Piper Foreso

I was tasked with making something owl related for the backpack Dave would be wearing in the sculpture and I heard he loved great horned owls so that made my choice easy. I had recently used copper for another project and thought it might work for an owl’s head. This turned out to be a great challenge and is unlike anything I’ve ever made in the past. Honestly, I was about 6 weeks into the project before I felt confident that I could complete it.

There was also the question of how to capture the fierceness of an owl’s eyes with materials that would survive for an extended time outdoors exposed to the elements in a harsh climate. Each eye is constructed of five pieces of glass laminated with optically clear adhesives to create a likeness that works really well. Feathers were individually made and pieced together. I loved being assigned a specific part of the project with freedom to create whatever I chose.

One interesting note – it took several months to complete the owl head which I delivered to Brian on a Saturday morning. Two days later, while leaving Nonotuck Park with a friend and our dogs, an owl flew by us and landed in a tree about 30 feet away. At 10:30 in the morning! I sent a picture to Brian who declared that he was sure it was Dave hooting his approval.