Bear gets Approval

I didn't make as much progress this week on my life-size limestone sculpture as I would have liked. The temperatures dropped mid-week, and there was even hail, sleet and snow.

This is the front view of the sculpture...

...and this is her left side.

One of the main events this week was 2 car loads of visitors from Norton Kosair Children's Hospital, who came out to approve Meg's Grizzly Bear sculpture. The temperature had dropped 40 degrees from the day before, which was a bit of a shock, after several days in the 70's and even 80's.

This Tennessee Pink Marble fountain bubbler that I made, found a new home.

In spite of inclement weather, the wildflowers made their first appearance this week. Spring is officially here.

Beware the Ides of March!

With the crane truck finally up and running, I was able to spin this life-size figure around - making it easier to work on her other side.

This is how the figure looks today. This is her left side.

This is her front view.

This is her right side. She is still very thick all over - but that's what carving is all about - thinning and refining.

Exactly 20 years ago this last Tuesday (the Ides of March), this twenty-something year old couple went on their first date. A lot of things have changed in that time - and a lot of things will change, if we get another 20 years.

Super Moon Rising. (photo Meg White)

The flood waters are leaving the fields and returning to the river. (photo Meg White)

University of Louisville presentation

Last Saturday, Meg and I spent a memorable afternoon with Dick and Ardi Wilson. They treated us to a great brunch at the Meridian Cafe and then invited us to their home to discuss commissions for Meg and myself. There's a LOT more to this story, and I'll post more as things progress. In the right of the picture is one of my sculptural benches that Dick acquired in the early 90's.

Meg snapped this view inside their home.

The good weather continued through the first half of the week, and I was able to make this progress on my life size limestone figure.

Wednesday night - meatloaf and potatoes.

Thursday, we gave a presentation to Ed Hamilton's public art class at the University of Louisville. This is Matt Weir, a local sculptor and a good friend of ours, who is assistant to Ed in teaching the class.

The most enjoyable part was when Ed treated Matt, Meg and myself to drinks afterwards.

This intense week ended on a real high note. I may have found a home for this piece...

...and this one, too. I'll post more, as plans become more solid.

Purdue University to acquire Hand sculpture

It's official - the art selection committee at Purdue University have decided to add my hand sculpture to their permanent collection. What a fantastic start for 2011!

I made this clay model, among others, during the freezing days of this winter. This sculpture, entitled "Testing the Water", is the first to be carved this season from a life-size block of Indiana Limestone.

There were 2 days near the end of January when the temperatures rose above the freezing mark. I started the project then, by splitting off extra length that I didn't need.
Meg has already claimed the top piece to create something for the Yew Dell outdoor sculpture show.

We had great weather last week. I took the model outside and began to block in the piece.

The sculpture is laying on its back, right now. I've roughed in where the front foot will emerge.

I removed extra stone along her left side first.

Then, I removed extra stone from her right side. I now have all the outside points for the form.

Meg snapped this shot of ice falls in the Wildlife Area. I hope this is the last of ice and snow for a while.

Meg's "Demeter" Installed and Louisville Skateboard Park

On Friday, we loaded up Meg's Indiana Limestone sculpture of "Demeter" at Yew Dell Gardens and delivered it to its new home.

I am using a 'Choker' hitch to lift this sculpture, as opposed to a 'basket' hitch that was used on the sculpture in the post below.

Up, up and away!

Mark Foster had prepared a triangular concrete footer, custom made for the piece.

There was quite a bit of demand for this piece, which could have sold many times over. Lots of people besides myself are eager to see what Meg will create next.

Meg has been wanting to go to the Louisville Skateboard Park for a long time, to snap some photos. We finally got a chance to go there yesterday. You can see the obvious sculptural potential in poses like this.

It's hard to believe that he meets back up with his board, lands and rolls away.

He's flipping his board, before landing and rolling away.

He's spinning his handle...

...while he's spinning the board.

I couldn't hardly ride a bike at his age, but he's not touching the ground. I was surprised at how safe the whole thing was. There were no collisions and almost no wipe outs - nothing serious, mostly landing on their feet if they miss the board.

Of course, with more age comes more air space. The terrain of the park is real sculptural, and there are a lot of opportunities for photography with the light and shadows on the curves.

Lightning on the Line

Last week, we got a 6:05 a.m. wake-up call from a lightning bolt hitting our phone line.

Lightning entered our house through this telephone interface. It took out a telephone, answering machine, 2 wall receptacles and a computer. It's always something.

I finally finished this granite bench, entitled "Felicity". It took a LOT longer (and more diamond blades) than I originally planned. Granite is not a sculptural medium to be taken lightly - it's tough! You can see more pictures and pricing for this piece on http://stonesculpturesforsale.blogspot.com.

I just finished restoring this Daisy birdbath for Edith Bingham. She had commissioned the original piece in April, 1991.

It inspired me to make this "Wild Sunflower" birdbath.

You can see more information about this piece, including pricing, on http://stonesculpturesforsale.blogspot.com.

On Sunday, July 18, Jim and Virginia Harrington celebrated their 50th anniversary in this beautiful lodge at Camp Carlson.

Before we went home, I wanted to see if I could find this cave that I remembered from my Boy Scout days. I was about age 12 when I'd last visited this place.