Description
Noah and the Dove, ceramic wall art
Genesis Ch 8
And he sent forth the dove from with him, to see whether the waters had abated from upon the surface of the earth. But the dove found no resting place for the sole of its foot; so it returned to him to the ark because there was water upon the entire surface of the earth; so he stretched forth his hand and took it, and he brought it to him to the ark. And he waited again another seven days, and he again sent forth the dove from the ark. And the dove returned to him at eventide, and behold it had plucked an olive leaf in its mouth; so Noah knew that the water had abated from upon the earth.
About this piece
This piece of ceramic wall art, Noah and the Dove, is made of a light-coloured clay (called Yellow Terrazzo), with an inlay of smoked glass. Many of the elements are finished with acrylic paint. The design is simple, primitive, direct and, I hope, powerful. The motif of the dove flying off to find the olive-branch – the symbol that G-d has made His peace with man – is universal. I wanted to use colour to lighten up the heavy, quite rudely-cut forms of the figures. Originally I used only the lightest blues, but gradually added turquoise and indigo, as the greater tonal depth seemed to give more life to the figures. Then, on a whim, I added the orange details, and strengthened the whites. This really seemed to add life and joy – so I stopped there!
To see progress photos of the making of this sculpture, go to my blog post below: