ARUN SOCIETY
Christopher Ball
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I learned my skills in wood in the traditional manner in my father’s workshop. When I retired, I went to West Dean College to hone my finer skills. Little did I think at the time I would later teach it there. I offered to make a commemorative cross for St Andrew’s Church to celebrate their 1250th anniversary. This required carvings and lead on to my interest in sculpture. As a life-long photographer I have always had an interest in art and design.
1 "The Green Man ". In many cathedrals and other important buildings, there is a long tradition of carving humorous and grotesque figures high up on roofs and ceilings. I thought I would be a challenge to try and do the same with more modern materials. The figures are part of medieval mythology. The bosses are American yellow poplar, the colour acrylic and the background veneers are burr (pippy) oak.
2 "The Tree of Life".
3 "The Tree of Knowledge". Based on the work of Himla af Klint who came as a recent revelation. I am enjoying experimenting with abstraction. I decide to study one of her images in detail, then took it forward adding my own elements. The image is hand drawn, then scanned and later hand coloured in pencil. The image was then scanned again and using Photoshop the image was inverted. It is an amalgam of tradition drawing and modern image processing.
4 "The Quoit". Who cannot be moved by such a Cornish scene. It was drawn from a personal photograph and broken into shapes and blocks. It was coloured with pencil. It was then scanned, and the image enhanced and transformed by Photoshop. it is a giclee print with archival ink and artist’s paper. It is also an amalgam of traditional and modern techniques.
5 "The Ukraine Candle".