Posts Tagged ‘sculpture’
Surprise Addition
At the end of the day yesterday, I made a last-minute decision to mow the labyrinth. I had skipped it the week before so I didn’t want to miss it before heading out of town this weekend. The grass was thick and a bit intimidating. I put my head down and got to work pushing the mower, oblivious to the new feature someone had secretly added.
When I reached the Red Barberry shrub, I discovered a beautiful sculpture of a small momma deer with a fawn. I double-checked with Cyndie when I got back to the house and learned she hadn’t recently added any sculptures. I didn’t tell her what I’d found so she could experience a surprise similar to mine upon seeing it for the first time.
We both quickly suspected our friends, Pam and John who were staying at our house while we were out of town over the two previous weekends.
Pam said she didn’t know anything about it and would need to check with John when he got home. Sure enough, John had snuck it into that spot after a trip to an Ellsworth garage sale two weekends ago. None of us had noticed it until yesterday.
The little deer is a timely addition after a recent incident Cyndie survived on a walk with Asher. They had entered the tall growth in our North Loop field and Asher broke loose from her grip in pursuit of a young deer. Cyndie suddenly needed to leap out of the way of the sprinting deer that was racing right toward her.
There’s no telling when a deer might reverse direction when it’s employing evasive maneuvers during a chase, much to Cyndie’s surprise!
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Progress
This weekend I got a chance to make a little progress with removing material from the wood for Cyndie’s bracelet. I admit to working slowly, but I’m happy to be able to show there is some difference visible. The patterns emerging on the wood are as rewarding as we had hoped they would be. I’m kind of surprised it has proved to be as solid as it is. I expect a crack to pop open whenever I spend time working it. So far, so good …no crack yet.
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Polishing
I had an insight the other day while sculpting away on that oak bracelet I’m making for Cyndie. Let’s see if it translates very well, from the catacombs of my mind of a few days ago, to words typed by my fingers today.
I tend toward doing my sculpting at an incredibly slow pace. I work by hand and use tools that don’t remove a lot of material in one pass. Still, there comes a point in the overall process where I switch from the rough file, or rasp, that I use for creating a basic shape, to one that is less coarse, for refining that shape.
What stood out for me recently when I made that switch, was how the use of the finer tool reveals scars in the wood made by the first tool.
As I achieve the shape I am seeking by using the first tool, the piece actually takes on an appearance of being smooth, compared to the untouched shape from which I started. In a way, I could stop right there and viewers would be able to perceive the contours of the form I am creating. However, there is even more beauty available by going further.
Continued filing with the finer grain rasp will smooth out the high spots, giving more of a polished look. Yet, at the same time, that makes the ‘valleys’ of scratches left by the previous tool, really stand out.
It all relates to my life of late. For the most part, things were in a form that had me adequately satisfied. Life rarely allows ‘adequately satisfied’ to endure unchallenged. There are an infinite number of ‘tools’ in the world, working together to smooth our rough edges, whether we seek it, or not. The process reveals some of those scars left by the previous lessons we’ve been through, allowing us opportunities to take measures toward polishing them out.
I think the trick is in recognizing what is going on when the challenges arise. In my sculpting, it is a very beautiful part of the process, seeing the transition occur when I change to a finer grain tool. Wouldn’t it be a treat to be able to see our challenges as beautiful while we are in the midst of the process? We certainly appreciate the beauty of seeing and being among people who display a particularly polished personality.
Next time you are with someone you perceive as being ‘polished,’ remember the work that occurs to grow to that state of being. Then be sure to recognize that all of us are truly works of art!
New Craft
I have a new wood sculpture project in the works!
It was commissioned by Cyndie. She wants a new bangle bracelet made of wood. I’m happy to oblige! This is a slice from an oak branch that we scavenged from the woods a year ago. We saved it all this time to allow it to dry out in the rafters of the garage under cabin 3 up at the lake. During the 4th of July weekend I sawed this section from the branch and this weekend I am working on the opening. I have traced the inside of one of her metal bracelets to guide me on sizing the inner diameter.
Some of the pattern visible is a feature of burl wood. We were specifically out collecting just such specimens last year in the woods just north of our place near Hayward, WI. I have no specific design in mind for this bracelet, so I’m hoping when I get the inside sizing accomplished, I can explore how some of the grain patterns begin to stand out as I remove material and then let that inspire how the rest of the project unfolds. I have no idea yet if Cyndie even wants something near this wide, so I’ll also let her have a say on how much to reduce the width.
I was working on that opening this morning when nephew, Trygve, wandered over to investigate what I was up to. Later in the day, I brought it to the beach to work on while visiting with others. Shortly after I arrived, Tryg showed up with a block of his own wood that his dad cut for him and he sat next to me, sanding away like a mini-me. I think he will make a fine artist. Even at his young age, he demonstrates an amazing tenacity and voices a willingness to linger long on the task, even if it takes months to accomplish. Who said this younger generation are all suffering from attention deficit disorder?
Cool ‘Gloo Tool
Members of the Hays clan probably remember the year we miscalculated the dimensions of our igloo and needed to get a ladder, and ultimately add an internal support wall, to finish what became my first-ever two room igloo. Well, someone has come up with a tool that will prevent that and allow us to create a perfectly shaped igloo dome. Check out Grand Shelters Inc’s ICEBOX®!
The ICEBOX® tool in action
Don’t forget, we will be returning to the site of that wonderful winterland getaway where I like to build igloos, this February. Hopefully, the climate will still provide enough snow for such endeavors by the time that weekend arrives. It would be an ideal opportunity to test out such a tool. If I ever get around to creating that wish-list I’ve been asked to make, I will be sure to include information about the ICEBOX® on it. It isn’t an inexpensive tool, but it’s not likely to become a mass-produced, more affordable novelty, so I may merely ask for contributions toward the cost. It would be worth my coming up with the difference, at least to try it out.
What price for snow fun, anyway?
Art in Progress
On the drive home from the lake Sunday evening, a thought of wonderment occurred to me regarding the phrase, “out of nowhere”. Obviously, we are aware of the space that we occupy at any given moment, but is it possible that at the same time we exclude the thought that other people and animals also exist in their own space? If something or someone suddenly appears to us, why would it make sense to say that it came out of nowhere? The space it occupied prior to our becoming aware of it, didn’t exist?
Thoughts like that can happen when you drive home, alone, for 3 hours.
Meanwhile, here are a couple of views of my sculpture in progress:
Relative Something 