The Low Five

I am loving my new motorcycle! This is my 4th bike, and I have over 7 years riding experience in snow, rain, offroad, and even a very close call with a tornado. That being said, I haven’t been on a bike in around 28 years. Since I am now a “biker” again, I am getting the fellow rider waves and head nods. For those who don’t know, there is quite a lengthy and complex range of biker waves and of course there are those who only wave to folks with either the same brand bike, or only other cruisers, or race rockets or some other common element. There are also novice waves that will drop your street cred quicker than a Ducati. When I was in freshman year in college in 1979, I was living in Fall River, Massachusetts and got around on a Honda 550 Supersport. I was riding once and got the low five biker wave from a member of the Sidewinders motorcycle club on a beautiful fully chopped Harley with apehangers and an awesome flames paint job. In the bike hierarchy, Harley riders often ignore Japanese bikers, and even moreso, bikers wearing their colors almost never wave to “civilians” on any bike. Well, I was kind of flattered, and always thought the low 5 wave was the coolest form of interbike communication. I hadn’t really thought about this until I started riding again a couple of weeks ago, and have noticed the low 5, or just low wave is very popular here in California. Yesterday I put a mirror in front of my bike, sat on it and practiced my low wave for a couple of hours. I think I am ready to try it in public now, but never to scooter riders, trikes, Vincent riders, or bikes with smaller engines than my badass 300 Honda Rebel. Since my bike is all blacked out, it is hard for people to determine the brand and size, and it is a really nice looking bike. This means that people may wave to me by accident, who would not normally wave to a small Honda. That’s OK. I will wave back.

Sculptor Bruce Gray Puts His Glowforge Laser To Work Etching A Photograph

This is my first photograph I have laser etched with my new handy dandy Glowforge laser cutter.  It took some trial and error to get the settings right, but I am quite pleased with it.  It measures 4.75 x 7.75" and the material is maple plywood.  The sailboat belongs to my brother, and the photo credit goes to Steve Jost.  If anyone is thinking of buying a Glowforge laser, I have heard the price is going up, way up... and very soon. If you use this link, you can at least save $100 and I get a store credit too. Glowforge Discount Link

Glowforge Laser Cutter is Finally Here To Make New Sculptures!

After a two year wait to get my new laser cutter, here is my first Glowforge laser cut test project. My business card in wood. Pretty neat! I've got some very cool ideas coming out soon, including the business card etched on stainless steel. Might be cool on smooth black river rocks too.

Bruce Gray Motorcycle Sculpture Purchased by Haas Moto Museum in Dallas

At the same time I was getting the crappy news at the hospital about my cancer, I also got a phone call from a museum in Texas about being interested in my motorcycle sculpture. A couple of people flew in to check it out, and have now purchased my motorcycle sculpture for The Haas Moto Museum and Sculpture Gallery in Dallas! This is like my most excellent gig ever, and I couldn't be more thrilled. To top it off he also bought my Big Cheese #3, and my Tricycle sculptures for his home.

Sculptor Bruce Gray Diagnosed With Stage 4 Cancer

Dear friends, family and clients,

There is really no other way to say this, so I will just come out and say that I have just been diagnosed with stage 4 advanced cancer.  I will be starting chemotherapy next week, but the prognosis is not good.  They are giving me about 2-3 years to live.  I am still taking this all in, and have signed up for the most aggresive treatment available.  I am going to do everything I can to beat this, but I am also starting to prepare for the worst case scenario.  Please don't feel too bad for me, as I have had a very full and interesting life.  I have an absolutely amazing group of best friends that are like family to me, and they have all expressed a strong commitment to helping me in any way possible.  I have traveled the world, lived in many places, I've been in love twice, and seen and done many interesting things.  I have also been able to dedicate my life to being a full time sculptor and artist for the last 28 years.  This has been my dream job, and I have been able to both support myself and get my work in many museums, airports, hospitals, universities, train stations,  military bases, office buildings and private art collections all around the world, not to mention hundreds of times in movies and on television.

At this point, I will no longer be accepting all new commissions people ask for, and only picking a few select projects for the time I have left.  I do have a LOT of sculptures and paintings currently available at my studio if anyone is interested in those.  I do want to spend time with many of you, and that has now become a priority for me, so please drop me an email to set something up.  I would also ask that you please respect my privacy, and don't show up at my studio without notice.  It's really no fun talking about this stuff, and I don't want to have the same sad discussions too often.

I am actually taking this news fairly well, though the daily pain is not too much fun.  I am looking at the end of my time here as hopefully the beginning of an amazing new adventure after I pass.  I am excited about the possibility of seeing those people I love that have passed before me, not to mention getting out of jury duty.

I have a lot of love for so many of you, and I want you to know that you have helped to make my life way more fun, interesting, and worth living.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Your friend,

Bruce Gray

Behind The Canvas Interview of Bruce Gray

I just got word that today I am the featured artist in an interview on "Behind The Canvas." Check out the entire interview at:

https://blog.artsquare.com/behind-the-canvas-interview-artist-bruce-gray/

E! Channel's premiere of LOOK BOOK: Kim Kardashian West, features a sculpture by Bruce Gray

Today is the premiere of E!'s LOOK BOOK. This episode is about Kim Kardashian West, and features my Flame of Life sculpture on the far right. The woman speaking is celebrity stylist Maeve Reilly.

NEW! Fantastically colorful products for your home by artist Bruce Gray

Now available, backpacks with some of artist Bruce Gray's designs. We are also offering a large variety of fun and colorful designs including coffee mugs, towels, T shirts, comforters, pillows, rugs, clocks, tote bags, shower curtains, notebooks, phone covers, curtains and much more.   

Check out Bruce's online store at: https://society6.com/sculptorla

Bruce Gray teams up with LA Angels and Coors Light for Recycled Can Art Project

So after pulling an all nighter, I finished this recycled can sculpture about an hour before the client came to my studio. This sculpture was sponsored by the LA Angeles baseball team and Coors Light, and is now on display at the stadium in Anaheim.

Artist Bruce Gray's Amazing Techicolor Dream Bed

This is Bruce's amazing technicolor dream bed. This is based on my abstract modern pop art Raindrops painting series. I am now selling several of my designs on comforters, pillows, mugs, T shirts, towels, and more.  Check out my shop at :  Society 6

Sculptor Bruce Gray Featured in Voyage LA Magazine Article

Here's an interview I did recently for the Voyage LA Magazine website. Check it out at:

Voyage LA Magazine

Robot Family Sculptures by Bruce Gray for Children's Hospital

I finally finished my robot family sculptures and took this photo today. These are for a children's hospital, and the green robot has a cut out face so kids can stand behind and get their photo taken.  The tallest one is 6 feet tall, and they are made in laser cut and welded stainless steel and powder coated in bright fun colors.

Sons of Anarchy Spinoff Mayans MC to Feature Sculptures by Bruce Gray

What a day I had recently!  I was on the set of the filming of Mayans MC all day and met lots of very cool people and there were so many stunning drool-worthy bikes. This is the pilot for the new spinoff of the Kurt Sutter hit Sons of Anarchy.  They were very cool about letting me take photos of my work on set, but I can't show them to anyone until the show comes out in a few months. They even interviewed me about one of my major sculptures they featured on the show which could end up in various social media.

Bruce Gray sculpture featured on TV show Superior Donuts

Watch for one of my large standing sculptures on an upcoming episode of the new TV show Superior Donuts on CBS, starring Judd Hirsh and Katey Sagal.

Majestic Princess Cruise Ship Features Interactive Kinetic Art by Bruce Gray

This is "Journey," my new rolling ball sculpture for the Majestic Princess cruise ship. It's 60" x 100" x 6". Making a sculpture this wide, with only 6" of depth was a challenge. Also it will be behind plexiglas on a moving vessel, so it has to be reliable and most of the tracks are "sealed" so the ball cannot come off. This interactive kinetic sculpture features a hand crank which operates an Archimedes screw lifting system bringing the ball to the top to start it's journey.  The enormous luxury ship will be based out of Italy and China.

Unsupervised Shop Class for the Rest of Your Life

Check out my friend/neighbor Kara Stewart Fortier's podcast  Playgrounding at the link below to hear her recent interview with me about incorporating "play" into my sculptures.

Click here to here the interview on the Playgrounding podcast (Episode PGP 27).

Rolling Ball Kinetic Sculpture With Archimedes Screw In Progress

This is part of my new rolling ball machine kinetic sculpture I am making for a gigantic European cruise ship.  It is a work in progress and features a hand cranked archimedes screw lifting system.

Modern Art Blitz - Bruce Gray - Episode #56, Part 2

Sculptor Bruce Gray interview on Modern Art Blitz

This is a still from my interview on Modern Art Blitz with host Mat Gleason on January 2,  2017. Go to my facebook page or dromebox.com to watch the show.

Coolest Address in the Neighborhood

I finally got a photo of these address numbers I made for one of my collectors. They are each 22 inches tall and 5 inches thick in welded stainless steel. The numbers overlap and intersect a couple of inches at each connection, making this one large piece.