbed Press, Austin, Texas

DOUGLAS BRITT article Houston Chronicle

Book Signing

I hope to see you all tomorrow!

Celebrating the Completion of the newest addition to the Blue Star Print Project and a Book Signing of James Surls: From the Heartland, published by The Grace Museum, on Wednesday, June 24th from 7 - 9 p.m. at 410 E. Aresnal.

Generously Hosted by Jerry Gore

Please RSVP to Giselle at giselle@bluestarart.org or at 210.227.6960

A signed copy of the new publication, James Surls: From the Heartland, is $65.00, a special Blue Star VIP price. $20 dollars of the price point goes directly to the ARTsmart education program. (Retail value $70.00)

Charles Cowles Gallery

This has been a long week, I loaded up the sculptures for the Charles Cowles Gallery exhibition and left home on the morning of the May 24. By eleven o-clock or so I was out of Colorado, and running due west through Nebraska, all was green along the North Platte River bottom, just open road, green cotton woods, and blue sky. I made it past Omaha and shut down for the night. The next day took me through plowed field as far as the eye could see, and on into Ohio and Pennsylvania, beautiful country. The next morning it was New Jersey, and then the skyline of New York, I crossed over the George Washington Bridge and into the lion's throat. For the next hour I went 178th street on Broadway down town to 57th then over to 11th, and then down to 24th. Charles Cowles Gallery is on 24th between 10 Ave and 11th Ave. We unloaded the trailer and then I went across the East River to the Navy Yard, parked the rig, then went to my daughter Eva's place.

The next day (the 27th,) we hung the show. It looked real good, I was at that moment beaming like a new daddy. I felt really good, then Charley told me he was closing the gallery when the show came down. Mine will be the last show from a dealer who has showed some of the best for well over 35 years. Shit fire, now that was a dampener for sure, but after a few minutes, I just thought OK, now make the best of the day and move on, so I did.

The show opened on the 28th, and I must say it is one of the best I have ever done. It will be up for a month, please see it if you can. When it comes down, there will be a hole left, but life will go on and no one will even blink. Life is what it is, and it can turn on a dime or on the tone in the voice of a messenger. After the opening 24 of us walked down the street to Bottino's restaurant. Good food with good friends.

The next morning Eva and I loaded up her things and started backtracking our way west. We got to Boulder on Sunday afternoon, unloaded her things, and I said good bye to my new NYU graduate, and drove on home. God I love driving in over the mountains knowing it is where I live. I am home. James

It is about the Numbers

I thought my morning through and through, about the difference between Five and Six. Odd and Even, each projecting a way towards and end. There is a big difference between these two numbers. I wonder if it has a greater or lesser difference between 5,285,000 and 4,582,361. What are the odds on an elephant falling on me. There was a "place", at one "time", where this could have happened to you. It is different with flowers, in that world the numbers meld. I meld, you meld, they meld, we all meld. Right in by giving and receiving, start to finish, end to end. Bodhisattvas all. We just lost Leonard Shlain, his was for us all. I know that some feminist friends disagreed with him. I never could figure out why. If any one out there wants to give it a shot on the "why" part, please let me know. May be that I should stick to 5 and 6. 

James on May 17th,  

A word on an all black sculpture

I have made another all black sculpture, it is figurative in nature, with a very large head, this head is made up of a "wading up or knotting up " steel rod to look as though it were thread, with this thread running through the eye of a four foot long steel fabricated needle, all coming from a split neck, the other head is a large flower, both are growing out from a burned torso made from a root off of a large spruce tree that washed down from the mountain into lake Rudi. This sculpture reads as a silhouette for it is black in its entirety. This sculpture is called "Me, the Black Flower and the Knot and threaded Needle", This sculpture hangs from a cable and is about 8 feet tall, and it will also be in the May 28th exhibition at the Charles Cowles Gallery on 24th in Chelsea.

May 14th, 2009

A Knife, a Tree, and a Morning Glory. One title or three? As all three, I will say the knife is blood red, and cut from a mahogany heart, once it was sucking life in the Amazon, now it lives again and rests on it point, and is life size, tall as me. From its handle grows a bronze Pinion Pine, and a stainless steel Morning Glory, side by side, each as big as the other. Bottom up, it stands 9 feet, the Knife is 6 feet and the Tree and Morning Glory are three foot high and across. This sculpture stands on the point of the knife. I am going to drill a hole in the floor of Charles Cowles Gallery and stand this piece by inserting a one inch stainless steel rod 18 inches up through the knife blade and 5 inches sticking out of the point of the knife that can be stuck down into the one inch hole in Charles Cowles Gallery. The show opens on May 28th. This is but one of the 7 pieces in the show. 

It is Thursday, May 7, just before sun rise, spring is in the Rockies and buds and birds show themselves. Charmaine and I have been home for a few days. We have been down in Texas where I had a show at the Grace Museum in Abilene. It was great fun being there, they rolled out the Red Carpet for us. On opening night the place was packed with people, all kinds of people from all over the country. It sure made me feel good to see so many old friends and so many new faces.

After the opening about 350 of us walked down the street a couple of blocks to have diner in the court yard of a "cowboy museum" called Frontier Land. There was a stage set up for a group called the The FLATLANDERS, they have just released a new CD called "Hills And Valleys, I got to chose who I wanted to play that night and this group made up of Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Butch Hancock and Joe Ely was my first choice. Charmaine and I danced every dance, and loved every minute of it. These guys are really great.

My time in Abilene, Texas was the best, I loved it. And the fact that they published a beautiful book called "JAMES SURLS / From the Heartland" sure made me happy. I have had several books done on my work, but this one is on new work, 28 drawings with an essay by Susie Kalil that is the best essay on my drawing ever. There are also 27 sculptures in the book, with a great essay by Patterson Sims. Folks, this is a good one. I will post how you can get it a little latter.

But back to now, today I work in the yard, back to birds and buds and water in the irrigation ditch. It is a good time to be alive. In a month or so we will have flowers all around our house with bees and humming birds sounding off and looking good.

The Seven works on Park Ave, New York City

The Seven works on Park Ave, New York City

Picture of "Star Flower" in the reflection pool in front of the Irving Art Center, in Irving Texas. "Star Flower" is  13'x13'x13' and is made of bronze and stainless steel. The bronze was cast down at the Shidoni Foundry in New Mexico. I made an edition of 5 smaller ones that are about 16 inches tall. I am very pleased with this piece. 

The posted page on the left is a full page ad for the May issue of Art News. There are many things going on in my life as I write this,  I will have a show of small works at the Gerald Peters Gallery at 24 east 78th street in New York  on April 23rd. That is only in a couple of weeks. This show opens at 6 PM till 8 PM. It is also to celebrate the fact that I have 7 large scale works on Park Ave. These sculptures start on 50th and run up to 57th. I am very proud of this, and can't wait till the tulips bloom. 

I have much more to tell you and will come back on this week end to add much more to this Blog. 

Thanks, James Surls.