Ivoryton Playhouse Sculpture

February 7, 2013 2 Comments

This piece was a joy to create because of all the imagery in the design and because of the location in the center of downtown Ivoryton, CT. This started out as a 10 ft. norway spruce stump leftover from Hurricane Irene.

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The playhouse wanted a sculpture that would incorporate the history of the town and the playhouse… This is the design they chose…

detailed sketches of playhouse

The design is split into 2 halves. On one half is a boy sitting under a tree reading a book with a stack of books next to him and a relief pattern carved at the base. The boy is symbolic of all the actors and actresses from past generations who have studied their lines under this actual tree.

On the flipside is the roof of the playhouse, an elephant head symbolic of the towns history rooted in it’s piano factory in which ivoryton derives it’s name. Then, there is a stage drop with decor from the interior of the playhouse, and finally a stage comes out under the stage drop that is actually large piano keys.

Here are some pics of the process. It took about 75 hours to complete spread out over 3.5 weeks. Because it was in the center of town, I had visitors all the time and made alot of new friends as a result. One of those new friends, Tony Donovan, a photographer from “The Ivoryton Studio”, came by frequently to take pictures. All of the live action shots are Tony’s.

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I used my 11 yr. old son, Miciah, as a model for the boy.

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Here are some shots of the finished sculpture – 9 ft. tall and close to 4 ft. wide at the base.

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Phew!! That is alot of pictures to look at! Yikes!

One of the benefits of working in such a high traffic area, it has caught the attention of the media. 2 newspapers and a newscast was aired covering the project. Here are the links…

Channel 3, NBC evening news – http://www.wfsb.com/story/20489313/sculptor-creates-art-out-of-tree-damaged-in-storm

New Haven Register – Front page spread in the Arts section of the Sunday paper  (The reporter did a nice job covering the project and the business. However, I feel the need to address the last line in the article. “I do it for me” was in the context of my standard of work is according to my convictions which have been formed by the principle of God’s unchangeable word – “In everything you do, do it to the glory of God”. I want to be very clear that I live my life as a follower of Christ – which is a life of denying “me” and following Jesus. In order to accurately reflect who I am, the last line of the article should instead say “I do it for the glory of God.”) – http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2013/02/06/entertainment/arts/doc510c548d03e15209227043.txt

I am thankful for the opportunity to create this piece and to meet all the wonderful people along the way…

If you have something you would like made, visit my official site, www.customwoodcarvings.com and click the contact tab to get in touch.

Don’t be in awe of artists, but stand in awe of the God who gives mankind the capacity to do creative things,

To God be all the glory,

Kris

CategoriesAbstract, Benches, Misc, Stump Carvings, Uncategorized
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