This original stone carving in red Pecos sandstone from Texas is absolutely one of my favorite artworks. The sculpture features on one side luscious lips, slightly parted. On the other side, I sculpted the top lip into half of a woman's torso. The bottom lip became the male form. This was a difficult piece for me because I wanted the form simplified to the point of implication. Several times I found myself adding details in the figures and each time I chastised myself for not being able to do what I intended to do. I removed my work and tried again until I was satisfied. Lately I have been interested in creating these rather symmetrical forms with a surprise on the opposite side. This is also true of several other works, including the extra face in Kiss Me Blue.

Lips of Life Contemporary Stone Sculpture - Original Art:

Carving the Original Art Sculpture - Texas Pecos Sandstone "Lips of Life"

12 January 2006: I have carved quite a bit by this time and am sketching and thinking about the composition of the two figures.

28 February 2006: Here the stone sculpture is lying figure side down. This is the stage in which I use files to hand sand away "cellulose". You can see stone dust on the upper lip (in the foreground), while the lower lip still shows the angular tool marks and general bumpiness. Notice the rich red color of the stone: I like to work in the sun or with an angled light to help me see the form better. Later, I will fine-tune the form using touch as my guide and not so much sight.

12 April 2006: This image was taken in the shade of the early evening, hence the bluish color. I was not happy with a sealer than I put on the sculpture and have resanded everything to remove it totally. Sandstone is very porous, so this process can be rather tedious. When I worked in the photo labs, we always had a saying: There's never time to do it right, but there is always time to do it over. Quality is important to me and I rework my art when something bothers me.

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