Style Imitating Art: “Count on Me”

Style Imitating Art comes from Salazar, Terri, and Shelbee. You can think of it as fashion meets art museum! Style Imitating Art challenges people to find inspiration in different art works, create looks based upon that art work, and share them with the curator for that piece. Every other Monday one of the three selects an inspiration piece of art and posts the image on their blog. They then invite others to interpret that art work through their style. The following Monday, they share their outfits. The curator shares submissions the following Wednesday on her blog. Shelbee chose this week’s art work. If you’d like, you can read why she chose it here. Style Imitating Art is an interesting way to inspire your outfits. I know it does that for me! You can see a few of my looks here, here, here, and here.

Inspiration art work…

About the artist…

Ryan McCallister is a Kentuckian (Louisville) by birth but currently lives in Cave Creek, Arizona. He graduated from the University of Tampa in 2012 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Sculpture. While there, he studied ceramics and bronze casting. During his senior year, McCallister discovered welding and an entirely new form of art!

 “I immediately fell in love with it. It was everything I ever wanted,” he remembers. “Steel is rigid and it can hold a lot of weight, so you can make all sorts of unusual forms that you could never do with clay. And you can cut and paste. If you mess up, you simply chop it and re-weld. It allows room for error, so you can refine a piece rather than it being ruined and needing to be scrapped, which you can end up doing a lot in ceramics (source).”

A little more…

After graduation, McCallister tried living in New Jersey, but he couldn’t find the open spaces his rather large sculptures demand. This stifled his creativity. His parents had relocated to Paradise Valley, AZ. He decided Arizona and its weather were the perfect combination for opening an art studio. About nine years ago, he and his wife moved to River Horse Ranch in Scottsdale where his wife also trains horses.

“My subject matter tends to lean towards mythology and fantasy because of how much I loved story telling and its power to get ones imagination running. Legends and myths transport us to other worldly places, and inspire us to be larger than life. This is why my goal is to carry on the story telling through works of art (source)”.

Still more…

If you think this sculpture is amazing, you need to visit McCallister’s Facebook page where you can find even more incredible images. I would encourage you to scroll through his page as he has videos and explanations for this art work and many more. He displays his art pieces throughout his home as well as the land around it. You can read more about his home here. I find his art to be both enigmatic and grounded at the same time.

About the art work…

This warrior goddess is made from stainless steel, river rocks, and stained glass. She stands eight feet tall with a wingspan of eight feet. I looked all over to see if I could find out McCallister’s process of installing the rocks as I would think that would be the one of the hardest part of this. “Count on Me” is “inspired by Valkyries and angels.” She was entered at ArtPrize in Grand Rapids, MI. It looks like the art work has been sold according to posts on the artist’s Facebook page. Bidding started at $60,000! She would look quite nice in my front yard, but I think the neighbors might get jealous!

My interpretation…

When I looked at the photos of the art work, I immediately saw the metal cage work and the greens and blues of the river rock. I was confident I could find a Garnet Hill Signature Merino Cardigan that would work. That was before my eyes paused on this dress from Loft. At first, I was like “No, that’s not it. It doesn’t have any green in it.” But, the more I thought about the art work, the more convinced I became this dress was the answer. It may not have the greens, but it does have some pinks and other colors of the river rock. And, that swirly background pattern definitely reminded me of the stainless steel armature of the sculpture. One last thing, and it’s something I’d usually not call to your attention, the bust gapes a bit which just goes to show I can be a warrior goddess, too! Actually, I don’t know why it gapes as there’s fabric under the buttons, and it isn’t tight, either. I was actually thrilled this dress finally fit. I bought it right after my surgery while I was still experiencing quite a bit of bloating. Now, my waistline is defined more and more.

The Lewk!

I cheated a bit and used a gallery containing my Annmarie sandals from L’Artiste. I completely forgot to grab photos of my sandals and earrings for some reason. Instead of the clear stone earrings, I wore blue topaz earrings from eBay. I have really been minimal in my accessory game lately. I’m not sure why. This is when I usually wear all the bracelets!

Wrap it up, Marsha!

I absolutely loved this art work. There is something about the organic nature of the river rocks and the stainless steel combined with the stained glass that speaks to me. I have always loved collecting rocks. We even brought a humongous river rock home from Tennessee decades ago. When we moved eight years ago, I had to leave it behind as it began to break when we tried to pick it up. I now have several cairns around the house. Nigel wants to glue them together, but I think recreating them and finding the exact right balance is part of the vibe. So, can we talk? Are you a fan of organic materials in the art world? Would you ever think to combine river rocks and stainless steel to create a piece of art? Have you ever been to an art fair like ArtPrize? Please leave me a comment or two, and we can talk. I do respond as quickly as I can.

Thank you!

Thank you so very much for reading today’s post. I hope you enjoyed it. I also very much appreciate those of you who comment, email and/or subscribe. It’s what keeps me going! If you’d like to follow me on Instagram, you can find me here.

Affiliate links and such:

Just a reminder that Marsha in the Middle may use an affiliate link. Those links are usually italicized. If you click or make a purchase from an italicized link I provide, I may receive a small commission at no cost to you. Thank you for your support. As of right now, I also have an affiliate code for Kantha Bae! Use MarshaintheMiddle in the promo code box for $5 off any order (excluding Bestie restocks)! I have also become a Halftee Partner. Use the code, MARSHA2098, for 20% off any purchase. I am also an affiliate with Clara Sunwoo. You can use my code, MARSHA10, for 10% off your entire order. I am an April Cornell Brand Ambassador for another season. You can use my code, MARSHA10, for 10% off any order over $75. For the Zuvi Halo Hair Dryer, use Marsha12 to get 12% off your order at this link: https://www.zuvilife.com/products/buy-zuvi-halo-hair-dryer?sca_ref=4039595.v4RNNsWxxF. If items are on sale, you can use Marsha5 for an extra 5% off sale prices. In case you didn’t know, bloggers must disclose the use of affiliate links. That’s why I include this in each post.

Where you can find me:

Linking up with Nancy’s Fashion Style,  Fine-Whatever, Is This Mutton, Shelbee on the Edge, Chez Mireile, The Grey Brunette, and Away from the Blue as well as Deb’s World. I also link up with This Blonde’s Shopping Bag, Doused in Pink, I do deClaire, Mummabstylish, and Style Splash. Please check out these wonderful ladies and their blogs! I also am a co-host for Ageless Style on the third Thursday of the month and Songful Style on the last Monday of the month. I co-host Traffic Jam Weekend every Thursday with Melynda and Lisa. I also host Final Fridays on the last Friday of the month as well as 10 on the 10th on the 10th of the month! I do hope you’ll check out all of these blogs and link parties!

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