Forest Tree Face Sculpted From Clay

This face was so huge it took almost a month to dry.

I formed it over a plastic covered bowl so it wouldn't be too solid. The bark features were made by adding clay and forming ruts with my fingers.

The leaves were individually made, scored, and placed with slip.

The hardest part was transporting it, freshly made, home from the cabin in a car filled with dogs. I never thought it would survive but it somehow made the trip intact, didn't break in the kiln, and avoided being nabbed by the art thieves that plagued Nissa's class. We lost a surprising number of items.

A Platter of Clay Heads

Nothing says a party like a plate full of clay heads. A few of them are waiting for antlers, hair, and a rather stylish Mohawk.

The bottoms have a hole so that they can have a supported inserted inside.

Pottery Mustache Man Vase

Fredrick has a huge mustache and ears that Will Smith would love. He kept begging; but I told him you need to show me you can handle pens before I move you up to Sharpies.

Clay Tree Spirit

The tree spirit is made of leaves with a bark nose, eye brows and lips. His eyes are acorns. Next spring he'll be moving to the woods by our cabin so he can keep the Nisse in line.

Clay Mermaid With Copper Hair

Lorilei has copper wire hair embellished with sea glass beads.  I thought about the smooth, silky hair that you always see on mermaids but have you seen what salt water does to your hair?

Monster Face Pot With Horns

Henry started out as a vase. I built up his cheeks, cut out his smile and left a gnarly tooth. I particularly like the lopsided horns.

Loch Ness Monster Plate

I attached Nessie to the plate and used a metal brush to brush on a rough wave pattern.

Carved Pottery Hand Shaped Soap Dish

I took a thrown pottery plate and free hand cut out a hand shape.  I put in palm creases but some of the lines filled in after glazing.

I planed on it being a soap dish but it shrank to the point where it would hold guest soaps, now it holds rings.

Carved Clay Rose Petal Plate

This design was so much fun to do.  I started in the center, bent the flexible metal tool, and gently flicked out chunks of clay.  I think the pattern resembles an open rose. I used kiln space at my daughter's school so my glaze choices were limited, I basically did everything in blue or celedon.

Carved Pottery Plate

 I've become quite enamored with carving clay pieces. I throw the pots on my daughter's wheel, let them dry to leather hard and carve them with simple tools.

The silver one is a flexible piece of metal that you can bend to cut shapes. The yellow one is a plastic cake decorator.

Carving suits me well since unlike Nissa, my pots are on the sturdy side. I can carve away a lot of clay to try to achieve a more elegant shape.

The leaf shape was created by heavily bending the flexible metal and you use a slight twisting motion to cut out shapes.

Here is the plate glazed. The blue glaze has a left an interesting color variation that gives it lots of depth.

Microwaved Concrete Tiki Head Sculpture

In keeping with my driveway sculptures at the cabin I put a concrete Tiki head in a a microwave oven and put it in the woods.

Now I know what happened on Easter Island.

Scrap Metal Sculptures

Our cabin has a very long driveway and the forest was filled with scattered junk metal. I bought a bunch of spray paint and started assembling strange creatures which now live in the woods. I have over a dozen sculptures and these are some of the oldest.

We have no visible neighbors so it was a bit of a surprise to see golf carts, ATVs and walkers wandering through the woods. Last weekend someone said they always bring their guests to look at it since "It's sorta like art." I guess that explains the occasional disappearance, pesky "sorta" art thieves.

The Life Span of a Snow Bunny

February 22, 11:00 am
The day was perfect for a snowman and since I recently scanned an old photo of my kids making a snow bunny, a 5 foot high snow bunny was born. She had sexy maple tree helicopters for eyelashes, dried flower arms and a coquettish tail.

February 22, 4:00 pm
The sun is out and she decided to lean back 20 degrees to get catch some rays. Her false eyelashes have fallen off.

March 6
What a difference a week makes, she's lost her head.

March 13
It's rained and the 60+ degree days have taken their toll. She should have gone North for spring break.

Found Objects Driftwood Sculpture From Duluth

I looked for interesting bits while my daughter hunted for agates on a recent trip to Duluth, MN.
The two hanging rocks had holes in them naturally and are as pleasantly smooth as they look.
A couple of very territorial agate hunters thought I was swooping in to nab an agate near them and were startled when I took a seagull feather. Treasure is in the mind of the seeker.

Multicolored Mirrored Prism Plant Stand

I rediscovered this metal stand stored in the garage and made identical wire loops to hang colorful plastic mirrors throughout the grid. The dangling prisms move freely in the wind and cover the surrounding with cheery reflected color.

Cairn Stacked Stone Sculpture Near Duluth, MN

The cairn was made on the Lake Superior beach at Flood Bay, outside of Two Harbors.

Cairn Stacked Stone Sculpture

 When we drove along Lake Superior last summer there were stacked rocks in abstract figures all along the Canadian side of the lake.
The gift shops sell replicas of stacked stones and the practice seems to be embraced by the locals (Hawaii posts signs telling you not to stack the rocks). We were so enamored with the cairns that we brought back some smooth lake rocks.
It was a challenge to find a spot that the dogs couldn't tip the stones over and hurt themselves but the raised beds solve that problem.
Cairns are used to mark trails or as navigation aids. In North America the group is called a duck and the top rock indicates direction. I guess this one is telling me it's time to pick the rhubarb.

Earthworks Sculpture Dead Zone

\Several years ago we had a new driveway put in our cabin in northern Minnesota. A contractor's bulldozer created a landing zone wide swath through the woods and then he sprinkled on a narrow path of gravel.
Most of the bulldozed area has regrown (minus the gorgeous trees) but there is one spot that hasn't been encroached upon by even the hardiest weeds.
I was watching a NCIS DVD and became inspired to dig a body outline into the clay. The sculpture is about 20 feet from a no hunting sign.

Driftwood and Shell Pond Sculpture

The shells move in the breeze and the branches are used as a resting place for bathing birds and butterflies.

Paper Crane Installation Piece at MCTC

The origami paper cranes are over 24" in diameter and were folded from very large sheets of card stock.

The cranes signify peace and prosperity. MCTC is the most diverse school in the Twin Cities and the installation celebrated all the upcoming graduates.