Description

This sculpture was inspired by the amethyst geode that reminds me of a broken eggshell. I imagined this sculpture with a casting of my dead bird skeleton as I wanted to explore the concept of birth and death.

The amethyst is from Sidi Rahal, Morocco.

The bird skeleton was cast from a plastic Halloween model. Casting plastic is difficult as it does not burn out cleanly and the casting has a strong risk of failure. This casting did fail as the head as the skull and jaw are thin and there were incomplete casts of the rib bones and wings.

Fortunately, I was able to salvage the cast as I had a silicone rubber mould of the head from a previous sculpture of this bird. I repaired the incomplete castings with pieces fabricated from other metal.

The bronze casting has a cupric nitrate patina applied with a ferric nitrate overcoat. The cupric nitrate patina provides the traditional green colour often seen on copper. The ferric nitrate patina produces a brown colour that tones down the brilliant green of the cupric nitrate patina.

The piece is mounted on Bloodwood, a striking exotic hardwood prized for its vibrant red colour and durability.

Height: 24 cm
Width: 27 cm
Depth: 20 cm
Weight: 4.4 kg