Wednesday, April 3, 2013

The Beginning of Many Lasts

The Last Honey Bee (117)
The Last Honey Bee (117) 2013
Carved lead of carpenter's pencil
3 1/8"h x 5/8"w x 5/16"d

This series of pencil carvings focuses on the disappearance and extinction of life on earth.  Some might see that as a fiction, but it just as well be an eventuality.  In my lifetime I will see more lifeforms go extinct than the hundreds of generations previous.  They might be as small as microbes or as big as whales and elephants, but I will be the last to see them.  It's a melancholy thought.  I wanted to capture this feeling and the fragile balance that exists in nature. 


The Last Gazelle (119)
The Last Gazelle (119)
Carved lead of carpenter's pencil
5 7/8"h x 5/8"w x 5/16"d

You can't really tell here, but all 4 legs are separated, I had to CAREFULLY carve between them.  I'm enjoying the new challenge of working with graphite and I'm getting to know the different quality of pencils out there.  Some of the better brands have more consistent lead and wood.  It's also very hard finding carpenter's pencils w/o text or logos all over them.  The logos are a bit distracting, I don't mind some but I prefer a plain pencil.

Chameleon (118)
Chameleon (118) 2013
Carved lead of carpenter's pencil
3 7/8"h x 5/8"w x 5/16"d

These are a few new pieces that will be in my "A-Z" Show at Packer Schopf Gallery in Chicago.  I will be there for the opening as well as an artist talk.  Please stop by if you're in town!

A-Z: 
New Carved Pencils and Crayons
Packer Schopf Gallery
April 5th- May 18th
942 W. Lake St.
Chicago, IL 60607

Opening Reception:
Friday, April 5th
5-8pm
Artist Talk:
Saturday, April 6th @ 1pmApril 6th @ 1pm