​Alex

 

 

 

Everyone has great talents, some are recognized others are never noticed; even the humble and beautiful animals on this earth have the greatest of talents; they are there for us to love and admire and to be thankful.
To be thankful for their innocence;…. The greatest of all talents.
The Auld Yin*.

I am situated in the beautiful Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. I create my sculptures and  produce my exotic plants ( African Violets, Episcia,Begonia Rex and many types of Ferns) in the scenic town of Bullaburra which is at an altitude of 2,500 feet, between Penrith and the famous tourist town of Katoomba. I hope you enjoy my passion for sculpting and collecting all types of  animal sculptures and for growing living exciting plants.

I now have entered a new scene creating Glass Sculptures and Fine Jewellery which will include such sculptures as Dragonflies, Butterflies, Geckos, Spiders,  insects and a host of other small creatures (These creatures sometime next year 2015). As well with my Jewellery creations there will be Earings, Pendants, Rings etc etc etc: To view all my other creations go to this site.

 

http://www.bluemountainsafricanvioletsaus.com/

 

 

My Sculptures are created with love, care and imagination. I hope this is not a selfish endeavour for such passion can be shared by all. I have in the past concentrated on Australian Native Animal Sculptures. Now I have ventured into all manner of animals the larger of  which I have turned into Table Lamps. All my Animals are first sculptured in fine clay.They are then carefully moulded and cast . Finally they are colour washed and coated in a clear non discolouring varnish. My casting techniques keep the exact detail first achieved in the fine clay.
The beginning of an idea is my first step in producing a new sculpture.The following step is a must and that is enthusiasm. Without enthusiasm it is a no go.

Next I research the subject I am going to sculpt. Photographs of a live subject taken from all angles but from an equal distance are necessary , or I research my subject on the internet and download as many photographs of the same subject from different locations as I can . I must scale my subject carefully as this will make it easier for me to quickly form a likeness of it and therefore save loads of time.

I measure across the head, depth of the head, body length, body width, length of tail, size of eyes, and angle of eyes, etc. I digest all this information over a reasonable length of time as the more I see my subject in my mind’s eye the better and easier it will be for me to create it. I “chew the fat” over the subject for a few weeks before going ahead with my sculpture. This makes the task easier and more enjoyable when I do not have to constantly refer to photographs.  

 

Imagination

 

'Imagine'. Life's wurth without, 'imagination',

could we iver contemplate creation?

A gif' to have in oor ain mind's een,

without  it, nuthin' wundrous  wid be iver seen.

 

Rabbie."O wad some Power the giftie gie us to see oursels as ithers see us"!

Wid that no' be a wundrous plus?

Imagine if, oor een had that gif' tae  see,

aw' whit in life ,we wid luve tae be.

 

As a lad, tae see aw' lass's ways,

tae see their mind's een an' be au-fait.

Tae ken whit they imagine life tae be,

whit they wid want aw' lad's tae see.

 

An' as a lassy, tae ken aw' Lad's minds,

an' their wishes, fur their ain mind's, tae find.

An' dugs an' cats an' aw' wee creatures  aw',

tae see their wundrous thoughts we've niver saw.

 

An' tae see through wee burdies eens,

beautiful fields below o' verdant green.

An' tae soar wae oor imagination free,

Tae see life's wunders, in aw degrees.

 

Tae feel , the sounds, and see the breeze,

an imagine the thoughts o' aw' the trees.

Fur oor minds  tae feel like aw' the fluers,

tae be coloured aw' day an' at ivery 'our.

 

Banish Poverty wid a'ways be in oor minds,

nae wars tae poverish aw mankind.

Equal rights fur aw' creatures livin' oan this earth,

let oor imagination gei strife the widest berth.

 

Aye , Imagine if aw' that an' aw that could be,

Nae sleekit thoughts o' oany degree.

Jist the power tae see hoo ithers see life,

Imagination tae banish, aw life's strife.

 

Imagine tae rid oorsels o' aw life's disease,

nae mair tae pay aw thay awsum fees.

An if we could imagine ithers point o' view,

nae need fur lawyers or the need tae sue.

 

Oh a wush in sum wee way,

aw' the wurld's folks kid be au-fait.

O 'the power o' imaginative thoughts,

an' fur those thoughts niver tae be bought.

 

See aw' ithers points o' view, fur free,

Ithers views, as we wid like them  tae see.

Jist hoo wunnerful the wurld wid be fur us,

a gigantic, brammer,  humungus plus.

 

 A'ways, afore a lay ma heid doon tae sleep,

Imagine guid things an' fur ma soul tae keep.

Oh whit a brammer wundrous gif'

Imagination,----- jist imagine. -----  If.

 

Alex Gardiner

aka

 

The Auld Yin.

I