Sky Life

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Sculpture by

Ellen Woodbury

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Carrara Bianco Marble

on Blue Onyx

and Travertine

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20 x 13 x 8 inches

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I must often stop at a busy intersection near my studio, well-lit by massive streetlights in the evening--the corner of Taft and W. First Street for those of you familiar with Loveland. First St. is flanked by the Big Thompson River on one side and an irrigation canal on the other, both waterways are lined with cottonwoods and willows--the home of many bugs. An abundance of flying insects are attracted to the bright lights, which, in turn, attracts swallows for an evening meal. I am impressed by the cultural strata of this busy intersection with cars and pedestrians below and many swooping birds above. The traffic light changes and I continue on, my mind filled with swooping and diving.

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I do know how to fly . . . As the Directing Animator on Zazu and Pegasus (from "The Lion King" and "Hercules" respectively) part of my responsibilities were to figure out how the characters moved, which included flying. I studied flying, reading about the aerodynamics of wings, the changes in pressure achieved through subtle feather movements, and studying birds in flight frame by frame. The first time I animated Zazu flying I wanted to feel his wings cupping the air and pushing down which brought his body up, then rotating the wings to release the pressure and slice up on a diagonal in the upstroke (which brought his body slightly down), then cup more air pressing down on the next downstroke. Very cool!

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I have just finished another sculpture, a coyote carved from limestone, which I will share with you soon. I am waiting for the marble base, which is still in the process of becoming. . . . (as are we all).

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All text and images copyright 2011 by Ellen Woodbury.

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Photo by Mel Schockner.