Featured Artist January 2009

Website www.2dogsart.net	Artist Statement Dennis Wisniewski Aka 2dogs “Do not go gentle into that good night.  Old age should burn and rave at the close of day; rage, rage against the dying of the light.” Dylan Tomas Flying is an art form.  It’s just not something you can hang on your wall and have others enjoy.  You cannot capture a great landing forever. I enjoy the lasting quality of clay, stone, and metal.  Your work, good or bad, will last until it is destroyed.  I try to not get locked into a single idea.  Every flight is planned.  But implementing the plan requires adapting to change.  You start with an idea when you create a sculpture or any art.  This idea evolves and changes before your eyes. I hope my work will continue to evolve; if it doesn’t, I might “go gently into that good night.”
100 Faces by Dennis Wisniewski 2dogs 100 Faces is a project that has been a two years in the making The basic concept came after doing my first face casting in 2006. The basic idea is to show that the more different we are as a people the more we are the same. Regardless of our heritage when you get 100 faces together with the same finish on them there in not that much difference The process for making the 100 faces involves many steps that could have been made shorter but due to the nature of covering ones face with mold making material I find the extra steps more comfortable for the model. The first step in the mold making process is to apply a thin layer of a release agent then to have the model relax in a comfortable chair; I apply a liquid rubber mask followed by a thin layer of plaster bandage, once the plaster hardens I remove the completed form from there face giving me a perfect negative of there face.  From that negative I make a positive of the face from a clay material then cast it in plaster this gives me a reusable mold that weighs 10 lbs which would have been too uncomfortable for a model to have on there face for 30 min. I do a technique called press molding the face and after a few hours in the mold the pre finished face comes out.  From that stage I can do many different things to the face including attaching it to a ceramic pot or make a bust of the face.
Biography Dennis Wisniewski Aka 2Dogs Dennis Wisniewski was born in 1950 in Albuquerque, NM.  Upon graduation from high school he joined the United States Air force for service in Minot, ND.  During this time he met and married his bride Rochelle (Rocky) and learned to fly airplanes.  He found that he could make a living at flying; so when he left the military he continued to fly for a living.  He attained the highest certificate for a pilot by getting his Airline Transport Certificate and type ratings in Boeing 727, Falcon 20, and Cessna Citation airplanes. After 30 years of chasing airplanes he went back to school to study the arts. His works have included oil painting, as well as pottery. The thing that has given him the most satisfaction has been sculpting.  Some of his works are on display in Denver, CO and at the historic Gadsden Hotel in Douglas, AZ.  As the years go by he hopes to continue to explore the expanding field of the arts including the casting in bronze of his work. The name “2 dogs” came from the fact he had two Samoyed dogs at the time he began sculpting. He currently lives in Auburn, WA.