Back in December, artisan Jonathan Casey (Solid716) embarked upon one of the more unusual public art endeavors that we have seen as of late – recreating a life size woolly mammoth (see post). Since that time, the project has been completed, and a sleepy street on the city’s West Side is abuzz with gawkers… and sketch artists. That’s because one of the art institutions associated with the endeavor, Starlight Studio & Art Gallery (SS&AG), is organizing a series of sketching trips, starting on the morning of Friday, June 9 (more info below).
When I initially told the story behind the project, I talked about the creation role that Casey (the artisan) played. Now I want to give a shout out to Chase Lobley, the SS&AG artist who inspired the endeavor. According to SS&AG, Lobley began making dinosaurs when he was 14 years old. Since that time, he has been fascinated with myriad aspects relating to the creatures’ composition and structure. His favorite building construction material is clay, which he uses to create mythical beasts, monsters, and cartoons. The woolly mammoth also falls into that category.
Thanks to the West Side Lots initiative, driven in part by CEPA Gallery, one of Lobley’s imaginative creations has come to ‘larger than life’ reality at 34 Helen Street. Moving forward, SS&AG will be hosting a series of one hour long sketching and clay sculpting sessions at “The Woolly Mammoth”. The art exercises are free and open to the public.
- Friday, June 9 | 10am-11am
- Thursday, June 15 | 11:45am-12:45pm
- Tuesday, June 27 | 10am-11am