" Both Tool and Fine Art"

I will start this post by offering a simple explanation of the illustrations that appear here on this blog. There are new viewers that may not have read the earlier post, so an update of simple proportions is in order. There are two types of art work shown here each week. The first type are printed images from stone graphic plates. These are printed with a wax crayon I use dry media to print the artist proofs because ink might damage the fragile stone surface. At some point these stones will be printed by expert hands with the proper tools, but that is beyond my work. The second type of illustration is of course a photographic image of a particular rock that is the art itself, such as a particular effigy stone. So now with this explained lets look at the two photographs of the week.

The first is a beautiful sculpture based on the bird motif. A long graceful neck is folded back in traditional “Sleeping”or possibly this might be a “Preening” pose. The second photographic image is both sculpture and tool which is often the case in effigy stones. Here we see the outline of a rabbit, note the ear that makes this stone pallet easy to hold. It is a shallow bowl about 4 inches long. When not in use, it is a free standing sculpture carefully balanced to stand with amazing stability quite literally on its edge!

"Old Money"

I was very pleased when I viewed the weekly statistics for this blog. There were new viewers it seems, especially in the United States. I am supposing that the photos probably had something to do with that! There are a lot of effigy stones to view, they are the oldest art form known to man. When men began to search for tools they also began to collect art. Fossils were prized particularly if they retained the identity of the creature that had given the stone its shape. Fossils were traded and came to represent the first money.

This week we have two interesting examples of stone money or trades. Both of these examples do have human faces as an outstanding part of their subject matter. The first is very beautifully abstract,with the facial elements out of place somewhat, or even totally absent. This stone requires careful study. Do note the eye on the upper left side of the piece.

The second photo is an example of a fossil that has retained the shape of the creature that was fossilized, probably a frog or toad. Here, close inspection reveals the human face visible on the hind flank.

"Learning to appreciate thier art"

Lets begin by reiterating that we have now added photographs of some of the effigy stones to the graphics display here on the blog. I will also show you some of the plate stones as well, these are the stones that bear the engraving work that we have been viewing for the last few months. You will be able to see why many of the examples are hard to print clearly. You will also see how difficult that many were to carve.

This week there are two rabbits in the group, one is easy to see and the other is more abstract. As we add more birds and rabbits to the file you will be able to see better the motif that is being expressed. The American Indians had a keen sense for recognizing the beautiful shapes of animals. Learning to recognize a particular character is part of the process of learning to appreciate their art.

The Nesting Trance

Hello, my name is Larry D. McCarty, I am your host. With this post we will add photographs to this blog! As I have said previously, there are many small sculptures in the collection. We will look at several per week in the same fashion that we have been looking at the graphics collection. There will be new graphics each week as well.

There are many birds in the sculpture collection. This week we see 3 examples, 2 are “Sleepers” and the third is a beautiful piece that I have titled the “The Nesting Trance”. Did you know that many species of birds sleep with their heads on their backs? Sometimes they even put their heads under their wing. A “Sleeping Effigy” portrays this habit. Simply put, the birds head faces its tail. These stones are one of the most common motif in the collection. They vary in a range from literal statements to very abstract.

The third stone is a more rare variety. This stone appears to be a game bird, a game hen to be exact. This sculpture portrays the nesting ritual with the head tucked down against the breast and with the feathers “lofted” as a measure to help protect the precious eggs and or the hatching chicks. A knowledge of game chickens is helpful in understanding this fine art work. I would like to point out here that this stone is about 1.75x1.125 inches!

I hope that You are enjoying this blog, Thank You for viewing.