Cinnamon Girl shows off her new colors!
I am so happy with the new color I painted Cinnamon Girl. She had a few rust spots from winter so Marv sandblasted her outside with the big blaster and I decided I was going to give her some color. A chance find of a paint color called Vintage Teal led to her base color, then I added aging with wax mediums and gilders paste in a couple other colors and finally Marv painted her with two coats of clear car paint. So she should be good to go outside for a long, long time. And rather than stick her back on the deck, I wanted her out front where I could see her every day and visitors could easily find our house just by looking for the blue horse! But, of course, she’s still for sale. Just look under the Sculptures tab for her full info. Thanks.
Teri Martens
New Works
Athena with Bluebird - $750
Athena is poised, motionless, watching in wonder as the bluebird lands on her finger. 65″ x 21″ x 18″ and she weighs 45lbs. Athena was created using new, found and thrifted materials. Her base is a 1/4″ steel plate and her dress is a slice of 14 ga. steel. The flowers on her dress are made from 20 gauge steel and painted Silver Lilac. Her torso is a wine rack. Her face is a pipe cutout, her hair a decorative wall piece, painted Metallic Copper. Her halo is the piece that keeps squirrels out of bird feeders so no squirrels will get in her hair!. The bluebird is made from pipe and painted Vintage Teal. She could live inside or out although if outside a sheltered area would be best. If interested in Athena visit The Furniture Girl at 19257 Conifer Lane #1, Council Bluffs, IA 712-256-2057. It’s a cool store!
Birdie - $345
Birdie is a friendly character. As soon as I got her eyes attached, she’s been naughty and sassy. I started out intending to make a serious-looking crane. Simple, elegant, composed…something anyone with a nice landscaped yard would love to have. But nope, Birdie was having none of it. She took over and dictated everything. We kept the original base and legs, but found a new body, different wings, a longer neck that got covered with a spring (she didn’t want her skinny neck showing), a long nose, and spikes coming out of her head but instead of sharp ends, she wanted ball bearings on them. So that’s what I did. She really built herself and it will be hard to let her go. She’s having fun, though, hanging out at the coolest of galleries, Noyes Art Gallery in Lincoln. You can visit her there Tuesday through Saturday, 10 to 5 and first and third Fridays until 8. She’d like to see you. She might like to go home with you. But she’s picky, so she won’t go home with just anybody. But you can try. Her sizing information is under her sculpture listing.
Spirit - $365
Spirit is a lovely Welsh pony, looking wistfully from her stall door, wondering when someone is going to take her for a ride. 44″ x 24″ x 1 1/2″ in size. She weighs 15lbs. The doors are made from two store shelves, that started out gray with some rusty spots, to which I added touches of red with a dry brush and sanded everything till it looked very worn. I used several candle holder parts in her head along with a bicycle freewheel ring, a cement spacer, ball bearing, two trowels for ears and a hand scythe blade. Her neck contains half of a horse bit, a pair of weird pliers, a farm machinery cog and other parts, and “S” wrench and a piece of decorative scrap metal. She is available at Noyes Art Gallery, 119 S. 9th, Lincoln, NE 402-475-1061, they are open M-Sat 10-5, first and third Fridays ’til 8. Call them, they are friendly!
Teri Martens and a commissioned piece, “The Story.”
About Teri
Martens is a Midwesterner gifted with a strong mechanical ability. She was born in the city, but spent lots of time on her grandparents’ farm growing up. In her early twenties, Martens was involved in a start up bicycle business, but rather than working in sales or doing the books, she became a mechanic, building racing wheels and repairing bicycles. Over the years Martens got her bachelor’s degree in communication, had a child and worked for a newspaper and for various large corporations in advertising. In 2009 her husband signed her up for a welding class at a local community college. She excelled in the class and a metal sculptor was born. In 2013 Martens did her first large exhibition, a RAW event which started a series of other shows and exhibits and eventually gallery representation.
Martens works almost exclusively in steel, either new or scrap and many sculptures are a combination of welded and assemblage pieces. She enjoys animal themes — owls, foxes, birds, fish, horses, and cats but she has also created many outdoor pieces — trellises, birdbaths, arbors and suns. She has refined her methods and processes for the past 10 years moving from two dimensional work into almost exclusively 3D. She describes her work as mostly problem solving. “I find a piece that I think will work for an owl’s wing, for example, but it may need to be heated and bent or drilled and attached with screws.” So there’s always a problem she must solve before she can make something work.
Martens’ mission in life as well as in her art is simple: Be kind, be useful, be productive. Every day as she enters her studio she is grateful that she has the opportunity to create art that uplifts, surprises and is loved for the way it makes her collectors feel.
Contact Teri
This link is not working right now and I'm not smart enough to figure it out. So please just email me at terijune@yahoo.com or text/call me at 402-881-9714. Sorry and thanks!