Newest Mobius of 2009

SERENITY

• First piece created in 2009.
• Sculpted from a block of Italian Alabaster.
• Finished piece weighs 40 lbs.
  
• Title definition means 'Tranquility'.
• It measures 18"H x 14"W x 10"L.
• Created with a specific exhibition in mind.

STONE IV, an exhibit of Sonoma County Stone Sculptors appears at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts in Sebastopol, California every 7 years. This is the fourth in a series that began in 1979. The continued goal of the series is to show the range and talent of stone sculptors residing in Sonoma County, including professional stone sculptors who are new to the area, as well as those who have participated in previous exhibitions.
The curators, Warren Arnold and Clark Mitchel, stressed that they wanted 3 pieces per artist that they feel really defined their body of work. I exhibited this mobius, a superellipsoid piece of Utah Calcite and a curvilinear piece of Bardiglio Marble. The show was a great success. The mobius piece was scheduled to be part of the installation I just set up today called "Chiselers" at the Plaza Arts Center in Healdsburg, CA but the piece just sold. The "Chiselers" exhibit does include 13 of my pieces including the new Mexican Fluorite piece titled "Koan". Join me for the reception on Friday, February 27 at 130 Plaza Street in Healdsburg between 5-7pm. www.plazaartscenter.org You can see more of my work at tbarny.com.

Calcite Sculpture Glows

"When sunlight hits the Calcite crystals, it is like carving champagne or the last rays of a Hawaiian sunset."

I strive to take my sculptures as thin as possible and these Calcite crystals capture the incredible light. This stone is called Honeycomb Calcite; it is an impressive and unique form of onyx. It is a translucent, luminous stone which is mined exclusively in the state of Utah. It's glowing appeal is ideal for my curvilinear, mobius and superellipsoid designs.
I began carving this rare stone about 8 years ago but never had the opportunity to totally immerse myself in it. In 2008, here at the T Barny Gallery & Sculpture Gardens, we had a Collector's Event which featured commissioned and new works carved only from Calcite. The sculptures in the gallery glowed as the glass walls soaked in the sunset.
The discovery of the stone came about completely by accident. A group of miners were working at a site in eastern Utah. They had been removing topsoil and were preparing to leave for the day when they noticed a pile of overburden glowing the the afternoon sun. The sunlight refracted through the crystals causing the stone to "glow". The group, quite taken with this phenomenon, removed samples of the stone to have it tested and classified. It was a new form of calcite. It differs from the other 700 forms of calcite because of its strength, stability, luminous qualities and color. The color ranges from a soft, sunshine yellow to a deep honey amber depending upon the thickness of the stone.
Calcite tends to capture the attention of galleries, collectors and art lovers who look for statement pieces that have unique visual appeal. See my new work at www.tbarny.com.

CATENAX - The Mobius Strip

CATENAX, defined as a ‘Large Chain of Connected Ideas’, began its existence as the ‘Commemorative Piece’ celebrating T Barny’s 25^th year of being a professional sculptor. The piece was sculpted of Italian Alabaster and it was chosen by the artist to represent the celebration of his ‘One Quarter Century of Creative Excellence’ in 2006. The piece was cast in two tabletop size editions; one of cast stone and one of bronze. These pieces measure 11 in.x 9 in.x 6 in. and are both editions of 25. During the casting of this piece the original didn’t survive the process and therefore no longer exists. The piece was scanned to the heroic size of 41 in.x 41 in.x 31 in. and mounts atop a pedestal measuring 36”H x 24” diameter. CATENAX is cast in bronze with a jade patina in an edition of 25 that was just released in 2008.

“My forty year fascination with the mobius; the simple original strip introduced to me in the third grade, has led me to what I continue to carve out of stone today” explains the artist. A T Barny mobius still has one side and one edge but is three-dimensional and travels through itself on continuous intertwined loops.

“This is my expression of non-duality; my statement of oneness, creating an interrelated continuousness. We are all connected: to each other, to the earth and to the universe around us” states T Barny.