Breaking all the rules
I got this piece of wood from a friend and fellow wood artist named Mark Bressler. Mark would travel to a private source of Redwood and Bay Laurel in California and return with a truck loaded with tons of wood. Living only a mile away, I would stop by occasionally and buy cut offs from his large-scale sculptures.
The blank of wood that Morph XI came from was oddly shaped like a sharp wedge. It had beautiful color and grain, but because of the shape, I let it hang around for a long time.
I remember Mark talking about it and standing it on his bench wide-side down. One day I took it out of my “wood pantry” and turned it upside down – narrow-side down.
Now, this violates the traditional “Golden Thirds” rule which states two thirds of the mass, weight and visual impact should be oriented in the bottom one third of the object – whether it be a sculpture or break front cabinet. Well, I have always felt that rules are just suggestions and my roguish nature likes breaking them.
I fiddled with layout lines for a long time trying to get the flow right. As I was getting closer with my design, I kept thinking about the rules and the human form and that Whoever created us also didn’t like rules. I see Morph XI in extremely stylized human form. It was a really fun piece to work. I exhibited it first at SOFA Chicago and it sold Opening Night.
Mark Bressler, my good buddy, has since past and is missed by his family, friends, associates, and the wood art community.
