Wood and Mixed Media Sculpture
Duncan's Delight with his New Chariot
Long ago I started a collection of carved wooden bottle stoppers. They were mostly carved heads but there were also a few animal carvings. Many had moving parts – heads that nod, hats that tip, arms that gesture, tongues that stick-out, and couples that kiss. Many others were static figures often elaborately costumed or humorously depicted. Over the years the collection grew to the hundreds. Most came from the alpine region of northeastern Italy near the Austrian and Swiss borders and were made by carvers working for a company called ANRI. Gradually the collection grew to include ceramic stoppers from England, Germany and Japan. Each stopper, whether wooden or ceramic, has a unique personality.
I have greatly enjoyed incorporating these stoppers into my assemblages that have also included elements of other collections including antique tools, pieces from an antique European version of the Erector Set called Meccano, and other found or created elements. My goal was to capture the personalities of the characters, to put them in a conveyance or in a place, and to create a scene that begins to tell a story -- leaving it to the viewer to complete the tale. By being part of each work, it is the implied story that carries that work to a larger realm and the creates the possibility of endless delight.
I've also enjoyed searching for old tools and interesting metal scraps, particularly old and corroded fasteners, that can be incorporated with wood that I turn, carve, or shape in some other fashion to create new things, often based on animals or other objects found in nature. Of late, in addition to I focusing on these mixed-media sculptures, I have been doing more work that relies on my interest in woodturning. Newer pieces, such as Harvest Moon Hunter, the Nutcracker, and Space EggX, are entirely turned or rely on the imaginative combination of individually turned elements.
My works are creatures of my peculiar imagination. Some provide commentary on our modern world. Some are merely intended to please the eye and the mind.
Nestled (Ash, Copper Wire, Acrylic Paint)
Space EggX : Going Where No Eggs Have Gone Before (Assorted Hardwoods, Acrylic Paint, Glass Eyes)
The Swim Club (Magnolia, Pine, Acrylic and Milk Paints, Collections of Found Objects)
The Nutcracker (Rosewood, Mahogany, Poplar, Acrylic and Milk Paints) Antarctica 2040 (Walnut, Small Metal Penguin)
A Heavy Heart (Walnut and Purple Heart, Antique Bisque Doll Parts, Metal Plumb Bob, Wire, Lace, Ribbon)
Political Free Speech: Dollars or Sense (White Oak, Ash, Assorted other hardwoods, metal handle)
Knowledge Breaks Down Walls (Carved mixed hardwoods, Ash, Wood Composite, Acrylic Paint, Ribbon)
Harvest Moon Hunter (Turned, Carved and Textured Poplar, Acrylic Paint)
Oyster Platter (Carved Pine, Turned Holly, Acrylic and Milk Paint)
Sandlot Memories (turned and carved white oak and poplar, acrylic paint)
The Locavore (with elements Sushi Boat -- a birthday gift for
recycled from the Chef's Portrait my grandson Wes (Locust and White Oak)
-- see below)
Prospero's Magical Cloak (from The Tempest, Act !, Sc 2)
Turned and carved Apple on a piece of shipwreck, acrylic paint, antique jewelry
The Shop Drone (an idea from my grandson, Gray)
A Cultural Map of the US (Maple Panels, Dyed Birch Plywood, Walnut and Vintage Figural Stoppers)
A Cultural Map... East A Cultural Map... West
Blues Crab (Carved Poplar with elements of turned cherry, walnut and fir; weathered oak pier)
A Very Hungry Caterpillar -- A Tribute to The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
A work created for the exhibit titled "Turning the Page: Children's Book Illustrations" at
the Strathmore Art Center, N. Bethesda, MD from June 11 to July 31, 2016.
Medusa (turned and carved poplar, maple, auger bits)
(Spirit of 2017)
Puckerfish
Hudson River Rockfish Chained Pickerel
Graham, Josip, Luigi, and Jacques The Seeker
Take Flight in their Antique Plane
Acorn (White Oak and Acorn Caps)
Black Nest Kaffee Klatsch Hans Likes his New Wheels
(but Frieda isn't so sure)
Gertrude is Tough on her Crew Gertrude is Tough on her Crew Bug eats Frog
Viking Flowerpot Last Fourth of July Concert in the Cherry Pavilion
Ladybugs Ladybugs Forest Gnomes Happily Guarding
Their Treasure
Forest Gnomes... Ace (maple and purple heart, metal objects, ceramic stopper)
Celebrity Quest (cherry with vintage ceramic pourers and stoppers)
Luster (Teak, Scrap Metal, Plastic Button) Raven (Oak, Purple Heart, Metal Pourer, Scrap Nails)
A Log on an Ant (Oak, Scrap Nails, Glass)
Mythical Creature #3 - Cherry Pond
The Level Headed Politician (Cherry, Compressed Maple, found objects)
(light bulb, mahogany,
antique level, found objects)
Angelina Emerging (Mahogany, Vintage animated stopper)
Angelina Dancing on the Head of a Pin (Maple, assorted hardwoods, animated stopper)
"Drew Faulkner, Une Dame D'Escoffier -- A Culinary History" A personal portrait of the chef created for
the show entitled "Women Chefs, Artists in the Kitchen", at the Strathmore Art Center, N. Bethesda, MD 9/2015 - 11/2015
Prices are available on request.