Match Heads, etc.

It has been quite a year of changes, transitions and unavoidable endings. However, I'm ready once again to see art-making as a perfectly worthwhile waste of time.

These match stix that I have been carving from fallen pine logs ultimately need some match heads; seems obvious enough. The question is always the same when creating something new; what works and what doesn't.

These two heads are seen before they will be attached, burnt and stained. One is for a 9 ft stick that has been bent and ravaged nearly to the end of the log ("Burn-out Case"; white cedar, approx. 18'x 1o"x8"). The other is a serene profile for a piece that I have tentatively called "Dante before the Fall", where his face is still smug, youthful and with out blemish. The match itself will appear as if it has yet to be lit (white pine, approx. 20"x 11"x 3"). I don't want to speculate about the totemic qualities of these pieces; they are more like individual portraits than conglomerations of sacred symbols. In some ways, these 2 seem to reflect the year in brief. Luckily there is more year, and more carvings, paintings, clay works and writing to be done yet.

More Matches More

Now that summer vacation has finally arrived (accompanied by the usual catch-up chores that need to be attended to around the farmhouse) I can devote more time to the carving of the large match sticks. I prefer to complete the hatchet/plane/sanding work outside while the weather is warm and the air free of bugs (the deer flies nearly carried me away in July!), as the pine shavings and debris are dusty and substantial. Besides, when else am I going to get any sun this year?


The obvious theme present in these works is both one of scale (taking a small, insignificant object and transforming it to a larger proportion) along with burning and consumption; these matches could be metaphors for concepts, places and even individuals who are consumed by their own nature.

Later in the year I will carve out detailed match heads and masks that will further solidify the identities of these ideas. I have set aside a stout chunk of white cedar that was recently cut down by a road crew, and I can probably get at least 4 faces/heads from it. Ofcourse I will again attempt to burn and blacken the roughened areas of the sticks when the snow has covered the ground.

Prince and Pauper, Dec. 2009

Many years ago (waaaay back in art school) I used to make small "art brut" figures carved from scrap pine. Then I would scale them up to a larger-than-human version in order to emphasize their crude and niave energy. The 2 most memorable works were 6 and 14 feet tall respectively, covered in smaller carved figures, and painted in garish colours of house paint.

Last Fall I started to make 2 large match sticks, complete with match "heads". From the beginning I intended to burn them when snow covered the ground (which certainly reduced the fire risk) to complete the illusion.

The larger piece (nearly 8 ft) wears a broken crown of royalty, and the smaller figure has only the stunned face of poverty. The figures lose something of their meaning when they are set up at a height, so they are best suited to lying on the ground; used up and tossed aside.

Both pieces are made from a single pine log. The tree was found standing dead in the woods, still solid and strong, but just waiting for a stiff wind to push it over. The pieces were carved with a hatchet and some small chisels. Ultimately they will be finished with matt varnish, merely to maintain structural integrity of the charred wood.

Black Locust Studio

As of September 2009, I've named the studio (and any potential business commissions that may arrise from it) the Black Locust Studio, simply because the farm property is surrounded on many sides by tall, dark Locust trees that filter dappled light in summer, and create scratchy, twisted profiles in the skies of other seasons. They are strong, subtle trees, leafing out late, that stand up to most heavy weather.

The studio is approx. 750 sq. feet of cathedral-ceilinged space; just enough room to imagine the possibilies of paint and sculpture.

Al Purdy, 2009

During the late Winter I began to cast another ciment bust of poet Al Purdy. I had to move the entire operation inside my cramped basement, as the studio never achieved anything like a consistent temperature for curing. Now, with the breeze brushing the long grass, and wrens and vireos building fragile nests in anything firm enough to call home, that entire exercise seems a very long time ago.




Cast ciment fondue, mounted on a steel rod in concrete,
(weighing approx. 25 kgs), painted in black acrylic spray paint.

"King of Thugs", 2009

I'm sure it doesn't hurt to have some 'security' around the place when I'm out earning a living. I carved this mask to help keep myself warm in the studio during the chill of last Winter. The little demon was a piece I did many years ago and I have waited till now to give it a home and a narrative purpose...Sometimes ideas take a long time to be born.

Carved from White Cedar, with painted Pine figurine, approx 14"x8", weighing less than a pound, and preserved in used motor oil.

"Figure behind a chair", 2009

"For the girl with the hour-glass figure, time runs out very fast." (Billy Bragg)

Here is a small figure based on a sketch from the model. The woman is standing behind a wooden chair, guarding herself.There is a small crown on the chair, as if fallen or torn from her head. There is tension, strength and vulnerability all at once. Her identity is unknowable, as if shame and circumstance had made her no one and everyone. Maybe this is too much to expect of a figure, but I am surprised how complete an allegory emerged from the original drawing session.

The figure is approx. 32 inches tall, supported by a chair constructed of maple and pine.