How I get started

Because I use so many parts in my sculptures, I am frequently asked how I get started. It is usually one of two ways. The first is I will have a particular part that inspires me to build a sculpture around it. Audrey the rhino is an example of this. I had the antique brass door knobs that are the eyes. I had had them for awhile, and looking at them one day they said they needed to be the eyes to something. The something happened to be a rhinoceros head.

Audrey's eyes, the start of the entire sculpture

The second way I get started is by listening to the muses or getting inspiration from the world around us. In the case of Eddie the turtle, I wanted to build a turtle. They are such awesome creatures, they seem so wise and serene, just going about their business. I wanted to capture that feeling in my sculpture.

So, where to start? In my stockpiles, I have a bucket of these heavy squares. To me, they looked like they could be the outer "ring" of a sea turtle's shell.

The squares making up the outer "ring" of Eddie's shell

Once I have the basic shape down, I start looking for more pieces to fill in. In this case typewriter ribbon holder, automotive gear, pressure gauge, transmission part, farm machinery gear, and part of a very large impact gun.

Stay tuned for an upcoming post, continuing the build. We might even talk about patinas.