Spring 2012 – Update
New Octopus Coffee Table
I am very excited about this project which is nearing completion. Another octopus sculpture, and once again I have it fashioned as a coffee table. This is my 7th octopus sculpture and each time they evolve as I discover more about the creatures and the technical aspects required in molding and creating these sculptures. This sculpture was inspired by some images we captured last summer during a halibut fishing trip while up at Nimmo Bay Resort. We didn’t catch any halibut, but we did catch a magnificent octopus and when we released it floated through the crystal clear water column as it descended back to the depths. It was amazing. The image left a vivid impression with me and I have been working on this piece over the winter.
I have constructed this one using a new method where the sucker detail is cast separately and then added to the body of the octopus during the wax casting stage. This has allowed me to capture a far greater level of detail in the suckers. And for those of you who are wondering, there are a total of 780 suckers on my sculpture. The table design is such that the supporting sculpture base can be reversed with the suckers facing up and the head down or the other way around – two tables in one.
This will be a very unique and distinctive piece. The glass table top can be cut as an oval or square and can be etched with a marine pattern selected in concert with the clients desires.
I expect to have it finished and on display at the Shell Aero Centre at the Victoria International Airport in June 2012.
Drift Wood and Bronze – Coffee Tables
With a recent commission for a unique coffee table, we have spend lots of time beach combing these days looking for interesting pieces of weathered drift wood that can be fashioned into table pedestals. A pair of bronze steelhead trout will be mounted into the wooden pedestals on each table and they will be finished off with an etched maple leaf pattern on the glass tops.
Selwyn Lodge – Northern Saskatchewan
This year I am displaying one of my new sculptures of the Northern Pike at Selwyn Lodge in Northern Saskatchewan. I am also creating a new bronze sculpture of a walleye that I hope to have completed by the fall of this year.
Nimmo Bay Resort
This year I will be displaying several new works in each of the guest accommodations rooms at Nimmo Bay Wilderness Resort.
Kingsbrae Garden Sculpture Competition – St Andrews New Brunswick
The giant mushroom with a sitting toad – Toad stool – is almost ready for shipping out to the Kingsbrae Garden Sculpture competition with an opening event on June 16. We are hoping it will be well received as it is a long costly way for shipping. Check out Kingsbrae Botanical Gardens at www.kingsbrae.com.
Upcoming Shows and Displays
I will once again be participating in the Saanich Penninsula Arts Council Spring Studio Tour on June 9 and 10th. There will be demonstrations on sculpting and mold making as well as a large display of new bronze works and several in progress projects. Refreshments and cookies will be served.
Throughout the summer selected pieces will also be on display at the Shell Aero Centre at Victoria International Airport and The Pier Hotel lobby in Sidney BC.
Personal Note
On a personal note we have some made some changes around the house and studio this year. My wife Jutta has folded up her gardening business to focus on our newly expanded family and work in the studio doing much of the mold making and wax casting work as well as helping out with shows and marketing. We also did our first a joint sculpture project creating the giant mushroom sculpture last year.