Revisiting a sculpture created many years ago.
Movement and balance are the primary elements of each sculpture.. The Dance of the Wild Iris is no exception.
The tension between the bird and the blossom (which to appreciate) was chosen after exhibiting in several garden shows. Some viewer's clamored over the blooms missing the sculptures and others trampled the flowers to see the sculptures. The iris and the hummingbird compete for the eye, the thin bending sword leaves create the simply elegant movement within the sculpture.
The glossy (highlighted) shiny, lustrous, polished finish of the hummingbird and the iris are designed to bounce the view's eyes and create tension and simulating movement.
My challenge with this sculpture was to capture a hummingbird in flight without sticking it on a wire or having its beak in a flower. I wanted to capture the essence of movement. Sculpted from the remnants of an old walnut tree, the strength of the hardwood was chosen to capture the delicate nature of the hummingbird's flight.
The movement of the sword leaves of the wild iris lent itself to the ideal support for the hummingbird and its representation of flight. Similar to building a house the foundation and support is essential to the evolution of the final sculpture.
My artistic lines at the base of the piece are intended to move the viewers eyes to the interior of the sculpture so that the natural tendency is to move back out to the flower, sword leaves and hummingbird. Movement and motion are the key words.
