Thanks to All the Collectors Who Bought my Miniature Rustic Twig Furniture at Evanston Art Center

Miniature Rustic Twig Rocking Horse by George C. Clark    SOLD

...including this miniature rocking horse.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!

See Them at the Evanston Art Center Winter Arts & Crafts EXPO Nov. 19 to December 18, 2011

High-backed driftwood chair with splitwood back by George C. Clark
Chair back height approximately 12 inches

Birchbark and twig pedestal table and driftwood twig side chair with birchbark seat by George C. Clark
Table height 5 inches

My miniature rustic twig furniture will be featured at the Evanston Art Center's Winter Arts & Crafts EXPO which will be open free from November 19 to December 18,  2011.  The Art Center is located on the shore of Lake Michigan at 2603 Sheridan Road in Evanston, Illinois, just north of Chicago.  Gallery hours are 10am to 4pm Monday through Saturday and 12 noon to 4pm Sunday (closed Thanksgiving Day).  There will be a Preview Party Friday, November 18, from 6 to 9 pm.  Tickets to the Preview Party are $30 in advance and $35 at the door, and they can be purchased online at www.evanstonartcenter.org.

Buy Them at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art Art4Sale Event October 21 to 23, 2011

Miniature Rustic Twig and Birchbark Drum Table and Driftwood Twig and Seashell Armchair by George C. Clark
(Table height 5 inches)

Miniature Rustic Driftwood Twig Chairs and Refectory Table by George C. Clark
(Table height 5 inches)

My miniature rustic twig furniture will be featured along with the work of 80 other artists from across the nation at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art's Art4Sale event the weekend of October 21-23.  The exhibition will be free and open to the public those days.  There will be a Preview Party the evening of Thursday, Oct. 20, for which there will be an admission charge.  You can read all about it on the Museum's website.  I will be showing 3 tables, 5 chairs, a settee and a garden bench, including those shown on this post.

Rustic Birchbark, Twig, and Seashell Cup at Old Town Triangle Gallery in Chicago During October

4.5 inch high Rustic Birchbark, Twig, and Seashell Cup by George C. Clark  SOLD

Artists exhibiting in the Caffeine V show at the Old Town Triangle Art Gallery at 1763 N. North Park Avenue in Chicago are each contributing a unique artist-made cup to be sold at bargain prices as a fund-raising event for the sponsoring Artists Breakfast Group.  This is my contribution, a four and a half inch high cup made of birchbark, Lake Michigan driftwood, and seashells I picked up at Cocoa Beach, Florida last year.  The exhibition runs from October 3 to November 2, 2011.  Gallery hours are 10am to 5pm Monday through Friday and 10am to noon on Saturday.  There will be an Artists Reception on Sunday, October 9, from 2 to 5pm.  Unlike the art on the gallery's walls, the cups will be sold on a cash and carry basis and purchasers can take their cups home with them at the time of the sale.

MUTANT BUNNY now showing at Longbranch Gallery in Mineral Point, Wisconsin

My Mutant Bunny Is currently on exhibit at the Longbranch Gallery, 203 Commerce Street in Mineral Point, Wisconsin.

8 inch high rustic driftwood Mutant Bunny by George C. Clark


Thank you to the ladies who participated in my Miniature Rustic Twig Chair Workshop Sunday at the 10th annual Woodlanders Gathering at Shake Rag Alley Center for the Arts in Mineral Point, Wisconsin.  Thanks also to the great instructors in whose workshops my wife Pat and I participated this year: Roald, Little John, John S., John W., Lindy, Dan and Roland.  A special thanks to Sandy and Judy, who organized the whole event, and a final thank you to the Andersons, who bought my Rustic Flotilla painting at the Tor Faegre Scholarship fundraising auction.  What a great four day weekend!   

Now Showing at SOUTHERN ILLINOIS ARTISANS SHOP

Two miniature rustic twig chairs by George C. Clark  (approximate height 8 inches)

I am very pleased to announce that my miniature rustic twig furniture is now being shown and sold at the SOUTHERN ILLINOIS ARTISANS SHOP at Rend Lake.  THE SOUTHERN ILLINOIS ART & Artisans Center is a site of the Illinois State Museum. This expansive 15,000 square foot facility houses the Artisans Shop and the Southern Illinois Art Gallery where many arts and craft traditions are showcased.  It is located at 14967 Gun Creek Trail in Whittington, Illinois.

Driftwood Twig Settee with Seedpod Back by George C. Clark

Thanks to Everyone Who Came to the Independence Park Fine Craft Fair Sunday

At the Independence Park Fine Craft Fair, Sunday, May 1, 2011

Driftwood MUTANT BUNNY at Independence Park Fine Craft Fair

This rustic driftwood Mutant Bunny will be on display and for sale tomorrow at the Independence Park Fine Craft Fair.  See the previous post for details.  He stands 8 inches high to the tip of his ear, has a crystalline "desert rose" tail, and wears a monogrammed stone medallion around his neck.

8 inch high driftwood Mutant Bunny by George C. Clark

Miniature rustic twig chairs by George C. Clark

And here are some brand new miniature rustic chairs that will also be shown.  Stop by and see me and 30 other artists and craftspeople if you are in the Chicago area.

Come see me at INDEPENDENCE PARK in Chicago Sunday, May 1st

I will be showing and selling my newest collection of miniature rustic twig furniture at the Fine Craft Fair held Sunday, May 1 from 12:30 to 4:00pm in the Independence Park Field House at 3945 N. Springfield on the Northwest Side of Chicago (located just south of Irving Park Road one block east of Pulaski Road).  I will have a couple of new "critters" in the show, and I will post pictures of a driftwood Mutant Bunny as soon as I get him photographed.
Thirty Chicago area artists and craftspeople will be showing work in many media including jewelry, glass, fiber arts, and ceramics.

Also at WISE WOMEN GALLERY AND GIFTS (2011-2012)

Another view of the driftwood armchair with bark back by George C. Clark

Driftwood camelback settee by George C. Clark

Driftwood table and high-backed driftwood chair with seashells by George C. Clark

Another view of the high-backed driftwood chair with knotty backrest by George C. Clark

PLEASE NOTE:  This gallery closed in 2012.  My deepest thanks to Sue for showing my art and all the sales that resulted. 

See Them Then at WISE WOMEN GALLERY AND GIFTS (2011-2012)

Agate-topped twig table and driftwood armchair with bark backrest by George C. Clark

Driftwood twig armchair with shell decorations by George C. Clark

Driftwood twig sling chair with hand-felted wool seat by George C. Clark

High-backed driftwood chair with knotty backrest by George C. Clark

High-backed driftwood chair with seashells by George C. Clark

The miniature furniture pieces I have previously posted on this blog are all ones that were already sold.  Here for a change are some that are available and currently on exhibit at WISE WOMEN GALLERY AND GIFTS at 91 south Rand Road (north of Route 22 in Lakeview Plaza), Lale Zurich, Illinois

Stop by and say "hi" to Sue or Becky and see fine arts and crafts by 29 artists.

PLEASE NOTE: This gallery closed in 2012.  My deepest thanks to Sue for showing my work and all the sales that resulted.

Miniature Rustic Critters

Left side of miniature rustic devil dog by George C. Clark

Right side of miniature rustic devil dog by George C. Clark

Miniature rustic bobble wiener dog house by George C. Clark

I don't make a lot of critters because making one depends on my finding a piece of driftwood shaped like an animal face.  The bobble wiener dog is a single piece of driftwood seven inches long from the bone in its mouth (which I whittled a bit and painted) to its tail (which I also whittled).  I only added the pine cone petal ears, round-headed steel tacks for the eyes, and a brass upholstery tack for the nose.  The dog is suspended by black upholstery thread from the peak of the roof so it bobbles when you touch it or move the doghouse.  The roof is covered in birchbark shingles.

A Table and More Chairs

Miniature driftwood high-backed chair and agate-topped table by George C. Clark

Miniature twig high-backed armchair by George C. Clark

Miniature driftwood side chair by George C. Clark

High-backed driftwood chair for Abe Martin by George C. Clark

Abe Martin cartoons from 1911 by Kin Hubbard

I named that last chair after the newspaper comics character created a hundred years ago by Kin Hubbard of Indianapolis.  I could just picture old Abe on a chair like that down in Brown County.

Miniature Rustic Twig Furniture Handcrafted by George C. Clark

Miniature twig armchair with pine bark seat and backrest by George C. Clark 

I make my miniature furniture from twigs and Lake Michigan driftwood, shells, stones, bark, seed pods and other natural materials.  The challenge is to fabricate objects that require a certain form and symmetry, like chairs, for example, out of materials that are by nature randomly and organically shaped.  I seek out the gnarliest twigs or pieces of driftwood, the curved, forked or twisted ones, because they make the most interesting furniture.  No two of my chairs are ever alike in construction, although they are all identical in function.  They embody the spirit of rustic design by using found or natural materials instead of manufactured ones, and at the same time evoke the many folk tales and legends of the little people of the forest.  I have a lot of fun making them.

The tops of my little tables stand 5 inches above the surface supporting them, and the chairs and other items are proportionate to that scale.  My miniature furniture is always available at these galleries:

Longbranch Gallery 
203 Commerce Street, Mineral Point, Wisconsin
Telephone (608) 987-4499     www.longbranchgallery.com


The Artisans Shop at the Southern Illinois Art Gallery in Rend Lake
14967 Gun Creek Trail, Whittington, Illinois

I will post times and locations of craft fairs and other temporary exhibitions I take part in on this blog as information becomes available.

Miniature driftwood table and high-backed chair by George C. Clark

Miniature rustic twig rocking horse by George C. Clark