David Varnau's sculpture blog

I am thrilled to have just recently picked up two new sculptures of mine from the Two Ravens Studio foundry.  Both sculptures are something of an advancement of my sculpting style.

Hot Yoga

Hot Yoga is one third of life size and features a female performing the yoga posture known to yoga practitioners as a variant of the “pigeon pose”.  You can’t miss  the arc that flows as a dominant line through the piece.  Yoga postures often create visual interest and serve to provoke the awe-inspired question of “how can she do that?”  But yoga isn’t just about poses—one of the challenges of sculpting such subject matter is to convey the sense of well-being that the yogi enters into during her practice.

Dance for Joy

Dance for Joy is perhaps my all time favorite sculpture that I have created during my eighteen year career as an artist.  Like Hot Yoga, this sculpture presents a dynamic image of the human form, which is beguiling from all viewing angles.  While sculpting Dance for Joy, I was inspired to capture the lines of the female figure as she arches and twists her body in an expression of playful delight

Works in Progress             

 I am excited to share with you a couple of sculptures that I currently have in process that are representational figurative sculptures of yoga poses.  I decided to depict the female form in yoga because the live model that was posing for me said that she was teaching yoga classes.  She has posed for me privately as well as for our open studio sessions numerous times over the past several years and, as a result, I knew that she is a strong model.   Anna is also one of those models whose sense of presence has inspired me to do my some of my most outstanding works.

As a figurative sculptor, I find that the female form in a variety of yoga poses exhibits not only a sense of feminine beauty but also feminine power.  Further, yoga presents postures which offer dynamic gesture lines that create visual interest and serve to provoke the awe-inspired question of “how can she do that?”  But yoga isn’t just about poses—one of the challenges of sculpting such subject matter is to convey the sense of well-being that the yogi enters into during her practice.

HOT YOGA (in clay)

My first piece is entitled Hot Yoga.  I sculpted it originally to be a nude and then, later, when the piece was nearly finished, decided to have it be a clothed figure. So, I had the model don yoga pants and a tank top and I then added the drapery.  It is one third of life size.  Pictured here is the piece in water based clay in my studio and then in wax at the foundry.  Two Ravens Studio, a foundry inTacoma, has cast the piece in bronze and have it nearly ready for a patina.

HOT YOGA (in wax)

YOGA BLISS (in clay)

The second piece is entitled Yoga Bliss and was sculpted of the same live model.  Pictured here is the sculpture in water-based clay.   Because Yoga Bliss is two thirds of life size, such a piece is also an engineering feat, particularly in water based clay.  In Yoga Bliss, as well as in Hot Yoga, I especially appreciate the predominant arc to which the viewer’s eye is drawn.

See 150 artworks–all nudes–by artists from across North America.   Unclad 2012 Art Show runs October 12-14th, 10 am-5 pm in Stanwood, WA.  Two of my works, Nocturne and Transformation, were selected to be featured in the show.

Transformation

Nocturne

Daybreak

Two of my sculptures have been accepted in  Edmonds Arts Festival Juried Art Gallery.  Some 75,000 art lovers attend the three day festival that is one of the largest in the Pacific Northwest.  The two sculptures are Nocturne, which is a cobalt blue cast leaded glass piece that is lit from below with LED lighting.  The other is entitled Daybreak of cast bronze and was only recently completed.

Nocturne

Poledancer

I am excited to tell you about three newly completed bronzes that I recently picked up at the foundry. 

The first is Poledancer, which I feel is one of my best pieces that I have created in the past 15 years!  In this work, I feel the female form comes alive 

with sensuous fluidity and finds expression in her kinetic lines, conjuring the image of a performer who transfixes her viewers with her energy and alluring power.

AURORA

Aurora, an abstracted female torso in limited edition cast bronze and designed to be a hanging artwork, has been juried into the Eastside Association of Fine Arts 2012 Open Abstract Exhibition. The show runs Jan. 10 – Feb. 24, 2012 at EAFA Gallery, Seattle Design Center, 5701 Sixth Ave S, Seattle, WA 98108

The Bird

A universally recognized gesture–made by an incensed woman.

This bronze piece is clearly provocative and will no doubt generate controversy.   It’s edginess always elicits a reaction–viewers are either humored or affronted by its in-your-face message.

Transformation

A “transformer” sculpture, this piece can be viewed as pictured here or without the Eagle, as seen in the sculpture entitled, The Bird.  The mythical image here is of a woman confronted eye to eye by the primal energy of a raptor staring her down.  Surely, something primeval is exchanged between them.

View the following newly completed sculptures on my website and follow future blogs here to learn where they are being exhibited.

Nocturne

Depicted in Nocturne is a young woman lost in her nighttime dreams as she lies unaware of her own dreamgirl beauty.  Her tranquility conjures the image of one recovering her youthful vitality and charm from these moments serene slumber. Nocturnecan be viewed in low lighting since it is lit by an LED light board in its base that is powered by standard AC current.

Bathtime

Captured here is a playful moment between small child and young mother following their bath together.  The child impishly toys with the bath towel in a mischievous ploy to continue what the world over is the fun of bath time with mommy.

I am pleased that my cast leaded glass sculpture, Allure, was selected for the juried art show currently running at the Fraker/Scott Gallery in Seattle’s Pioneer Square.  It is the first foray of my work into the Pioneer Square art scene and I am delighted to be represented in that dynamic venue.  Come down and view the great collection of forty two 2-D and eleven 3-D juried artworks at Fraker/Scott Gallery.

ALLURE

September 1 – October 1, 2011  ICON—a juried art show

Fraker/Scott Gallery, 121 Prefontaine Pl South, Seattle, WA  98104

206/883-4633         Gallery  Hours: Wed-Sat 11- 5:00

Reflection (detail)

Visit the Schack Art Center for the 18^th Juried Art Show, which is a biennial exhibit of Northwest artists offering a well-rounded variety of mediums to produce an eclectic and visually stimulating exhibit.  Two of my sculptures, Wind Dancers and  Reflection, were both selected to be part of the exhibit.  Located in the main gallery, the show runs from June 30 – August 25, Monday through Friday, 10am to 6pm, Saturday, 10 AM-5 PM, Sunday, Noon-5 PM, 2921 Hoyt Ave. Everett, WA 98201, 425-259-5050.