Soft Rocks Series
Heart of Stone
Artwork Details
Technique: Needle Felted Sculpture
Dimensions: 12" wide x 12" high
Collection: Soft Rocks Series
Availability: Private collection
Some titles seem to design the artwork for you.
Heart of Stone was one of those titles. Once I had started making soft, needle-felted rocks, the phrase immediately suggested what the piece should look like: a heart made of stone.
Of course, my stones weren't stone at all. They were wool.
A heart full of rocks
Building the Heart
For the frame, I chose poplar, my favorite wood to work with. Poplar is relatively soft for a hardwood, which makes it easier to cut and shape, and I love the character that shows through its grain.
I began with two pieces of poplar cut to exactly the same size. Using the scroll saw my father had given me, I cut the heart shape through the top piece.
Then I glued the two layers together. That created a recessed space inside the frame, a perfect place to fill with rocks.
I made a collection of needle-felted rocks in different shapes, sizes, and shades, then arranged them inside the heart until the space was completely filled.
The result is a literal heart of stone, except these stones are soft.
About the Soft Rocks Series
The Soft Rocks Series grew from my fascination with the many expressions and ideas we associate with rocks and stones. I take those familiar phrases and turn them into three-dimensional objects, often playing with the contrast between what something is supposed to be and what it actually is.
In Heart of Stone, the familiar expression became almost literal: a wooden heart filled with rocks that only look like stone.