"Corona"

 This 1921 Corona 3 portable typewriter has such an elegant design, I couldn't resist using it as part of a sculpture that relates to the avian wing, with its beauty and symbolic implications.

The Latin root of the word Corona means garland or crown. The Greek root refers not only to a crown but to other curved objects, similar to another word that means beak and is the same root word, korax, that is used for the bird family Corvidae, ravens and crows.

When I design a sculpture, it's meaning comes to me in many ways, most of them not very logical. I try to tie feelings with concepts with symbols and historical references, creating a salad of parallel impressions that connect to shape, material, memory, conviction, unconscious influences and conscious ones. 

In the case of this sculpture, I began with my decades-long appreciation for the Japanese art of jizai okimono, articulated animals, fish, birds, reptiles, insects and dragons made out of various materials from wood to mixed metals. Treat yourself to a search for the term, you will not be disappointed. Their work is really among the finest metal work  ever created! 

I was privileged to have been tasked to repair a Japanese steel hawk in my career as a repair metalsmith. Seeing this sculpture changed my life and solidified my commitment to craft. I would not have found the fortitude to pursue sculpture without the influences that brought me joy and the knowledge of what was possible with sculptural metalwork.