Cold, Cold, Cold!

It's only been above the freezing point for two days in the last two weeks.

I took advantage of one of those warm days to install the finished sculpture "Reveal" in the sculpture garden.

"Reveal" is Indiana Limestone with Brazilian White Marble inlays. It measures 6'-9" high by 3' by 3' and weighs approximately 2,500 lb. It represents the discovery of hidden beauty - the revealing of inner mysteries. It was inspired by geodes, specifically amethyst 'cathedrals'.

Meg took these photos of enormous ice crystals that formed recently in the grass of our sculpture garden.

Ice Nine

Rocky Horror

Big Cave Hollow

It's been VERY cold most of the week, with temperatures dropping below zero on a couple nights.However, it was warm enough on Monday to get the crane truck started and set the finished Alabama Marble sculpture outside. This is the B side of the marble sculpture "Falling Star". It measures 7 feet 9 inches high by 3 feet by 3 feet, and weighs approximately 1,600 lbs. Today, Meg and I hiked up to Big Cave Hollow in the Yellowbank Wildlife Management Area. We wanted to see if there were any icicles after the big freeze. You can see why it's called Big Cave Hollow. Meg is in the bottom of the photo, for scale. Some of the exposed Sandstone walls of the cliffs were eroded into wild, honeycombed shapes.

Getting into it. It's still possible to find green living things, even in the depth of winter. Meg explores the micro world with her camera. Close to the Edge.

Big Cave Hollow has a variety of overhanging rock ledges. It's one of our favorite places in Yellowbank.

Ice, on the Rocks

BRRRRR!!!!The light snow on Wednesday put an end to working outside for the rest of the week. These 3 stone sculptures are Meg's.

I'd made pretty good progress on Nexus, if you compare the pictures from last Saturday.

This is the front view.

I finished the week inside, working on Oberon. Here's what he looked like by the end of the week.

A New Year & A New Sculpture Project

The weather finally came back up above the freezing mark, and I took advantage of it by starting a new project in a block of stone that was outdoors.

This block of Indiana Limestone measures 5-1/2 feet long (which will become the height) by 3 feet by 1-1/2 feet thick. I've transferred the design onto the block from a scale drawing of the design. I used the diamond blade on the 4 inch grinder to inscribe the lines.

This is the design as inscribed onto the other side. This sculpture is titled "Nexus", which is the connection, or bond, between members of a group. The block is lying on its side and needs to be stood upright. But, I removed waste stone from the outline of the design, to make it lighter and easier to handle. This is the view from the other side.
I've continued to define the main shapes, while it is lying on its side. I stood the roughed out sculpture upright using our crane truck.

This is the view of the front side at the end of the week. If the weather is reasonable, I'll continue work on this project. If it rains or goes subfreezing again, I'll retreat into the studio and continue carving on the big head.

2008 was a fairly decent year for us - I hope that this new year will be as good. This project is an exciting way to start off the year.