Log Jam

...and that's not the name of an instrumental song...

but what has been happening at the studio.

 I was scheduled to install this sculpture in Cave Hill Cemetery this past week.  But, there's been too much rain to drive heavy equipment over grass-covered graves.  It needs to wait for the right time...

 This bench is 1 of 5 pieces of mine that were accepted into the juried Yew Dell Outdoor Sculpture Show.  It has been sitting on the back of the crane truck for a week (or two) because it's too wet to drive out into the sculpture garden.

 It's going to have to go somewhere, because these 2 pieces have to move in 2 days - before a 70 ton crane comes in to load up Meg's Alaska commission.

 I made a custom base this week for the Bubble Bench.  I thought it was ready to come out of the studio...however...I found little fussy details that need a day or more to clean up.

 ...and this sculpture has only a day or two of fussy detail clean-ups before it gets moved out, as well.

 I did manage to pin this sculpture and move it out by hand.  It's called "Updraft" and it's a bird bath inspired by watching hawks and buzzards swoop over the studio.

 This is the back view.  (I'll need to go back out on an overcast day and get better images...the direct summer sun has really contrasted out the details...)

 I also set out this small sculpture.  I have been considering the idea of making a stone circle of about 5 of these type sculptures.

It is inspired by the big "Fairy Rings" that sprout huge fungus / mushrooms.  Whether I'll actually make 4 more similar pieces in this series, remains to be seen.  At least the rain has stopped...but now it's about 90 degrees with a very high humidity.  It's miserable out there!

Sweating the Small Stuff

There was a bit of a "Log Jam"

at the studio over the last couple weeks.

First, the air compressor broke and had to be replaced...

Then, the crane truck broke down and blocked the entrance to the stone studio...

 So, I had to turn my efforts to creating some small things that didn't require a crane truck to move in and out.  I made this "Red Salamander" in Georgia Pink Marble that measures 14" x 4" x 4"H.

 Then, I made this Day Lily which measures 15"W x 11"D x 10"H.

 Day Lily's always bloom around my birthday (mid June) and I have a lot of good associated memories that go with their appearance.

 I made this nested arrangement of 2 forms from a single stone.  It was inspired by the 'Mother and Child' theme.

 It is Indiana Limestone and measures 15"W x 14"D x 8"H.

 I was really happy with the sweeping curves and balanced composition of this Bird in Flight stone vessel.

 I've tentatively titled it after a Beatles song "This Bird Has Flown" (a.k.a. "Norwegian Wood").  It measures 21"W x 19"D x 8".

 Also, I made the "Swan Vase" from a single piece of Indiana Limestone that measures 21"W x 8"D x 9"H.

I got carried away with the stylized tail and wing feathers - it took a lot of extra time to finish it all out.
Slowly, the "log jam" is breaking up...the compressor has been replaced, the truck fixed...There are about 7 large pieces that are finishing up at the same time.  The latest 'chock under my wheels' has been the constant rain that makes the ground of the sculpture garden too soft to drive across.  I've got sculptures lined up and ready to move...