Category Archives: Sculpture
Colt as Angel
I certainly enjoy mythological beasts, and this includes horses: Pegasus may well be an influence here. And Bucephalus, Alexander the Great’s stallion, is legendary. I once christened a rather wonderful local horse Bucephalus, but only in my own mind: I never met this horse or its owner.
This little winged colt is really another angel in my Angels series, and I am sure my Angel Colt owes it’s existence to the horses in my friends’ lives: the horses that appear in their art.
Death amidst life
These are pages of a book that honors a life now closed.
The crystal ship with the recumbent figure is work that came together slowly. Like much of my work, the final piece is assembled from parts I created along the way. While I had a special desire to create a “crystal ship”, I did not plan the final work in advance.
This figure, which resembled a good friend, became a memorial to him when he died, and it fit into my crystal ship perfectly. The symbolism of the ship is relevant both to him, as an individual fascinated by ocean explorations, and more broadly to all of us. All of us who have sailed, or will soon sail away. It is a deeply personal piece.
I attached the figure and the few special objects to the crystal resin ship. The work sits on a lightweight wrapped wire stand that I made for it. I have photographed it in many settings.
Three Angels
This is a relief sculpture based on a recent drawing, and has been an ambitious and interesting project.
This is a 24″ x 18″ air dry paperclay relief sculpture on board. This is a new process for me, and it was quite a challenge. The board is completely covered with a thin layer of paperclay. I digitally resized the incomplete figures from my drawing, completed them, and used these to cut out the first layer of each figure. The figures were then built up with additional paperclay and textured before adding pastel pigments.
The cradled board is presented for hanging in a simple homemade protective frame, that can be removed and replaced with a professional frame. It is coated with a spray acrylic that protects it from ambient moisture and dirt, so it can be dusted with a feather duster or wiped gently with a soft cloth.
Angelic Relief
I have made good progress on a relief sculpture based on my Three Angels drawing, and have of course taken photos. It is not finished, needing detailing, final texture, perhaps some background shapes or figures, and of course it will eventually be sealed and stained. Meanwhile, some photos will lead to digital variations…
Fireplace
I volunteered to work on a sort of stage set “Harry Potter fireplace” for a neighbor (!), but was stumped as how best to accomplish this mission. My goal was to re-use a pile of styrofoam packing blocks that I have stored for years, just knowing these would come in handy for a project. Now, many months later, the project is almost complete. I fear the neighbor has outgrown this enthusiasm, but that is OK; I am guessing someone in Port Townsend will want a fireplace… :-).
This ultra lightweight “fireplace” is about 30″ wide, 25″ high, and 13″ deep with the hearth included. The back and interior is not final yet, and will be customizable! The hollow core and styrofoam is just painted, so the whole thing is rather fragile. I had imagined using plaster on gauze to create a hard shell over the foam, but that would be a lot of work, and the result would be much heavier!
Broken Acrylic Sculpture
I am returning to scoring, drawing, and coloring sheet acrylic as a sculptural material. This experiment is small, 9″ long, and consists of 3 layers of jagged, broken thin acrylic. The base is painted wood. Two of the images below are digital transformations.
I am having fun, so I may need to acquire some larger pieces to continue with this idea.
Planning Sculpture
I have an intention to create three standing figures for placement under the wild cherry trees in front of my studio. I hope to make them approximately 4′ tall, varying the heights slightly. I am not sure what these statues will be made of, or even how they may eventually look; things change (especially in my art).
My concept is they will be simplified standing figures, very upright … a bit in the line of old-fashioned clothes peg dolls. So I started doodling, first in graphite & watercolor, followed by some digital pixel dust, of course.
The last concept is an attempt to get practical about implementation as a sculpture. It is based on using PVC or ABS pipes of various diameters for the figures, except for the head & shoulders. The figures could be free standing, with the pipe legs could fitted over stakes in the ground, that could run up into the torsos. Might work!
I could then pad & wrap the figures for cementitious outer layers if I want to add detail, curves and different proportions than available with pipes.
Arranging Rocks
Rock Arrangements
Arranging (and painting!) rocks is a fine activity for wet days! Here are some titles for these rock arrangements: “Have a (hole in your) Heart” rock, “Cannonball Balance”, “White Yolk, Soft Boiled”.
This is all a little silly, but maybe a bit more than that, too; I may develop a couple of these further, into permanent pieces!