Pygmalion Enigma II

This sculpture was most unique for me, because I experienced some of the embodiment of the Pygmalion story itself as I worked. (Please see the write-up under the partner picture.)

While I kept some of the naturally occurring contours and voids (sycamores can have many, including striking scars from trying to heal storm damage), my sculpting involved creating new contours, sometimes following the grain, and sometimes morphing broken branches into new shapes.

With each effort I tried to be consistent with the tree's own ability to create esthetic forms. I wanted my sculpting to flow with the natural contours, to achieve smooth transitions, and to convey a sense of wax figures deforming as the temperature rises.