Artwork Description:
cast bronze and Chinese black marble
The lipworks are an on-going series of sculptures using the imagery of the human mouth. Lips, conditional to so many human activities, can imply a diversity of meanings, shifting with the life experience that colors each viewer's particular perceptions. Throughout the series, the lip imagery usually expresses either a whimsical or provocative sensuality. This direct appeal to the senses often generates an immediate response in the viewer.
The lips were originally freely modeled in clay, and then a mold was taken from the clay model. The lips were then cast in bronze, and then it was further carved and sanded in order to refine the details.
Other lips in the series might be cast in bronze, iron, or glass; or perhaps carved in stone or wood. Sometimes the lips are modeled in clay and fired, and other times the lips are directly hammered out of sheet metal. The settings that the lips inhabit might also vary from just the wall that they are screwed to, or a complex landscape constructed out of a diversity of materials. The expressive quality of each piece depends on the inherent natures of the specific materials used and the intricate interplay of colors, textures, images, and relationships that result.
The title is almost always the last step and often one of the most difficult in finishing a piece. In this case STRETCHED TRUTH: POETIC LICENSE refers to the inner child who wants out.