No Pooh Bear, Just a Black Bear
It’s perhaps a little cliché for a posture a bear with a bee hive. But there is a certain amount of intrigue at watching a bear rip into a hive of bees to gather some honey. So I couldn’t resist when I first imagined how I might present this in wood. It started because I was trying to figure out how I could present a black bear standing on his rear legs. But I didn’t want to use a base. I wanted him to stand on his own feet with nothing under them. In sculpture you can’t do this, because even if well balanced, it can easily fall over and break. Obviously, I reasoned, the bear needs some support. Yes a tree would certainly work better than a parking meter. Tree it is then. No, not an entire tree…. that would be far too complicated. A stump, yes! that will work. But what will he be doing with the sump? How will I have him interact? He has to be touching it in some way or it’s purpose is lost. Lean him against it? have his paw resting on it? Hmmm, looking at it perhaps? maybe….. title, “Bear Contemplating Stump”. Or maybe have him with back against it like he is scratching his back. Ah, but he really needs to be moving to pull that off. Otherwise he’d probably just look like Bear Using Stump For Back Rest. OK, I got it….. Honey Hunter!
Ready Steady Cut!
Cutting with a rotary tool takes some practice. Any rotary tool wants to race away at first contact with the wood. Take note in the picture how I have my hands bracing each other to counter the rotational force.
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