FoldedFrog
Mame
Well, over the summer I was able to finish a few new sculptures and, now that the weather has finally turned away from the dog-days, I was able to get some trees transplanted onto them. Temperatures near 100F didn’t end here in the southeast until October! The trees are, admittedly, underdeveloped but you have to start somewhere and it’s really hard for a lot of people to envision the potential without any trees added. BTW – if you are interested in seeing more angles of these (or most of my collection) just click on the new website link below and hit the “View Gallery” button. I would welcome any feedback on the website. I plan on adding videos and articles in the near future – getting some new HD cameras by the end of this month.
The first is what I have dubbed “The Heart of the Mountain”. It is a contemporary penjing style rock with a marble tray base. I sculpted this piece with extra deep holes to better support the root systems. I like the texture and appearance of limestone so this one speaks to me well. It is about 28” tall and weighs in the neighborhood of 30 pounds. After the cascades are developed, I think it will really turn into a great piece.
Next is a piece where I really went crazy and created a massive setting reminiscent of the desert southwest I call “El Dorado”. It is a representation of a sandstone formation with Hackberry trees perched atop (actually Harland boxwoods but I think they really capture the essence of the Hackberry). I used Usnea litchen to represent the sagebrush. This guy is massive. To give some perspective, the pot is a 40 inch oval and weighs just at 90 pounds. I styled the pot to reflect Native American pottery. I feel it is a rare bonsai representation of a uniquely American landscape. A lot of hours were spent on this one.
Finally, for a little more traditional style of rock planting – “The Secret Falls”. For this piece I wanted to develop sculpting material that’s a bit lighter while maintaining or even increasing durability. Truly, it is about 50% the weight of my conventional sculpting mix. In the composition I use a cascading precession of moss to represent water flowing from within the formation. There are a lot of nice caves and crevasses in this one.
Again, if you’re interested please feel free to visit my new website for more details of these sculptures as well as updates on the progression of some of my past work. If you use any browser besides Internet Explorer you can right click on any image in the gallery to open a full resolution view in a new tab. I welcome any comments and if anyone is interested on a collaboration of styling ideas, I am happy to discuss.
The first is what I have dubbed “The Heart of the Mountain”. It is a contemporary penjing style rock with a marble tray base. I sculpted this piece with extra deep holes to better support the root systems. I like the texture and appearance of limestone so this one speaks to me well. It is about 28” tall and weighs in the neighborhood of 30 pounds. After the cascades are developed, I think it will really turn into a great piece.
Next is a piece where I really went crazy and created a massive setting reminiscent of the desert southwest I call “El Dorado”. It is a representation of a sandstone formation with Hackberry trees perched atop (actually Harland boxwoods but I think they really capture the essence of the Hackberry). I used Usnea litchen to represent the sagebrush. This guy is massive. To give some perspective, the pot is a 40 inch oval and weighs just at 90 pounds. I styled the pot to reflect Native American pottery. I feel it is a rare bonsai representation of a uniquely American landscape. A lot of hours were spent on this one.
Finally, for a little more traditional style of rock planting – “The Secret Falls”. For this piece I wanted to develop sculpting material that’s a bit lighter while maintaining or even increasing durability. Truly, it is about 50% the weight of my conventional sculpting mix. In the composition I use a cascading precession of moss to represent water flowing from within the formation. There are a lot of nice caves and crevasses in this one.
Again, if you’re interested please feel free to visit my new website for more details of these sculptures as well as updates on the progression of some of my past work. If you use any browser besides Internet Explorer you can right click on any image in the gallery to open a full resolution view in a new tab. I welcome any comments and if anyone is interested on a collaboration of styling ideas, I am happy to discuss.
