I have just been doing a little wax work at my new, comfortable (air conditioned) wax work bench. I don’t think I will be calling it just wax “carving” as I am beginning to see what can be done with a little controlled wax melting. I am so pleased to see my knowledge and skills expanding. There is …so much to do and try.

I have promised myself that this blog will not be the “how to” but will concentrate on the art and the creativity. I will show the tools and the beauty I see in the stages of the work. I see the stages in wax carving as being as much art as the finished piece. Even the tools are a form of art in perhaps their shape and how they are used.

The preliminary sketches are a form of art in my eye. That’s why I show them here. The creative process flows from the mind’s eye, to the sketch or drawing and through the hands to the tools and machines that shape the material to the dimensions of the finished piece.

Like dance and music where the process of performing is the art, the process of creating dimensional art is a form of art that perhaps only the artist privately enjoys. I intend through good photography and electronic media (this blog) to occasionally display things I see while I am working, that look interesting in whatever stage it grabs me and speaks to me. The beauty is in the journey of creation.

The step by step “how to” I will leave to Ramblin Dan’s Workshop or other places where I publish that sort of industrial process detail. In here it will be all about the art. …maybe. Only you can decide if it works for you.

My main supplier of art products, Rio Grande posts a tag line under my name in my product reviews that says, “Life is a journey”. Somehow they seem to know me.

If you have been here before and things look a bit different, I have spent a couple of days tweaking the looks of this blog website. I thought the old one was actually quite attractive. But one thing I didn't like was all the space the Leaf Picture was taking up on the main page. So I decided I should make some changes. I poked that leaf up into the header and made it significantly smaller.

The pages themselves are fairly similar to what they were. There are some color changes and maybe I lost a bit of the "class" of the old pages. I'll probably do a little more tweaking until I get it exactly right. It is kind of like painting a picture. I never know when to stop and say, "It's done!"

The menu is stretched out a bit longer with separation between the blocks that wasn't that way on the original. It's functional but that is what I may play with a little more. Of course change is good so I should probably just look at it for awhile longer...

Most of my thoughts and effort the previous year (2013) have been focused on working in a much smaller scale than large heavy projects to which I have long been involved. I am getting more awkward in lifting and safely carrying things around in my workshop. I am now most comfortable when setting comfortably on my butt and working with my brain, eyes and arm and hand movement.

My days of hands-on heavy construction and contracting are behind me. That’s OK and not a concern. I am proud of what I have accomplished and am ready for new challenge wherever it leads.

I have always been a techno-nerd so now I am into working in the design and machine control arena. I love the micro machining and CNC control. I also like the 3D CAD/CAM draw-it-and-I-can-make-it ability of dimensional art software. I am not into creating pictures for viewing but rather designing three dimensional objects for machining and occasionally rendering those designs into graphic display.

I share my interest and projects by publishing them here in Dimensional Art Studio. the .org in the URL meaning organization. The definition of an organization is a non-commercial association. I have another URL also linking here which is KautzCraft.com.  The com of course is indicating a commercial intent.

When my creations are good enough and abundant I will advertise their availability for purchase.

My resolution is to not keep my “dimensional” art as a personal collection. My plan until I become more skilled and productive is to perhaps give some away as gifts.  Eventually I would like to become skilled enough that sales will keep me in supplies, and busy in mind and body making more. My second life as an artist will continue to be as good as my first one.

I think I have at last found the identity for my creative desires. It has been with me all my life as I have been chanting or at least thinking the artist mantra for what seems forever. It is the reason this web site/blog exists. There is an artist spirit inside me fighting to get out, buried in the guise of a hobbyist.

I never viewed myself until recently as a true artist. But in the naked truth, that is what lives inside me.  I think I repressed art as a true and honorable profession for myself, but I think I have been missing the point.

Art is truly an opinion created from what is seen by the eye of the beholder. That first sentence is a metaphor. Today I believe everything created is a form of art not just what is seen by the eye. The defining what is good art is a classification by human opinion. All opinions are biased by the experience of the person making the judgment. That’s just the way it works.

Art is like a particle in quantum physics. If you try to define what or where it is, it doesn't exist or isn't there anymore. It may even be a single particle in two places at once. Ha!

Professional art critics are biased to their own taste, a point of preference but nothing more. The best advice for collectors today is to buy what you like and enjoy it. Investing for profit is another gig.

So... even what is bad art (in my opinion) is still art. I just classify it as BAD art. I can live with that.

I posted a motto at the banner on this site that sums up my feeling of creating enjoyable art and what sharing it is all about.  “Do what you love for those who love what you do.”

It is time for me to come out of the art closet and identify myself as an artist. I can make the claim. It’s up to those who love what I do to confirm I deserve the title. Let the critics be damned, full speed ahead! Aye, Capt'n

Welcome to Dimensional Art. This blog has been created by me, Daniel Kautz to display the results of my passion and efforts producing unique dimensional items of enduring value. Whether these items are considered art or beautiful craftsmanship, that is in the eye and mind of the beholder. I make no pretense to either, but strive to achieved both.

If you like what you see then I am pleased.

It will be awhile as I develop this blog . It will grow with time. Please post your comments. I Have opened the blog for comments so you may do that as soon as soon as you desire.