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He's different from my other creations in that he's not a stuffed plush doll - he's completely hard and solid. The fabric covering his body is attached over a hard form, and the arms (still bendable at the elbow) are thickly wrapped wire, with hard clay hands.
All of the materials used on his exterior are natural - black linen, natural wool yarn (straight from a Navajo Churro sheep in Washington state!), the ruffles were made from cuttings from a vintage pair of men's wool dress pants, and waxed cotton thread. Oh, and he has some "ear tufts" and a back patch of black rabbit fur from an old fur coat. That red stone on his forehead is carnelian.
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| facial and dusty ruffle details |
I'm really interested in seeing how differently all the artists in the show interpret this character. I wanted him to look like a three dimensional "icon" of sorts (hence the star halo) - almost like a token image of some mysterious dark god. Not as a malicious force, but simply as a passionless, immortal being.
The opening reception will be at Gallery 1988 on Melrose on Friday, March 11. If you're in the Los Angeles area, this will be a great show opening, and most likely a crowded one, with tons of energy. There is an amazing list of talent (100+ artists in all) included in the show, and I'm pretty excited that I actually get to be out there and see all the pieces in person.
http://www.nineteeneightyeight.com/
6 comments:
Awesome rabbit! I like your toys!
Makes me wish I lived closer so I could see it in person. This is so cool and I love how it still looks soft, like your other stuff.
Do you think you'll do more like this that are not plush and poseable?
thank you so much, Codi :)
M - yes, I think this was a successful test of a new direction! Of course I'll still make the dumpy, soft little guys, because I love their "I'm a bag of flour" feel and look. But working in rigid materials really has a lot of advantages, and solves some design/construction issues I've always had. When things are soft and plushy around a hard form, they shift around a lot, just by nature of the softness of the filling. It feels good in the hands, but there are problems with permanence, and what you can attach to it, and how. You have to be prepared for any type of movement that might happen - like building on sand. With the hard forms, I can literally pound nails or drive screws into it, and secure things on permanently, which opens some new windows for design and pose. It takes a little longer, but it's worth it because in the end I'll have total control and be able to have really finely realized postures, etc.
Plus my hands will get really strong from kneading all that clay :P
Carnelian - a stone winners and poets. Who is your rabbit? This is really interesting! Are you interested stones and their meanings?
My English is very bad, but I'm curious, forgive me!
Hi Codi, Your English is fine, do not worry :)
I actually am quite interested in the meanings of things like stones, flowers, plants, etc. I read a lot of books about things like that because I find it really fascinating, and it can be a useful symbolism in artwork!
Unfortunately, I realized this AFTER I set the carnelian in this guy's face (I just chose it because of the red color), because carnelian also has meanings of energy and life....and the Black Rabbit (the god of death in the novel "Watership Down") is the absence of energy and life! Oops!
Ok I am a fan . I have just only found your blog and I love your stuff. Wondering why you dont list some of these on etsy. As an etsy artist just wondering heres my etsy...http://www.etsy.com/shop/floatingwoo?ref=si_shop
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