Saturday, November 10, 2012

god of the palest flowers

one of the most beautiful poems i've ever read is "the kookaburras" by mary oliver. it is also one of the saddest and truest; it hit my soul hard...is there anyone who has escaped this feeling of profound regret, not for something done, but for something not done that she describes? i don't think so...

this past july i began work on a piece named "god of the palest flowers", named from a line in this poem. here is the finished piece, which i'm honored to say is in the upcoming art and design of metal clay 2013 calendar by the innovative artist and teacher holly gage.

when you turn the crank, the little bird in the cage flies up and down, while the little figure just moves a bit and stares.  he is unable to help the wild bird, but the wearer can open the door to the bird cage if they wish...the monkey lock that holds the "wooden" doors closed is my favorite part--it's actually somewhat functional! both the tiny chain and larger chain are hand fabricated of sterling silver...


god of the palest flowers
bronze, copper, brass, mica and sterling and fine silver
2012

god of the palest flowers
bronze, copper, mica, brass, sterling and fine silver
2012



god of the palest flowers
bronze, copper, mica, brass, sterling and fine silver
2012


god of the palest flowers
bronze, copper, mica, brass, sterling and fine silver
2012

god of the palest flowers
bronze, copper, mica, brass, sterling and fine silver
2012



now here are some process photos;  nothing looks neat and pretty here!




this little guy is bird number three; the first two just didn't work out for various reasons...

i love tiny parts!

little bird with his flying apparatus

a first step in housing construction...


getting comfortable...

getting the bird's mechanism together

the cage:  this was my second try--the first was genuinely sorrowful and utterly useless. yellow ochre was my best friend here, as ambivalent as that makes me feel about my skill level!

coming together...

sweetness!

assembling lots of parts...things are starting to happen here!

the back, which i love...

door parts

so close to finishing! 
now go back to the top again to see how it all came together! i would give myself a b- on this mechanism--it functions well, but does have a tendency to hitch every now and then.  i'm sure there are better ways to make a bird fly, perhaps i will have a chance to try again with different and perhaps happier subject matter :)

5 comments:

  1. I'm blown away, it's really amazing! I give you an A+

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  2. aww thanks erin, i like your grading system better than mine!

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  3. Thanks for posting all these photos of your work-in-progress. It's fun to see how you made it all!

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  4. I have just found your site and Im blown away with what a talented person you are .This is be the start of many visits

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  5. jen, thank you, that's really nice to you to say! i kind of feel the opposite--the more i do, the more i realize i have so much to learn!

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