Hidatsa Shield Figure Bean 1

Hidatsa Shield Figure Bean 1

11 9/16 x 12 3/8 x 1 3/8"
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I love the Hidatsa Shield Figure Bean. It gets its name from the Hidatsa American Indians of the Missouri River Valley of North Dakota. It is a very productive dry bean that was traditionally planted with corn and squash. I stumbled upon it last year and planted a few with my sweet corn, but they were unfortunately devoured by rabbits before they could grow very big. I plan on trying another crop this year with a sturdy fence in place. I love this planting technique that lets each plant support the next in line. The roots of the beans fix nitrogen in the soil which the roots of the corn consume, the corn provides the beans with a stalk to climb and the squash shades out the weeds, allowing the corn and beans to grow with less competition. 

This bean was drawn with oil pastel on gessoed steel siding and mounted on a frame made from lath boards recovered from our dining room ceiling. This photo really shows off the texture of the siding. The mount was made with the help of a portable planar that was pure heaven to work with. 

Sprouted Sweet Pea 1

Sprouted Sweet Pea 1

(The Dancer)

13 3/4 x 13 1/2 x 1 7/8"
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This sweet pea was drawn with oil pastels on steel siding. I mounted the steel siding to a frame made from recycled wood. The back of the mount was made with three boards from a pallet, the "matte" is lath board that I saved five years ago when took down the old ceiling in our dining room and put in dry wall, and the side of the mount is wood from an old thrown out crate. Sanding it down to the appropriate finish took hours and hours and was definitely a labor of love. Thankfully, we have recently acquired a planar on long term loan and using it is like working magic after having completed this mount entirely by hand.

I call this painting "The Dancer" because every time I look at it I think of a dancer doing an arabesque - a ballet position in which the dancer stands on one leg and extends the other leg behind while holding one arm up and one to the side. I envision the root and stem twisting and turning as they journey toward their destination.