September 13 - October 15, 2011
Mary Bunka
Wood Carvings and Assemblages
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
Tacked to the wall by my carving bench is a written quote of Albert Einstein’s which delights me and reminds that emotional responses must be kept under control so my sculptures are not overdone or underdone (which could mean uncompleted).
“If at first, the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it.”As far back as I can recall I felt influenced to express myself in a substantial, meaningful way. The teacher in me seeks to create subtle feelings of contemplation in the viewer through my grasp of structure, inherent nature, pattern, composition and detail. I’ve found that often overlooked aspects even in things inanimate can be brought to the fore when emphasized, abstracted and unusually coloured. Therefore, tactile assemblages and carvings are favoured above other media of interest.
Birds and animals I usually carve from kiln dried basswood. Found wood is often the basis of my sculptures because Nature can do it so much more beautifully than I can. Nature creates. I can only re-create. When that special piece of wood is found the spirit of the tree that lives in it sends a message. An artist listens, the spirit guides and the wood is enhanced by both. We, the world did not make. Our experience of it, our power of imagination and the energy of human invention moves me to envision a representation so that the beauty or ugliness may be contemplated by others.
Mary has donated carvings to the benefit of her concerns for wildlife, children, seniors and the environment
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