Somrod Creative

Double Rainbow After Hurricane Sandy

Mark Sahm — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 15:04:06 +0000

After Hurricane Irene in 2011, we lost power and were bailing water from our sump pit to keep it from overflowing into the Somrod basement studio.

But in the Tuesday morning after Hurricane Sandy in 2012, we awoke to a double rainbow (around 8:45am) in Stamford, Connecticut. As you would guess, it echoed the fact that we didn’t lose power this time and there was not a drop of water in the underground studio.

We hope everyone else out there on the East Coast is okay, and that only property were damaged (since that can always be repaired). Cheers!

The Somrod Store is Now Live!

Mark Sahm — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 04:16:38 +0000

At long last, we finally can tell you something we’ve been dying to say for months…

Not only are all of our Optographs and jewelry for sale, but here is where you go to make a seamless and secure purchase online:

store.somrod.com

We’re very excited to get our creative work out to the public, but we’re also presenting our new Custom Optograph option. We can take your 2D photo, and transform it into a personalized and completely unique piece of 3D art.

And this is just the beginning for Somrod Creative. We’re working on a new batch of Optographs that should be live in the first week of November. This will include smaller works (than our standard 12×12″ size) that will make great holiday gifts for someone who needs something cool on their wall (or a hand crafted piece of jewelry too!)

If you like our work, we could really use your help to spread the word. Here’s how:

Like our Facebook page : Follow us for future art giveaways and contests, see works in progress, and news for future art shows we’ll be at.
Sign up for our Newsletter : Be the first to learn when we put certain pieces on sale, as well as discount codes for the entire store.
Lastly, be sure to share our website with others: www.somrod.com

Thanks for visiting. Bookmark us to see as our site grows. Cheers!
All the best, Mark & Sharon (aka Somrod)

Somrod Post-Show Summary for Arts & Crafts On Bedford 2012

Mark Sahm — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 20:36:40 +0000

What an exciting weekend we had at the Arts & Crafts On Bedford fair in Stamford, CT while manning our first booth ever. It was a real pleasure being able to see all of the Optographs we’ve made over the last 18 months on display to the public for the first time. In fact, we’d never seen everything hanging up at the same time!

Whether you’re a rookie or not, you know the weather makes or breaks any outdoor fair. But we were fortunate to be granted great temperatures and only some late Saturday night rain that had dried up by the time the show started on Sunday.

More importantly, the fair allowed us to talk with a lot of people about how our Optographs are truly 100% customizable. It’s really cool to hear about all of the different things that people would like to transform into topographic art. I hope we get the chance to work on quite a few, as we’re always looking for new source material to continue pushing our medium. If you were one of those interested in a custom Optograph, just email the image to sales at somrod.com that you were looking to use as well as any other requests, and we can provide you a rendering of how your Optograph would look.

Anyway, a big thank you to all of the people who visited our booth and gave us positive feedback. We look forward to the opportunity to return to Arts & Crafts On Bedford next year. Cheers!

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Somrod Creative @ Arts & Crafts On Bedford 2012

Mark Sahm — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 04:30:41 +0000

Looking for something interesting to do on September 22 or 23? Take a trip to Stamford, CT for the 8th annual Arts & Crafts on Bedford 2012, where Somrod Creative and our die-cut paper art will making our craft show debut. We’re very excited to be part of this event, and even more excited to show our current collection of Optographs to the public.

Arts & Crafts on Bedford 2012 takes place on Saturday, September 22 from 12pm to 8:30pm, and Sunday, September 23 from 11am to 5pm. The fair runs along Bedford Street, in downtown Stamford.

In addition to Somrod Creative, over 100 juried artisans from throughout the Northeast will display and sell their works including fine art, photography, jewelry, pottery, candles, home decor and more. Admission is free, and all of the local restaurants surrounding the fair will have extended sidewalk cafes.

Somrod Creative will be located in Booth #78, so be sure to look for us if you can make the trip. Hope to see you there!

Einstein Optograph

Mark Sahm — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 15:13:52 +0000

Some artists take their art very seriously and leave all shreds of humor out at any cost. For me, I like to mix some humor in when I can, especially when you consider the subject matter of my latest die-cut paper art. Albert Einstein did groundbreaking work in the field of physics, and yet one of his best known portraits was one of him sticking his tongue out. This type of dichotomy definitely appeals to me, and that’s why I chose to abstract it. Thanks for viewing. Cheers.

Advanced Physics by Mark Sahm, 12 x 12″, archival paper. Click preview image for additional detail shots.

Hitchcock Optograph

Mark Sahm — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 03:35:51 +0000

While Salvador Dalí had won the Facebook poll last month of who I should make a topographic art of next, the runner up was famed film director Alfred Hitchcock. As I’m constantly trying to evolve this process of converting photos into layers of die-cut paper, this render fell somewhere between Dali and Satchelmouth in terms of complexity. I also played around with using more of the metallic papers. Thanks for viewing. Cheers.

Paper MacGuffin by Mark Sahm, 12 x 12″, archival paper. Click preview image for additional detail shots.

Salvador Dalí Optograph

Mark Sahm — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 23:55:41 +0000

After a quick poll on Facebook of who I should make a topographic art of next, the winner was surrealist artist Salvador Dalí. With this piece, I rendered the shadow areas of the image as the top layer and the highlight at the bottom layer. This made the image slightly more abstracted when viewing close-up, but had the real payoff from about 12 feet away. I also went a little smoother on the details of the shapes than usual, which helped with the close-up abstraction (and my sanity!). Overall, a fun piece. Thanks for viewing. Cheers.

The Persistence of Mustaches by Mark Sahm, 12 x 12″, archival paper. Click preview image for additional detail shots.

Louis Armstrong Optograph

Mark Sahm — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 21:09:40 +0000

This latest conversion of photos to topographic maps has a roundabout quality. Last summer, we went to New Orleans and visited Mardi Gras World, where most of the parade floats are made. We took lots of photos there, and one photo of a cartoon caricature head of Louis Armstrong had great chiaroscuro… which of course, works great for the topographic effect. While this isn’t a tribute in any way, it shows inspiration can come from all sources. I loved the expression of the caricature and it made for an enjoyable piece of art. Thanks for viewing. Cheers.

Mister Satchelmouth by Mark Sahm, 12 x 12″, archival paper. Click preview image for additional detail shots.

Time Lapse – "Russian Blue" Art

S.Rod — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 14:08:44 +0000

We decided to do a time lapse as we put together “Russian Blue”. This artwork is based on a photograph of our cat Hudson who recently passed away.

Find stills of the artwork in our previous post titled Russian Blue.

Russian Blue Optograph

Mark Sahm — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 02:57:08 +0000

Our second transformation of a photo into a topographic paper image comes with a heavy heart. Hudson the cat, the source matter of the piece, passed away this past week from complications of feline heart disease. This was a huge blow to the Somrod studio as Hudson was an important part of our lives. She will be greatly missed, but we hope this artistic tribute can help her stay just a little closer to our hearts. Thanks for viewing.

Russian Blue by Mark Sahm, 12 x 12″, archival paper. Click preview image for additional detail shots.

Self Portrait Optograph

Mark Sahm — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 04:52:38 +0000

The concept: transform a digital photo of myself into a topographic map but still be able to see the photo when looking straight on.

The result: Paper Champion (Self Portrait I) by Mark Sahm, 12 x 12″, archival paper. Click preview image for additional detail shots. Thanks for viewing!

“3-Guchi” Table I

Mark Sahm — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 03:07:53 +0000

Sharon and I didn’t have enough room in our living room to fit the full size glass top to go with the wood base of a Isamu Noguchi Table. So we decided to make our own custom one, just slightly smaller. We started by purchasing a reclaimed piece of 3form Varia Ecoresin, then drew the shape against the base, cut it with a jigsaw, and finally sanded & polished the edges.

The result: our new “3-Guchi” Table. Since it was a lot of fun to bring together, I’m labeling it as #1 since I expect that we will be making more. Cheers.

Mark featured on Herman Miller’s Lifework

Mark Sahm — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 15:48:30 +0000

We have some news this morning that we’re very humbled and honored to report. Totally fantastic news that is! Mark has been featured on Herman Miller’s blog, Lifework.

Check it out here: http://www.hermanmiller.com/lifework/inspiration-artist-mark-sahm/

If by chance you’re not familiar with them (but you should be!), Herman Miller is a legendary furniture design company (learn more here). We couldn’t be more thrilled to see Mark, his paintings, and part of the Somrod studio featured here. Feel free to take some of the positive energy for yourself! Cheers.

Somrod Web Facelift

Mark Sahm — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 02:43:37 +0000

Most likely if you’re reading this, you’ve already noticed something different around these parts. Somrod.com has been given a design facelift, most specificially the homepage. We’ve also updated other elements around the site, and added a new series of paintings inspired by classic design. Please take a look if you haven’t already. Thanks for stopping by. Cheers.

Try & Try Again

S.Rod — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 02:09:28 +0000

While still on my Galaxy Ring high I decided I would try my hand at making a men’s copper clay ring. My first challenge, at least so I thought, was the design. I’ve never designed or made anything for a guy. So, I sat down and sketched out a few very cool rings. After getting Mr. Sahm’s input (because he’s a guy, hahaha) I picked one and off I went to create my copper ring. Oh my goodness…it looked so cool. The texture came out exactly the way I wanted it. Check it out below.

Canyon Ring - Copper Clay (unfired)

Challenge number two…(which really should have been challenge number one!) firing my wonderful little design. Yea…not my smartest move. I really should have test fired a piece of copper clay first because it was a complete disaster. It looked good at first glance. I dropped it on a metal bench block and it clinked like metal so I continued to burnish the ring and it starts shining like a new penny. Unfortunately, the copper clay shrank a little more than I expected it to so, I decided to put it on a ring mandrel and tap it down to expand it a little. This is something that I have done with silver a dozen times before. Well, on tap number three…CRACK! UGH! I can’t believe it…it snapped…and when I look inside its powdered. What a disappointment. But I should not have been surprised.

Seriously, what did I do wrong? Well, my first mistake was I didn’t test fire the copper. That really is something that I should have done. Inexcusable; I can’t believe I didn’t do it, but I figured, I was following the manufacturers directions so what could go wrong. Obviously, everything could go wrong. Maybe its because I was using a firing foil box instead of a stainless steel firing pan and the piece heated too quickly. Maybe I should have put the piece more towards the center or front to compensate for this. Maybe I used an incorrect firing schedule!?

I referred to my new friend the special edition of Art Jewelry Magazine: Metal Clay Jewelry. There is a complete guide to firing bronze & copper clays. So, I have adjusted my firing schedule using the tips discussed in the article and have since done two successful test strips. Unfortunately, my second ring attempt did not fire correctly. So, I may need to readjust my schedule again! I could stick to firing thin strips or maybe I should get a stainless steel pan. Will let you know what happens…