R E S O N A T I N G W I T H N A T U R E
Laird Hovland's studio is messy. Finished, almost-finished and just getting-started-work is everywhere. Great, lidded vats of hot wax, strange looking molds, sketches galore, and all the assorted trappings of a working studio speak to the vibrancy and dedication of the art created here.
His paintings...
He plays when he has time...
T H E A R T
His bronze sculptures seem both 'other worldly' and remarkably familiar. And that organic familiarity, notes Laird, is because his art mimics nature and embraces the realm of sacred geometry - the Fibonacci Sequence and the Golden Ratio - found in sunflowers, pine cones, crystals, the veins in leaves, and even in the human body. His designs use this literal geometry, and with repetition as fractals, each piece resonates the inherent patterns of the natural world.
T H E L O S T W A X M E T H O D
This ancient method of casting - dating back to the 3rd millennium BC- involves thinking inside-out and backwards, says Laird, a skill he readily admits comes naturally to him. "I start with a positive original on which a reusable rubber mold is made. This negative shape serves as a form for hot wax to be poured into, creating another positive form."
"The wax positive is coated with a ceramic shell and then burned out, leaving the negative space in the shell which is filled with molten bronze, making the final positive. If you stand on your head while thinking about this process, it will make sense." Note: I did not take a photo of the headstand!
The two pieces above are in GALLERY 901 on Canyon Road
T H R E E Q U E S T I O N S
Q. If you could choose any landscape to display your sculpture where they looked natural, where would that be?
Recently I spent two weeks on Kauai and was thoroughly enchanted by the natural forms I experienced there. The Fibonacci spiral is evident everywhere, from the shells to the waves. The plant life is beautifully fractal too, and I feel my sculpture, which is inspired by such shapes, would fit perfectly in Hawaiian gardens.
Q. If you did a trade with another artist, whose work would you choose?
Q. If you could travel back in time to the 12th century to meet Leonardo Fibonacci, what would you say to him?
Dude...how in tarnation did you come up with this formula?
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AND I couldn't resist...after all it's almost HALLOWEEN!
