Autumn is such a rich time for collecting nature items. Myself and the kids set off to the nearest woods on a fresh autumn day. I filled a few bag fulls with my collection and set it all out on a table to dry when I brought it home. I found a skull and part of a spine from some animal too.
The little birds nest I'd decided to be like a bowl held in two hands made from twigs. It was this foundation idea that I built my sculpture around. I needed things to give this sculpture shape and hold the things in and so gathered together these things.
Though I ended up only using the chicken wire and the green plastic coated wire.After a few days drying on the table i started to assemble the lot, mixing and melding the textures, colours and shapes.
Video here Environmental Sculpture Video
I made sure none of the underlying wire frame or wire could be seen.
The sculpture is an animistic representation of the Earth Mother see at this point of time of giving up her bountiful harvest and entering the phase of decay and death. In her arms she holds out a basket with a spiral that represents her cycle and return to rebirth and growth. I gave my sculpture the name "The Cailleach". It is an old folklore name for the Earth in its animistic hag or old woman aspect.
This is the result in pictures.
