Denali - She's finished!

Here is the finished painting for your viewing pleasure:

"Denali"

36"x24"

Pretty Bird - Update

Pretty Bird went into the heat a couple of weeks ago and I nearly turned blue from holding my breath. I handed her over to my ceramics teacher on a Friday morning and watched with a mother's eye over his shoulder as he loaded her into her own tiny kiln, closed the lid, and punched in her sentence. All I could do was wait. Monday morning I hurried over to the ceramics lab and made my way to the kiln room at the back. The little kiln stood with it's lid up. I walked up to it stretching my neck out like a stork bracing myself for a pile of birdy pieces. But much to my surprise Pretty Bird had survived! I reached into the kiln and pulled her free. The bisque-firing was a success! *exhale breath*

A week later my amazing figure teacher, Ellen Tykeson, made a special visit on Friday morning to demonstrate a unique finishing technique involving specific forms of wax to whomever wanted to learn. Two of us showed up. Only two. And here are the results:

Pretty Bird

I love taking before and after pictures of my work, although I don't do it nearly as much as I should. The images on the left have one day of classwork left on them. The images on the right show what the piece looked like after I spent several days on it at home. I took pictures of the fabric that was underneath the model so I could work on that detail at home. Being my third figure sculpture class with Ellen Tykeson I decided that I needed to really push myself this term. Prior to this I had never sculpted fabric and was determined to make it read. There is always room for improvements but I have to say that I am pleased with the results on this first attempt.

I have also been working on opening up to conceptual and contemporary work. I still have my beef with much of what is produced with the excuse of being "modern" art but I am beginning to have fun with the conceptual side. I am absolutely in love with birds and I do what I can to work them into my art. I took this opportunity to do just that here. The woman's head is a mourning dove. A bird I love. For years I thought they were actually called "morning" doves. So this puts a slightly different twist on this feathered friend. The wings on this piece are less accurate. I did use reference images however, they are shorter than a wing should be. Nearly half the wing is missing. Only the primary feathers are really represented here. But then that leaves open several different interpretations. Is the wing sprouting from the body or is it in fact receding?

After deliberation over several titles I ended on "Pretty Bird" for this piece. Is this a woman past her prime who is no longer "pretty" or does her beauty exist even now as she ages. Is she like a caged bird trapped in this body or does she sing with joy as she seemed to sit comfortably nestled in her own "nest".

The meaning is in your hands.

What do you see?

A Dodo Teaser

I have begun a custom dodo bird jester. I am thrilled by this piece as it encompasses several subjects that I just love including birds and extinct animals. I have an intense passion for birds of any kind. Ask my family, they're tired of it already! I am especially interested in birds brought to extinction by the hand of man. This includes the Carolina Parrot, the Passenger Pigeon and our famous Dodo. I recently learned that after it was discovered the dodo became extinct within eighty years. It is not clear what it looked like as all that is available are skeletons and a few heads.
It will be hard to part with this when he is finished. But I will. Stay tuned for completed images next week.