To complete this commission I had to confront my own prejudices. What I found was a gift, for I will never look at hyenas the same way again. Now I can appreciate them for what they truly are: amazing creatures, superbly adapted to their lifestyle and habitats.
The life size sculpture is currently at the foundry. When cast in bronze, Frankie will stand atop a large boulder on the grounds of the Chattanooga Zoo, paying homage to a beloved resident and allowing generations of visitors to see hyenas in a new and favorable light.
This is very cool, I am a supporter of wild canids- wolves, coyotes and foxes, though not specifically the hyena- I do want to see them preserved.
ReplyDeleteI found your site via the NSS, the awards exhibition paper I received in todays' mail. as I was browsing the different works selected many of which I like, the "Vixen" bronze I found very much attracted my eyes. While I don't particularly care for your style of surface texture I thought her expression was just perfect- very soft, refined, and absolutely feminine without any doubt, a very good sculpture!
I'm very much a traditionalist when it comes to the surface textures of animals, so, natually I always prefer a fur texture, though not that horrid thousands of "scratch lines" some artists do for commercial pieces (such as the Sandicraft dogs) to represent fur.
I used to do standing dogs in plasticene and then cast them in bronze in the mid 90s but the foundry costs were getting high and sales pre-internet era were hard to come by.
Last foundry I used was in New Mexico, Park's Bronze I think it was, the whole place seemed to have vanished to a bare lot according to Google's street view.
I work with water clay only now, creating Victorian style architectural pieces.
RD Wolff
But they're not canids...
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