World's Best Dad

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Sculpture by

Ellen Woodbury

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Mongolian Imperial Black Marble and Red Travertine on Granite

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11 1/2 x 19 x 10 inches

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This sculpture was completed in mid-April, 2010. The stone is Mongolian Imperial Black Marble, the same stone I used for the platypus, "Nature's Paradox." Once again, this stone was a pleasure to carve. Perhaps the only downside to carving it is the smell of swamp gas released whenever you cut into or scrape the stone. Small price to pay for such a versatile and opulent conclusion. The stone is finished to three separate degrees: raw stone for the chick, spots, and incised lines; 1500 grit polish for the adult; and 10,000 grit polish for the water.

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This sculpture is a tribute to my Dad and to great Dads everywhere. My Dad would be pleased to be honored with the image of a loon. He loved the lake and he loved to swim. He also loved a good laugh.

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Loons pair for life and are attentive parents. As part of my research for this sculpture, I read an account of two biologists who did a study on a Minnesota lake. They were interested to determine the strength of the bond between adult loons and their chicks, so they maneuvered their small boat between the parent and chick, thus separating them temporarily, and took notes on how much the parents and chicks were freaking out. They performed this experiment repeatedly on as many loon families as they could find on this one lake. I can't help but imagine the population of traumatized loons they left in their wake.

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I have been busy this year applying for juried membership in professional sculpture oganizations. I was recently elected as a signature member to The Society of Animal Artists, a signature member to Artists For Conservation, and joined the National Sculpture Society as an associate member.

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My marble squirrel, "Nice View From My Tail," was juried into the National Sculpture Society 2010 Annual Awards Exhibition at Brookgreen Gardens in Pawleys Island, South Carolina. The show runs August 7 through October 31. I am excited to attend the Closing Reception on October 30. This will be my first time participating in a big national show.

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This Spring I had a solo show at the Loveland Museum Gallery of my stone sculpture, pastel drawing, and Disney animation from February 27 through April 10. The show was well-received, a ton of work, and worth every minute of the many hours I devoted to planning, writing, and installing the show . . . oops, and the 3 years in Colorado and 20 years in California devoted to creating the artwork.

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My marble owl, "See Through Other Eyes: Spotted Owl," was installed in downtown Loveland in May as part of the Art in Public Places program. I am very pleased that this piece, my first venture into outdoor sculpture, was chosen for display for one year. It is really neat to drive by the owl on my way to run errands in town. (I confess I have stopped by to give him a bath twice so far.)

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All images and text copyright Ellen Woodbury.

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Photo by Mel Schockner.