Sculptures by JMikk

Shaman

Black Walnut, Santa Clara, CA
29” tall

The starting log for this piece was partially decayed so I decided to make a flower-like sculpture out of the good side, maybe like a jack-in-the-pulpit.  But after removing the decay and bark with my chainsaw, I saw a bearded face where the flower was intended.  The base had a few knots that seemed to be where I imagined the shoulders to be, so the human figure was born.  This was my second figure-inspired piece (Wounded Warrior was the first) and contains less about the tree’s story than most of my pieces.

 One other note:  I am a chemist, not an artist, by training.  But in a nod to Picasso I left what would have been a plant leaf or stem on the back side as a displaced “nose.”