Figure in Sylacauga White Marble continues...

I roughly carve out the figure and use black crayon to indicate the profile of the face. At this point I had considered having both legs in front of her and have indicated that in crayon. I decided to fold her right leg under her and have removed stone to indicate the leg, leaving it roughly cut to indicate fabric. I have cut the profile of the face and have removed some stone from behind the head. I want to move the left leg over and indicate that in crayon. I also need to remove more stone along the line of her back to give her more depth. I crayon the center line of the face and the features. At the end of the stone, I mark where different parts (foot, elbow) are. I leave the foot intentionally wide, so I can move it left or right as the carving progresses. I remove the corners and some of the back of the stone with a 9" angle grinder, in order to open the stone more. Here she is, for now. The arm and hand are wide, for the same reason that the foot is wide. I may want to move things around as I finish. I work a little bit on various areas, like the face, foot and back, as I move toward a finish. Here is a little bumble bee that got into the studio and was anxious to get out. I got it onto a piece of paper and put it outside. Not sure what these are, but they are tiny. Each clump of blooms is only 1/2" across. Close up of a Twin-blade wildflower. The bears have been officially approved- from right to left is Mary Ann Pollard who commissioned the bears, Genie Lee her sister, Mary Ann's niece, Karen Coke, Lauren Wigginton and Lynnie Meyer, administrators from Norton Healthcare Foundation. On the far left is Katherine Vowels, who is responsible, not only for me securing this commission, but also the commission of the baby elephant sculpture (Ely) at the Louisville Zoo. Many thanks Kate!

The Bears are finished!

The Bears are finished! The Bears are finished!
The sculpture was started back in 2002 and set aside. Originally, it was going to be a polar bear playing with its foot. Then, I thought I'd rather do a mother Grizzly with cubs. Mary Ann Pollard came out and saw the existing sculptural preform. When I explained to her how I'd like to finish the piece, she decided to commission the sculpture and have it placed at Kosair Children's Hospital in Louisville, KY. What follows are before-and-after from various views of the sculpture.








It makes me tired to look at how much it took, to get a finished piece from the old preform.

A cardinal in the snow.

The morning sun over the frozen creek.

Details, Details, Details

They say, "God is in the details". But, I've also heard it said, "The Devil is in the details". (Maybe a bit of both).

I have gone back to add a bit more definition to the fur on this side.

This is the claws of the cub's paw. Just needs a bit more refinement.

The back paw of the same cub - the one being cleaned.

I use 80 grit sandpaper to smooth the claws.

I use a die grinder to gently open the cub's pupil.

This is what the family looks like from above. Almost done.

Queen Annes Lace holding snow.

Daphne with ice crystals.

A cat has made it's way to shallower snow.

Otey: the smallest of the donkeys, but the boss!

Bear work continues, snow and cold and Seasons Greetings

I open the area between the mother's paw and the cub's body with a large die-grinder.

The interior has been difficult to work in and has proven slow. I have crayoned around the nose, as it needs to be a bit smaller.

I have defined this cub's brow and eyes and have started to deepen the crease between the cub's head and the mother's leg.

I have been refining this cub's face, adding detail and softening the form.

I have work in the new Book "Bernheim" written by Sharon Receveur and Tavia Cathcart. It is a fascinating book covering Isaac Wolfe Bernheim's life, the creation of Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest, the various species of plants and animals that can be encountered there, as well as the art projects and sculptures located at Bernheim. Paul Fields is well represented in the book with photos from the time he was artist in residence, creating the "Snail", as well as installing "Blossom" which is dedicated to his mother. Paul was the first sculptor in the Louisville area carving large stone and paved the way for the rest of us (Don, Al Nelson, Matt Weir, myself and many others).

There are two images in the book of my sculpture "Emerging" which was donated to Bernheim by Varley Weideman.

I was walking down by the creek and found snowflakes caught in a spiderweb.

A titmouse on the clothesline in today's snow.

Season's Greetings! Here is this year's greeting card, poem and photo (copyright Meg White 2010).

4 Grizzly Bears and 2 open houses

I have been working on the interior areas of the bear, deepening shadows and applying hair patterns.

I'm detailing the top cub. Some of the crayon marks are to show me the fur pattern, and other marks for the bridge of the nose, which needs a bit more definition.

I bounce back and forth between various areas - a little nose carving here, a bit of eye defintion there, and then there is always fur pattern to be done.

This shot shows a bit of each cub and the mother's face.

Don and I went to Charlie Oldham's open house to see what kind of fossil and crystal goodies he had for sale ... and he has lots - fossils, dinosaur teeth, crystals, jewelry...

A couple of big kids looking for pretty rocks...

Lots of crystals at Charlie's Rock Shop...

There was lots of good food and entertainment.

After Charlies Rock shop, we visited the Studio Works open house. Located at the corner of Bardstown Rd. and Eastern Parkway in Louisville, Ky., it provides an artistic outlet for people with mental disabilities. The work is fun and inventive - these are various food items - roast turkey, banana split, etc. in glazed clay.

Detailing a cub, Thanksgiving and Freezing Fog

I am finishing the cub on the belly first. I use a pointed bit to work around the edge of the eye.

I have used a flat end bit to accentuate the fur on the cub's cheeks while making the hair on the muzzle more flat.

Another view of the "Belly cub".

A side view of the cub on its mother's belly.

To define the pads of the foot, I use an air tool called a Roloc with a 120 grit sanding disk.

Thanksgiving was at my twin Sister's in-laws. Her husband, Steve, cooked the turkey.

This morning, there was a freezing fog....

which left lots of ice crystals to be found in the shadows.