Russell Christian's Stone Garden (The Mine's Eye)

John's Rock

2011-06-03T12:25:00.000-07:00

Small Crowd (52 Rocks!)

2011-06-01T04:14:00.000-07:00

Drawing on Soapstone

2011-06-01T04:09:00.000-07:00

Psychopomp-The Styx

2010-09-07T06:39:00.000-07:00

Charon-Another Dubious Guide

India Ink Rock

2010-09-03T13:03:00.000-07:00

John loans us his house and all he gets is this Rock

Hanging Gourd

2009-10-06T14:49:00.000-07:00

My son plans to turn this into a musical instrument.

Aboriginal heritage on the rocks - Guardian Weekly

2009-08-25T11:23:00.000-07:00

Aboriginal heritage on the rocks - Guardian Weekly

It has been almost a year since I added to this blog chiefly because carving rock proved a bit hard on my arm. Still relevant articles on outdoor sculpture, rock works and gardening might occasionally crop up here.

John Magin's Glass sculpture

2008-09-18T09:05:00.000-07:00

We recently were the lucky recipients of this fine glass sculpture. Somehow it is cast in sand. I think this one may have been cast in Cape Cod. The pictures do not do it justice. When the light shines through it really is pretty magical.

Primal Yawn

2008-09-17T08:20:00.000-07:00

The Shrinking Brakeman

2008-09-12T09:01:00.000-07:00

The Shrinking Brakeman was a character who hung out in Barnesville, Ohio, for many years, and was maybe so named by my cousin's husband, DR, who pointed him out to me once, in a diner, some twenty years ago. The image I have carved looks nothing like him and is more an idea. That he looks vaguely like Obama is purely coincidental. If you must know I am for Obama. There, I've said it. Inspired by William Edmonson (see bio in previous blog entry), I used a rail spike to carve it.

William Edmondson

2008-09-08T08:12:00.000-07:00

William Edmondson (1874-1951), the son of freed slaves, was born in rural Davidson County and moved to Nashville by 1890. Working first at the railroad and then as a janitor at the Nashville Woman's Hospital, he lived at 1434 Fourteenth Avenue South surrounded by family and a vibrant community. At the age of 57, Edmondson began working with limestone using a hammer and a railroad spike. "I was out in the driveway with some old pieces of stone when I heard a voice telling me to pick up my tools and start to work on a tombstone. I looked up in the sky and right there in the noon day light He hung a tombstone out for me to make," he explained.

Edmondson carved for 17 years. He said, "I am just doing the Lord's work. I ain't got much style; God don't want much style, but He gives wisdom and sends you along." Truly Edmondson drew his subjects from his world, both real and imagined. Critters like rabbits and bears, from folktales, Adam and Eve from the Bible, and nurses from the Woman's Hospital joined neighbors on porch swings and preachers with Bibles in a cast of characters that inhabited his yard. Crafted by a skilled hand, Edmondson's sculptures are a testament to one man's ability to transform observation and imagination into objects that continue to inspire us today.

William Edmondson stands among the most important self-taught artists of the past century. As the first African-American artist to receive a solo exhibition at New York's Museum of Modern Art (1937), Edmondson claims a national place in the history of American Art.
This bio (with thanks) from Nashville's Cheekwood Gardens website: http://www.cheekwood.org where a show of William Edmonson's work is currently showing.
Image (with thanks) from: www.antiquesandthearts.com.

Don't Step Here Because It's a Bird's Death

2008-09-08T07:21:00.000-07:00

My daughter's response to the death of her pet blue and white budgie (parakeet), Mudge, who dropped dead all of a sudden one day.

Hoboken Man

2008-09-07T17:30:00.000-07:00

Baught this guy in a junk shop in Hoboken years ago (1990s?) and have always been very fond of him. He is a figure in clerical garb (I think) holding a small lamb. He is very crudely carved in marble and his head has been glued on. Still, this is an object of inspiration!

Back to Front

2008-09-07T17:25:00.001-07:00

First of my sculptures in stone made using only basic chisels, hammer, and limestone given to me by a landscaper supply yard. They have a lot of broken pavers which I am welcome to take. This figure is only six inches high but still feels monumental.

Spiral Rock with Rosemary

2008-09-02T08:05:00.000-07:00

Vertical rock forms evoke spirals which suggest Babel towers. Thinking a lot about Babel lately especially given what is happening in Georgia. There are a ton of languages in that region separated by mountains and history that have little understood linguistic roots or even connections with each other.

First Buddha (for Mark)

2008-09-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

My neighbor offered me a batch of slate tile. He is a practicing Buddhist and asked me to make him one. I like commissions so long as people take what they get (in this case my idea of a Buddha-a laughing Buddha).

Trus(t)

2008-08-25T10:22:00.001-07:00

Written in stone. Used as I am to drawing on surfaces using mediums that can usually be erased, changed or cancelled it feels great to make a mark and live with it. Because I am new at this there is the danger of falling into the obvious. This piece struck people as very obvious. Oh well. To be frank I am enjoying being freed up to start at the beginning. I like the roughness of the stone and do not want to get overly refined in my technique or approach.

First Head

2008-08-20T08:34:00.000-07:00

Please note fine blog template-nice and green for a sculpture garden blog. Here is my first attempt at a head. Somewhere in the back of my mind was one Brancusi (not to be too grandiose) and also one Graham Powell. He was at my grammar school where he specialized in fine, truly impressive versions of Modigliani paintings and sculptures.

Rib Cage Plant

2008-08-20T08:25:00.000-07:00

Inspired by the likes of Derek Jarman (see his garden in Dungeness), Henry Heerup (an artist loosely connected to COBRA art movement), and many more who shall be respectfully thanked in good time, we begin...