This recent work, Life on the Edge, reflects my feelings about the uncertainty that permeated nearly all aspects of the years 2020 and 2021, so far. Now completed, the gull is deigned to be hung at an angle, from the ceiling. I am honored that this work was acquired by a Board Member of the Museum of Art & Design in New York City.
The Life on the Edge theme is represented by a realistically-sized gull who, with spread wings, coasts out from a wave-lapped, sandy shore to wend its way over the waters of the ocean. When viewed from below, the bird’s appearance is intended to give a sense of gazing upward at distant, wind-blown cirrus clouds. (There’s nothing wrong with a little escapism, is there?)
View Gull sculpture in flight.
Life on the Edge (Gull)
Glass seed beads and thread, worked in peyote stitch over a hand-painted wooden core
L (beak to tail): 12″; W (wing tips): 23″
Private Collection, Florida
The below images show the work in progress, at about one and a half months from the start. The painted surface of the wooden core is visible in some areas.
Leslie B. Grigsby Beadwork 