I just recently finished off a bunch of unfinished terracotta pieces, some from quite awhile back. Then I photographed the newly finished pieces. Pictured above is one of them. "Shelter" is finished with casein paints, and its dimensions are: 11" h. x 15" w. x 4" d. Now that that task is finished, my thoughts turn to my next project.....
Way back in February, a dear friend of mine mentioned that she and her husband had had to cut down a large basswood tree that was growing in their yard. Of course my ears perked up when I heard this! Basswood, (also known as Linden or Limewood) brings to my mind the great German renaissance era sculptors, such as Tilman Riemenschneider and Viet Stoss, who carved masterful works from this wood. Long story short, I was interested, and they were very happy to have me take whatever I wanted of the tree. Back in June, when the snow was all gone, I managed, with the help of good friends, to get the largest logs into the back of my car and make it home...in two trips, one log per trip.
Then I had to get them out! Thats my wife Akemi helping, and the ramp we rigged up to slide the log down and out of the car. So the logs are now sitting outside of the studio door, just waiting for me to figure out what I am going to make of them. Tomorrow, I will start playing with clay, and we'll see what happens...