“Hello, hello! My name is Nabilini! I’m so happy to see you!”
That’s what I hear this little guy saying. He has so much energy in him, it’s hard to keep him from flying away. But since all he really wants is your company, he will be the little character who hangs out in your kitchen or bar, waiting for you to call him into use. He is, after all, not only a mini sculpture, he’s a bottle opener. And now for a quick lesson on how to pronounce his name: Say the words “knobbly knee.” Put the emphasis on the third syllable in ‘knobbly’ -- yes, there is a third syllable if you are Texan and pronounce it like ‘knob-ble-LEE’ -- and say ‘knee‘ very quickly after that. Practice a couple of times. "Na-bi-LI-ni..." Now you’ve got it. I’m so tickled to have made another bottle opener to keep my ‘Chicken Creature bottle opener‘ company. I plan on making a series of animal style bottle openers; they look like little sculptures -- well, they actually ARE sculptures I suppose -- and they make themselves useful as a bonus. Let me know if there’s a particular animal you’d be interested in, and I’ll see if I can conjure one up.
I used the tack-and-bend method to make this little guy. The base metal is 1/4” round rod. The final appearance of tack-and-bend looks to me like a casting, but with negative space (‘holes’) sprinkled throughout the piece. I find negative space to be just as, if not more, interesting than a solid mass. Numerous bottled beverages were opened (and consumed) with this little guy during the quality control testing phase, so I can personally attest to its functionality as well as its thirst-quenchability. This week in the studio, I wanted to make an ant. I started cutting and shaping the metal with a vision of the finished product in my head, but the Metal Gods were having none of that ‘preconceived notion’ stuff. So I let them do their thing, and ‘Lady’ Bug strutted her bad self onto the scene.
‘Lady’ Bug’s got a bit of an attitude underneath her demure appearance. The sheaths on the tip of her abdomen can be removed to reveal two short barbs -- red barbs, of course, that match ‘Lady’ Bug’s sexy shade of lipstick... Ahhhh, my first reacquaintance with the ‘hammered sheet approach’ after a long hiatus. I don’t know what took me so long to try my hand at it again. Thanks again to Barry George for introducing me to it. Check out Barry’s work during the East Austin Studio Tour (E.A.S.T.) -- and prepare to be amazed.
Now on to the sculpture at hand... Going into the studio with the idea of creating a spider, the creature who insisted on emerging was ‘Little Bowl of Soul’. His moveable jaw reveals a spiky tongue, but don’t be frightened; his soul patch lets you know, “It’s all cool here.” I often make jokes about holding something decrepit together with “duct tape and baling wire.” So when I got the chance to use baling wire in one of my sculptures, I found the opportunity irresistible.
My penchant for functional art, in this case, resulted in ‘Don Carlos the string dispenser,’ at your service when you need some twine. Thanks to Barry George, found object- and kinetic-sculpture artist extraordinaire, he showed me how to manipulate 16-gauge sheet metal. Barry is absolutely brilliant. To have access to his expertise, which he shares so willingly and selflessly, is a priceless opportunity. The assignment was: ‘vessel with lid and legs.’ ‘Willow the Spider serving bowl with spoon’ is what my mind conjured.
Although Willow was my first experience with the hammered sheet metal approach, although her lid is a bit askew, and although she might get a bit unbalanced when life throws too much her way, I’m happy to report that Willow has been adopted and is living contentedly with an Austin couple who understands and appreciates her just the way she is. In her free time, Willow enjoys playing with her tongue -- which she sometimes extends in a playful snake-like maneuver, while at other times she simply relishes just letting it slightly fold over her lower lip. I still have visitation rights and am sent pictures of festive occasions in Willow’s life, such as when she gets dressed up in her Christmas candle or puts on her spring time ensemble. |
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