Balance

Balance (original version, below) & Balance (final version, above)

John Currie

Bronze

20-1/2" x 4" x 4"

How do I say this? My original patinas have too often been--um--boring. Very nice, classic browns. Occasionally with a hint of gold. But that's still brown. So I have spent a lot of time in the last year and a half studying patinas, going to workshops, learning a new range of textures and colors, inhaling toxic chemicals, also possibly affecting my short-term memory and making me forget what I just said. So I have spent a lot of time in the last year and a half studying patinas, going to workshops, inhaling toxic chemicals, possibly affecting my short-term memory and making me forget what I just said.

Here is the original version of my sculpture, "Balance," with its original traditional patina. I like the piece a lot, and it has a classic museum finish, but it lacks vitality and distinctiveness. So I've gone back and reapplied both myself and its patina, building the mottled black-green patina with layers of liver of sulphur, cupric nitrate, ferric nitrate and a dash of Birchwood Casey M20. It starts out heavy and dark at the base, gradually getting lighter as it moves toward the top, ending in primarily cupric green at the feet of the warm, golden figure. Now mounted on a piece of black-green marble, the whole piece has continuity in color and finish; it grows out of its base, shifting from dark to light, topped with the supremely confident, golden figure.

And now, the sculpture visually is much better paired with its name and spirit: Balance. This is what most of us seem to want and seek, no matter how elusive. So much calls out for our attention, so much challenges us in every moment of every day. This figure, poised and beautiful, does not stand in the shadow of challenge but stands astride it all, calmly, patiently. She defies convention, from her lovely Reubenesque form to her towering hairdo. She chooses not to let worry or confusion champion her; she champions them. She does not ignore the world or the problems that she faces, only chooses to not let them be her master.

© 2003 & 2010 John Currie