the 'OLOGIST' series

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Long before I made my living as an artist, I was caught up in the world of biology. In college, along with familiar course names like chemistry, physics and english, I attended classes in dendrology, ornithology and ichthyology. While I floundered a little with chemistry and physics, I excelled in all my 'ology' courses ... eventually getting a degree as a Fisheries Biologist. The 'ology' language just made sense to me. So here I am, over 40 years later, and I am still thinking of 'ology' ... in an art context.

The ‘OLOGIST’ SERIES is comprised of photo etched metal hands that hold various species for study. For example, a Dendrologist studies trees and wooded plants…a Cetologist studies whales, dolphins and porpoise…and a Conchologist studies mollusk shells. My two sculptures represent ORNITHOLOGY ... the study of birds, and ICHTHYOLOGY ... the study of fish. While the hand represents the environment of each species, the red cord is a symbol of man’s interference with nature. As hard as we try, even in the name of science and scientific study, we have a tendency to create a tangle even as we search for balance.



The hands are photo etched copper and the bird and fish are photo etched brass. The ORNITHOLOGIST measures 10" x 9" x .5" and the ICHTHYOLOGIST measures 10" x 9.5" x .5"... the tangle is red waxed cotton cord.

THE ORNITHOLOGIST and THE ICHTHYOLOGIST are both showing at Bainbridge Arts and Crafts ON Bainbridge Island in Washington state through the month of December in a show titled RED.

In the coming year I hope to make more hands for the 'OLOGIST' SERIES. There are so many more that I am drawn to ...
the ophiologist ...the acridologist ...the dinosaurologist ...the neossologist ...to name a few. Stay tuned.

WILDNESS

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"IN WILDNESS IS THE PRESERVATION OF THE WORLD"....this quote by Henry David Thoreau has always been a favorite of mine. It's a wonderful way to believe and an even better way to live.

A few years ago my sister, Lisa, shot an incredible image of a heron on it's nest. She and her partner, Greg, were on the ferry coming from Whidbey Island to Port Townsend, WA to visit me. At the ferry dock, on the Whidbey side, she noticed a heron on it's nest built on a piling right beside the ferry. Luckily she had her camera and was able to capture this great photo. If she ever wants to leave her day job...and it's a pretty good one....I think she could be a nature photographer. This isn't the first time she has been in just the right place at just the right time to capture a lovely image. When I saw the photo I thought of the Thoueau quote and decided to make a box combining the two.....with Lisa's permission, of course. The photo has the feeling of wildness/wilderness juxtaposed with the man made cable caught up in the nest...a powerful symbol of man's presence in the natural world. On the box the moon phases around the edge represent the passage of time.


This particular box doesn't have doors but instead has a narrow mirror. A great piece to use in an entry way of a home. It is 12" x 12" x 3" and is photo etched nickel with a cherry surround. This etching was accomplished using a salt water bath and car battery charger technique.

From March 4th - 28th you can see this box and several others at Bainbridge Arts and Crafts on Bainbridge Island in Washington as part of the GALLERY ARTIST SERIES.

Many thanks, Lisa, for letting me use your photo. I hope you are carrying that camera around with you all the time.