Personality: Robert Dancik
Each newsletter I'll interview a metal clay personality. Get to know this artisan and how they stay creative! A dose of inspiration!
Date started working in metal clay: 1996.
Certified:
PMC - 2000, Celie Fago
Accomplished in what media in addition to metal clay:
I don't know about accomplished, but I use metals, Faux Bone, wood, plastics, resins, nylon, found objects.
Bio:
Robert Dancik holds a Masters degree in sculpture from Northern Illinois University, and a BA in fine art from Adelphi University. He has been an artist/teacher for more than 30 years and is presently an adjunct professor of education at Pace University. Robert has taught people from kindergarten to graduate school while exhibiting his jewelry and sculpture in museums and galleries across the US and in Europe, Japan, and Australia. He teaches workshops at art centers in the US and abroad including Penland, NC; Arrowmont, TN; Metalwerx, MA; Touchstone Center for Crafts, PA; Victoria College of Art, Australia; Brookfield Craft Center, CT; and Mid Cornwall School of Jewelry (UK) to name a few. His work is in numerous collections including the Wustum Museum of Art, Boeringer- Ingleheim International, Schamberger International, Mitsubishi International, Japan and the Gregg Museum of Art and Design. He has artwork published in many books including, in the Lark series, “500 Pendants”, “500 handmade Books and “1000 Rings”. Other books his work is featured in are “PMC Decade”, “Fine Art of the Tin Can”, “The Art of Resin Jewelry,” “Zilver Klei” (Denmark), and “Creative Metal Clay Jewelry”. He has written articles and published his artwork in numerous magazines including “Niche”, “Art Jewelry”, “Lapidary Journal” and “Perspectives” among others. Robert is the originator of Faux Bone™, a new, wonderful material for artists involved in jewelry, artist’s books, sculpture, and many other artistic disciplines. His book “Amulets and Talismans: Techniques for Making Meaningful Jewelry” is published by Northlight Books. He lives in Lostwithiel, Cornwall, UK where he teaches, is an avid cook (I didn’t say good) and collector of toys, maps, and compasses.
Website:
www.robertdancik.com
www.fauxbone.com
Email: playcik@yahoo.com
What is your inspiration now?
There are too many to list them all but just a few are (in no order or hierarchy) Steam locomotives, cooking, bridges, compasses, drums and drumming, the sea, the sound of rain on a metal roof, particle physics, boats, man hole covers, maps, African music, the work of Marcel DuChamp and the rest of the Dada movement, well made tools, Cornwall England…
Do you have a muse?
My Father, who died many years ago.
What is currently on your bench/workspace?
I usually have a number of things going at the same time. Right now I have several pieces of Faux Bone with which I am experimenting with alcohol inks and other permanent coloring agents; some fired bronze clay and silver clay pieces that I am cold connecting to hollow Plexiglas forms; a sterling silver bezel waiting to be filled with concrete and glass; and several iron wire hinge experiments. I have also been working on using sheet metal ductwork from Home Depot and combining them with polymer clay and various other materials to make work described below.
What project/direction are you working on now?
I am returning to making work that looks at the cusp between sculpture and jewelry. They are larger pieces that look vaguely like arcane medical apparatus with lots of fabricated connections, surgical tubing, dials and scientific references. I actually have an alter ego who is a Parisian psychoanalyst from 1913 whose clientele are the wives of prominent artists of the time. It’s with this character in mind that I make this work and also write back stories to accompany the pieces. It’s great fun and I find that it allows a different voice to come out without the tethers that are inherent in making jewelry for “normal” wear. It also encourages exploring materials and techniques not usually in my repertoire while making jewelry.
How much time do you average at the bench per week?
Unfortunately, I have not been able to spend much time at the bench for about 2 years. I am stuck between living in the UK and working mostly in the US. However, in times past and what I hope for in the near future is to spend anywhere from 20-40 hours a week involved in making.
What's the average time you spend on a piece?
This varies enormously depending upon the piece. My average piece of jewelry made of sterling and various other materials usually takes about 2-5 hours. The larger work described above may take as much as 10-15 hours. Full-scale sculpture (4’-6’) may take as much as 30 hours.
Do you sell your work? Where?
Yes. These days most of my work is sold at the workshops I teach. I still have work in several galleries and do some commission work but luckily, most of the work is sold directly at my classes.
Where do you get your new ideas?
I find that new materials, techniques and procedures can often prompt me to explore new ideas. However, I find it necessary to always have something I want to “say” before I can actually do a piece that I consider putting out as finished work. A new texture or slant on a material or technical aspect may be terrific but these, for me, yield examples rather then “work”. Of course craftsmanship (craftspersonship?) is also necessary but without expression the piece is hollow for me. As a colleague once said of another artist “he has nothing to say, but he says it beautifully”. So, I often look to what is on my mind in matters of world events, my life, my relationships, philosophy and such, as the generator of ideas for making.
Do you keep a sketchbook and how do you organize it?
I usually keep several sketchbooks going at any one time – different notebooks in different places. One in my car, one in my suitcase, one at my bench and another next to my bed. There are lots of cross-references and repetitions and I find that helpful in realizing an idea. As to the organization, I am afraid my notebooks read like a James Joyce novel – stream of consciousness all the way.
Are there places or things you avoid that zap your creativity?
Not really. In fact I rather enjoy visiting various places that I might not normally go to just to see what they may stir in me.
Do you have a ritual before you begin to create?
I change into my lucky shoes, turn on the radio to one of my favorite NPR stations, and light some incense.
What do you collect?
Toys (not necessarily antique or “valuable”) masks, hand drums, industrial castoffs, tools, watches (cheap), shoe laces, large rusty things, doll parts, cook books, knives for cooking, cooking tools, rubber ducks, electrical measuring devices, lenses, hammers, screwdrivers, carpenters rules, compasses, maps, handmade mugs, arcane kitchen tools.
How do you rejuvenate your creativity?
I take really long drives, play my drums, look at the work of other artists both famous and not so famous, indulge in hot baths, and read about math and physics. I also watch old movies and Jeopardy on TV.
What would your perfect creative day be like?
A breakfast of yogurt and oranges, watch the Today Show, play my drums, make a fab lunch, have a Starbucks and then work in my studio from about 2 until 6 pm. Break and make a good dinner and then spend about 9-m until 2 am in the studio again.
On January 20th, Whole Lotta Whimsy announced our exclusive design team, Master Muses, on our blog, 
