Eight months ago I was asked to create an outdoor sculpture for a property I have mentioned previously in this blog: the home of Dave and Brenda Griswold, my dear friends. I began working on the majestic mountainous Methow property several years ago as a stonemason and since then I have been invited to do all kinds of things. The sculpture stumped me a bit because the property has very extreme weather both in summer and winter. I was challenged also to make the piece as inexpensive as possible, which really comes down to the choice of material. The project: A Kitsune Fox. This archetypical life form guards the Shrine of Inari in the Japanese Shinto religion. In its mouth the fox carries a scroll: possibly the Lotus Sutra. Kitsune protects the way through the gates of the imagination, and sometimes leads the way. I beg pardon to any who might be offended by this oversimplification, with my admission that I am not expert at all on the subject. I have always had a strong, personal, and deeply spiritual identification with the coyote of North America and so the fox was something that excited me to consider, and to wonder if I could appropriately convey a feeling of religious significance, even with humbling practical concerns.
Just over a week ago when I was walking Brenda and Dave's property and I passed under the Tori Gate made of merely pressure-treated dimensional lumber I was struck by how well the material has held up under environmental pressure, and how surprisingly beautiful it is, even closer up. After eight months of having the project in the back of my mind I thought pressure-treated lumber as a medium might be just right.
The reason pressure-treated lumber holds up well is because it is toxic to pests, humans, and groundwater alike. It is known for readily warping into perfectly useless shapes for conventional building practices. Any lumber yard has stacks of this twisted up material that should not be burned for the poisonous gases released during combustion so it often ends up in the landfills. The sculpting method I thought of would need just short pieces, so maybe the wonky wood could be made use of and saved from the usual waste. I think it worked out fine and it was very gratifying to have the fox made primarily out of salvage and waste material at far less cost to the patrons. My son and daughter thoroughly enjoyed watching the piece take shape daily in the driveway and they helped all along the way. I'll put up a picture when it finds its resting spot on the intended property next week.
