Enki

Enki was a part of the Sumerian triad of creationary deities along with An and Enlil. Lord of water, knowledge and creation, amongst many other things, he was generally depicted wearing a horned helmet. The Sumerians saw him as the creator of what they believed was the first city in the world, Eridu (Uruk, much more well known today, was probably the first, but they’re close). His temple there dates to 5500 BCE, making it the oldest in Mesopotamian religious and architectural history. Before he showed up, humans were drinking water from ditches. He created the Euphrates and Tigris, directing water to flow into them from the mountains, providing a nice ditchwater alternative.

The Sumerians are fascinating, I highly recommend reading into their history and stories.

Bonus factoid: the duodecimal (base 12) and sexagesimal (base 60) numerical systems we use to divide hours and days came from the Sumerians. They used their thumb on one hand to count the joint lines on each finger; 4 fingers with 12 total joints. Keep track of each set of 12 with the 5 fingers on your other hand, and you end up with 60.

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Each sculpture is cast in either bronze or resin, using a mold that I create from an original sculpture in clay. If you are curious about the sculpting, molding or casting process, let me know and I’ll gladly talk your ear off.

- Editions: Each piece is a limited edition. This means that if, for example, there are 6 in the edition, once the sixth piece has been cast the mold will be destroyed and no more will be available.

- Lead Time:

- Resin cast: roughly 2–3 weeks
- Bronze cast: dependent on the foundry, generally 12–14 weeks

- Bronze vs Resin: Each material has its own benefits and drawbacks:

- Bronze is the standard in fine art casting. It’s durable, beautiful, has a prestige about it, and will last essentially forever. It’s more reliable for outdoor use than resin, but it is also heavier. The casts are created using the lost wax method, which has been around for over 5,000 years. This process is very time- consuming and labor intensive, which increases the lead time and cost of the final piece. My bronzes are cast in the Portland area by an excellent foundry which does extremely good work.

- Resin casts I make directly from the mold myself, from start to finish. I use a gypsum-based resin composite that is fiberglass reinforced. It’s light, strong, and quicker and less expensive to produce than bronze. The material itself is an off-white color which I dye dark grey, then paint the final piece by hand to resemble a bronze patina. The casts are strong, but the painted surface can be somewhat fragile and easily scratched. Appearance-wise, it’s easy to mistake a resin sculpture for a bronze.

- Patina/paint:

- Bronze can be patinaed in a wide variety of colors. The metal is heated with a torch and various chemicals are sprayed onto the surface, each causing a reaction that creates a different color. The process is an art in itself, and no two pieces are exactly alike.

- Resin is hand-painted to give the appearance of patinaed metal. I paint several layers in different colors, which gives the piece depth and highlights the texture of the surface. Color options are nearly limitless.