Lady With Cello

 

A feature sculpture for the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, music in the garden 2016.

I was invited to be a guest artist at the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra's Music in the Garden event — both to exhibit my work and to create a new sculpture for the occasion.

The inspiration came from a photograph I found during my research. It showed a woman sitting beside her cello in quiet contemplation. I was drawn to that stillness — the calm before the music begins rather than the moment of playing itself.

I carved the Lady with Cello in Mount Somers stone, a harder, grayer material than Oamaru. If you look closely, you'll find a treble clef carved into her side — a quiet nod to the world she inhabits. It took two weeks to complete.

On the day of the event, both this sculpture and an abstract piece I'd brought sold to private buyers. The Lady with Cello went to a lovely couple who saw something in her that spoke to them.

The power of the sculpture is in that stillness — the moment before the music.