Linda Leviton Sculpture

I am a tool nut.

Want to talk drills? Specialty blades for the table saw?  I can get lost in a hardware store. A new sanding pad for my rotary sander with its own vacuum can be a high point of my week.

Linda Leviton using one of her favorite tools.

For me, being an artist means more than just brushes, paint and canvas.

My “brushes” are etching acid, laser cutting tools, metal shears, an airbrush and the computer.

Linda Leviton "painting" pieces of a wall sculpture

My “canvas” is metal and wood, plastic, cloth, glass, wire.  My “paint” is… well paint, patina, chemicals, heat, angle grinder, oil sticks, colored pencils, colored wire.

My art is very materials focused. Finding new material at the junk yard, the hardware store, a flea market gives me a lot of joy.

A new tool means a new technique.  And that means an ability to incorporate things into my designs that I’ve not done before.

A new tool means something new to play with.  What will it allow me to do that I couldn’t do until now?

My magnabend allows me to make crazy angles in sheet metal.

A  “y” connector on my acetylene torch allows me to use two torches at a time to color metal in patterns or solder a longer seam.

A pneumatic riveter lets me rivet hundreds of copper connections on a metal quilt and not cripple my hand.

Would I have even proposed doing so many rivets in this wall sculpture without one?

Nope.

Designing a Wall Sculpture for a Donor Wall is Complicated

Over the past few years, I’ve designed and fabricated many donor wall sculptures for hospitals, corporations, universities and Fortune 500 clients.

Usually when a client asks for a donor wall, they think it should be simple: just some names on the wall, right?  How difficult could that be?

If the specifications aren’t clear, the project will be a giant headache for the person responsible.

There are lots of questions that consultants should ask that may not occur to them when they want a donor wall proposal.

Here is a list of the things I consider when talking to a client or a consultant.

1. What is the purpose of the donor wall?  For example, is it to honor people who have already donated?  Is it for existing and future donors?  Is there a special group or person that needs more prominent recognition than other donors?
2. What’s the anticipated size of the wall?
3. What is the life of the wall?  For example, how long do you want to keep adding names.
4. What are the categories of donors  and how are they divided?  Most donor walls categorize by the dollar amount of the donations.
5. What is the smallest and largest amount of names in each donor group?  For example, will you have 100 donors in one group ($100-$250)and 3 donors in another group ($500,000 – $1,000,000)?
6. Who will update the wall, the client organization or me?
7. Is this the only time the client will address the donor wall, or is there a budget for future name or category additions?
8. What is the theme of the wall? Does the client want it to be more of an art piece or a donor wall?
9. How does the client want to list names?  For example, should they be listed in order of when they made the donation? Alphabetical?  Other?
10. Is the donor wall to be placed near a high traffic area?  Is there a possibility of physical damage from people touching it?
11. Will the sculpture be moved eventually?  For example, is the wall for a building campaign?
12. What else is near the wall?  For example, are there donor walls nearby?  What is the architecture, building materials, and color of the surrounding area?

As you can see, I have given donor walls a lot of thought.  These questions are critical because donors want their names to look good and be readable.

When I’m designing a wall sculpture for donors, I take all of this into consideration.

I’m working on a piece that represents a real challenge for me.  What makes it a challenge?

Linda Levinton figuring out the angles for a large wall sculpture

It’s BIG! 6 feet x 22 feet, and there are lots of complex angles and overlaps.

I created the initial design on paper and it looked great!

Once the client gave me the OK to go ahead with the project, I thought, “Oh #$%%^!!”

How do I fabricate it? How do I hang it?  What is the simplest way to install it?  How can I expand the gestural flow of paint that I applied to the paper design?

Sometimes the pieces that look simple on paper are actually the hardest to produce. (get image of the paper design) Now that I’m working the dimensions of this wall sculpture out in the studio, it’s a challenge, but a challenge that I love.

Photo of Linda working out the logistics of a large wall sculpture

Sometimes clients don’t realize how much work goes into designing a piece when they ask for a “quick bid” or price.

All of the above questions have to be worked out while I am designing a piece to determine a price for a bid.  (How will I hang the sculpture? How will the art be fabricated? etc!)

The first few times I designed new pieces, I was scared when the clients accepted them and then asked me for a price because of the huge financial risk.

Over time I’ve become confident in my ability to design something new and then to figure out an accurate bid. Often, I require a fee for the design of a large piece because it’s extremely time intensive and complicated. This works out great for the client and me because then there are no surprises as the project goes into production. There are clear expectations as to the implementation and the installation.

People have told me that they’re sometimes surprised by the immense size of many of my projects, given that I’m a petite person. And they’re right!

Some of my pieces are massive and heavy, and I love creating them all!

Here’s a video of my installation process for “Lost and Found” at the Indianapolis Art Center. The show was up from December ‘10 to Jan ‘11.

Here are three pieces in the show at the Indianapolis Art Center. The show “Lost and Found” runs through January 30 2011.

Inhale 15 ft x 5 ft. copper, dye, steel

Contact, Wall drawing, 22 x 12 ft., chalk, copper wire

Radiance, 10 ft. x 5 ft., acrylic, mylar

Some pictures of my process for making Inhale:

I am showing work in Indianapolis at the Indianapolis Art center in Broad Ripple in December through January.

I have three pieces. More information to follow. Here is the first piece.

Just put myself into the photo to give scale.

This fall I drove a commissioned wall sculpture down to Vanderbilt Med Center for installation. I had two guys and one day to install. We set up scaffolding and measured the wall which was made  up of a laminate with a wood texture. I prepared wood cleats for hanging so we measured, positioned and screwed them into the wall. The pieces hung perfectly straight. We had lots of cleanup with dust from drywall sanding in the creases between the wall panels. You can see in the large photo the planters that will eventually have an assortment of plants.

The two concrete guys were great installers

The lobby atrium is quite tall

The finished piece installed

Ack! A tree blew down on the studio!

Here are some photos of my studio. This year I had a tremendous tree fall on my studio. It didn’t damage any equipment or art. Now it is a pile of firewood for the wood burning stove I plan to install this fall.