Scott Nelles
Elk Rapids, MI
www.nellesstudios.com

"Mantis of Prey" Cast Bronze and Aluminum $10,110

"Mama Bear", Cast Bronze - $30 "First Born Cub", Cast Bronze - $20 "Second Born Cub", Cast Bronze - $20

"Grazing Mare", Cast Bronze Available by special order "Pony", Cast Bronze - $50 "Reclining Pony", Cast Bronze - $30

"Tiny Seagull", Cast Bronze - $18 "Tiny Wren", Cast Bronze - $18 "Tiny Birds", Cast Bronze - $18

"Hand of the Artist Wine Stopper" Long after I'm dead, you can say you own a piece of me. Yes, these are castings of Scott's left fingers (after all, Scott is left handed). Please note: these wine stoppers are fairly hefty and best suited to use in magnum bottles "Thumb Wine Stopper", Cast Bronze - $35 "Finger Wine Stoppers", Cast Bronze - $35

"Bronze Wine Stoppers", Cast Bronze - $35 "Bronze Fish Wine Stopper", Cast Bronze Available by special order

"Titanic Coin Bank", This is your chance to invest money in a sure thing. Don't go down with the ship, buy today. Cast Bronze - $120 "Rocket Coin Bank", Cast Bronze Available by special order "Empire State Coin Bank", Cast Bronze - Available by special order

Artist’s Statement

For as long as I can remember I have made things with my hands. As a small boy I was
amazed by all the inventions of mankind such as the great ships, automobiles, trains, and airplanes, as well as bridges and structures of monumental scale. As an adult I have grown closer to nature and all its wonderous inventiveness and creation. The inspiration for my work flows from these sources and becomes alloyed in cast metal.

I started working with the most elemental media of all, clay. Though a good start, I know clay didn’t have the strength or capabilities of metal. So I began my quest to understand the mysteries of the foundry. In no other medium does the sculptor have such an unlimited pallet of size, form, texture, detail, and color at his disposal. All of these factors can combine in molten metal, to case forms of living and lasting beauty.

My current work of cast bronze and aluminum sculpture consists of limited production toys that hark back to an earlier time when the industrial age was reaching a pinnacle of audacity and self confidence, long before the diode and the computer chip, back when you could still see gears move. Streamlining was the order of the day and function was elegance in motion.

EDUCATION:

1967-1968
                       Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan

1968-1969
                        Oakland County Community College, Orchard Lake, Michigan

1969-1970
                        Center for Creative Studies, Detroit, Michigan

WORK EXPERIENCE:

1969-1972

• Owned and operated the Muskie Bay Trapping Company; Ferndale, Michigan
  A retail leather business producing hand made leather items

• Studied shoemaking under Antonio Bava, New York Custom Shoe Shop; Detroit, Michigan

• Studied under Phillip Hawks at Greenfield Village, Henry Ford Museum; Dearborn, Michigan

• Further study in leatherwork at Colonial Williamsburg; Williamsburg, Virginia

1974-1978
                        Gained foundry experience with John Frazer at The Frazer Bronze Foundry;
                        Seattle, Washington

1978-Present
                        Own and operate an Art Foundry in Norhern Michigan, casting in bronze
                       exclusively sculptures of my own design

SHOWS & EXHIBITIONS:

• 1972 Michigan Artist Craftsman Show, Detroit Institute of Arts; Detroit, Michigan
• 1972 Sommerset Art Show; Troy, Michigan
• 1973 Beaux Arts Designer Craftsman, Columbus Art Institute; Columbus, Ohio
• 1974 “Toy Show”, Birmingham Bloomfield Art Association; Birmingham, Michigan
• 1974 “What a Dish”, plate show, Polly Friedlander Gallery; Seattle, Washington
• 1975 Northwest Crafts Annual; Seattle, Washington
• 1977 Northwest Crafts Exhibition; Seattle, Washington
• 1977 Invitational Exhibitions Bellevue Art Museum; Bellevue, Washington
• 1979 “Skin Forms”, Innovations in leather, H.F. Johnson Museum, Cornell University;
              Ithaca New York. Sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts
• 1980 Michigan Artists 80-81, Midland Center for the Arts; Midland, Michigan
• 1982 Two Man Show, Indianapolis Museum of Arts; Indianapolis, Indiana
• 1983 Michigan Fine Arts Competition, Birmingham Bloomfield Arts Association,
              Birmingham, Michigan
• 1985 Group Show, Cade Gallery; Royal Oak, Michigan
• 1986 Group Show, Traverse City Arts Council; Traverse City, Michigan
• 1986 Looking at Earth Art Show, National Air and Space Museum,
             Smithsonian Institution; Washington, D.C.
• 1986 Alumni Show, Center for crative Studies; Detroit, Michigan
• 1995 One Man Show Koucky Gallery; Charlevoix, Michigan

SIGNIFICANT FESTIVAL SHOWS:

• 1972-1974 Ann Arbor Art Fair; Ann Arbor, Michigan
• 1972 Northeast Crafts Fair; Rhinebeck, New York
• 1973 Milwaukee Lake Front Festival; Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• 1985 American Craft Enterprises; Dallas, Texas
• 1986 American Craft Enterprises; West Springfield, Massachusetts
• 1990-2000 American Craft Enterprises; Baltimore, Maryland

TRADE SHOWS:

• 1990-2000 Buyers market of American crafts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• 1990-2000 New York International Gift Show, New York

WORK SHOWN IN PUBLICATIONS:

• Michigan Artist Craftsman Catalogue, 1972
• Ann Arbor Art Fair Catalogue, 1973
• The Art of Working with Leather by Stephen Edwards, Chilton Book Company
• Plant Hangers, by Donna Z. Meilach, Crown Publishing Company
• National Geographic Magazine, December, 1976

FILM:

In 1984-85 a one hour color documentary film was produced depicting my work and life style. One other artist was also featured in Creating a Living, Artists in Business. Produced by Brauer Productions, Traverse City, Michigan.

AWARDS:

• 1972 Winner of the James Yaw Gallery Award at the Michigan Artist Craftsman Show,
             Detroit Institute of Arts
• 1972 “Best in Show” at the Sommerset Invitational Art Exhibition; Troy, Michigan
• 1977 Honorable mention, Northwest Crafts Exhibition, Seattle Washington
• 1999 Honorable mention, Regional Show, Dennos Museum Center, Traverse City, Michigan
• 2005 Honorable mention, Regional Show, Dennos Museum Center, Traverse City, Michigan

REPRESENTING GALLERIES:

The current representing list of galleries is over two hundred nationally

WORK IN PRIVATE COLLECTIONS OF:

• Sr. Elton John
• Coach Leatherware

TEACHING WORKSHOPS

• 1974 Evergreen State College; Olympia, Washington
• 1974 University of Washington Experimental College; Seattle, Washington

TRAVEL:

1974 British Isles, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, France and Belgium

 

Tributaries Contemporary Gallery
2134 South Main St. - Central Lake, MI
(one block south of downtown on M-88)