This
sculpture has the same dimensions as The
Stalking Cat. The two sculptures, when hung together,
look beautiful and tell a fun story (see below). Note
that purpleheart naturally ages to a deep brownish-purple.
Artist’s
Statement
This is
the first time I’ve worked with the beautiful Central/South
American wood, purpleheart. As you can see, The Lord created
it with a handsomely rich color and tight grain. Interestingly,
it was a delight to work with in part because of the sweet
smell it exuded (sort of like strawberries, actually) when
machined and the purple sawdust it generated!
As I considered an accent wood from which I’d make the
inset ingots, I chose canary wood because I found a piece
with gorgeous purple-red grain striations. The colors play
off each other and make for a beautiful sculpture. In addition,
I cut the ingots and lattice a bit thicker than usual to give
this piece a more substantial look. I am very pleased with
the result.
More than anything, like most of my wood sculptures, this
one is a tribute more to the handwork of the Lord than me.
I marvel every time I work with a different kind of so-called
exotic wood. I marvel that the Lord would make such variety
and beauty in trees. I mean, come now – purple
wood?! Amazing! It reminds me of what Genesis 2:9 says, “Out
of the ground the LORD God caused to grow every tree that
is pleasing to the sight and good for food….”
(emphasis added). Indeed, purpleheart and canary wood are
“pleasing to the sight!” It is a great joy of
mine to make these sculptures without adding stains so I can
let the wood’s God-given beauty radiate to His credit
and glory as The Master Artisan.
I played with a variety of names for this sculpture. I chose
Canary in a Purple Cage for three reasons. First
and perhaps most obvious, the names of the wood I used play
into the name. Second, I chose this name as a lighthearted
slant on a rather structured sculpture. Third, the name plays
well with the accompanying sculpture I created with the same
dimensions, The Stalking Cat.
With the purpleheart lattice as the common denominator (the
cage), these two sculptures represent two different perspectives
of the cage’s “bars” (made from purpleheart).
The canary is inside the cage, but the stalking cat (Padauk/red
and Bolivian Rosewood/brown) is outside. When hung together,
you get both perspectives in this humorous (if you’re
not the canary, I suppose) drama!
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