PAUL ANGIOLILLO          

                            PROCESS

 
                               


I thought some people might like to see before-and-after shots,
so here are either "raw" materials or earlier versions (left) a
nd
final pieces (right). Fwiw, all but one of these have sold--
so this process of working and reworking seems to be worth it.
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(Click on an image for a larger version.)
p-fungi shelves
At first, I stacked the three "fungi" shelves (on the left). It looked all right...but too static (and the shelves were impractically tilted). Some weeks later, the solution came: spiral them around the "trunk." (The three shelves are exactly the same, while the trunk was replaced--and is much more lively.) This reworking took just a few hours--often a sign that it's going in the right direction.
fungi shelves

To make a fish-like composition, I just trimmed and rounded this wedge of slate, and mounted it on a block of sandstone. Later, though, I added the three fins and tail--it was fun, like making arrowheads, I assume. What's more, it was much more successful than the entire elephant I first tried carving out of slate. Lesson: Start modestly.  

This is the original wedge of maple (left). Like the slate fish, it didn't require major reshaping, besides cutting off the one end to make a base. But all edges had to be smoothed and the beak-like top was defined more. As it turned out, the piece wasn't stable enough, though, so I attached a shaped marble base--which also added another element.

For an earlier exhibit, I just modeled the "head" on this oddly shaped branch. It never looked like a bird (the neck and "leg" were too squarish and thick, for one thing). So I bit the bullet and removed half the neck, replaced the leg w/ two traditional-looking metal ones, switched around the tail, and made a head feather out of a small leftover piece. And I switched to a lighter, more angular base. Besides that, it's exactly the same!

This earlier version of a ball had a single inlaid dot. Okay....the final version ended up with a half-dozen "apostrophes" or "comets". (The color is exactly the same, a walnut stain; the lighting was different.)

I first carved this piece of a maple log into a chunky, semi-abstract flower in a holder. Later, after taking a deep breath, I sliced it in half, removed the bottom, and recarved the mid-section into a pot and stem. The petals are unchanged--but look quite different. 
         
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