Judy P's Tickle Trunk

…or How to Stuff a Salmon.

Last weekend my neighbour Gail and I went to check out the concrete sculptures at Cosby’s Garden Centre. In the winter they convert the greenhouse to a studio and offer concrete sculpture workshops and we checked that out too. I was pleased to find my friend Deb working diligently on her latest and third piece; a birdbath. She was one of eight participants and as I admired her work I became envious of the experience. The next day I was there again, signing up. I was smitten.

Deb’s birdbath.

There is no way I can describe how talented Ivan Higgins is. Best check out his webpage, Concrete Creations here, and see for yourself. Behind his greenhouses and shop there is a path through the woods where he displays his whimsical and enchanting concrete sculptures. Every time I go I see something different. Last time I was there I took this picture:

It was difficult to decide what I wanted to make. It had to be something I wouldn’t mind looking at every time I am in the garden. I didn’t want to get too big or too whimsical. In the end it was a toss-up between a Buddha or a fish. When I arrived at the garden centre I saw this pattern on the window – it looked fishy to me so that made up my mind.

Ghost fish.

The sculpture started with a wire cage which was filled with concrete. Then a layer of slurry, then more concrete applied like modelling clay. I was very pleased with my wire work but hadn’t accounted for the changes in proportions when the concrete was built up (I had been warned of this but it being my first time I didn’t quite get it right). At the end of the first day I loved the piece but by the time I was finished I would have liked to have gone back and started again. Can’t expect perfection on the first try I suppose. I felt somewhat validated when a little boy walked up and pointed and said “look, a fish”. Yes, a fish, but not the slinked out salmon which would have been capable of leaping a falls to get to its spawning grounds that I had intended to make. Here is how the work evolved over the couple of days:

Building the skeleton with wire.

I was quite pleased with the wire frame. I found it easier to work with it hanging rather than with it sitting on the bench.

The first layer of concrete left to set up overnight.

The finished piece.

I’d love to go back and make a bunch of adjustments; lengthen the tail end and reduce the fins. I had to rush the base and by the time I figured out what I wanted it to look like the day was done. It needs to cure now and I will pick it up in a few weeks. It won’t go into the garden until summer when it is well cured. In the meantime I am already thinking about what I will build next year. A figurehead? A big round Buddha? What would you like to see in my garden?

Sorry I didn’t include pics of the other participants work. I neglected to ask anyone’s permission to use them. Maybe I will track them down on location this summer after I install my fish. There were some really interesting works: a moose whose antlers were birdbaths, a cougar (meant to keep the coyotes away) and a kid swinging two hoses which will be placed on motion sensors so that they can startle deer. The pieces from the previous weekends were also kicking around; figureheads, fish, a very lovable hare and the beginnings of a bobcat. That’s the fun thing about art classes – you get to enjoy everyone else’s ideas. It was all very inspiring.

©Judy Parsons 2013