Binkley Sculpture on the Celebrity Ascent
My sculpture, “Mia Piccola Foglia” has been successfully installed on the newly launched Celebrity Ascent cruise ship, gracing the Café al Bacio on deck 4. Special thanks to Zach, the Traveling Man for his video that captured my sculpture in situ. I’m very pleased with the pedestal they chose and its placement between windows on the starboard side of the ship. They’ve also dramatically lit the sculpture with a lovely down lights. The sculpture is located at the end of a hightop table where passengers can relax with their laptops as they enjoy a coffee.
I was approached by London, England based art consultants Peter Millard & Partners Ltd. (PMPL) and I collaborated with them and Celebrity Cruises on the design of the sculpture based on its intended location on the ship. PMPL were impressed with a sculpture I created several years ago, “Mio Bambino Caro” and wanted me to use that sculpture as inspiration for this piece.
I carved the sculpture this past summer from carrara petacchi marble. The composition called for two abstract forms that appeared to be related leaf-like shapes, and the story behind the artwork required one to be the offspring of the other. To that end, I used a single block of marble and carefully split a smaller piece away from it. It is very difficult to make stone split in a curve, especially a convex curve. However, I managed to make it happen, using wedges and my large chop saw. So the little leaf form was actually “birthed” from the belly of the large form!
From the front, the two shapes appear to be abstract tree leaves and from the side, each has a convex face, so they appear goblet shaped. Using curvilinear edges, I managed to give the illusion of the larger form “hugging” the smaller form in a protective manner. The two forms had to nest on a single pedestal, so I had to keep reducing the front profiles until the composition was balanced. The yellow crayon marks top right show where more stone needed to be removed.
I am pleased with how the artwork is integrated into the space, and I hope the sculpture is enjoyed by many in the future. Perhaps one day, Michelle and I will get to see them in situ in person!
