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carvenaked — mermaid reading 2
Published: 2008-07-30 23:06:43 +0000 UTC; Views: 1720; Favourites: 28; Downloads: 108
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Always enjoy going to the beach. A second view of my 'vacation' carvingRelated content
Comments: 13
If you'd like to see a similar problem with doing a face, but in clay, go to my page and find "Cornplanter." Also, the piece is built hollow, so took a bit of engineering...but getting in to do the face presented a similar challenge.
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That is a real nice piece by the way, just got back from your gallery and must say you do a very nice job!
one of my newer carvings, a life sized seated woman may never be finished because there is no way for me to reach in between her legs to finish.. I have been thinking of having a small pull gouge made with an 18" handle... and I was very interested to notice that the wood carving you show is thicker and fuller than the clay girls... the nature of the material?
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Partly it's the nature of building up versus carving away. Partly it's that I had done very little wood carving when I did Woman and Child, and wasn't sure where I was going, except that I had said what I intended to say. The wood was a left-over piece of 2 X 4, when 2 X 4s were closer to that actual measurement.
And is there any real reason why you have to reach between her legs to "finish" carving her? Can't you leave a little to the imagination of the viewer? My mother told me once that "it's more intriguing when you can't quite see what you think you'd like to see." She was a very wise woman!
Wood has its challenges, but so does clay - which is the art of making mud stand on end - and make it do so not in a pile, but hollow! Otherwise, it will crack as it dries and shrinks, even before it can be fired - and shrinks more in the firing, to the point of blowing up and shattering. But clay doesn't have any beautiful grain.
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Well.... I agree you don't have to show everything but I also believe in my eyes and heart and when I look it just looks rough and unfinished and ultimately I am 'the' critic. And if I feel desire to work between her legs and if that 'work' is pointless in the greater scheme, the pleasure I derive from 'mastering' >or knowledge derived from failure< is payment enough. No matter how tightly I carve.. there is always a ton left to the imagination!
In a 'de facto' sense I have been living that notion as she has remained unfinished for four years now!
One of my best friends is a potter and while he can't explore woodgrain.. he does seem to have many kinds of clays with different colors and textures.. or maybe it is just how he finishes but I have never been bored looking!
Comments appreciated!
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The thing about clay is, once it's dry, and especially once it's fired, it's finished, whether you wish you had done it differently or not. You can't take your chisels to it, or take it out of the frame and paint some more. It's over and done, and that's that. You can, if it's your taste, paint the fired clay, or glaze it, but change the form, nope! In a way, I like that. A piece of art is a part of you while you are doing it, but at some point that umbilical has to part, and the thing live on its own - or not. I worked with several colors of clay, and even broken glass (see "Benediction.) But it has to be a special sculpture clay with lots of "grog," which is previously fired and ground clay, in it, to hlod its shape and texture.
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Cool stuff, how long is this piece? From The ring growth I'd guess about 14"?
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Yeah... that is about right... 4 x 4 x 14 plus or minus. Thanks!
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have you thought about doing a reverse mermaid - top fish and bottom human?
this is a nice carving!
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Hmmmmm.... no... to be honest I haven't thought of that! but it is a fun idea! Fun and disturbing! Thanks!
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Lovely flowing curves, really beautiful piece Arrik.
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