September 7, 2010
Often a client will ask for a reproduction buddha head in the style of the stone carvings from the Angkor region of Cambodia. These iconic heads with their mysterious smiles have long been copied in zoos, aquariums and theme parks world wide. The oldest reproduction I have seen is in Rotterdam Zoo and very recently I made one in De Vogelkelder, Netherlands.
The project I am researching now is a bit different as it is in a private home. I gathered these images to use as reference for this next job and to inspire me in the meantime. I have never been to Angkor Wat (yet) so I am thankful of the people who have and documented it with these amazing photographs.
If you feel like digging deeper, click on each image to find out more about the photo and its photographer.
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August 12, 2010
Just recently, I visited the geological wonder, Pobiti kamani, otherwise known as ‘The Fossil Forest’ or ‘Stone Forest’
This natural phenomenon consists of many stone columns spread over a large area in the hills above Varna on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria. The limestone structures do indeed resemble a fossilised forest and no one knows exactly how they were formed. There are many theories regarding their formation but it is likely that they were created by gasses seeping through the ancient ocean floor and depositing calcium as they escaped.
As a rockwork artist and creator of imitation geological artefacts I was interested in collecting some reference pictures and getting an idea of how I could recreate parts of The Stone Forest artificially.
The following images (iPhone HDR’s) are a selection of the pictures I made on the trip. I hope they give an idea of how wonderful and inspirational the Stone Forest is.
