Alleni Taking Aim

Alleni Taking Aim
M/m/croquet ball
25" x 18" x 9"

Historically, it seems like rabbits have been portraid as meek, passive creatures, something afraid of human contact...but not in New Mexico. The large jack rabbits that I see around Santa Fe are nothing but fast, sleek, intelligent and sometimes scary. I often stumble on them while hiking, some are brown and white, some black and white.

I have started thinking of them as tricksters, especially when it comes to interacting with humans. Once my back is turned, I figure they can do just about anything to us!

Alleni, the about rabbit, has a large, heavy wooden croquet ball. He does not seem timid as he looks around for a target.

Surviving SOFA

I have just returned from participating in SOFA New York where I was represented by Jane Sauer and her amazing staff. During the fair, five of my pieces found new homes, one being purchased by a young couple from Cuzco, Peru. Here are the pieces that were sold:

Having Wings

On the back wall of the Jane Sauer Gallery, five ravens are watching each other.



A cat stands in the corner, watching the ravens as they converse with each other.



A large fruit bat, wings extended, dominates the center of the room.



The back of the bat has accumulated some ends and odds. Behind him a large hanging bird swoops down from the fire place. To the left a Great Blue Heron looks toward the door.



Two black Ibis sit on a base made from old mountain bike tires. Hanging from the wall, a nest of old twigs has been made by a swarm of song birds, who fly below the nest.



Two chickens strut around each other, showing off their beautiful feathers.

Interpretations

macklotii
M/m
24" x 24" x 5"


Recently, I came across an article about all the naturalists that had lost their lives in pursuit of documenting new species of flora and fauna from around the world. There was an illustration of a fruit bat that had been collected by one of these unfortunate scientists. It had been collected and sent back to a natural history museum in the Netherlands in the mid 1800's.

What struck me as interesting was how the preserved bat looked more like a bear, even a friendly teddy bear. Obviously, whoever 'stuffed' this bat had never seen a real one. Their interpretation of what they thought this creature should look like is so different than what it looks like in real life.

The bat 'wings' were cut out of an old work apron that I had saved. I seem to save just about everything I use in my studio, and this creature begged to have himself cloaked in a piece of fabric that had some history to it.

January Work

Dryomis & Perigyps
wood/metal/inner tubes/found material
39" x 30" x 30"

These two birds that are wrapped in bike inner tubes were originally made about four years ago. They have been sitting in my studio, collecting dust. I decided to transform them, one more time. Wrapping the wooden structure seems like a natural progression, at least to me.

The base is made from mountain bike tires and inner tubes with a little metal added. (This particular style I refer to as "nuvo-Mennonite." I think of Mennonites as Shakers that got wild, and maybe smoked a little pot.)

The Final Five for SOFA Chicago 2010

Faternus & Packardi
Wood/metal/inner tubes/found objects
28" x 18" x 21"

I have started walking on a trail by the local college that my daughter is attending. It goes through high prairie, with a mixture of desert grasses, arroyos and pinon and juniper trees.

The other day I went for a walk out there, hoping that I would stumble on my next inspiration for a sculpture. Unexpectedly, out of the high grass, a huge raven flew up. He circled around me, then perched on an old dead pinon tree, watching me as I walked by. I can tell you he was BIG and DARK, a blue-black shimmery presence...a bird not easily forgotten.

During that walk, I saw about a dozen ravens and crows. I also realized that I wanted to make some of these intense birds myself. The natural material to cover them in seemed to be inner tubes. By the time I got back to my studio,I had planned this piece in my head.

The two birds are wrapped in tubing, giving them an intense mummy-like 'look' but also a feeling that their bursting energy is contained inside the forms...but not for long.



Paromius
Wood/metal/cloth/found objects
32" x 29" x 11"

Pelicans are amazing birds, flying like WWII bombers, skimming the water in perfect formation. Throwing their heads back to swallow their catch, their flappy gullets act like garbage disposals, consuming everything. I've never heard the sound that pelicans make, but I better it is expressive.

Earlier this summer I made a pelican head, in honor of all the birds caught in the oil spill in the gulf. This is the first full body pelican that I have built. His legs are old croquet mallet handles and his chest is covered in a child's white bicycle tire. His 'feathers' are a combination of dead branches, old metal pipes, pieces of tire rims and a rusted bicycle chain. His gullet is made from an old screen door. I painted his feet blue.

There is quite an assortment of old tools, bits of wood and metal, and found objects hanging off of him. His wooden neck had rusted nails and screws attached to it.



Degeeri
Wood/metal/lead/stone/found objects
26" x 19" x 9"

Otters are so expressive and energetic. This fellow had kept the rock that he uses to break clam shells with him as he peers around. I found that rock on a beach outside of Sitka, Alaska, where I saw both sea and river otters.

His body is wrapped in a layer of lead sheeting, giving him a nautical look. An old mountain bike tire is attached to his chest and his back. Odds and ends are hanging off his body.

His tail is made up of old sticks and pieces of rusted metal and banded with a couple of pipe clamps and his hands and feel are made from wrapped wire.



Melanotus
Wood/metal/cloth/found objects
33" x 12"x 12"

I continue to make a variety of rabbits--sitting, standing, and, of course, running.
This fellow carries a small (sharp) saw blade. Mischief seems to be on his mind!



Banksi
Wood/cloth/metal/found objects
20" x 6" x 36"

Rabbits are incredibly graceful when they are running.(I bet that's not what they are worried about when they run.) This rabbit is in mid-stride, jumping over a small chamisa bush.

He is built from a combination of mountain bike tires, old tin cans, rivets, and a lot of found objects.

Commission

Thyanta's Treasure
Wood/cloth/metal/found objects
29" x 23" x 8"

This monkey was created for a wonderful collector from Texas. She commissioned me to make the monkey for her son.

I think of this creature coming in the box that he stands on, kind of like a kit that you could buy to build animals. His hair and tail are made from steel wool. He is holding a glass door knob, which gives the piece an almost Victorian feel.