Stone Sculpture
Southern Indiana is blessed with an abundant supply of sculpture-quality limestone featured in the annual Indiana Limestone Symposium. The 2101 Symposium provided an opportunity to experience figure carving for the first time. All of the completed projects shown below were started in subsequent years of the Symposium.
Ruby is a Nymph discovered in a block of Indiana limestone by Larry Thibos in June, 2014. Subsequent excavations under the direction Mr. John Fisher, master sculptor, revealed a comely figure and serene countenance envied by all. (2014)
Persephone is a modern interpretation of the ancient Greek myth depicting the Earth's return to life in Spring as she resists Hade's grasp from the underground at Winter's end. The figure was inspired by the famous sculpture "Abduction of Proserpina" (1622, a.k.a. Persephone) by the Italian artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini. (2014)
The Demon is a 3-sided relief carving of a man, a woman and the demon that haunts them. The male figure was inspired by the random features of a fractured block of limestone. Carving the male figure produced additional features that inspired the female form. The remaining portion of the block suggested the cause of their unease was a wolf-like demon. (2016)
Millicent resulted from teacher John Fisher's method of improvised carving that avoids preconceptions about the subject of the work. Starting with a featureless rectangular block of limestone, random removal of material provides personality to the block that inspires a subject, in this case an African elephant. (2016)
This Eye is a stylized rendering of an animal's eye and lids inspired by stone carvings of elephants in China. The jade relief carving is mounted on a pyramidal block of cherry wood for display. The jade stone, a gift of Tao Liu, was returned to Dr. Liu upon the completion of his PhD dissertation in Vision Science at Indiana University. (2016)
Madonna and Child
Madonna is a stone figure depicting an idealized, virtuous and beautiful woman holding her infant child. The figure was inspired by the natural shape of a stone discovered when walking though the Great Rift Valley in the Dana Nature Reserve in Jordan. (2017)
Olympia is a relief carving inspired by modern female olympic athletes. In ancient times, women were barred from participation in the olympic games. They were also banned from viewing the male athletes, all of whom performed naked. This relief took advantage of the shape of a discarded fragment of limestone with a natural break featured on the left side of the figure. (2017)
Pamona was the Ancient Greek goddess of the orchard. In this limestone carving she carries a basket of freshly harvested fruit to market. (2018)
Astarte
Astarte was a Middle Eastern goddess worshipped from the Bronze Age through classical antiquity, particularly in the ancient Levant among the Canaanites and Phoenicians. The name Astarte is sometimes also applied to her cults in the Mesopotamian cultures of Assyria and Babylonia. This limestone statue of Astarte as a Sphinx was inspired by the Lycian sarcophagus in the Sidon necropolis of Lebanon. The sarcophagus sphinx, made of Parian marble and dated to circa 430-420 BCE, is now located in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum. (2019)
This limestone figure Siren's Song was inspired by the Greek myth of sirens described by Homer in The Odyssey. Sirens were dangerous creatures who lured nearby sailors to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island by singing enchanting music. It was said the siren’s beguiling song could even charm the winds. (2022)
