Dancing Flower
Made on commission for a private client in the UK.
Initial concept to finish - 11months.
2024
‘Dancing flower’
Following themes of 20th Century pop culture and the outspoken Pop Art movement with background notes of 1960’s flower power. Inspiration came from the likes of Andy Warhol and more recently Annie Morris and Mickael Lindeberg.
Commissioned art piece ‘Dancing Flower’. Standing at over eight foot tall this piece commands its place offering the viewer a visually delightful and insightfully balanced hand carved sculpture. With an underlying theme of movement the sculpture strikes a pose as if inviting one to hold its two leaves and dance.
Compositions of balance and contrast in both colour and texture opens up a world of interpretation, and thus provides exactly what art is set out to achieve.
At the root of its concept, timber selection was carefully considered. Opting to carve this piece from solid wood to allow strength and freedom of shaping.
Sourcing local storm felled timber, using 110 year old Monterey Cypress (Cupressus Macrocarpa) for the stem and leaves. A timber that is a joy to carve it can be shaped easily due to its soft yet close grain. Opting to use 100 year old Spanish Chestnut (Castanea Sativa) for the five petals, we selected this timber as it has an incredibly strong and visible open grain.
Both trees commanded the landscape growing broad and tall. Being brought down by immense Atlantic storms, the need to use this timber was not only one of sustainability but as a mark of respect to the history of each tree.
Finished with ultra matt water based paints, leaving a mystique and feeling of chalkiness to one’s touch. The pastel minty green stem and leaves gently meander to balance the piece, blending its shapes and curves with light that disappears into the deep matt paint. From the ground up a notch like patterned textured is carved, allowing a sense of freedom and movement while anchoring the piece to the ground by its mass. Deep royal purple was chosen for the five petals which are offset to one side, giving the sculpture a nodding like pose or mimicking the illusion of wind.
The five petals based on hibiscus flowers eclipse and interlock into each other forming the flower. A textured pattern based on Ammonite fossils was hand carved on the exterior and interior sides of each petal, this gives the petals essence and dynamism. When bathed in natural light one can see a depth of texture from the grain and undulating carving. The flat faced end grain on each petal was ‘opened up’ which allowed a wash of colour to penetrate deep into the fibres of the wood while allowing one to see the grain detail face on.
Concave leaf dimples meander and face opposing directions as if they are naturally searching for sunlight and so finished with a deep yellow water based stain, saturating the wood and symbolising natural sunlight, happiness and optimism.