Cattails and Froglegs Bronze Sculpture

(More images below)

Wildlife Sculpture by Borsheim

"Cattails and Frog Legs"

bronze sculpture
limited edition of 99
19" h x 7" w x 6" d
© 2007
Kelly Borsheim

Price List

[cattails and frog legs art bronze sculpture]

(More images below)

"Cattails and Frog Legs" Bronze Sculpture

Who does not like frogs? My earliest memories of them began when I satisfied my curiosity by jiggling slimy frog egg clusters in a creek in Germany when I was about five years old. Another time I took a frog home to keep as a pet. I put him inside an open coffee can and left him outside on our apartment's balcony so that he could eat lots of bugs for dinner. I was horrified to discover the next morning that when he jumped out of the can, he did not land on our balcony.

I often received requests for new artwork. I listen more from curiosity than anything else, really. I have plenty of ideas of my own to figure out how the find the time to create them. So when Wini and Michael Graziano of The Home Retreat in Austin, Texas, asked me to sculpt some frogs, I listened. But this time, I decided that if I could come up with an idea that moved me, I would do it.

In the wee hours of one morning this April, about an hour after I had gone to sleep, the idea hit and I got up and began to draw. I later consulted with my foundry to determine the feasibility of creating this work in bronze and began sculpting "Cattails and Frog Legs" shortly thereafter.

As I was carving one of the wax frogs, I began to realize that this piece was actually autobiographical. When I was about 10 or 11 months old, my young parents had gotten an apartment in Minneapolis. I was alone in my crib and at some point began to cry. And cry. And cry louder. My parents both remember rushing in and seeing the vision of me hanging from both hands on the slightly open top drawer of the dresser next to the crib!

As my dad put it, "It made us more alert to looking in on you, but also it showed us how mobile you were becoming." As a first child, I am sure that I taught them many lessons! This was not to be the first time that my mother would feel terrified at the potential danger her children put themselves into during their exploratory antics.

Detailed Images of "Cattails and Frog Legs Bronze Fine Art Sculpture

[seated bronze frog looking up sculpture]

Centuries ago, bronze and marble sculptures were painted. Seems most everyone loves color. I have been experimenting with various chemicals and pigments to color some of my bronzes, but I still enjoy showing the original material. This is especially important to me today since so many artists are changing to less expensive media, such as resins and plaster. I find these materials less than sexy and want all of my collectors to know that I am using media whose qualities I love for their earthiness and durability.

In these detail shots of the frogs, you will see the rings of white on the bellies of the frogs, while their bodies are mostly green. Their expressive eyes have been polished back to reveal the bronze material. The cattails have also been scrubbed back slightly to allow the metal to contrast with the warm browns on the plant. As with all of my sculptures, these frog bronzes have been sealed for protection against fingerprints and other exposures. I hope you enjoy this composition. Thank you for reading.
Kelly

[hanging frog bronze sculpture] [bronze frog hanging from cattail sculpture] [bronze frog sculpture]

[cattails and frog legs art bronze sculpture]

Sculpture in Wax and Clay Prior to Molding and Casting Into Bronze Art

This is how the original sculpture composition looked when I created her. I sculpted the cattails and lily pad in plastilina (an oil-based clay) and I created the frogs in wax. I show these images here since I often offer pre-casting savings on new editions as a thank you for those who trust that the finished bronze will be even more lovely than what you see in the original (but often temporary) media.

[cattails and frog legs art bronze sculpture]

[Borsheim Arts Studio]

Kelly Borsheim -- Borsheim Arts Studio
P. O. Box 340
Cedar Creek, Texas 78612 (USA)
(512) 303-3929
Web site: www.borsheimarts.com