Michael Almendarez

Faith This is the title of the piece. Part of my process involves me listening to Jonie Mitchel before and during the creation of sculptures like this. After songs like "Woodstocks", "Little Green". "River", and "Case of You", I summed up the mental images of musical scenes and came up with a composition that alternates against itself. I wanted to capture the essence of the bird (Faith) without too much emphasis on details. I want light to move across its surface without distortions. However, the beauty, grace, and mood are contrasted with the raw form and expression from the rest of the log. The summation of this bird is perched on a solid foundation and organically transitions from its own experience. I chose red cedar because of its beautiful grain and color. I used a bandsaw to remove the larger portions and it was sculpted with a flay shaft and a few burs. The sanding grits were between 100 - 500. I used red and yellow rouges in the polishing stages and there are two coats of lacquer applied with an HUCP. This art could never do justice to Joni's voice and lyrics but they were my guide. Maybe someone will enjoy this. Michael