My fascination for making sculptures began when i was walking 1,000 miles a year on a five mile sandy beach in Baja California. The soft sand (and copious wildlife) meant there was lots of interesting bones, shells, and assorted beach debris washed in with every tide.
Starting in 2012 i made more than a hundred of these sculptures, twenty of which are on display in the Museo del Estero in Ensenada, BC, Mexico.
For reasons which elude me, i have always felt it necessary to name the various stages of my artistic journey. These sea shell sculptures became Escher C Shells. Me being clever with the name of a favorite artist of mine, M.C. Escher.
Here are some of my creations.
Dive Into Life And Death – A dolphin vertebrae is the star of this sculpture, and the last piece found–exactly the right size to balance between the two uprights, the dark and light shells below representing life and death.
Dance With Life – A rib for a head, whirling translucent sea shells with a crab shell center all tied together with assorted wood bits atop a large clam shell.
On The Edge Of Living – A pelican breast bone, three pelican jaw bones, and a bent stick–not long for this world.
Fish In Lights – This fish bone was connected to a pelican’s breast bone, i believe the eye socket is where the leg attaches. So a fish from a bird.
The Four Point Exploding Clam Dream – Was a nod to Quentin Tarantino’s Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique from his Kill Bill films. I made a series of clam dream sculptures–imagining what a clam might dream.
Two pelican humerus form the base for an explosion of four pelican jaw bones, a cormorant skull and (four) tiny bird-like bones from a fish’s jaw, plus assorted translucent sea shells. Note the crab pincer holding up the cormorant’s head.
Gentle Giant Clam Dream – Two pelican humerus, a seal lion rib, fish jaw bones and assorted shells make for a very lively clam dream.
The Pelican King (left) was one of my favorites and i still have it, sort of–the complete head portion is now inside anther sculpture, also called Pelican King.
Rib On Wings Con Caracol (with snail) Eyes – This is my original leaping sculpture and on display in the Museo Del Estero.
Made with two pelican humerus and a piece of glass on a clam shell base. The leaping figure has a rib tail, vertebrae body and a broken snail shell for a head.
Sea Lion Bust – What appears so solid and dignified is a sea lion humerus and shoulder blade, topped with a purple clam shell.
Run! – how about a fish bone/sea urchin chased by pelican jaw bones, sticks, and a sea lion shoulder blade and paddle (hand).
Spiral Bird Galaxy – Sticks, a cormorant head and translucent sea shells–which i love and lend a wispiness to the sculpture.
The Astronomer (called For LuAnn) – Was one of my favorite sea shell sculptures. Near the bottom right is what looks like a mottled brown stick about the size of a thick pencil; that is the cuticle covering from a decomposing pelican’s beak, the only one i have ever found.
Then one day a friend suggested i make larger sculptures, and after picking up an LA Times newspaper, i never made another sea shell sculpture.
And if you’d like to see how these sea shells sculptures influenced everything that came later. . .
Paper Ballet 