"The Flying Bird Brings the Message"

The title for this week's post is a line from The Book of Changes. It is aptly the 'flavor of the week'. A baby Barred Owl flew into my window at first light earlier this week. It took a while to pull itself together before it could get up and fly off. That's me this week, only I'm not yet in the mood for flying anytime soon. I'm still stunned and in shock...

I guess that led to the creation of three stylized stone vessels with a bird theme. This is a Mourning Dove vessel.

This is a side view of the same piece above. It is Indiana Limestone with dimensions of 25" long x 14-1/2" wide x 9-1/4" high.

This is the top view. It's the only one of the three that is finished.

This is an unfinished Swan Vessel. The head is still way too big, but I'll get it refined early next week. It is Indiana Limestone and measures 23" long x 15" wide x 11" high.

Instead of finishing the other Swan Vessel, I flew into this Swan Vase. It is Indiana Limestone and measures 29" tall x 21" wide x 10" thick. It is big - it is heavy!

Here's the new girl in my life. Her name is Catrina, but I call her Trina (...and Cat! when she's bad). I was eating lunch down by a local cave spring. She had obviously been dumped off. O well, her luck took a turn for the better...

Angel From Mooleyville

I woke up this morning to "Angel from Montgomery" by John Prine with Bonnie Raitt, so that explains the title for today's post. There's a little "cowtown" at the foot of the hill below the studio called Mooleyville (couldn't resist the joke).

I've posted these pictures in an order that will give you a sense of walking around the piece. In that way, you can see the various views and details of the whole sculpture.

I've made pretty good progress on this Angel sculpture. I keep thinking that it's done, but when I wash off the dust, I keep seeing things that I can improve.

I decided to show pictures at this point, because no one but me will notice the fussy little changes that I make from here on out.

The top piece is Indiana Limestone and it measures 38" high by 19" by 18". I began it on July 25 with a small "thumbnail" clay model and a 1,500 lb. stone.

The base, to which I'm custom fitting the sculpture, is Indiana Limestone and measures 41" high by 29" by 22". It has a cloud-like feel because of the stipple effect from a bush chisel.

The base was originally carved over 10 years ago for a sculpture of "Icarus Falling". I didn't use the base at that time because it pushed the boundaries of the commission budget. I've been saving it for just the right piece. Has that time come at last?

The overall dimensions of this assembly is 6'-7" high by 2'-5" front-to-back by 1'-10" wide. It is big!!! and it is on top of my rail cart which adds another foot in height. By raising the sculpture up even just a foot, it creates an awe-inspiring sense of monumentality. I'm really happy with the way this piece has evolved.