It Started with a Walk in the Park

My neighbour Anna was walking in the park when the arborists were removing a tree

There was a significant crack so the tree had to go. We would have carved the three meter stump that was left but before that happened the tree was chipped - nothing left but a pile of wood chips.

Fortunately Anna rescued some rounds of the trunk and they duly arrived in my driveway.

The work I built was a response to the Build Bridges Not Walls campaign. Being my first serious effort with a chainsaw the work proceeded carefully and slowly - with many a call to gurus, chainsaw shops and sculptor friends.

I made a lot of shavings

I also made a sample piece - a tribute to the tree that never turned into sculpture and a gift for Anna.





Finally the work was ready and sent to the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show

And then it came home again - to teach me how cypress will weather and to allow me to see what could be better.

Another Fravashi

Stone sculpture at Pasargad

Back in 2011 I undertook some work to represent followers of Zarathustra at the Museum of World Religions in Taiwan. It was a remarkable learning experience during which I learned a lot and attempted to use new techniques to get a museum durable item from lightweight materials - all the while imitating the original sandstone sculpture of ca 530BCE.

Amongst the work was a Fravashi which was made in glass - designed to be seen through the glass rather than modelled from glass. The first casting didn't result in a clear face - so a second was made to send to Taiwan. The original is now on its return journey from the Canberra Glassworks after expert polishing.

Fravashi in the Canberra Glassworks post polishing

This year I was commissioned to make another Fravashi - to provide the backdrop for a Navjote ceremony. The work is 2.4m long so it took up the whole available space in the studio. And because of the nature of the work it was made in paper clay/papier mache - another experiment with materials. In many ways this gave a better result than the coated work - and it's protected by some acrylic paint - many coats.

First came the drawing

A casting from the mold of the glass Fravashi

drawn on a cardboard base and paper clay modelled on

more modelling

Top and bottom panels added

one coat of paint or another

pronounced ready

taking leave

Ready for the ceremony

Back to Work

The past few months have been interesting domestically - and now the studio and house are surrounded by a sea of mud as drainage issues are addressed. Soon it will be back to normal with only the chooks to stir the place up.

Poseidon (maquette)

Poseidon

Poseidon

I put a bronze casting into the Annual Exhibition - a maquette because I wasn't brave enough to go for a metre high work before resolving the form. It took a bit of effort to make it look as though I'd just thrown it together.

And then to the question of the presentation of art - or the presentation of food.... and so I made "Deconstruct" which would be a pleasant enough piece of Manchurian pear wood - so how do you like it served?

Deconstruct

The exhibition is on at 600 Bourke Street Melbourne until 26 August

A Chip Off...

Chip Bjorn

Having the loan of a chainsaw made roughing out a new stand for the bronze "For Sheena" that much faster - it also produced some nice cut pieces... so there's fun to be had seeing what is in those interesting shapes.

Today the new stand - "Petal for Sheena" is at Herring Island and I'm off to the opening! It looks like perfect weather. See you there.

Clean coal? Clean diesel? Cheap electricity? I wonder

tangled wires - not what we consider safe

 Here are some cliches: "cheap and nasty", "quick and dirty" ... telling me that if you seek low price and instant gratification without regard to quality you may well be left unsatisfied. And you can't have it for nothing.