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The second experiment, also with a pine. The antlers on top are from an ironwood bush along our fence line. I experimented with other media trying to incorporate stone and glass. When Antman was taking his turn as sentry at the back door we found tremendous utility in those antlers for hanging gloves, supporting deer skulls, Christmas ornaments. Like the Chief, Antman had to be moved out of the direct exposure to the elements.
Reflective of his position in the tribe, the Chief is sculpted from a large oak with a repurposed shovel as a headdress. The Chief was an experiment with trying to keep the bark on some of his features. His nose was originally adorned with the chunky oak bark but ultimately, the moisture and weather forced me to remove the bark. I also make the mistake of posting the Chief outside our back door as a sentinel and the weather took its toll. So, now the Chief guards our cabana outside but he is protected somewhat from direct assault from the elements.
Fox-like, dog ears, Airdale snout, teeth and eyes from wine corks. Ella was at once both a sweet, affectionate pet and a ferocious hunter. The bare teeth in her smiling mouth represent that paradox.
Giant sweet gum. Huge mouth, slow moving. Garden hoe as a tongue gives him some bite.
This was my first wedding totem and I created HW for daughter, Aurora, and son in law Robert. Hollywood was a nickname Aurora had when she played college soccer. Bigger than life, energizing, enthusiastic. Takes no prisoners with a smile. They were married in Bucks County, PA at the bucolic Barley Sheaf Inn but returned to Durham, NC where they lived. NC is known for its pine and this totem is of pine. Hollywood was also my first, deliberate attempt at creating a hopeful, happy presence. Her jagged, toothy smile consumes a disproportionate amount of space on his face. Her eyes are kind. Daughter Terra made a wonderful contribution by offering reclaimed, glass fuses from her 1940s electric fuse box in city house in Manayunk. The fuses bring a sparkle to her eyes.
An underground creature with ferocious teeth to dig tunnels and a bulldozer of a nose to push dirt. On its head is a repurposed metal disc from a gang disc we used to till our oat and fescue pastures in NC. Seemed an appropriate addition to the subterranean fellow. Holy Moley is kind of scary but not evil.
The previous owners of our Bucks County property had planted a wide range of beautiful, ornamental trees including grafted Cherry trees. Many reached maturity and began to wither. This one in particular died and was overtaken by invasive white clematis vines. As I began removing vines and trimming the tree to cut it down, my wife, Rosanne suggested that two of the larger branches of the trunk looked like arms. That observation was the prompt for the Liberated woman thanking the sky.
Asymmetrical, whimsical loving creature. This is my wedding totem for Jody and Mike, two artistic and talented, animal-loving, kind souls with a wonderful bohemian style.
The Pepster is tall, shows lots of movement and began as a birch tree. Originally started as a wedding totem for a wonderful couple, his scale was wrong for their city space and during the long gestation process, Pepster was invaded by some voracious insects resulting in additional changes.
My first totem in PA. From one of the first pines that came down on our property. Sage’s expression characterizes the beginning of this journey with a huge “O” my, what have we started?
Just the head and throat of a beaked mouth creature with bright, inquisitive blue eyes to match my son's. I especially like the mouth on this guy. The Guinea hen markings on the throat and forehead remind us of our guinea hens that used to perch on the shed roof outside my son's bedroom. The guinea hens acted as our early warning device.
An earlier incarnation of Skybird.
Justin and Marielle's wedding totem. Solid cherry nearly 300 lbs. Solid like this new couple. Justin is an oral surgeon and Marielle is a dentist so their totem had to have a seriously radical set of teeth and a gigantic smile.
Another solid, heavy red oak with a set of white teeth and wild eyes that will stand off any punk. Originally created for Terra and her first city house in Manayunk, PA. She did have her trusty dog, Virginia, at the time but I wanted to give her some backup. The wild eyes juxtaposed with the broad, toothy smile create an interesting contemplative but stern presence.
Meet Miss Daisy Blue Eyes. My mother, Daisy, has a little garden patio. She also has blue eyes. She has admired my work for years but the scale has not worked for her. Unlike most of my other totems, this one is just 24 inches tall. I rescued a hefty piece of oak from a marina on the Delaware River and turned it into this for Daisy's garden patio. The hair and pigtails are made from some re-purposed three-strand, twisted manilla rope formerly used as handrails on some old piers. Miss Daisy Blue Eyes' hair is hard to control and looks a bit unkempt...just like moms and mine. I'm hopeful Miss Daisy Blue Eyes puts a smile on mom's face every time she catches a glimpse of the little totem.