Five of us (Sharon, Mike, Zoe, Judi and Deb) carpooled to the House of Balls studio in Minneapolis’ Cedar Riverside neighborhood. We could tell we were in for a treat when we pulled in to the parking lot next to the art car (truck) in front. Sharon explained to owner Allen Christian what our group is all about and why we were there, and offered a brief prayer. Then we talked with Allen about his inspiration and his approach to his work. He creates sculptures out of a variety of “found” materials, including used bowling balls, metal equipment, wood furniture or musical instruments, and other things. He told us that his main message is that people need fewer possessions than we often think we do, and that art can be created out of what we already have (instead of using new materials.) It’s important to him that the viewer can still tell what the original object(s) were once the sculpture is finished; this is to remind us that we don’t need a lot of new stuff. Afterwards, we had coffee and hot chocolate at the Seward Café.
This is what greeted us when we pulled up to the
House of Balls at the end of the road:
The head of this monstrosity moves with the air current.
Paul Christian's first wood sculpture.
Hub caps, pie pans, cake pans, light fixtures, fry pans, other found objects.
Who wouldn't love to take a little road trip with the Wonder Home?!!
Is this Sainte Lucia?
Then we stepped inside. What a treat.
Very clean and quite organized for all the sculptures that filled the areas.
At the risk of too many photos, the following were just a few of the wonderful pieces that were created by Paul Christian.
Bowling balls were the idea for the name House of Balls.
Allen carved many of them into objects d'art many of which are faces.
See that black tubular thing in the background?
Well, that is the passageway to the room on the other side.
We stepped inside the tube and pivoted the opening to the other side.
It was a source of giggling and laughter as we each took a turn.. so to speak.
This is what we saw on the other side:
Walls were covered with many art pieces and forms.
A bowling ball topped this manikin head.
This seemed to be a sort of crucifix.
Close-up of the head
A little political statement in this corner.
Another bowling ball next to other found objects.
Two more bowling ball heads - who seemed to have lost their teeth!
I'm not sure but this seems to be made of flat washers painted yellow/gold.
Being a retired electrician, Allen has many pieces that are lit.
Then, looking up toward the ceiling, there was the boat.
It was filled with balloons and pieces of paper with prayers.
This would look great at Holy Trinity! Yes?
Four of our group:
Sharon, Zoe, Mike, Deb. Judi came later
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