Stefanie Rocknak
Figurative Wood Sculpture: Work in Progress

(Dec 2004-Feb 2005)
Biker's Head

This piece is part of a commissioned piece, "The Triathlete." The head will be mounted above a pair of arms holding handlebars (see the overall plan)

Yes, another perfectly green piece of Basswood; cut down just a bit by the sawmill (thanks to Wightman's Specialty Woods in Portlandsville NY for letting me stomp around their yard and pick out just the right piece).

Sketching the basic idea on the wood. It might look like I do not have enough room at the edges, but keep in mind that this piece is round, so, as I center the piece in the wood, I gain more width. Notice that I will change my mind regarding the profile of the helmet as I proceed (you certainly can change your mind with reductive sculpture, that is, if you work by leaving yourself some room to maneuver, at least until the very end).

Thanks to John Hyland (professional carpenter) and Susan Young (professional chemist) for letting me use their shop for the rough work! In this shot, John is "warming up" my chainsaw; I actually ended up making some of the other cuts myself, without, I am happy to say, accidently cutting my head off.

Working from the face down

Giving the face a bit of detail here. I wanted to establish the proportions of the face before I moved into the helmet.

Click here to see page two of this work in progress.

Click here to see page three of this work in progress