Departing The Nest / Web Page / COLLECTION SERIES MARBLE SCULPTURE by Martin Cooney / For Sale

Posted on August 31, 2025February 28, 2026 by Martin Cooney, Stone Sculptor

COLLECTION SERIES MARBLE SCULPTURE

Carved by MARTIN COONEY

Departing The Nest / $5,100 / The Liberty Collection / Colorado Yule Marble

23.5 x 8 x 7.5″ / 46.6 lbs / SN250802

Currently Displayed at The Martin Cooney STONEWORKS

121 Liberty Street, Council Grove, Kansas 66846

Please email martincooneysculptor@gmail.com for purchase information

A white marble sculpture titled 'Departing The Nest' depicting a falcon in a poised, alert position, against a clear blue sky.

~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~

‘Departing The Nest’ joined The Liberty Collection as the eleventh carving at just the right time for me to take full advantage of the knowledge I had gained from the previous sculptures, regarding the particular qualities residing within this startlingly bright white slab of Colorado Yule Marble. At this point I knew its capabilities and fallibilities in equal measure, and crucially, how to play to the marble’s advantage. But what it lacked in tensile strength to hold thin elongated projections, it more than made up for in definition, with the slightest of edges announcing themselves in stark contrast to the uniformity of the dazzlingly white marble.

‘Departing The Nest’ rough block.

And so, when the time came around to carve the oddly shaped but strangely balanced rough block that I had been eyeing for several weeks – since the moment I split it off from The Liberty Slab, in fact, I knew that a quite special sculpture lay just below the surface of that curious shape. It seemed to suggest something. Something quite … birdlike. And once that idea caught hold, it refused to go away. Then, one day, while enjoying a nice cup of tea and gazing down at the various blocks that lay right where they were split off the slab, I saw it: a falcon, peering down from its nest, bristling its tail feathers in readiness to spread those large wings and depart the nest.

A fleeting moment of time is what ‘Departing The Nest’ captures. That first act of preparation as a bird of prey readies itself for the task ahead; a shuffling of feathers; an alertness in the eyes; a moment’s pause; a transition from nest to flight.

Please click on a photo to enlarge.

~ ~ ~

As always, with these type of carvings, first came the head – for once that is established the rest tends to flow in a logical manner that captures realistic proportions, that in turn define the finished sculpture. There is no immediate need to fix the eyes, that will come later, just a temporary place holder will do, just to help visualize the finished result. But the direction of the face, the angle of incline, the tilt – all that must be established before moving on. Then it’s a matter of proportioning the body, establishing the architecture (as it were) of the piece and working out all manner of physical detail. In this case it was a matter of layering the various accommodations that each set of wing and tail feathers made for one another. Once that was settled the whole formation could be carved out in one fell swoop. After which the final stage – the finishing, could begin wherein the entire sculpture comes together into the uniform and consistent form that ‘Departing The Nest’ exudes today.

A top view of a marble sculpture titled 'Departing The Nest', showcasing smooth, flowing contours in bright white Colorado Yule marble.

~ ~ ~

A white marble sculpture titled 'Departing The Nest', carved by Martin Cooney, showcasing a sleek, abstract depiction of a bird in flight, placed on a black pedestal with a shadow cast on the ground.

~ ~ ~

I will say this though; while stunning as all that brilliant whiteness may be, creating a truly uniform surface is far from straightforward, and much time is spent achieving it. But in the end, it’s all well worth the effort, for even the slightest of distractions would take away from the beauty of her form. But close inspection reveals that this lovely piece of Colorado Yule Marble is about as free of imperfections as I have ever encountered. And bear in mind that this is not only the 11^th Liberty Collection sculpture, but the 78^th COLLECTION SERIES MARBLE SCULPTURE to date.

Close-up of a white marble sculpture titled 'Departing The Nest', resembling a bird, displayed outdoors with a clear blue sky in the background.

~ ~ ~

As is usual with my signature Direct Method Reductionist Marble Sculpture, ‘Departing The Nest’ is remarkably easy to simply pick up and move around, and so that’s what I suggest you do with this nifty and alert avian hunter. To be honest, she looks pretty sharp from just about any angle, and the light seems to be kind to her, no matter what, so there’s no reason not to enjoy her company from a myriad of locations. I’ll leave it to you to figure out where those places are. But of all my marble sculptures, I would suggest that this pure white falcon is perhaps the most accommodating of location of them all.

~ ~ ~