The Art of Hal N. Blaisdell
Hilton Head, South Carolina
Hal N. Blaisdell is a native of Bucks County, Pennsylvania and after serving 4 years in the US Army, pursued his love of art at Emporia State University, where he completed his undergraduate work, working under Norman Eppink and William Bagley. Upon graduation (B.S.E.) he was awarded a teaching graduate fellowship at the University (M.Ed.). Upon returning to Bucks County he taught high school art, including art majors, in the Pennsbury School District for the next 31 years. Blaisdell has expanded upon his skills with graduate classes in sculpture, painting, paper making/ book binding and photography at, Tyler School of Art, University of the Arts, Parsons School of Design, Bloomsburg University, Kutztown University, Marywood University, The Art Institute of Philadelphia and the College of New Jersey.
He has shown diverse works in many area, regional and national galleries, the most recent being work in the 2008 "Ellarslie Open XXVI" (Sculpture) and "Second Salon des Refuses Juried Exhibit " (Mixed Media) Trenton City Museum , Trenton, New Jersey; the Juried 2008 the " The Art of Summer" show at Gallery 125 in Trenton, New Jersey (Photography); the Juried 2008 "Art Fall" show at 125 Gallery in Trenton, New Jersey (Sculpture); The American Juried Art Salon 2008 "Fall-Winter" show, Plano, Texas. (Mixed Media) Juried 2009 "A Feast for the Eyes" show at Gallery 125, Trenton, New Jersey (Photography); the Juried 2009 "27th Ellarslie Open" (Sculpture) Trenton City Museum , Trenton, New Jersey; The American Juried Art Salon, " 9th International Juried Show", Fall-Winter 2009, Plano, Texas. (Mixed Media); The American Juried Art Salon, " 11th International Juried Show", Fall-Winter 2010, Plano, Texas. (Photography).
"Key Hole Number 111"
The American Juried Art Salon,
11h International Juried Show
Fall-Winter 2010, Plano, Texas.
(Photography)
"Black Wave"
Juried 2009 Ellarslie Open XXVII
( Sculpture )
The American Juried Art Salon 9th International Juried Show,
Fall-Winter 2009, Plano, Texas.
(Mixed Media).
From the American Juried Art Salon
, Award of Merit, Gallery C"Black Wave" is an attempt to arrest a motion, to place in a 3-dimensional image an instant in time; to mimic nature without having a set point of origination. Hal N. Blaisdell has done that to the point of viewer fascination where form, color, and texture culminate in a unique work of art.
Blaisdell explains: "Black Wave" motivation came from my study of the wave
action on the beach at my home in Hilton Head, South Carolina. Observing
that a wave seems to have no single point of origin I set out to create a wave
fashioned from a solitary foundation, a single point if you will, that expands
outward and upward, as do the waves in nature, taking it to the instant of
when a wave would start to break, providing a fresh new prospective.
"The piece began with a 3/8” soft wire steel frame, manipulated by hand until
the desired preliminary shape was formed. This was then mounted on a
wooden working base and the form further defined. A wire mesh foundation
was created on the steel wire frame and coated in many layers of plaster,
sanded and formed between each application.
Once the absolute biomorphic wave form was achieved the entire sculpture
was covered with numerous applications of polyester resin. Allowed to cure
for several weeks, it was then sanded and painted with acrylic resin paint,
and mounted on its presentation base made from an oak plank found on the
beach."
"Acid Rain at 14 Months"
Juried 2008 Ellarslie Open XXVI
( Sculpture )
"Untitled"
Second Salon des Refuses Juried Exhibit 2008
and
The American Juried Art Salon 2008
(Mixed Media)
"L'eau Lillies Chez Giverny"
Juried 2008 The Art of Summer Show at Gallery 125
(Photography)
"Acid Rain and Rust"
Juried 2008 The Art Fall Show at Gallery 125
( Sculpture )
"Dangling Curds and Whey"
Juried 2009 " A Feast for the Eyes" Show at Gallery 125
(Photography)
"Cheese Wall"
Juried 2009 "A Feast for the Eyes" Show at Gallery 125
(Photography)
"American Youth, CA 2008"
(Sculpture)
"Father and Son, WWII to Vietnam"
(Sculpture)
"Tre Finestra Milano"
(Photography)
"Silver Tape"
Hunting Island, South Carolina
Photography by Hal N Blaisdell
My photographic subjects are recorded visions frozen in time, condensed by my lens to a singular instant, reproduced on a plane in the future and viewed not as an image in the present but as a visualization of the past.
