My booth at Sculpture in the Park, August 12-14, 2011.

(I believe this is the only time I wear a dress in the whole year.)

Backyard Debutante

Sculpture by Ellen Woodbury

Vermont Marble on Marble

6 x 6 x 6 inches

August, 2011

Spotted Dove

Sculpture by Ellen Woodbury

Brown Alabaster on Marble

11 x 7 x 7 inches

August, 2011

The Spotted Dove, also known as the Ground Dove, is a small bird native to the deserts of the American Southwest and nests in mesquite and saguaro cactus. The spots on this little dove (only 6 inches tall) are a beautiful graphic pattern which inspired this sculpture. The lines of a dove are continuous curves and I enjoyed sculpting the combination of broad curved surfaces, crisp edges, and raised plains. The stone is Brown Alabaster from Mexico--appropriate for this little desert-dweller.

Backyard Debutante is loosely based on the White-Crowned Sparrow. I have always enjoyed these little birds with stripes on their heads. The White-Crowned has 3 stripes which I simplified to one in the interest of clarity and simplicity. This sculpture is also about curves, with the contrasting exception of the straight lines of the beak. The Vermont marble has elegant crystal, evident in the photo, and ideal for this debutante.

The Sculpture in the Park show is the highlight of my year and is held here in Loveland every August. I have included a shot of my booth on the night of the Patron Party. The show was fantastic this year! Thank you to old and new friends who stopped by to say hello and see my work. This is my only chance to connect with you in person, and I love the opportunity to chat with you about sculpture.

This was a very successful show for me. Four of my pieces found homes: the two birds shown above, plus Sky Life and The Last Dinosaur. I admit I was nervous about the show due to the recent economic ups and downs. A sculptor friend remarked that there will always be a desire and need for art, and I was pleased to find that this is true. I am also pleased to write that, due to the sale of The Last Dinosaur, I am able to donate a percentage of the purchase price to help protect Leatherback Sea Turtle nests and nesting beaches. This is a wonderful feeling of empowerment to be able to contribute to save a magnificent animal.

Next on the carving block is an elegant 240-pound block of Turkish Red Marble. The sculpture will be a Red Panda, an Asian species endangered due to loss of habitat. The facial markings of this animal somewhat resemble our raccoon and I am looking forward to bringing that delightful face out of the stone. Speaking of which, this is a very hard marble with a deep maroon color. I saw a beautiful abstract sculpture at the show carved from this stone by Jack Haggerty and am very excited to begin my panda.

All text and images copyright 2011 by Ellen Woodbury.

Sculpture photos by Mel Schockner.

Booth photo by Brian Wendt.

The

Last

Dinosaur

Sculpture by

Ellen Woodbury

Campan Verde Marble on Marble

16 x 13 x 9 inches

July, 2011

The Leatherback Sea Turtle has been on the earth for about 110,000,000 years. The species survived the meteor collision which extinguished the dinosaurs. This fascinating creature is a cold-blooded reptile, yet travels nearly all the oceans of the world. It evolved a means to limit circulation to its limbs in order to conserve body warmth so it could dive very deep and feed in waters down to 40 degrees F, which greatly increased its range.

The Leatherback Sea Turtle is critically endangered, as are all 7 species of sea turtle, due to predation by humans. The stealing of eggs from nests and the destruction of nesting beaches due to beachfront development has severely crippled the chances of survival of sea turtles. They are collateral damage in the fishing industry--caught and drowned in the nets of shrimpers and long-line fishing boats. Leatherback populations in the Pacific are crashing because nearly all the nesting beaches have been built up. But, Leatherback populations in the Atlantic appear to be increasing due to greater use of Turtle Exclusion Devices in the large nets on Shrimpers in Atlantic and Gulf waters, plus protection of nesting beaches and nests. The coast of Florida is one of the main Atlantic nesting areas for Leatherbacks, and Floridians have met the challenge to protect the turtles by turning off beachfront lights at night during nesting and hatching season so the hatchlings can find their way to the ocean. Bravo!

I read a hopeful book, Voyage of the Turtle, by Carl Safina. Dr. Safina travelled all over the world to meet with Leatherback Sea Turtle advocate organizations and determined that the preservation of nesting beaches and the nests themselves was absolutely key to the preservation of the species. Their chances of survival are slim without this protection. I was pleased to read of a cadre of scientists and volunteers all over the world who are working tirelessly to monitor and protect Leatherbacks. It is not often that one reads good news about endangered species.

I am donating a percentage of the purchase price of "The Last Dinosaur" to a non-profit that protects Leatherback nests and nesting sites in an effort to help save them from extinction.

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On another note . . . if you happen to be in Northern Colorado the weekend of August 13 and 14, this is when Loveland turns into Sculpture Town, USA. Two enormous sculpture shows are held in our community and we become a sculpture heaven for 3 crazy days. My work will be at Sculpture in the Park, held in Benson Sculpture Garden. I will be in Tent C. Please stop by and say Hello!

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All text and images copyright 2011 by Ellen Woodbury

Photo by Mel Schockner.