Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Wild New Sculpture, "Father Time"








We have all seen "Father Time" represented as an kindly, old man with a long beard. My version of "Father Time" is not so gentle and kind looking. I wanted to illustrate time in relation to space. Time as infinity, yet time as short, with teeth. Wake up! Get going, before time bites you in the ass!

"Father Time" was a huge stretch for my design skills. More than once, I thought about giving up and working on something less challenging. I'm glad I didn't, I love the way he turned out. The whole concept started with an old rusty clock mechanism. I wanted to find a way to incorporate it into a sculpture. Then I found an old skull in a creek bed, and the finished sculpture sprang into my mind. I saw it completely painted and assembled in my imagination. But taking an idea from concept to completion is another thing. How in the world could I make this work? The jaw bone was only half there. I had to sculpt the other half, and the eyes, nose, teeth and that wild tongue! I wanted him to be free standing and viewable from all sides, so I had to mount him firmly to a base I made. Then the task of painting began. I used images from the Hubble Space Telescope. There are galaxies, planets, nebulas and stars. And an image of a clock sliding down his throat, representing time sliding into a black hole in space. He is finished on all sides, so he looks great from every angle.

This sculpture was so much fun, that I've started another one. Just how far can I take this whole concept? Just wait and see.

"Father Time" Free standing Sculpture
Size: 27" tall x 9" wide x 17" long

Sunday, October 08, 2006

New Pieces - Sculptures

This is something really new for me, sculptures! It all started with a visit to Firedworks Gallery. The owner saw my 4" faux turquoise cross necklace and asked if I could make the same thing only larger. "Of course I can" I boasted. Did I stick my foot in it or what? After a couple of attempts, I finally came up with a 15" version. It turned out so good, that I had to try something even larger. My design parameters being limited to the size of my oven, I had to remember to scale the horse down a bit. What to do for bases to hold these things up? I remembered that I had a nice pile of beautiful cut timbers in the backyard. Perfect! I borrowed the neighbors tablesaw and squared them up. Then I whittled and cut, and glued and painted the bases.

The gallery loved these, and they took all of my sterling silver jewelry pieces, too. I'm making more with embedded stones and jewels. Of course, my mind is busy thinking of more designs.



"Turquoise Wall Cross" limited edition sculpture 15" tall x 11" wide.






"Turquoise Cross" limited edition sculpture on base 17" tall x 11" wide.







"Wild Horse Turquoise" limited edition sculpture on base 15" tall x 21" wide.