Nice View From My Tail

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Sculpture by

Ellen Woodbury

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Vermont Marble

on Napoleon Marble

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23 x 7 x 7 inches

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Completed November, 2009

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"Nice View From My Tail" is a celebration of challenges met, decisions made, and obstacles overcome and avoided. As the saying goes, we live in interesting times, and I hope this newsletter finds you pleased with your pro-active accomplishments. I have never taken life more into my own hands than when I became an independent artist, and the experience continues to be a thrilling one.

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This sculpture is carved from a beautiful block of white Vermont Marble with gold and olive vein. The crystal in this stone is enormous and gorgeous--rivaling our own Colorado Yule Marble with its famous snowflake crystal. Unlike Yule, Vermont Marble is very hard. Diamonds were a necessity in filing and sanding this piece. The hard stone holds a beautiful, crisp edge and only required sanding to 120 grit, at which point the feel is smoothe and soft and the huge crystal sparkles like snow.

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The block for "Nice View From My Tail" holds special significance for me as it was given to me by my new sister-in-law, Audrey. Her grandfather, Mr. Orzech, was a Polish immigrant who worked in the Gawet Quarry in West Rutland, Vermont. He passed away in the early '50's, I believe, and his widow remarried into the Gawet family. Audrey and her family traveled to Vermont to visit relatives and also visited the Gawet Quarry. There she found several beautiful blocks of white marble which she used for many years to hold her stereo system. Recently, Audrey and her husband moved to a new home and no longer needed the marble blocks to hold the stereo, so, knowing I carved stone, she gave them to me as a gift.

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I have been interested to carve Vermont Marble for several years and was most happy to receive the stones. Sometimes I look for a particular stone to make into a particular sculpture, other times the stone inspires a particular sculpture. The latter was the case with this block of Vermont white. I had been thinking about making a squirrel for several months prior to receiving this block--no specific idea for a pose or theme--but thought to make it from a piece of yellow marble in my garage. I had a strong feeling the squirrel would come from the stereo column the moment I saw it, the subject sitting elevated on his tail.

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The inspiration for this sculpture comes from a series of happy memories. Many mornings last winter I was entertained by a creative and resourceful squirrel who hung by his toes down a long wire which, I thought, suspended my birdfeeder safely out of squirrel range. His technique was so innovative and outlandish that I did not attempt to readjust the feeder, figuring he deserved a reward for his creativity. This reminded me of my Dad's experiences with squirrels raiding his birdfeeders, and books we bought for him detailing ways to discourage this behavior. My Dad was a Vermonter, so somehow these ideas connected to produce this self-satisfied stone squirrel.

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I have just finished another sculpture, a tiger carved from Dolomitic Limestone, which I will post to my blog soon. I am just beginning the carving on a wolf, to be made from Tahitian Blue marble from New Mexico. I hope to include both of these pieces, along with "Nice View From My Tail" in my up-coming show.

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In other news, I was recently juried into Artists For Conservation, an international organization of like-minded artists working in many mediums. My web site with the AFC is at: www.natureartists.com/ellen_woodbury.asp.

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My one-person show, "From Magic Dust to Marble Dust," opens at the Loveland Museum on February 27 and runs through April 11. It is a show of my stone sculpture, pastel life drawings, and Disney animation. The Opening Reception is Friday, March 12, from 5 to 8 pm. I will make a presentation from 5 to 6 pm that evening of my thoughts and animation principles which I have carried over from one medium to the next. Other activities during my show will include: a lecture on the Bouncing Ball Principle, the foundation and "breath of life" in Disney Animation on March 20 from 1 to 3:30 pm; and a Flipbook-making Workshop on March 27 from 10:30 am to 3:30 pm. Please call the Loveland Museum at (970)962-2410 for more information.

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Happy New Year. May we all find peace in 2010.

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Copyright 2010 by Ellen R. Woodbury

Photo by Mel Schockner