“metamorphosis”
inspiration
In 2021, the newly formed group of Durango-area artists, the Butterfly Artist Collective, held its first art-based competition inspired by the theme of the Collective’s namesake - butterflies. Velinda Gibbs, the collective’s founder, named the group in honor of her late husband, who hoped to return as a butterfly after his passing. Turns out my sculpture won the competition and is now the signature piece for the Collective. I’m so honored. I hadn’t planned to sell my art, but Velinda was so taken by the sculpture that I knew she should have it. Now, my work continues with a new motivation to create sculptures that are meaningful to others. My dear friend, Durango-based photographer, writer, mentor and instructor Renee Cornue created a beautiful photograph of Metamorphosis for me, so I will forever have an image of it in my studio to remind me of the great experience of touching others with my art.
technique
The armature is made with wire, which I covered with Apoxie Sculpt, a two part resin. The pastelike parts are mixed in equal amounts by hand, then molded and sculpted like clay. I formed the branch around the wire and painted it with layers of acrylic paint and attached it to the native stone base. I used wire to form the chrysalis, adding Apoxie and thin plastic to create the beginnings of wings. With the same materials, I let the butterfly emerge in its stages of metamorphosis. Each stage was painted with thin layers of acrylic over plastic, allowing for a delicate, wing-like translucency.
materials
Rock, wire, plastic sheeting, Apoxie Sculpt clay, acrylic paint
Dimensions for this piece: 12”H x 12”W x 8”D