http://www.beaspark.com/work daily 0.75 2015-12-22 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/562f733be4b0d742f0b2cc11/562f7351e4b022e56e73e39b/1445950293554/DSCN0643.JPG Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/562f733be4b0d742f0b2cc11/562f734de4b022e56e73e384/1445950290041/DSCN0642.JPG Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/562f733be4b0d742f0b2cc11/562f7342e4b03cab056c6aba/1445950281597/DSCN0618.JPG Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/562f733be4b0d742f0b2cc11/562f733ce4b07df37c3039ac/1445950273923/2012+july+615.JPG Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/562e2ed0e4b0be3276041ec0/562e2f1be4b094a157a9a00d/1445867318517/IMG_0900.JPG Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/562e2ed0e4b0be3276041ec0/562e2efae4b094a157a99f65/1445867722955/IMG_0960.JPG Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/562e2ed0e4b0be3276041ec0/562e2eefe4b094a157a99eed/1445867260929/IMG_0917-001.JPG Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/562e2ed0e4b0be3276041ec0/562e2ed0e4b08b939a17b422/1445867218639/1429885328328.jpeg Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/5539a272e4b0147a4ad9ade8/1429840510749/3+Vulture1.jpg Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/5539a2a6e4b0987552e15da9/1429840561074/ Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/5539a23de4b0a06e121e34ad/1429840455565/ Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/5539a2cce4b09e35ffe095d6/1429840596749/ Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/5539a2f7e4b0a710f6a120d6/1429840641444/ Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/553a511de4b0d3a13adeb1da/1429885219997/ Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/553a5083e4b049578051890b/1429885071288/ Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/553a50dde4b0d3a13adeb090/1429885157351/ Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/562f71e4e4b006c1d809730e/562f7246e4b006c1d809755c/1445950022685/1429840926555.jpeg Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/562f71e4e4b006c1d809730e/562f7224e4b03cab056c647b/1445949993285/dinosaur+building+091.JPG Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/562f71e4e4b006c1d809730e/562f721ee4b0e412156fc821/1445949984144/5++Stegasaurus.jpg Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/562f71e4e4b006c1d809730e/562f721ae4b03cab056c643e/1445949979954/4+dinosaur+building+066.JPG Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/562f71e4e4b006c1d809730e/562f71fae4b006c1d80973a4/1445950036030/3+dinosaur+building+4x6+Opener.JPG Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/562f71e4e4b006c1d809730e/562f71ede4b006c1d8097356/1445949934527/2+slider-6.jpg Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/562f71e4e4b006c1d809730e/562f71e4e4b07df37c30334d/1445949927687/1+dinosaur+building+010.JPG Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/562f6f22e4b06bf746635ff6/562f6f65e4b006c1d809676b/1445949287360/DSCN5811.JPG Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/562f6f22e4b06bf746635ff6/562f6f5ae4b006c1d8096744/1445949278165/DSCN5960.JPG Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/562f6f22e4b06bf746635ff6/562f6f52e4b006c1d809671a/1445949276122/DSCN5946.JPG Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/562f6f22e4b06bf746635ff6/562f6f22e4b00281093c64a1/1445949225928/DSCN5949.JPG Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/563b56b4e4b0ada51f2425d8/1446729401641/ Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/563b6ce5e4b089bb24477ab4/1446735081714/ Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/5539a444e4b0f85361a8b43d/1429840973767/ Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/553a45bde4b0987552e34669/1429882303032/ Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/553a4311e4b05abbe6f071bc/1429881623092/self+portrait+for+gallery+%282%29+3.jpg Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/553a42abe4b0147a4adb885b/1429881524734/ Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/553a444de4b0a06e1220173e/1429881943718/ Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/553a4278e4b053ce148fac5d/1429881471468/ Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/553a43ebe4b07826915c69fc/1429881848488/ Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/553a43bde4b0033a4f566b24/1429881799620/ Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/55f03dcbe4b0b418231c99d6/1441807819866/ Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/55f03d0de4b09e2985e8442e/1441807630062/ Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/56239957e4b02346886b1f14/1445173612312/20+leaf+mirror.jpg Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/55f03db7e4b0b418231c997f/1441807800312/ Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/55f03cd6e4b09e2985e842db/1441807578097/ Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/56239f35e4b09501ec5ca138/1445175101145/ Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/553a4c7be4b0b1a68acfeca7/1429884032455/ Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/553a4caee4b040d51049525d/1429884085202/ Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/55f03cf5e4b09e2985e84376/1441807605610/ Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/563b55dbe4b0efe399a2f146/1446729180550/ Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/563b5596e4b0efe399a2f00d/1446729111805/ Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/55f03e8de4b03888027dfda6/1450543761235/ Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/563b55c3e4b0efe399a2f0e4/1446729157236/ Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/56796b069cadb69d48c57fcc/1450797905881/ Gallery Here, we were putting the 6 major parts together for the first time with a boom truck. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/562e6318e4b050cb7cba4aeb/1445880611307/ Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/562e65cde4b0efb8d60e6145/562e6683e4b0efb8d60e6ae1/1445881475667/1+cows.JPG Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/562e65cde4b0efb8d60e6145/562e6674e4b0efb8d60e6a3e/1445881473533/2+cows.JPG Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/562e65cde4b0efb8d60e6145/562e6668e4b0efb8d60e69d8/1445881453850/3+cows.JPG Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/562e65cde4b0efb8d60e6145/562e665be4b0efb8d60e6961/1445881436594/4+cows.JPG Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/562e65cde4b0efb8d60e6145/562e664fe4b0efb8d60e6912/1445881427807/5+cows.JPG Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/562e65cde4b0efb8d60e6145/562e6645e4b0efb8d60e68a9/1445881419151/6+cows.JPG Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/562e65cde4b0efb8d60e6145/562e6632e4b0efb8d60e6814/1445881403571/7+cows.JPG Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/562e65cde4b0efb8d60e6145/562e6623e4b0efb8d60e6791/1445881396725/8+cows.JPG Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/562e65cde4b0efb8d60e6145/562e6614e4b0efb8d60e668c/1445881373204/9+cows.JPG Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/562e65cde4b0efb8d60e6145/562e6608e4b0efb8d60e6607/1445881360079/10+cows.JPG Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/562e65cde4b0efb8d60e6145/562e65ede4b0efb8d60e63e4/1445881360446/COWS+DSCN1770+%281%29.JPG Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/562e65cde4b0efb8d60e6145/562e65cde4b0e895fb726170/1445881315592/cows+in+place+w+louisa+DSCN2146.JPG Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/553a5444e4b05bfe1624ec19/1429886035445/DSCN7462.JPG Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/553a53b7e4b0541afc666ba5/1429885883147/DSCN6587.JPG Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/553a54a2e4b0be5b54dc17c5/1429886125525/IMG_0980.JPG Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/553911c1e4b09e35ffdd2114/1429803482526/7+dinosaur+building+for+PUBLIC+PIECES.JPG Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/55397fc9e4b05abbe6eded68/1429831650743/extra+pics.jpg Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/55e3958ee4b0e4feabf54a6c/1440978383084/1429881471468.jpeg Gallery http://www.beaspark.com/contact daily 0.75 2015-12-19 http://www.beaspark.com/how-i-work daily 0.75 2015-12-19 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/55f04c55e4b0eadcaa8f3882/1441972774030/ How I Work https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/55f2c5cfe4b0c7ddebbd210e/1441973715127/ How I Work http://www.beaspark.com/new-page daily 0.75 2015-12-19 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/5539839ce4b055015f9bded6/1429832613300/ Commission https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/5539833fe4b0667d717210e1/1429832519069/ Commission http://www.beaspark.com/public-pieces daily 0.75 2015-12-19 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/55397cfbe4b078269159ce2c/1429830913303/ Public Pieces https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/55e1e3efe4b06620ed800730/1440867343544/ Public Pieces https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/55397c8ce4b02fb0125a6185/1429830819704/ Public Pieces https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/55e1e498e4b01d70a6f1e696/1440867540835/ Public Pieces https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/55397c2ae4b078269159c9d2/1429830725772/ Public Pieces http://www.beaspark.com/charities-i-support daily 0.75 2015-12-19 http://www.beaspark.com/gallery daily 0.75 2021-01-12 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/55f0472ae4b09e2985e87aee/55f0474de4b09e2985e87bac/1446123382713/%285%291429840641444.jpeg Gallery - DECEMBER 2011: Raven This piece came to me in quite a sudden burst of inspiration one fall afternoon, when a large raven flew right past my window. Coincidentally, I had been reading a book about the natural history of ravens and was marveled by their cleverness. I rushed out to my studio and as luck would have it I found the perfect metal piece for a raven’s beak. (This is a “tooth” from a cutting bar from a farm mowing machine.) Then I found the tire jack that was the perfect scale for the body of the raven, with the beak as the starting point. The foundation pieces for the wings are cut lawnmower blades. The tail is a chainsaw blade. As with all my other sculptures, once I get the core “quintessential” metal pieces, the rest just seems to effortlessly put itself together. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/55f0472ae4b09e2985e87aee/55f04748e4b09e2985e87b8f/1446123382613/%284%291429840596749.jpeg Gallery - DECEMBER 2011: Bug Wine Bucket Holder This was my first privately commissioned piece. It was commissioned by the woman who was the highest bidder at the auction for the bug sever. She liked the idea of the wine and hors d’oeurvre server so much that she commissioned the sailboat as a gift for her father who was really into sailing. So I made the wine server have a boat on the back. The boat is even detachable if so it’s much easier to transport from palace to place, or if you wanted you could just hang the boat on the wall if you liked it that much. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/55f0472ae4b09e2985e87aee/55f04739e4b09e2985e87b39/1445258448679/%283%291429840561074.jpeg Gallery - OCTOBER 2011: Sail Boat Hors d'Oeuvre Holder This sculpture holds an ice-bucket for wine (or beverages), and has a place to put a platter of hors d’oeuvre. I imagine this type of useful sculpturewould be out in people’s yards, or on their deck, between their two favorite chairs… Somewhere that people might sit a while and enjoy a nice view or conversation over a cold beverage. This was the first piece that I ever made to donate to a fundraiser. It was for an event to benefit the Humane Society, and our local Battered Women’s Shelter (Laurie’s House) . The inspiration came when I found an old serving spoon that looked like an ant’s abdomen, and then the big truck spring reminded me of a stout bumble bee’s body. On the server there is a bee, dragonfly and an ant. Originally I was going to donate The French Waiter sculpture, since the event was a wine and cheese festival, but my mother fell in love with the waiter piece and just could not bear to part with it. The waiter and the bug server were first actually functional pieces I made and since then the idea has been a huge success! I try to make most of my pieces novel AND functional. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/55f0472ae4b09e2985e87aee/55f04733e4b09e2985e87b1a/1446123242018/%282%29Vulture1.jpg Gallery - APRIL 2011: Vulture This piece came out of my mother’s insistence that we make a “Wizard of Oz – Esque” sculpture to put on top of a large vertical standing rock that is beside our drive way. She was reminded of the scene in the witch’s haunted forest in the Wizard of Oz, where the sign said “I’d turn back if I were you.” This was a VERY complex project because I had to make it on the ground, yet it had to perfectly balance on the irregular surface of the top of the boulder. It took me several weekends to complete, and while mounting it on the rock, the sculpture fell 8 feet on top of my dad, who narrowly escaped major injury. He ended up driving himself to the hospital where he had 15 stitches. (Again… Don’t try this at home folks!) https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/55f0472ae4b09e2985e87aee/55f0472ae4b07c240722baa4/1446123232045/%281%291429840455565.jpeg Gallery - APRIL 2011: The French Waiter This sculpture was my first experiment in a category of sculptures I really like to specialize in – “Novel AND Useful”. My parents have people over for yard and deck parties all the time and they use the French Waiter to hold an ice-bucket for wine (or beverages), and he has a place to put a platter of hors d’oeuvre. I imagine this type of useful sculpture would be out in people’s yards, or on their dock or patio, between their two favorite chairs… Somewhere that people might sit a while and enjoy a nice view, or conversation over a cold beverage. This sculpture started with the two curled pieces of metal that form the waiter’s mustache. I picked them up one day and instantly imagined the kind of character that might cultivate such a mustache. I quickly found the shovel, which was the perfect scale, for a head, and then I was off and running. The arms are tines from a piece of farm machinery – a hay rake. The body is a truck tire wheel hub. Originally I was going to donate The French Waiter sculpture to a fundraiser, but my mother fell in love with it and just could not bear to part with it. (This has become a pattern! ) https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/55f04791e4b07334ec9eb0a6/55f04798e4b07334ec9eb0d9/1446123426197/1429840973767.jpeg Gallery - September 2010: Triceratops Family The Triceratops Family was my second work. There are four babies and a mother. These beauties were inspired by the old metal bed headboards that we found in the junkyard. We had just enough to put two together for each animal. They were originally used in the wards at the Vermont State Mental Institution. (Boy those beds must have been tiny. ) On that same trip to the junk yard, we found numerous lids from 55 gallon drums, which I used for the characteristic Triceratops armor around the neck. This was also a great “teaching opportunity” from my mom, because there was so much cutting to be done with the torch on all that neck armor. I LOVED it! The family still lives in our back yard guarding the front of my welding studio. In the summer of 2011 our house and garden were part of a large garden show in northern Vermont. That day 410 people passed by all the sculptures in our garden (there are 28 in all) that both my mother and I have made. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/55f04791e4b07334ec9eb0a6/55f04791e4b091ebfe013649/1446123413709/1429840926555.jpeg Gallery - July 2010: Fern the Fiddlehead Dinosaur This was my first piece, public or otherwise. After we had seen a Stegosaurus skeleton in The Museum of Natural History in New York City, my mother was dying to see this life-sized metal version in her front yard at the dental office. It took us two days to complete – 97 degree weather – on my birthday,.. But what a gift! Mom taught me how to weld because she had collected all the metal for this beast, but it was FAR too big of a welding/cutting job for one person to tackle. I learned to weld out of necessity, but continue to weld out of inspiration! In this picture, my mother is working on the body of the dinosaur. I designed (and made) the neck and head, all on my own. The stegosaurus is currently at my parents’ dental office in St. Albans Vermont. People around town often ask if I am the one who made the life-sized, 25 foot dinosaur, or they simply complement me in wonder. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/55f0456fe4b0a5f287390b83/55f0459fe4b006bdf306fda7/1446123081309/%286%29DSCN9207.JPG.png Gallery - 2013 DECEMBER: Squirrel & Turtle dove, and a Partridge in a Pear Tree I made this especially for a Christmas Tree Festival in our town where people donate decorated Christmas trees and then at a dinner/dance event, they auction off the various trees. It brought in $1,350.00 during the auction, which benefited our local Food Shelf. My tree had a cute partridge on tip toe, hovering joyfully on the top of the tree. The limbs of the tree were made of pieces of scrap metal I had around my shop, leftovers from cuts I’d made all through the previous year. (This made it REALLY curious to look at! As if you should know what some of the cuts were!) Perched on a couple or the branches were a fluffy doves and in the middle of the tree (not well seen in this photo) was a big squirrel eating an acorn. Most of the donated trees are artificial Christmas Trees, traditionally decorated with a theme. My tree was unusual, to say the least, and it was a big hit. The couple who won it in the bidding, put the tree just outside their front door – year round – in the middle of their rock garden, and it looks great! https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/55f0456fe4b0a5f287390b83/55f0459ae4b006bdf306fd86/1446123107066/%285%291429884915694.jpeg Gallery - 2013 OCTOBER: Fairfield Sign/Message Board This sculpture startedwhen I was in the eighth grade, when I made and donated the cow bike rackin front of the library. Two different people who stopped by while I was installing the cow sculpture mentioned that my NEXT piece might be a sculpture to double as a town message board – replacing the awkward and often misfortune plagued sandwich board that has been out in the yard in front of the town hall. I’d like to just point out what I envision this sculpture to represent three essential elements in the history of our Fairfield. When we approach the sign coming from St. Albans, I have designed a little homage to Fairfield’s dairy farming history. When you approach the sign coming from East Fairfield, there is an homage to our world-class Sugaring industry. If you park in the town office parking lot, you will see the third side, where you will find my “Toil and TalentTurkey”. The turkey is made almost 100% toolsfrom tools or scrap metal that represents well over 100 different kinds of back breaking and skilled work. When you pause to think of the variety of labor and expertise that it takes to build and strengthen a community over 250 years, it is mind boggling. I have to thank my mother for being a “Wandering Junk Yard Scavenger” for the last 20 years, as most of those bits and pieces came from her precious collection of old tools and special scrap metal finds. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/55f0456fe4b0a5f287390b83/55f04594e4b006bdf306fd5e/1446123061531/%286%291429884878748.jpeg Gallery - 2013 OCTOBER: Toil and Talent Turkey I donated my “Toil and TalentTurkey” to the town of Fairfield as a part of its 250th anniversary celebration. It is made almost 100% toolsfrom tools or scrap metal that represents well over 100 different kinds of back breaking and skilled work that people would have had to do to build our community of Fairfield Vermont, from its inception in 1763. When you pause to think of the variety of labor and expertise that it takes to build and strengthen a community over 250 years, it is mind boggling. This sculpture started one day when a retired local farmer saw me at our local bakery – Chesters – and gave me a huge piece of scrap that was the “tongue”/ hook from the back of a dump truck. I was thinking of making a turkey some time, but there are a few parts that have to be just right for that particular bird and the neck is one of them. I knew exactly what to do with the rest of that part of the sculpture after I had that piece in my hand. This sculpture is now welded permanently to the base of a large public piece I made to function as Fairfield’s town message board on Rt. 36 outside the town hall. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/55f0456fe4b0a5f287390b83/55f04582e4b02a2a08bce912/1446123050174/%285%291429884844219.jpeg Gallery - 2013 SEPTEMBER: Caddisfly The “Caddisfly” sculpture was born when I found the two beautiful curling pieces of metal in a cow pasture. They are the tines from an old hey rake. I loved their arc and symmetry, and wanted to make something worthy of their state. In case you’ve never heard of a Caddisfly, it is a remarkable bug that is essential to the life and health of most streams that run swift and clear, and contain rainbow trout. The Caddisfly looks a lot like my rendering here, but the larva is the real start of its life’s journey. The insects mid-life stage is a worm that lives in streams and ponds and creates it’s own shelter/camouflage by sticking together tiny stones and flotsam from the bottom. They create something that looks like a little armored cocoon, with and opening at one end for their head and legs to poke out of when danger is not around. I loved making this homage to a little known natural wonder. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/55f0456fe4b0a5f287390b83/55f04578e4b02a2a08bce8dd/1446123029279/%283%291429884761328.jpeg Gallery - 2013 AUGUST: Glass Bird My challenge with this sculpture was to find a perfect subject for a venture into mixed media – particularly colored glass. The piece of scrap metal that forms the bird’s perching stand is something that we had been saving for just such an occasion. All that was left to do was let my mind go wild with possibilities for a magnificent feathered friend! As with all my sculptures, this one started with a few Key pieces of scrap metal that just “told me” what they needed to become: I started with that piece of scrap that was just screaming to be a bird’s beak and then that determined the scale of the rest of the piece. The rest is almost all odds and ends of glass and metal that I have collected at yard sales, just waiting for a “mixed media mood” to come over me. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/55f0456fe4b0a5f287390b83/55f04574e4b02a2a08bce8bf/1446123019215/%282%29429884085202.jpeg Gallery - JULY 2013: Skiing Rat I donated this fun smaller piece to a fundraiser for our local homeless shelter and it brought the organization $430. The event was for a Comedy night and charity auction, so I wanted to have a sense of humor inherent in the piece. I originally envisioned this creature to be a skiing dog, but fortunately (I TOTALLY believe in what my mother calls “Happy Accidents”.) it looked to everyone that it became a skiing rat or mouse. Many people seemed to like it though,.. so yeah! This piece started with a hard look at some lawn mower blades lying on the ground in such a way that they looked like skis. That set the scale of the piece and I was off and running! https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/55f0456fe4b0a5f287390b83/55f04570e4b015224f38068e/1446123006981/%281%29429884032455.jpeg Gallery - JUNE 2013: Owl on Doorknob Nest The “Owl on Doorknob Nest” is a little sculpture that I made as a gift to our high school principal – Dennis Hill – for allowing me go through high school on a personal learning path that I proposed to him before my freshman year. (To learn more about all that, you can look at my other website – that is my Academic Portfolio – at this link: beyondthextramile.com ) Mr. Hill was leaving our school and I wasn’t quite sure that anyone thanked him properly for his MANY years of service to the BFA school community. He had been a student at BFA himself, then for many years he was the vice-principal in charge of discipline. He was AMAZING at that job, with a legendary special knack for reaching kids who were difficult rascals. I thought that even though Mr. Hill was leaving BFA (as one of the many casualties from our failed Superintendent of Schools) SOMEONE had to thank him for his great, long body of work on our behalf. The neat thing about this sculpture is that it is made from the doorknobs of BFA, before they were all changed out to comply with new “Accessibility” lever-type handles. I was able to salvage about 200 of those knobs from the basement of the school before they were taken to be scrapped. I think the doorknobs represent possibility – one door closes and another door opens – and the many doors that open to various kinds of knowledge and insight. And even more special is the thought that his very hands could have opened those doorknobs as a teenager way back when. Cool!… Thank you Mr. Hill. You changed the entire trajectory of my life, and I promise to improve the trajectory of many others! https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/55f0456fe4b0a5f287390b83/5623a6e8e4b02346886b5792/1446122997690/IMG_2573.JPG Gallery - MARCH 2013: Great Blue Heron This sculpture brought in $1,300.00at an auction to benefit The Make-A-WishFoundation. The Great Blue Heron was inspired by the marvelous enthusiasm that people showed for my sculpture at the 2011 event for Make-A-Wish when my very first small donated piece (The Scrap Owl) was purchased for $350 (by the mother of a child who had been a Make-A-Wish recipient.) For the Heron, I was moved to create something that represented the spirit of Make-A-Wish, which I consider awe-inspiring. If you’ve ever had the pleasure of watching a Great Blue Heron, you know how this creature’s grace, patience, and beauty remind us of the wonder possible in every moment. As with all my sculptures, I always start with one piece of metal that is quintessentially perfect for one part of the animal’s body. In this case, it was the head and beak which is made from half of a pickaxe that I had been saving for just such an occasion. Then it was up to me to find all the other parts that would match the scale set by that initial piece. If you look at my heron closely, you will recognize many common items: The wing supports are lawnmower blades. The back is a shovel. The body is supported by garden tiller tines. The base is a truck tire rim. The lower jaw is half of a large caliper. The Fish’s body is the shaft of the shovel. Etc..etc.. ! https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/55f0456fe4b0a5f287390b83/5623a7cfe4b02f1548b171fe/1446122988083/20+leaf+mirror.jpg Gallery - MAY 2013: Maple Mirror This was a piece I made and donatedto an auction to benefit our local Chambers of Commerce. (The sculpture brought the charity $650.00 at the auction.) Our local Chamber of Commerce was in the midst of a collaboration with tourism officials just across the Canadian border in Quebec. (About 20 miles from our town.) I felt that I needed to create a piece that represented Vermont well, so naturally I chose “Sugaring” which is what we Vermonters call the process of making Maple Syrup. This was not as complex as most of my sculptures; I used the plasma cutter for cutting out the leaves and the tree. Then, welded them together and then bolted the whole metal frame to a mirror I had found at a yard sale. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/55f0456fe4b0a5f287390b83/55f0457ee4b02a2a08bce8fd/1446123039871/%284%291429884811230.jpeg Gallery - 2013 SEPTEMBER: Dancing Crane As with all my sculptures, this one started with a few Key pieces of scrap metal that just “told me” what they needed to become: The profile of the Saw (that is the head) determined the emotion of the bird. The well pump handle and mechanism (that forms the neck and body) determined the scale of the piece, and the pitch forks (that make the feet) inspired my thoughts on the movement I wanted to communicate. After I had those quintessential elements, I went to my scrap metal supplies and found the rest! https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/55f046cae4b055cc1a1005eb/55f04712e4b09e2985e87a82/1446123205322/%288%291429881848488.jpeg Gallery - October 6th 2012: Owlet Wine and Hors d’oeuvre Server This sculpture is the little sister to the larger “Mother and Babies Wine and Hors d’oeuvre Server”. After my family fell in love with the larger version, we realized that we could never give it away… so at around 9:30 am, the morning of the event that I had committed to donate a sculpture to (St. Albans Wine and Food Festival), I created this beautiful sculpture. I cheated a little when I made this because I had found the base in a junk sale and recycled it by just adding the leaves. The little owls I created by making little cut outs with my plasma cutter and bending them to be round and stuffing them with metal shavings from a lath. This was the sculpture that was auctioned off at the festival for about $300, and everyone loved it! https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/55f046cae4b055cc1a1005eb/55f0471ae4b09e2985e87aa5/1446123215293/%289%291429882303032.jpeg Gallery - 2012 DECEMBER: Partridge in a Pear Tree - and Squirrel This sculpturewon the “People’s Choice” award at a big festival to celebrate the holidays, and it fetched $1,550.00 during an auction to benefit The United Way. I called this piece “Partridge in a Pear Tree – and Squirrel” and I donated it to the festival in our town where people donate decorated Christmas trees and then at a dinner/dance event, they auction offthe various trees. My tree had a cute partridge on tip toe, hovering joyfully on the top of the tree. There were cut-outs of pears, and in the middle of the tree (not well seen in this photo) was a big squirrel eating an acorn. Most of the donated trees are artificial Christmas Treestraditionally decorated with a theme. My tree was unusual, to say the least, and it was a big hit. The couple who won it in the bidding, put the tree just outside their kitchen bay window, near their bird feeder, and now the birds have somewhere to sit and eat the seeds from the feeder, and the family can enjoy watching them! https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/55f046cae4b055cc1a1005eb/55f04708e4b09e2985e87a44/1446123197273/%287%291429881799620.jpeg Gallery - OCTOBER 2012: Mother Owl and Babies This sculpture is currently for sale($2,430) at a local art gallery. It is another good example of my passion for artwork that is both “Novel AND Useful”. The sculpture is a wine bucket and hors d’oeuvre platter holder. It would we a real conversation piece at parties on a deck, dock or patio . This piece is one of the few that people have watched me make: My grandmother had come to visit us from my parent’s home town of Lincoln Illinois. She couldn’t believe that I did this work by myself. She sat in the lawn chair remarking repeatedly, “Be Careful!”,.. “Oh my! That’s on fire!”,.. “Ooo! Well that’s just too dangerous for a little girl like you!” … The idea for the sculpture came to me when I was dumpster diving in the metal bins at the local ceramics company (long story) and found a whole barrel full of metal shavings from a lathe. To me the “fluff” looked like it could be put to perfect use in making a bunch of baby birds, specifically owlets. And Poof!… The idea was born. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/55f046cae4b055cc1a1005eb/55f046ffe4b09e2985e87a13/1446123186672/%286%291429881880038.jpeg Gallery - SEPTEMBER 2012: Lady of the Lake House The “Lady of the Lake House” is a sculpture I made for a wedding present for some very special friends of our family. They had a beautiful collection of copper pots but nowhere to display them when they were not being used. So when we asked them what they needed, they suggested that I make them a simple pyramid-shaped pot holder/stand to go in the corner of their kitchen. Well,… I am not good at “simple”. We spent an afternoon laying out the pots on a blanket, in various configurations, on my welding shop floor, and eventually we found ourselves arranging them into the body parts of a voluptuous lady. The rest of the creative process was full of my usual scavenger hunts through our huge collection of scrap metal and a couple trips to some promising dumpsters. I had a lot of funcreating this one. I would consider it a good representation of my best work in the “Novel AND Useful” category! https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/55f046cae4b055cc1a1005eb/55f046f9e4b09e2985e879f4/1446123171125/%285%291429881943718.jpeg Gallery - JULY 2012: Calder Style Beaver This is an idea I had after touring a modern art museum in Washington D.C. I was inspired by the work of Alexander Calder who had a knack for keeping it simple, while knocking the essence of every piece out of the ballpark. The beaver is made from one piece of flat stock steel. I just used the plasma cutter to make one long cut, in a strange yet specific shape, and then bent some parts forward and some backward so he looks 3-D. The same is true of the tree branch that the beaver is holding. It is one cut, from one flat piece of steel, and then various parts are bent in different directions to make it three-dimensional. This one sits by our pond at home. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/55f046cae4b055cc1a1005eb/55f046f4e4b09e2985e879bc/1446123159103/%284%291429881731643.jpeg Gallery - JUNE 2012: Cow Bicycle Rack, Donated to the Bent Northrop Memorial Library – Value: $7,800. The Cow Bicycle Rack was my eleventh piece and it was completed one week before I graduated from the 8th grade. The BNM Library is next door to my elementary schoolin Fairfield Vermontand it desperately needed a place for kids and families to put their bicycles. This was my most complex work at that point because of the need for this sculpture to be painted. (My normal “junkyard metal” medium would have been dangerous and dirty for cyclists to brush up against.) It was also complex because I had to build it in my studio, then de-construct it, and then re-construct it at the site. Here are some pictures of the process from start to finish… First, I photographed some local cows. Then I used a projector to trace the forms on some 6′ by 6′ sheets of eighth inch steel. I had to use my plasma cutter to carefully cut out the silhouettes. I had one chance to get it right! Preparing the metal for painting – grind off the sharp edges, polishing and priming – took a long time. Finally, we painted. The fabrication to that point took about 35 hours. I had the sculpture temporarily put together in my studio and then we had to de-construct it in order to move it to its final site at the library. You might notice the ground the cows are on is very uneven, yet the sculpture follows the contours of the yard to keep it from being a tripping point. This was a MUCH bigger undertaking than I had imagined. It has inspired me to make a few more HUGE pieces for local situations that call for “Novel AND Useful” art.   https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/55f046cae4b055cc1a1005eb/55f046dbe4b055cc1a100653/1446123148476/%283%29self%2Bportrait%2Bfor%2Bgallery%2B%282%29%2B3.jpg Gallery - APRIL 2012: Self Portrait My mother and I took an advanced welding course at the local high school with a number of fellows who would be using their welding skill as their life’s work. We were simply taking the course to expand the kind of metal that we might use in our sculptures. Each night of the course, mom and I would start by rummaging through the metal waste bucket from the Vo-Tech students’ classes. Our goal was to dig out a few odd-shaped bits of scrap and then turn it into something novel. We called it a “design challenge”. I made this piece during my welding class one night. The piece started with those 6 -8 vertical stock pieces that the students had welded together in class. I added all the hair and facial features modeled after my own appearance! This type of sculpture is like a cross between a venerated bronze bust, and a funny, hand-drawn caricature. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/55f046cae4b055cc1a1005eb/55f046d2e4b055cc1a100621/1446123139685/%282%291429881524734.jpeg Gallery - March 2012: Scrap Owl When I was asked to make a piece to donate to the Make-A-Wish fundraiser, I suffered from some “welders-block” (like “writer’s block”, but hotter!), because I am accustomed to having at least a thread of a theme to start with for most of my pieces. When nothing came to me, I stared at the shop floor in deep thought, and my eyes fell on a hexagon shaped scrap that reminded me of the shape of an owl’s face. The floor of our metal shop was littered with bits and pieces of left-over metal from several other projects and I picked it up to study for a moment,… and then I was off and running!.. I kept picking up pieces off the floor and sticking them together, and before I knew it, the owl wisely took shape! (We always keep left-over scraps from every project, for just this kind of occasion). https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/55f046cae4b055cc1a1005eb/55f046cae4b0e63457fd6a84/1446123128374/%281%291429881471468.jpeg Gallery - MARCH 2012: Cyclops Dog The dog was created in much the same way as my self portrait. I found a piece in the scrap bin at my welding class that looked to me like the muzzle of a dog and then another that would work for its body! I went to work and 2 hours later we had a dog! (I think that was the night that our “advanced” welding teacher gave up on the idea of hoping we might conform.) I decide it would be a gift for my sister who goes to Harvard. You have to be VERY focused to make it there. So the Cyclops mindset is helpful. If you enlarge the picture you can see the “H” on his collar. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/55f044e4e4b05fe088bb29c8/5679699669a91ad6092489db/1450797561914/Flying+Fishes+-+2015.JPG Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/55f044e4e4b05fe088bb29c8/563b564fe4b024e46553977d/1450797549085/IMG_7708.JPG Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/55f044e4e4b05fe088bb29c8/55f044e6e4b06471485852b0/1450797615772/IMG_5953.JPG Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/55f04518e4b05fe088bb2ad7/55f04527e4b05fe088bb2b28/1446122354582/1429885328328.jpeg Gallery https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/55f04518e4b05fe088bb2ad7/55f04522e4b05fe088bb2b0c/1446122960886/%289%291429885219997.jpeg Gallery - APRIL 2014: Smiling Sun A few weeks ago I was commissioned to make a sculpture for a fundraiser to benefit our local chamber of commerce. The piece turned our great, and brought in 1,000 dollars for the charity in a live auction. I however did not fair so well, I slipped on some ice and nearly sliced off my leg while carrying the sculpture out of my shop. At first I thought I would make a wine holder of some kind, or maybe a coffee table, but eventually – after digging through the junk yard that used to be my back yard – I settled on making a sun that could be hung on a house gable. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/55f04518e4b05fe088bb2ad7/55f0451de4b05fe088bb2af4/1446122941278/%288%291429885157351.jpeg Gallery - JANUARY 2014: Pouncing Fox This piece was an experiment in making small sculptures with impeccable resemblance to their subject, through implied movement. I had to work really hard to get this to be just exactly right so it would obviously be a fox, and not just a general canine of some sort. I decided that the distinct elongated rectangular torso. The scale of the tail to the rest of the body was quintessential and the back had to have a very specific angle. I made as a birthday gift to one of my best friends. She was leaving after this school year and I wanted to make a REALLY special parting gift. I designed this sculpture so it can be placed on her desk forever and used as a pen, letter, and spare change holder. I got my inspiration, and wanted the piece to be a bit like one of these desk ornaments, but be a bit more useful. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/55f04518e4b05fe088bb2ad7/55f04518e4b09c801f7a3510/1446122931971/%287%291429885071288.jpeg Gallery - JANUARY 2014: Fancy French Waiter I made this piece for a Vermont Symphony Orchestra event. My presence was actually requested instead of just my sculpture and I happily accepted. Since this was a very fancy event I decided to make the sculpture fancy too. However, I wanted the sculpture to be functional as well so I came to the decision to have the sculpture be a “Fancy French Waiter”. http://www.beaspark.com/about daily 0.75 2021-08-19 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/55e1fbb2e4b0dff1e50c1f04/1440873542310/ Louisa https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/55397806e4b067fd7c6e946f/1429829639612/ Louisa https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/55e1c919e4b0ff344e4965e6/1440860455330/7+dinosaur+building+for+PUBLIC+PIECES.JPG Louisa https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/55397845e4b055015f9ba4ef/1429829701973/ Louisa http://www.beaspark.com/home-1 daily 1.0 2021-01-12 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/5624ed22e4b079b0ec7ca5c8/5624f2bae4b0fd5726af227d/1445262013686/DSCN9847+copy.JPG Home https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/5624ed22e4b079b0ec7ca5c8/5624f2aae4b0fd5726af2222/1445261998736/2012+12+sparklers+291.JPG Home https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/5624ed22e4b079b0ec7ca5c8/5624f2b3e4b0fd5726af2235/1445262006302/cows+in+place+w+louisa+DSCN2146.JPG Home https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/5624ed22e4b079b0ec7ca5c8/5624f2c3e4b0fd5726af22b8/1445262019939/DSCN8574.JPG Home https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/5624ed22e4b079b0ec7ca5c8/5624ed23e4b0fd5726aefa1c/1445260579492/beasparklogo.jpeg Home https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/5624ed22e4b079b0ec7ca5c8/5624f2d0e4b08ff533f30313/1445262034652/extra+pics.jpg Home https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/5624ed22e4b079b0ec7ca5c8/5624f2dee4b0a755f5ed9e81/1445262051410/IMG_0980+copy.JPG Home https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/5ffdac852eee8069cd16bc7b/1610460312840/tall+dinosaur.jpeg Home http://www.beaspark.com/public-speaking daily 0.75 2015-12-21 http://www.beaspark.com/public-speaking-1 daily 0.75 2015-12-21 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55390639e4b0252fc613f748/t/567815fb57eb8de4eb40067f/1450710538066/ Public Speaking