designed by nature, imagined by artist steve lloyd

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With the completion of "Driftwood (Cubed)" and "Pyramid Power", I felt ready to tackle rounded and circular forms. I knew these would be much more difficult, for at least two reasons. First, most driftwood sticks are relatively straight, or have a slight curve or an irregular twisted shape. Finding pieces with a smoothly radiused bend is very challenging, even on beaches with heavy driftwood deposits like those in Prince William Sound. Second, I had to decide whether to employ the positive or negative mold method, and whether to create a bowl-shaped piece, or a sphere.

My first spherical creation used the positive mold method, where the driftwood is arranged on the outside of a ball, is this piece: "Fire Bowl". I used a 16-inch-diameter plastic fishing buoy (also scavenged from an Alaskan beach!) and crafted the bowl upside-down on the mold. The name of the piece is suggested by the driftwood "flames" that appear to lick up from the rim.

For mounting, my first thought was to use the shaped, plant-like stick that eventually found its way into "Globe (Impaled)". Instead, I selected a three-pronged spruce branch that had been peppered with holes from wood-eating insects, then tossed and polished by the force of the sea. From certain angles, it strongly suggests a Canada goose in flight. As a base I used a piece of graywacke (a form of slate rock) picked up from a beach in Eaglek Bay, on the northern coast of Prince William Sound.

"Fire Bowl"

Abstract Sculpture, 2014.

$600.

Alaska driftwood and adhesive.

16" by 24"; 15" high.

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