Buy Art for Dogs -- The Art of John Alsip
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The Gift of Art ~ And The Gift of RE
John Alsip, the Santa Fe Artist who created beautiful sculptures out of REcycled and REpurposed objects, has donated a large body of his work to The Dog Park Project. John created art at and around The Dog Park out of recycled and found objects. The Dog Park served as his open air studio and source of inspiration for many years. His work is beautiful and serene. The smaller pieces (suitable for private gardens) are now available here on this page. The larger items will become part of a sculpture garden at The Dog Park. Since The Dog Park was itself recycled, it is a fitting home for some of John's work. John, thank you. We are truly humbled by your gift. (Please see John's biography below). To purchase a piece of art, call or text me directly: Jane Larson at (505) 231-4920 regarding the # piece you would like. Or email us at info@SantaFeDogPark.org. Local pick up in Santa Fe required. 100% of the profits will benefit the Santa Fe Dog Park The Gift of Art ~ And The Gift of RE
John Alsip, the Santa Fe Artist who created beautiful sculptures out of REcycled and REpurposed objects, has donated a large body of his work to The Dog Park Project. John created art at and around The Dog Park out of recycled and found objects. The Dog Park served as his open air studio and source of inspiration for many years. His work is beautiful and serene. The smaller pieces (suitable for private gardens) are now available here on this page. The larger items will become part of a sculpture garden at The Dog Park. Since The Dog Park was itself recycled, it is a fitting home for some of John's work. John, thank you. We are truly humbled by your gift. (Please see John's biography below). To purchase a piece of art, call or text me directly: Jane Larson at (505) 231-4920 regarding the # piece you would like. Local pick up in Santa Fe required. 100% of the profits will benefit The Frank S. Ortiz Dog Park
Thank you, Ed and Diana Coderre,
for your beautiful photos of John's work 
Untitled # 032 $550 Suggested Donation
Dimensions: 36h x 15 diameter inches Description: Garden piece. Materials: Heavy post, rusted iron (Capital Scrap), glass lamp shade (ReStore) volcanic ash cinders upper Northwest. [Featured in Poster at Dog Park] 
Untitled # 006 $450 Suggested Donation
Dimensions: 63h x 11 diameter inches Description: Garden piece. Pendulum Materials: Standing tower of rusted bent wire remesh containing an old widow weight (Capital Scrap), base is rusted pipe collar holding a river rock, top is a flat river rock held on with rusted wire. 
Untitled # 061 $450 Suggested Donation
Dimensions: 45h x 10 diameter Description: Garden piece (Standing tower) Materials: Old fence posts, rusted 6x6 rusted metal wire remesh bent into a cylinder, Cooper River, Alaska tree trunk with 3 burls suspended from rusted chain and rusted heavy mesh topped by rock [Featured in Poster at Dog Park] 
Untitled #092 $475
Dimensions: not measured Description: Hanging piece Materials: Fifteen (15) ponderosa pine branch knots (gathered around Flagstaff, Az), rusted metal ring, basalt pyroclastic bomb (Washington/Idaho border) [Featured in Poster at Dog Park] 
Untitled #089 $250 Sold
Dimensions: not measured Description: Garden piece Materials: Three (3) steel plates (apx 6x6 in) welded on poles mounted on steel base with river rocks placed on top. 
Untitled #069 $500 Sold (G)
Dimensions: 54h x 36w x 8d inches Description: Garden piece Materials: Weathered wood, rusted wire remesh, rusted can lid, white quartz wrapped to lid with aluminum wire 
Untitled #030 (Left) $250 Sold (G)
Dimensions: 57h x 10.5w x 8d inches Description: Garden piece Materials: rusted metal base, sq. cut timber topped three glass globes (Re Store) globes held in place by stainless rods and bailing wire Untitled #066 (Right) $225 Sold Dimensions: 39h inches Description: Garden piece Materials: Old weathered beam topped with 3 rocks Notes: This piece has been reconstructed at JL’s with different rocks. 
Untitled #014 $475 Sold
Dimensions: 53h x 28w x 8d inches Description: Garden piece Materials: Various weathered wood, rusted heavy gage mesh base, rusted wire remesh, top piece stainless steel artifact and aluminum wire from Capital Scrap, and rhyolite for the upper northwest. Notes: This piece can stand on a patio or be set into the ground. 
Untitled #002 $350 Sold
Dimensions: not measured Description: Garden piece (3 Lolly-Pop-Ups) Materials: Round pipe casings obtained from Capital Scrap, Santa Fe, welded to rebar wire and mounted on a metal plate. 
Untitled #009 $350 Suggested Donation
Dimensions: 63h x 11d inches Description: Garden piece (Pendulum) Materials: Standing tower of rusted bent wire remesh containing an old window weight (Capital Scrap), base is rusted pipe collar holding a river rock, top is a flat river rock held on with rusted wire. 
Untitled #037 $500 Sold
Dimensions: 23h x 47w x 13d inches Description: Garden bench Materials: Side panels are milled driftwood from Puget Sound near Langley, WA. 
Untitled #062 (Left) $250 Suggested Donation
Dimensions: 73h x 8d inches Description: Garden piece (Standing tower) Materials: Rusted 6x6 wire remesh bent into a cylinder, dog park tumbleweeds and river rocks Untitled #060 (Middle) $250 Suggested Donation Dimensions: 60h x 13d inches Description: Garden piece (Standing tower) Materials: Old fence posts, rusted 6x6 metal wire remesh bent into a cylinder, dog park tumbleweeds and river rocks Untitled #063 (Right) $250 Suggested Donation Dimensions: 69h x 8d inches Description: Garden piece (Standing tower) Materials: Rusted 6x6 wire remesh bent into a cylinder, dog park tumbleweeds and river rocks 
Untitled #076 $150 Suggested Donation
Dimensions: not measured Description: Garden piece Materials: Hallow stump filled with willow branches Notes: This piece should be sunk into the ground or mounded in rocks to keep it from being to tippy or unstable. |
Untitled # 012 $400 Sold (G)
Dimensions: 54h, base 17 x 14.5 all inches Description: Garden piece Materials: old driftwood (from Puget Sound, Wa.) tree stump fitted with 3 river rocks spliced into the stump and held in place by rusted wire banding. The base is dense foam. Notes: the base could be mounted below the ground. 
Three Tall Ladies #022a/022b/022c $650 Sold
Dimensions: 6 ft h x 18 inches w x 3d inches Description: Wall piece [Triptych] Materials: Base 6 inch sq. rusted remesh wire (Home Depot) boards old fence boards (Capital Scrap), pot lids (ReStore Santa Fe Habitat for Humanity) (See Larger Photo Below) 
Untitled # 031 $450 Suggested Donation
Dimensions: 51 h x 20 inch diameter rusted plate Description: Garden piece Materials: beam (36h x 10w x 8d) rusted metal plates and rocks support an inverted green glass vase banded with a rusted ring 
Untitled # 008 $400 Suggested Donation
Dimensions: 32h x 11 diameter inches Description: Garden Piece. Materials: Tree stump mounded with various rusted metal artifacts from Capital Scrap. 
Untitled #018 $350 Sold
Dimensions: 39h x11w x 3d inches Description: Wall hanging Materials: Weathered boards three rusted metal screens. 
Untitled #064 (Right) $300 Suggested Donation
Dimensions: not measured Description: Hanging garden piece on weathered board Materials: Weathered board with heavy gage rusted metal mesh, 3 rusted lids and 3 white quartz rocks--each wrapped to the lid with aluminum wire. (GREEN PIPE NOT INCLUDED) 
Untitled #020 $250 Suggested Donation
Dimensions: 40 inches diameter Description: Hanging piece (a wREath) Materials: rusted wire circles as base, with12 old rusted can lids collected from here and there, (some gifted to him by friends) with shiny aluminum circles cut from litho printing sheets (Capitol Scrap) 12 halves of short branches. (Front wreath only -- POST NOT INCLUDED) 
Untitled # 102 $250 Suggested Donation
Description: Garden piece Materials: Old guard rail post with rusted metal plate on fine rusted steel mesh and old CD. [Featured in Poster at Dog Park] 
Untitled #98 (Left) $350 Suggested Donation
Dimensions: not measured Description: Wall hanging Materials: Layered metal lath mesh with weather resistant barrier paper, rusted medallion with sq. aluminum plate rusted circles Untitled #43 (Middle) $275 Suggested Donation Dimensions: 33h x 27 w x 1.5d inches Description: Wall hanging Materials: Pot shard, layered 6x6 square inch rusted wire mesh, black roofing paper, pondosa rosa pine needles inside rusted steel ring. Untitled #103 (Right) $225 Suggested Donation Description: Wall hanging Materials: Metal lath wire mesh, paper roofing material, 6x6 inch steel mesh grid, front medallion, tight rusted wire mesh with fused green glass embellishment (some materials from Capital Scrap) [Featured in Poster at Dog Park] 
Untitled #059 $275 Suggested Donation
Dimensions: variable Description: Garden piece Materials: Long angle iron (Capital Scrap) river rocks 
Untitled #998 (Left) $150 Sold
Dimensions: not measured Description: Garden piece Materials: Tree stump topped with rocks which are wrapped in rusted wire. Untitled #007 (Right) $200 Suggested Donation Dimensions: 28h x 12w x 10d inches Description: Garden piece Materials: Square timber with rusted metal collar and topped with three rocks. 
Untitled #997 $300 Suggested Donation
Dimensions: not measured Description: Garden bench Materials: Weathered wood with rusted metal legs and topped with rock [Featured in Poster at Dog Park] 
Untitled #010 $400 Sold
Dimensions: 44h x 19w, base 10 x 11 inches Description: Garden piece Materials: Base is a rusted metal collar mounted on a plate with secondary ring, holds a tree stump supporting a traffic cone base collar and a rusted bowl (all Capital Scrap). The 4 basalt rocks in the bowl are pyroclastic bombs from a very old volcano in the upper NorthWest. These were found eroding out of a highway road cut on the Washington-Idaho border. 
Untitled #076 $975 Suggested Donation
Dimensions: not measured Description: Antique farm wagon bench Materials: Farm wagon seat brought from Minnesota; base constructed from weathered wood and rusted hardware 
Untitled #040 (Left) $250 Suggested Donation
Dimensions: no measurements Description: Hanging piece Materials: Blue glass water bottles (6), rusted chain and bailing wire Untitled #996 (Right) $250 Suggested Donation Dimensions: no measurements Description: Hanging piece Materials: Ponderosa pine branch knots hanging end to end |
Three Tall Ladies: $650 Sold (see description above)
John F. Alsip and the Art of RE
Sometimes it takes a while for underlying creative sensibilities to make their way to the surface. This was the case with John Alsip. When he retired from a long career in production agriculture, Big-Ag as it's known, he began collecting cast off objects that he found in his wanderings along highways and byways, along railroad tracks, or just by the side of the road while taking an early morning walk. There was no intended purpose in mind when he 'collected' these discards, and it would be a few more years before he began reassembling the cast offs into sculpture. Once this process started, it continued for fifteen years almost non-stop. John reevisioned, recombined, reworked, and reinvigorated these found objects, all the while asking "WHAT IF?" Over the years his intuitive wabi-sabi sensibility emerged. This artist aesthetic is defined by a keen eye for the beauty in the old, rusted, and weathered materials in combination with discarded metals that made up his palette. He continued finding his resource material in arroyos, along trails, in forest burn scar areas, at the Salvation Army, the RE Store of Habitat for Humanity, and Capitol Scrap on Santa Fe's south side. Blue glass bottles, glass light shades and globes, and cooking pot lids all became eye-catching elements in his work.
John's creative output has manifested itself in two large bodies of work. The first was his creation of the 'RE House' in Langley, Washington on Whidbey Island. The 'RE House' was featured as part of the 'ReEnergize Convergence' conference sponsored by Whidbey Ecollaborative for Sustainability. All REmodeled aspects of the 'RE House', inside and out, consisted of REcycled, REconfigured, REassembled, and REpurposed elements--constantly REferring to his concern for elevating awareness in the community for REcycling. RE, in upper case, is referenced throughout John's notebooks RElating to his art work.
A second body of work was created here in Santa Fe and began when the Alsips bought a house bordering the Frank S. Ortiz Santa Fe Dog Park. John's sculptures popped-up and then disappeared; enchanting countless dog walkers over of the years as his sculptures popped-up along the east boundary of the park. His sculptures include garden pieces, works that hang on walls or posts, sculptures that hang from and in trees, and sculptures that pop-up out of walls. Sadly, John is no longer able to work because of health issues. So there will be no new pop-ups along the trail. John Alsip's work is in numerous private collections throughout the West and in public spaces on Whidbey Island, Washington. John was born in Tacoma, Washington; he attended Whitman College where he received a degree in economics and business.
Bio written by Catherine Thayer