"Ground Transport"
Being very intelligent birds, ravens have developed many methods for obtaining food. Some involve problem solving, advanced dexterity or even the use of tools. Some involve trickery. Ravens have been observed stealing food from their desert neighbors, the javalina. Because pigs generally stand over their food while eating, it's very difficult to dash in and snatch a bite with impunity. So, working in concert, one raven stands on a javelina's back and pecks it on the shoulders, while another raven rushes in to snatch a morsel when the pig becomes distracted. Occasionally the raven seems to enjoy the bareback ride and elects to stay aboard for awhile. In this piece, I have extended the piggy back ride into the realm of fantasy and given these partners wheels.
This sculpture is part of a series of miniatures based on wild creatures of the high desert wilderness surrounding Sedona.
4.5"h x 5"w x 4.5"l
Cast in bronze and finished in a semi- transparent polychrome patina. Unbased, wheels actually roll.
"Memories of Oak Creek"
"Mouse House"
8"h x 5"w x 9"l
Cast in bronze and finished in a semi- transparent polychrome patina. Sculpture rests on a fossil stone box.
Open Edition
The desert deer mouse is found in abundance throughout the Southwest, often making its home in close proximity to humans. It's next to impossible to move a woodpile of explore a large clump of prickly pear cactus without uncovering a next containing one mouse or an entire family.
This individual has taken shelter beneath a fallen Arizona Sycamore leaf. This species of sycamore is wide-spread throughout the Sedona area, growing to enormous heights near washes and along Oak Creek. It's large leaves and distinctive cream colored bark with splashes of pale green make it easy to identify.
This sculpture is part of a series of miniatures based on wild creatures of the high desert wilderness surrounding Sedona.
"Tom, Dick and Mary"
13"h x 14"w x 29"l
Cast in bronze and finished in a semi- transparent
polychrome patina
AP/4 Edition/15
Sculpture
page 2
Like three young toughs on a street corner, these 'teenage' raven fledglings are looking for some fun. As a group, corvids are recognized as the most playful of birds and young ravens are the most playful of corvids. Their games are often interactive; if one raven slides down a snowbank, all the other birds in the group will likely follow suit. For ravens, as for humans, youthful goofing around is an innocent way of testing and extending one's physical limits. Showing off in play serves another important purpose in adolescence - attracting a desirable mate. Ravens spend the first three or four years of their lives moving in and out of loose-knit 'gangs' in which they meet and court prospective partners. Since they mate for life and often live 30 or so years, this play is serious business.
This piece can be mounted without a walnut base for display in a garden setting.
"First Prize, Sculpture", Sedona Arts Center Member's Show
"First Prize, Sculpture" and Permanent Collection Purchase Award; Bennington Center for the Arts,
Bennington, Vermont
"Market Day"
This piece was inspired by a wonderful day in Old Mexico - exploring the Friday market at Toluca. This small hill town hosts a true native market. The colors and scents still linger in memory.
These native markets are also social events where people not only come together to buy, sell or swap goods but to share stories and news. There is laughter and chatter and children playing .
This young woman, walking to market with her goat, turns to acknowledge the greeting of a friend, the first such connection in anticipation of a busy, happy day.
"First Prize, Sculpture", Sedona Arts Center Member's Show, 2011
8"w x 26"h x 10"l
Cast in Bronze and finished in a traditional patina.
AP/4 Edition /35
"18w x 13"h x 15"l
Mixed Media Sculpture
Unique Casting
"Hunt and Peck"
I enjoy using found objects in my work, and this antique type-writer sparked an idea I just had to explore. Included in the repertoire of birds are sparrows, wrens and a couple of newly hatched Gambel quail chicks.
The message being typed is:
"A bird in the bush is worth two in the hand!"
This piece is inspired by many a pleasurable hike in the canyons bordering on Oak Creek...when dawn is just begriming to brighten the edges of the red rocks and the early morning stillness is broken only by the song of a canyon wren.
Cast in bronze and finished in a semi-transparent polychrome patina. Removable cast glass bowl etched with an oak leaf pattern.
7"h x 19"w x 24"l Unique casting.
"Harebrush"
This piece requires little elaboration in words. I was having fun when I sculpted it and hope that the viewer's spirits will be lifted when sharing it. Perhaps even a wee chuckle will escape now and then.
I was thinking of various phrases in literature and poetry such as, 'the heart leaps up' or 'his heart leapt when he saw her'.....phrases descriptive of such an intense feeling of joy that it produces a physical rush. These dancing rabbits have succumbed to that type of elation and have thrown caution to the winds.
Cast in bronze and finished in a transparent patina Dimensions: 11.25"h x 7.5"l x 4" w
Edition: 35 Artists Proofs: 4
Another version of this theme done in sterling silver; three silver hares mounted atop an antique silver brush. Prices vary according to silver costs and availability of brushes.
7.5"l x 2.25"w x 4."h
"Edgar"
"Edgar" rests serenely on a beautiful leather bound edition of the collected works of Edgar Allan Poe. The branch and raven are not attached to the Poe volume in order that the book can be opened and read.
A smaller version of this piece is also available. It depicts a small calling raven on a branch and rests on a pocket book of Poe's works.
8"h x 6.5"w x 10" l
Open Edition
Cast in bronze and finished in a semi-transparent polychrome patina
"On the Cusp of Magic"
This piece was inspired by a visit to a 12th century churchyard on the remote island of Inis Meain, one of three Aran Isles off the western coast of Ireland. The church itself is a primitive oratory - a tiny structure built entirely of stacked stone. The gravestones are for the most part, laid flat on the earth and covered with lichens, their inscriptions nearly worn away by time and fierce Atlantic winds.
In the midst of this fascinating jumble of historic stones is a large round slab with a void carved in the center. Upon further research, we discovered it was a symbol that reaches far back in time. The ancient Celts believed that such stones had healing properties and were also windows on the Otherworld, that by looking through one might glimpse eternity.
I have combined this symbol with ravens, a bird that is thought to have magical abilities in many cultures throughout the world. In Celtic mythology ravens are powerful symbols and are strongly associated with magic.
19"w x 24"h x 9"l
AP/4 Edition of 35
Cast in bronze and finished in a polychrome
semi-transparent patina.
Bases vary but are usually Arizona juniper or walnut.
"Harbinger"
This piece represents the raven's place in symbology - that of a messenger of portent and a link between the spirit world and the world of man.
13"h x 10"l x 6"w
Cast in bronze and finished in a semi-transparent polychrome patina.
AP/4 Edition 35
"Forest Spirits, II"
16"h x 5"w x 11"l
Cast in bronze and finished in a semi- transparent polychrome patina.
AP/4
Edition of 35
"Forest Spirits" speaks of a time in human history when people lived close to the earth, attuned to the cycle of seasons and in commune with the plants and animals who shared their environment. This young Celtic girl in the springtime of life would have matriculated a rite of passage and been accepted as a woman by her clan.
She wears oak leaves in her hair, a symbol of the oak tree, held sacred by the ancient druids. A raven sits atop her shoulder, a messenger between mortals and the spirits. A second edition of this piece features a Celtic knot work ring in the raven's beak, a symbol of unity and eternity.
"Best of Show Award" Sedona Arts Center Member's Show, 2005
"Spring Fever"
Everyone feels at least some sense of joy and renewal when spring rolls around each year. These desert critters have come through the winter with more than a little pent-up energy that just has to be expressed.
This sculpture is part of a series of miniatures based on the wild creatures of my home in the high desert wilderness surrounding Sedona.
13"h x 6.5"l x 5"w
Cast in bronze and finished in a semi-transparent polychrome patina.
AP/4 Edition 25
