Sculpting a Sunrise
Sun streaks through the mist and breaks over the canopy of an ancient Maya rainforest, toucans and howler monkeys joining in, celebrating a new day.
Hand carved sculpture, molded and hand cast, using the lost wax method in sterling silver.
I loved carving this piece. I’ve drawn and painted this monkey and his brothers several times over the years. It is one of those images forever etched in my mind, and now drawn from memories of sitting on my deck at sunrise, having a great cup of coffee, watching the monkeys in the trees and sketching. Bliss Moments.
Mayan hieroglyphs often work their way into my artwork.
In the cartouche; Sunrise, (top bead) the sun glyph is the round circle with the four dots inside. The sun glyph is squeezing between the two glyphs for heaven and earth, being followed by the glyph for the moon in three phases on the left. “Sunrise” My use of the sunrise glyph in this piece is symbolic, representing a new day, a fresh canvas, a fresh beginning.
I love monkeys, wickedly smart ambassadors of the rain forest.
Spider Monkey reaching for mangoes with a Mayan hieroglyph for sunrise on the top bail.
"When the sun edges between the lush earth and velvet vault of sky, reach for the juicy fruits of life."
Sterling Silver Pendant 'Sun Rise' on 18" premium leather cord with a smooth, sterling silver lobster claw clasp, plus 1-inch extension chain with a sterling logo charm. Approximately 1.75" w x 1.5" h
Spiral Logo 'Journey'
The spiral on the back of my jewelry (and the clasp charm) is my logo, ‘Journey’.
“From the beginning of time, stardust and ancestral genes, we spiral out on our unique journeys, growing, creating, changing... yet always circling our true self, our origin, our first dawn.”
I created this glyph as a note-to-self and drew it in the margins of my sketchbooks and journals as a reminder that each day, each sketch and piece of art I create, is a step on the trail of following my passions, growing in a continuous spiral like a tendril turning and reaching higher each day for the sun. The four dots represent compass points, the four winds, my love for travel and discoveries; around the world and inside my head. Close up the spiral path would not be a perfectly smooth or round. It would spin and turn with switchbacks, stalls, falls, floods, and f-ing hurricanes. But from a cosmic perspective of time continuum, I am moving forward and in the right direction. I often need to remind myself of this, when the path seems to wander off the map or fall away into a dark abyss, so I draw it in the margins and wear it as a talisman. My reminder: life is a journey, pack light, and make the most of every day of this trip. It is carved on the back of the pendant to touch, maybe rub like a worry stone or for luck.
*My jewelry is currently not available, but I hope to change that soon.
One of my Spider Monkeys from the sketch in my journal, on my Belize map; an aspect of that 'journey' I was speaking of.
I drew this map with a crow quill pen and India ink on D’Arches hot-press watercolor paper and added watercolor washes and colored pencil techniques over the finished drawing.
This map to show the mainland of Belize, the locations of the location of Maya ruins, and the wildlife found in the rainforest of Central America.
This map started as a companion map to the Ambergris Caye Chart but it soon took off with energy of its own and gave me the incurable archaeological bug.
