Steve, the South African Penguin,
18" tall, cherry, maple, paint 2019 SOLD
Condorita, 6 1/2" tall, walnut 2014 SOLD
Conquistadora, 23" tall, walnut 2013 SOLD
The Condor is a bird of prey, that can soar at great heights, on its enormous wings. Condora or Conquistadora, is adorned with the royal neck ruff, that is her birth right, and a full length cape, the signature ornament of her cultural heritage. She will live a hundred years- seeing clearly, her past, present and future.
Mama Duck, 18" tall, mulberry wood & paint, 2013 SOLD
Wistful for the carefree life that she used to have but wilfully wrapped up in her children’s lives as much as her husband’s. She is the epitome of motherhood, and yet, she still finds time to look and feel elegant. If she is trapped, it is by her own standards of perfection that she embraces.
Prodigal Daughter, 2012, 18" tall mulberry wood & paint SOLD
An
extraordinary woman ready to take the blame for stepping out of the
flock to discover herself first. For that she is rewarded with all of the family treasures by a family who treasures her as a champion that lives among them with such wisdom in her wings.
Installation views of Flock Together at Boston Sculptors Gallery January 4th through February 5th, 2012:
Individual works:
Mother Hen clucks and scolds, chides and molds her chicks into young chickens. She is charged with caring and protecting her husband and her children in the bosom of her family.
Seagull Cinderella is as common as the birds we see at the beach. Yet she is uncommon, like Marilla in Anne of Green Gables, corseted and bound by the sweet virtues of her character.
Brown Pelican is the mild mannered librarian whose sheer white sweater shawl keeps her warm in the cold drafts. All that’s missing is her gold eyeglass chain, dangling on her cheeks.
Culture Vulture I, 38" tall, wood, paint by Donna Dodson
The original Culture Vulture lurks on the edges of culture with hunger. Like an angel of mercy, she knows when to strike. Opportunistic by nature she preys on the vulnerabilities of others.
Red Wing Blackbird sports a beauty on the outside that is balanced by the harmony within her spirit. She sings a song of loves+ losses that reminds us to bear the unfairness of life with grace.
Culture Vulture II skirts the circles of popular society longing to fill up. She is highly educated yet deeply ravenous. Sometimes so desperate as to feed on the carrion of other people’s losses.
Owl Mother loves us all. From her, we get warmth, advice and encouragement. To her we tell our secrets. With her we share our ups and downs. Through her, we derive the meaning of ourselves.
Turkey Mother sports her headdress like a proud, strutting bird, freshly coiffed at the beauty parlor. Purely and divinely feminine, yet with sharp edges on her beak, that is stained in blood.
The Little Match Girl is a brave and barefooted soul. She is a metaphor for living the life of an artist. A wild child, trail blazer that others emulate and admire. Always ahead of the pack.
The Secretary Bird has real attitude, as if to say, ‘who are you calling a secretary?’ According to science, this bird is a part of the vulture family. Her fierce, predatory nature is ingrained.
Little Red Riding Hood is anything but little. Her big feet threaten to stomp on any wolves, or predators that would dare to cross her path. Her big shoulders allude to her inner strength.
Hawkeye is feared like none other. Like a Haida sculpture, or a totem of a matron or school marm, the steady gaze of her watchful eyes minds her charges with protection and good care.
Like a Priestess of the Soul, the Black Swan glides along gracefully and effortlessly yet beneath the surface of the water, out of sight, she is paddling like crazy to stay afloat. The wood grain mimics the fluid feather patterns.
White Stork brings the baby in her tummy instead of her beak. She is both a celebration of fertility and motherhood as well as a subversion of the popular myth of the baby bringer.
Bantam is dominant as only a grandmother or matriarch of a family can be. Bearing the symbolic colors of the rooster, she is the bread winner of the family and its powerful head.
Cardinal was created as an icon to future possibilities, as if women could hold high office in the Catholic Church. What would that like look? Olive drab wing patches and blood red war paint.
Dancing Crane was designed to fit within a very narrow composition that was determined by the wood I chose. She dances in spirit with the redheaded cranes from Indian miniature paintings.
Update: I made a Pecha Kucha presentation on Storytelling and Sculpture at the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield, Mass. about this series. Watch the video here.
