Chantelle

No I’m not pregnant, but lots of my close friends are. One little bubba recently joined us and many more will make their arrivals this year. It is such a special time when you grow your child inside you. I loved being pregnant and I grew a gigantic belly which I couldn’t stop rubbing and talking to.

The sculpture above is titled “Chantelle” it is of a friend of mine, who has the same name! Who would have guessed? I drew her in the final weeks of her pregnancy and created this sculpture in my spare time over the following year. Chantelle has the clay study I completed before I carved this piece in limestone, I can’t bear to part with this piece yet, but if one day I can Chantelle has first dibs on it.

I love sculpting, it is very therapeutic to break of pieces of stone with a hammer and chisel and watch something beautiful emerge. In essence it is working backwards compared to painting as you are taking away rather than building up and it helps my painting immeasurably. I lust after a pneumatic chisel (although some artist don’t agree with their use) as all of that carving sure takes it toll on your hands and it would be nice to get the bulky early work out of the way quickly. I look forward to the day when I have a little space that is just right for sculpting and I can spend more time tinkering away with my files and chisels.