Serengeti II

Description

A retired Parks Canada naturalist, botanist, and biology teacher, Frank Sudol has a strong sympathy for the environment. He communicates this passion and concern for nature through his art. In Serengeti II, the intricately pierced lacelike leaf patterns and African animals cut from a thinly turned classical vase form emphasize the fragility of nature. The ghost-like animals are joined in a web that encircles the vase, symbolizing the web of life and how the health and lives of all living things are intertwined.
Sudol uses a high-speed dental drill to create his elaborate and ornate filigree. For the drill to be effective, the wood must be extremely thin. To achieve this, Sudol works in the dark and gauges the thinness of the wood by placing inside the vessel a light on the tip of a boring bar. The light can be seen through the thin walls of the vessel and he works until the entire piece is even in color. He then draws, carves, and airbrushes his design with faint color, creating very delicate and beautifully executed works of art.
from the exhibition Nature Transformed: Wood Art from the Bohlen Collection, June 12 – October 3, 2004