Another of my babies left today – bittersweet. I finished the king’s head bracket, and the client picked it up today and was very happy with it. It was quite a push to get it finished, but I am happy with the results – his expression was as close to the original as I could get it. It is going on a beautiful historic house in Birmingham, AL. Hopefully when the homeowners see the results of “the king” they will want more carving repairs on their house. This house is just dripping in magnificent carving.
Where can I find that client who will just hire me for the next 10 years to decorate their house??? Do they even do that anymore??? Think about mansions like the Biltmore (Ashville, NC) that is so beautifully decorated with both stone and wood carvings. I suppose back 100 years ago when that was built, they had about 50 stone and wood carvers working at very low wages. I actually like the way I am working now – there is a lot of variety. I think if I had to carve egg and dart molding for 2 years, I would take up a new career – like bee-keeping.
We stand few–the artist– in this tumultuous world. Someone said: ” It IS NOT the number of breaths you take that counts; but, the number of times your breath gets taken away.” That happened when I stood and looked at the Monet at the Met in New York, the base of the Statue of Liberty that a great Italian friend helped lay the stones there and taught me to lay stone on my own home full of carvings and oil paintings. It was there again when I stood in the Sistine Chapel in Rome, again in front of the Vatican Pieta’ and in Florence while touching the Nicodemus Pieta’. Yes, when I got that letter from Norman Rockwell back in the 60’s. We the few gather strength from being around great works of art and artists. This is what plods us on, to seek these things out that become part of our very souls. Thanks for giving us a bit of fodder. Beautiful work. Roy
Very very nice!
I’m sure the client is pleased … and I hope he’s thinking about sending you a truckload of carving work. Seeing it done with you next to it gives a better perspective of scale. Large work, large powerful sculpting.
THANKS for showing us the result.
Thanks guys! I have had a little time to recover – more work down the pipe – can’t stop for too long, or that “what is the meaning of it all” feeling settles in after completing something as powerful and challenging as this one.