Working Between Showers
It has been a while. I started this project back in November, after doing the Aerodyne sculpture:
I wanted to do a simple, improvisational piece; just make it up as I went along. Just as a reminder, here is what we started with:
This narrow wedge of striped stone did not seem to have much potential. The challenge was to find a pleasing form within the scrap of rock.
Then the rains came. So Cal does not handle them well. And it's been quite a few years since we've had a genuine wet winter. We spent more time indoors than we are used to. It was fun at first, but we've had all the fun we can stand.
Spring has arrived, and the Southland is drying out. I finally got a few days of work in, and the stone is finished.
And here's the finished piece.
Stoneblossom.
Every one of my pieces has some quirky element to it, something sort of odd that just emerges as I work. The odd feature here is that while the form is quite simple, it defies all attempts to find a good angle from which to view it.
Maybe put it on the turn table...
I like that description. From the first view, it almost looks like a fabric croissant (but maybe that's just because I haven't had breakfast yet). From other angles, it looks like the structure of an ear as well as a blossom. This one definitely has character; it almost begs to be touched to be properly experienced.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Julie. The piece does have nice touch appeal, The photos don't show it well, but the inside of the cone, the folded over lobes, and the base are all polished; the 'stem' is rough er finished, Nice contrast for the fingertips. This was a good exercise in discipline. I knew from the start it wasn't going to be a major piece. Even so, that didn't mean I could skip over details, or do less than the best I could with what I had. It still carries that 3D Rorschach quality. Sorta' like a few different thing, but not exactly like any of them.
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ReplyDeleteThanks for posting John. Is this the some stone Tom and I saw recently? Very attractive contours, I appreciate your working method, trying to find the ideal within the stone, while still maintaining the character of the stone itself.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Bill. Yes it's the same piece. I didn't have high expectations for this one, but now that I've had a few days to look at it, I'm starting to like it more. It's hard to see your own work.
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