Wing surfer
This is the bird I let out of the cage. It has an added burden but doesn’t
seem to mind. I looked at “Drawn” the website earlier in the year and there
was an image of a child straddling the neck of a bird as it flew. Good idea
I thought but to be able to surf the bird would be even better! ( I also
have a friend Sue who is a wind surfer and the title suggested itself as a
play on words which might be amusing).
Just lookingI made a little sculpture a while ago inspired by a Rick Amor piece which had the character looking out a window. I really liked the incongruity of the character supporting the window rather than the other way around. This time the character is female (they are much more fun to make) and to a degree it echoes the waiting element that many people go though when someone is absent.
Carried AwayThis piece is yet another exploration
of the “up” idea. Maybe the opposite of Wing surfer! It’s fairly clear who
is in control. I
saw “the Birds” movie when I was young and although no giant bird appeared
in the movie, maybe it is time for nature to fight back against all our
ravages. (It would need a bloody big bird to carry me away!)
Bying FlikeI went to the AG ideas forum with some students and one of the speakers there was an illustrator and one of her illustrations was for a flying bike and an angel. I had been exploring the wonders of fencing wire and this suggested itself as another possibility. My piece is no copy of hers but I really am pleased with it. It has wonderful movement and the silliness of it amuses and delights me. Hope it does the same to you.
Music in the Air
If you can put a bike in the air what else can you put there? A piano seemed the next obvious thing and again it strikes a chord ( ha ha)! Again I really am pleased with it.
RainMy friend Grant showed me a book which had a man using steel wool as a medium for part of his sculptures (of trains) and I loved the idea. I love texture and I made a series of sculptures with steel wool as clouds, tree leaves and now as a personal cloud.
AimI was given a drum full of these pieces. Tail shaft joints
or something and I just loved the form of it. I have done lots of cutting up
and using them as part of other sculptures but I thought that the form
itself suggested so many possibilities. As to if it is a gun, a telescope, a
sculpture or theodolite that the man is looking through … I guess it depends
how you are feeling but he certainly is aiming “up”!
Balloon ManThe idea of actually doing such a thing I’m sure enchants
us all. I did parachute jumping once (and broke my leg!) so this idea
perhaps is a similar fancy. My adventures in this manner are now done
through my sculptures rather than in real life! (I may be a chicken but at
least I don’t break many parts of me).
This
is another exploration of the “up” idea. The balloons were all turned on the
lathe and the chair person is still steel.
Helicopter Man
A
few years ago I taught my students how to make toys that balance with
counter weights. Some had simple curves but others had an “s “ shape and
when I was exploring the way wire had the strength to support pieces in
midair, the concept of balance came back to me.
I love the principle that with a gentle touch, the
helicopter man has a rocking motion that seemed appropriate to the idea.
Father and SonThis piece was also recycled out of a piece called
“Greetings”.
I
removed one of the characters and added another rowing the opposite
direction. It seemed to sum up an aspect of relationships with children at
times.( sort of like that old Cat Stevens song!)