five animals, five birds...

...is the sum of our sculptured collection portraying the symbiotic relationship between animals that roam the land and those that fly in the air. These are part of a larger art exhibit titled "Burnett, Fithian, and Ocasio" being shown at the Alliance for the Arts. An article about the exhibit can be read here: Florida Weekly - Group exhibit features colorful landscapes and whimsical creatures.

Last summer, the Alliance for the Arts asked if we could create five large sculptures of animals for an upcoming exhibit. We were happy to be asked and immediately began forming ideas for the sculptures. The symbiotic relationships in the animal kingdom instantly came to mind---specifically, the odd kinship of certain animals that roam the land and those that fly in the air. This collection is our portrayal of how two dissimilar organisms merge and, in our minds, live a happy life together.
Jeff began sculpting them during ArtWalk events, in front of our gallery, in the Fort Myers River District. Event goers have been able to see the progression each month. They range in size from 20” to 48" tall.

make room for more mushrooms...

Our new mushrooms for 2014 have just been completed. We’d like to introduce Nils #13, Dolf #1 and Curd #11.

 

This year, we brought back the billiard ball style, using old billiard balls as their base. These blue mushrooms are our third series.

The 2013 soggy august mushroom series ---we still have ‘augustina’ : -)

And, the 2012 mushrooms series---only two of are left, and are still available at our studio.

We plan on continuing this annual series of fungi ---we're having too much fun to stop.

February is for flowers at ocasiocasa

Jeff has been busy cultivating his sculpting skills in a brand new way ---with flowers! In fact, our studio/gallery will be brimming with them, and transformed into ‘The Florist,’ our new show for February.

We don’t plan on keeping this skill a secret. On February 15th, we’ll be sharing all the details on how to make sculpted flowers from masking tape.

Would you like to join us? Here are all the details:

What: A flower making sculpting class – We’ll complete a masking tape wire stemmed flower with leaves. Directions for applying glue to seal, and paint will be provided. Space is limited to eight students, ages 14yrs and older.

Where: ocasiocasa studio gallery – 1540 Broadway, Ft Myers, FL 33901

When: Saturday, February 15th, 1:00 to 3:30pm

Cost: $25 ($20 for early registration) –

Registering for our class early ensures that there will be a seat available, plus you receive a 20% discount. A full refund will be offered if a cancellation is needed and requested before the day of the class.

Feel free to contact us with any questions.

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sculpted roses from masking tape and wire

We have a new variety of flowers gracing our gallery, thanks to Jeff’s determination to make a very pretty rose for me.

In January we’ll offer a free rose for each bottle purchase, and will continue our special until Valentines Day. Jeff will be teaching me how to make these soon. We plan on holding a rose making class in February :-)

Details are not far away.

~dale

the art of the shadow box, revisited

We're revisiting an old blog post, 'The Art of the Shadow Box', to show what's new.

'The Navigator' (above) is utilizing one of our boxes to host a couple of our sculptures. A face mask is a recurring theme in our studio, and the little man, balancing on top while trying to navigate his way through coastal waters, is also a common miniature form that we have. Most of them hide until found by a customer.

'Cat Island' is using a nautical map showing the coast of Mississippi and the Cat Island Channel. Jeff sculpted a rope-like frame on it to cradle the galleon style sailing ship, all sculpted from masking tape.

Another shadow box that was featured in our earlier blog post, 'Everybody Out of the Pool!' : -)

ocasiocasa december 2013 art show

December’s new show is a collection of altered, recycled battery operated toys. Months in the making, these one-of-a-kind sculptures perform a range of actions from talking in unison, singing and hopping, barking, crawling, crying, laughing, and more, beginning the evening of December’s ArtWalk, Friday the 7th.

october 2013 new collection

'House of Masks' is our new collection of one-of-a-kind face mask wall art, that is currently gracing our walls at ocasiocasa studio gallery. If you have a chance, stop by and introduce yourself; they are doing a wonderful job greeting our visitors. 

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... we've also created wearable sculpted horns : -)

A favorite new item is our original art prints on recycled t-shirts, using a sun-dye technique.

We added some new sculptures, too. Like Jeff's skulls, sculpted entirely from masking tape, freestanding Kenny, made from tape and recycled wire, and cyborg skulls.

New prints are showing up in the studio gallery. These are two were created with original photography, taken of the sculptures, and digital collage. 

If you haven't already heard, we're holding another 'Intro to Masking Tape Sculpting' class . And this time, it's at the Alliance for the Arts in Fort Myers, FL. 

Next month, we're planning another class in our studio gallery, where we'll be teaching students how to sculpt fish (yay!)