Two Sculptures leased to Frankfort, KY

Josephine Sculpture Park of Frankfort, KY put out a Call to Artists for sculptures to be chosen for a 2 year lease.  I had 2 pieces chosen for this opportunity.

On Monday, Nov. 27, Dereck Sheroan of JBB, inc from Hardinsburg brought out their 23 ton crane truck for the delivery / installations.

We loaded up both pieces and made our way to Frankfort.

The first piece, "Determination" was to be sited at the corner of Wapping st. and Catfish Alley.  Mollie Rabiner (orange hat) was my contact person for the installations.  I also met Mel VanHouten who is the owner of Josephine Sculpture Park.

More hands make light work.  Always happy to have the extra help.

Then, we made our way to the 2nd site which is in front of the Frankfort / Franklin County Tourist Commission and visitor center at 300 St. Clair street.  We took up the entire brick road (and then some...)

We set the base first...

...rigged up the top piece...

...and set it onto 2 stainless steel pins.  Both pieces look good at their new sites.  I hope they find a permanent home in Frankfort.  Time will tell...

 

"Brevity" Functional Sculpture

My morning routine, I go out into the stoneyard for "Cat and Coffee" time.  I stare at stones, trying to envision new sculpture projects, while the cat jumps from one to the other.

I'll usually do sketches and then a small clay model from what I saw in my head.

I now have an extra 35,000 lbs. of carving stones that we hauled from my old studio this summer.  

I came up with an idea for this 1,200 lb. block.

You can see the preliminary forms emerging...

Here's the other side.

Meg flipped it upright with her crane truck after I'd finished the bottom.

Here are 4 views of the finished piece.

It is Indiana Limestone and measures 43"W x 24"H x 19"D and weighs approx. 800 lbs.

...and ending this post on a totally different note, Meg cooked an apple pie from the first harvest off my trees.

 

Madison Chatauqua 2023

The Madison Indiana Chautauqua Art Fair was sept. 30 - Oct 1.  The weather was perfect and the crowds were good....

All of these pictures were taken by Meg White.  I especially liked this one.

The art fair is held down by the Ohio River and is a very beautiful setting.

There were some awesome art pieces to be seen.

These flowers are made out of some type of clay.

I want to give honorable mention to these handmade guitars by a local luthier named Nathan Murphy.  They play and sound as good as any Taylor or Martin that I've ever picked up.

You can see the yellow and red ribbon on my bench.  I won 2nd place for the Fine Arts division.  I'll be back next year and I'm hoping to talk Meg into setting up next to me.

 

"Forbearance" Stone Sculpture

After winding down from the art show in Mid-June, I was able to enlist Meg's help with her crane truck to move stone from the old Ekron studio.  We moved many loads over a 2 week period resulting in about 35,000 pounds of carving stone added to the stone yard.

The first piece that I carved from this batch was this 800 lb corner from some project over 20 years ago.

The piece had this big notch from a "quarry dog hole".

I came up with a design that used the entire block, but swept past the defect.

more progress...

...and more progress...

...and (you guessed it) more progress.

This piece was somewhat reminiscent of the floral seat that is right next to my outdoor work area (under Catrina)..

after finishing the top piece, I began the base for the piece from this section of a limestone column that was salvaged from in front of the Louisville main library (mid-90's).

I formed in the main shapes after making the top and bottom flat.

I tried a chisel texture with a central vein.  This was a lot of work, but I just didn't like it.

So, I ground off all that work before carving in the bottom shapes with an air hammer.

Here is the finished piece.  The overall measurements are 56"H x 24" x 24" and approx. 800 lbs. total weight.

Here's the back view.

...and coming on around... 

The sculpture is about maintaining self control in the face of adversity. 

 It is better to bend than break....

 

Arts on the Green 2023

I was juried in as an exhibitor for the 2023 Arts on the Green Show held at The Maples Park in Crestwood, KY.  It was held Saturday, June 10 and Sunday, June 11.  Saturday had great weather, but Sunday was cut short because of projected storms.

This was the first time that I worked an art and craft booth by myself since... 1989?  I did the Home and Garden show in 2020 as half of Lawler-White.  But before that, 2001 was the last time that I worked an art and craft booth. 

Before the show, I made 4 custom bases for existing sculptures.  This one was for "Fresh Start"...

... and this one for "Green Light".  Both pieces are Indiana Limestone.

This base was made from VA Steatite to go with this AL Marble piece called "Doing Alright".

The same materials were used in "When Yin First Met Yang".  I sold this piece at the show.

I also sold this piece.

I made this piece specifically for the show.  It's IN Limestone and is called "Smooth Sailing.  It sold and...

... won First Place in the sculpture division.

I also made this piece for the show,... but it came back home.

After making bases and pieces for the show, I created this elaborate garden sculpture that I call Phoenix Rising".  It is Indiana Limestone and measures 51"H x 19"W x 15"D

 

"Flight of Fancy" monumental sculpture

I made a garden-sized sculpture from a piece of scrap stone that was the prototype for this new project.  By looking at the pictures of it in the post titled "first quarter of 2023", you can see how I intend to handle some of the textures and details in this large version.

This is a rough clay model with a figure for scale. The concept deals with letting your imagination take you away.  The climbing vine portion was inspired by the Magic Beans in the tale of Jack and the Beanstalk.  The wings give flight of your 'fancy'.

This view shows the flared composition in the back of the piece - for stability as well as visual interest.

I started with this quarry block of Indiana Limestone that I've been saving.  It measures 9-1/2 feet high by 4 feet wide by 2 feet thick and weighs 11,200 lbs.

There was a large corner that I was able to split off.  I will make a smaller sculpture from it one day.  You can see the top tip of the sculpture already emerging.

This is how that view looks today.

I laid out the central axis of the form to determine how to cut the bottom.

The bottom is finished and ready to stand the piece upright with a crane.

I have removed some of the stone from both long sides.

I took off some of the stone to make a tapered preform which will make it easier to stand upright.