by Pat & Karen Miller

Artwork Description

"The Trogon Tree"

Sold

2026

8.0 x 5.5 x 3.75cm

Wood, Filbert branches, copper

A few years ago while in Arizona avoiding some of Washington's winter I took a picture of a gnarly bush growing out of the cracks in a stark, layered cliff. Lots to like about the image. It lead to a bush, a base and a bird. For the bush an assortment of contorted Filbert branch pieces cut and assembled into a rough shape then carved- a few additional branches along the way followed with some texture, a forest fire and some color. The foliage for these is especially challenging but I quite like this. Tiny copper triangles soldered to tiny copper wires with just enough color to hint at leaves then assembled in a few small bunches. Life is hard for this tough juniper. Then a base. I often use a small piece of basalt rock possibly with some carving and color but this time I opted to shape a piece of plain maple to mimic the sedimentary unit in my picture. I added a couple of fossil theropod foot prints just because. Left over from the early bird travel along some muddy shoreline in the Cretaceous frozen in time. Todays bird? The Coppery Tailed Trogon a part time resident of southern Arizona and parts of New Mexico (a snowbird?) The male's green, red, gray and shiny brown colors provide a bright contrast to the austere pallet of their surroundings. Thanks for looking!

Artwork Details

Medium: Sculpture Bronze

Genre: Abstract