buddha heads  -  buddha baths  -  dependence

                       

In Spring 2009 I had made my first series of resin sculptures in which I used a clearer resin, enabling me to play with colors and transparency; adding pigments, dyes and sparkles. I called the series Buddha Baths, although the little guy I picked up in China Town is actually Budhai: The Laughing Buddha, a Chinese symbol of contentment. I was not doing the actual Buddha any justice. As conversation of the Buddha came up from my Buddha Bath series, I wanted to use an authentic Buddha, the Gautama Buddha. This desire became a reality when a close friend of mine brought me a Gautama Buddha head from his trip to Cambodia. Et voilà, the Buddha Heads series began. To make a mold out of this pointy sculpture was more challenging, testing my mold-making abilities. I used techniques similar to the Buddha Baths, but this time I had more confidence and used many more materials (including peas, lentils, stones and metals). I made the base by hand and on the bottom my signature is engraved.