2015 works

2015 begins to see the shift into one of my mains concentrations of creating unique handmade mirrors although the first piece was a carving called LALA.

LALA is my reimagining of Michelangelo's Pieta.

One of the things I love about LALA is that starting at the center part then beginning to focus around the work will create a flutter effect as the work vibrates.

This piece becomes the second time I revisit the use of scrolls in my work. I always hand draw my scrolls as I want them to be natural and unique to themselves.

The scrolls of LALA led to a lot of sketching and the idea to create mirrors again and so was born the Bienvenido series  over a snowstorm weekend in Philadelphia.

(sorry I do not have any current pictures with mirrors in the frames.)

The Bienvenido series takes the traditional scroll used for thousands of years in woodwork/art and modernizes it into a stronger bolder look with personality.

​Following up the Bienvenido series but wanting to stick with the form of mirrors I developed the concept of Triunes.

As with much of my art previously functionality took second to form.  In this series it was important to bring the viewer to the work and in doing so become surrounded and one with the work becoming the center of the powerful triune.

I revisited the concept of utilizing the natural saw marks on the wood from the sawmill to add a beautiful contrast to the work.

The Triune appears to be embedded into the wood and become a building block for my future "art mirrors"

The first Triune is painted in a fiery orange/red with the energy emulating from the center triangle.

The second Triune was designed to be an interlocked structure creating many triangles while having a soft rustic look. 

The third Triune made takes design cues from lotus flower and its meaning.

This work surrounds the viewer in a space of pure beauty and spirituality. 

The floral influenced Triune leads directly to the making of: 

​DEAR LOVE

​

DEAR LOVE is a praiseful prayer. Simple and complex at the same time this piece is carved from a single piece of 4" mahogany,

I wanted to test my skills on creating soft rippling folds that flow off one another.

Continuing with the floral concept I created the poetic work

Ode to Youth 

I am represented as the snail traveling across the front of the work leaving behind a detailed pattern. 

The sleigh bells are a trinity reference of 3 into 1.

The left side of the work are a fictitious type of leaf flourishing and bound to the frame with some much tension it is pulling it inward.  This also leads to the idea of my Anastrata mirrors having a decorative side panel versus the mirror/frame

I took a good amount of time to create the string holding the leaves with a lot of undercutting to create a delicate realistic look.

​The final work of this year was :

Apollo

To this date I consider it my best achievement in combining design with technique carving an immensely fragile detailed piece

Apollo represents eternal  beauty and love.

The original concept was drawn at the Philadelphia Art Museum during a Friday night jazz concert.

By the end of this creation the work was flexing so much it was like carving paper.

Most importantly late October of 2015 begins a new life for me as I was lucky enough to get a chance to bring into my life the incredible spirit and soul of Wes.