COLLECTION SERIES MARBLE SCULPTURE
Carved by MARTIN COONEY
Hard to Starboard / $5,100 / The Liberty Collection / Colorado Yule Marble
23 x 11 x 8″ / 46.2 lbs / SN250603
Currently Displayed at The Martin Cooney STONEWORKS
121 Liberty Street, Council Grove, Kansas 66846
Please email martincooneysculptor@gmail.com for purchase information
Hard to Starboard
Hard to starboard is a nautical term cloaked in confusion for some – such as me, who learned of the term’s history when looking up the famous cry from the Titanic wheelhouse immediately the iceberg was spotted. What it meant back then in April 1912, on the Titanic, was a command that meant the helmsman should turn the ship’s wheel to port (left), which would in turn cause the rudder to move to starboard (right), and ultimately turn the ship’s bow to the right (starboard). This seemingly backwards system was due to the use of tiller commands, a historical method of steering where the tiller’s movement was opposite to the desired direction of the ship’s turn. The iceberg struck the starboard (right) side of the Titanic. It scraped along the side below the waterline, creating a series of punctures that flooded multiple bulkheads.
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For some reason, the term hard to Starboard has struck a chord with me through the years, and it seemed inevitable that a carving of some sort would come along with just the right profile to fit the bill. Then, upon carving the 6th sculpture within The Liberty Collection, just such a rough block announced itself with a huge ‘port’ overhang that immediately gave rise to ‘Hard to Starboard’. Because such are the dynamics of smaller and faster boating that when the wheel is tugged at high speed – such as the local boaters upon nearby Council Grove Lake are prone to do, this dramatic lifting of the keel is evident for all to see. Up goes the port side, off to the right the speedboat goes; and so, I had at last found my hard to starboard carving, and this is it!
please click on an image to enlarge.
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As I found myself writing recently in ‘Lucky Scylla’s’ Home Page, you don’t have to live beside the seaside to see boats, they are practically here, there and everywhere. And here in the North East of Kansas those vessels tend to be of the fishing skiff, chunky raft or zippy speedboat variety. Obviously, zippy speedboats make for a more exciting carving – no offence chunky raft people. And I have already covered the skiff scene with ‘Kenai Skiff’ as a nod to my salmon gill netting summer up in Alaska. Other tributes to maritime themes within my Collection Series Marble Bowls include the striking ‘Titanic‘, the conceptual ‘Beached Boat‘, magnificent ‘Magellan‘ and whimsical ‘Sailboat Tempest‘.
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But as anyone familiar with my sculptural style can attest, Hand Carved Curvilinear Bowls are the high-profile signature statement of my Collection Series Marble Sculpture. Their combination of form, style and function never ceases to amaze and inspire me.
‘Hard to Starboard’ with light infusing her hull with soft hues from within her thinly carved Colorado Yule Marble walls.
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As a stand-alone sculpture, my signature Hand Carved Marble Bowls are striking in the extreme, and mounded with ice, topped with shellfish, champagne or the prize catch of the day … they look amazing. Pile them with fresh ripe fruit, autumn leaves, prize possessions and they will never let you down, creating a centerpiece that will draw interest whatever the event, formal or informal, grand or intimate.
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Living with you in your world is what my ‘light, portable and carved for full immersion in the real world’ marble sculpture is all about; these are my Collection Series Marble Display Bowls. They are as practical as they are gorgeous … to the touch too. I call it the ‘ooh and ahh effect’. “Go on”, I say, “touch it”. “Feel that silky-smooth surface”. And touch it people do; gently fondling and feeling the surface across the palm of their hands while I continue our chat: “They’re protected with an invisible impregnating Italian sealant”, I say. “Water just beads up and rolls around the surface as if for fun”. “Like mercury”, I’ve heard it said. “Yes, just like that”. I never tire of touting the astonishing properties of my signature Hand Carved Marble Bowls. And neither will you when friends, family and guests are likewise informed of Colorado Yule Marble’s extraordinary properties.
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In fact, very few people have ever even heard of ‘The Yule’, as I call it. America’s hardest marble, building stone of The Lincoln Memorial, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. At 99.7 percent pure calcite, it is not only the hardest and purest marble, but weighs in at an astonishing 165 lbs. per cubic foot. And yet, here are these bowls with outer dimensions often way over a foot, yet so light and portable you can simply pick them up and move them around at will. Place them in the kitchen, dining room, bathroom, patio, porch, garden, office, or wherever you wish. You can also elect to return them to their shipping box for safekeeping whenever the need arises, or just to take a break from time to time – a feature that you don’t associate with the more conventional marble sculptures outside of my reductionist Collection Series Marble Sculpture
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Click on an image to enlarge.
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COLLECTION SERIES MARBLE SCULPTURE
Carved by MARTIN COONEY
Hard to Starboard / $5,100 / The Liberty Collection / Colorado Yule Marble
23 x 11 x 8″ / 46.2 lbs / SN250603
Currently Displayed at The Martin Cooney STONEWORKS
121 Liberty Street, Council Grove, Kansas 66846
Please email martincooneysculptor@gmail.com for purchase information
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Thank you for visiting martincooney.com
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