Walrus Tusk Carving

Narwal sculpture - I carved a 9.5 inch replacement tusk for this Narwal. I did not carve the sculpture. 

4.5 inch Walrus Tusks  - I made replacement tusks for this sculpture.  

Roughing out the pieces for two walrus sculpture tusks, narwal sculpture tusk and pencil holder

Narwal Tusk  - testing the fit

Walrus Tusk Pencil Holder

Walrus Tusk before starting.  I laid out two walrus tusks, and the narwal tusk from this.  Not much was left over.

Penciling in lines to create grooves for  Narwal tusk

I recently carved replacement tusks for a jade walrus sculpture and narwal jade sculpture. I also inlaid the ivory eyes in the Narwal and then polished both sculptures.  I made a pencil holder from the remaining material.  

In Canada, walrus tusks can be purchased legally, although the ivory can not be shipped out of Canada.  Interestingly, woolly mammoth ivory can be shipped internationally.

I enjoy the challenge of repairing and restoring sculptures for clients.

Teaching Paper Mache Summer Camp 2010

My daughter, Kierra, testing the paper mache Giraffe design

I had a fabulous experience teaching a paper mache summer camp class at the Calgary Jewish Centre August 2010.    I designed a giraffe for the 5-6 year olds and a fish for the 4 year olds.  My daughter, Kierra, was a great helper, testing the designs.  It was a lot of fun - thank you to the Calgary Jewish Centre for having me out!

Kierra's paper mache fish

Kierra's Paper Mache Giraffe

The Summer Camp paper mache Giraffes made by the 5 and 6 year olds - paint drying

Summer Camp paper mache  - school of fish made by the 4 year olds

Bird Bath, Salmon, T Rex

Here are a few pictures of recent work I have completed.  It's been a busy summer and I have also been experimenting in stone, ivory and plexiglass.  I also included a picture of T Rex (finished a couple of years ago).  My wife and I decided to unwrap and enjoy it in our back yard until it finds a home.  We also have the pleasure of letting one of our client's birdbath rust to the right patina in our yard.  Its almost at the right point, and the birds in our yard and we will miss it when its picked up.


Jeff and Tanya's Bird Bath Commission tucked in the Iris's in our yard.

Mario's Salmon Commission

T Rex (for sale $5000.00)  Made from Caterpillar parts and found metal

Posts - new and old

Greetings!  To help you learn a bit more about my work, I added a seach engine to my blog, to help find older posts. It's near the top of the blog.

Some of the highlights over the past few years have been:

Aliens I and II
Totems and Tractor scuptures at the Creative Kids Museum (CKM) at the TELUS World of Science,
Boy and Girl butterfly sculpture made collaboratively at the CKM for their first birthday party
Great Horned Owl sculpture
Fang Tooth Sculpture
Salmon Sculpture
Fisherman's Dream Sculpture
Predatory bird illustrations, such as the Red Tailed Hawk, I have been doing.
 metal sculpture  and drawing inspired by children's art
The warrior series images will be posted shortly.

I made my first large scale piece back in 1994.  The design won first prize for a sculpture competition. Its "Spawning Salmon" installed at Carhenge, in Alliance, Nebraska http://www.carhenge.com.  Carhenge was named the 2nd wackiest attraction in North America last year!

I also have a website at www.sandhurstsculpture.ca and will be updating it this weekend.

I hope you enjoy learning a bit more about my work.  Drop me a line if you are interesting in learning more or sharing ideas at cgsandhurst@shaw.ca.

Cheers,

Geoff

Red Tailed Hawk drawing completed

I finished the character drawing commission of a Red Tailed Hawk.  The predatory features are emphasized.  I enjoyed working on this project.

More plexiglas and Steel Bases for an Inuit Sculpture Collection

I have been working on more bases for a good friend's fascinating Inuit Sculpture collection.  Some are plexiglas bases and some are steel stands.   

Red Tail Hawk Pencil Drawing

Red Tailed Hawk Pencil Drawing

I am working on some preliminary pencil drawings for a Red Tailed Hawk drawing for a client.  The bottom one shown here is not finished yet.  I can draw for hours and hours. I am currently listening to Lee Aaron's "Beautiful Things" cd.  Pink Floyd, Junk House, Brazilian Girls are other favorites.  Drawing in my studio can be lonely, but with good music for company, I don't feel so alone.  Of course, my family is always dropping by to see how I am doing! Sometimes my 7 year old daughter will join me and pull out her pencil crayons and draw on the floor.  I love that!

Above  - Red Tailed Hawk #2 Medium: Pencil- Based on a photo by Guy Shulhan

Current Work

I am currently working on commissions of a life size Steelhead trout in Reeds (outdoor sculpture) , a pencil drawing of a Red Tail Hawk, and sketches inspired by Karoo Ashevak which will eventually end up in a steel sculpture.

The recession hit hard, and to fill the time, I decided to take a course at ACAD - Fundementals of Design. It's been a long time since I was at school. Long homework hours... I have new appreciation for the amount of work students must have to do when they are taking a full course load. I learned quite a bit and enjoyed the experience.

Here is a picture of the Great Horned Owl on the pedestal that was created for it by a talented wood worker.