Great Light Owl: A Stunning Marble Sculpture by Martin Cooney

COLLECTION SERIES MARBLE SCULPTURE

Carved by MARTIN COONEY

Great Light Owl / $7,000 / The Liberty Collection / Colorado Yule Marble

13 x 9.5 x 18.5″ / 42.8 lbs / SN251102

Currently Displayed at The Martin Cooney STONEWORKS

121 Liberty Street, Council Grove, Kansas 66846

~ Great Light Owl ~

Carving an owl has been on my mind since The Liberty Collection came into being earlier this year, in July of 2025. For one thing, I have always thought it would make an ideal subject matter for my Direct Method, Split and Carve technique, also I just love owls. But of course, I had to wait upon the correct shape and sized rough block to pop out of The Liberty Slab before I could entertain such an idea. And it was only upon discussing the matter in my workshop, with a visitor to the stoneworks, of what to carve from a very promising upright, slightly tilted and nicely rectangular block of Colorado Yule Marble resting patiently upon my banker, that I heard myself utter the word “owl”, and bingo! The challenge was on.

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Please click on a photo to enlarge.

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As with all of my animate carvings, the first objective was to secure placement of the eyes, the head and in this case the ears, for right away I knew I wanted to create a dramatic ‘Great Horned’ variety, with long pointy tips standing proudly aloft, rather than the seemingly more timid ‘Snowy’ round faced owl shape more commonly found in the wild and in the majority of animations, drawings and literary depictions. So, no mere barn owl for me. This promising block of well-proportioned marble was going to be ‘Horned’, proud and staring right back at you, in no uncertain manner.

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The menacing claws arrived much later and serve as a warning against all who encroach too closely to this intimidating bird of prey.

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With ‘Great Light Owl’ being the 17^th Liberty Collection Marble Sculpture, I have had ample opportunity now to assess the intrinsic nature of each rough block split from the slab; its strengths and limitations, its veining, the direction of its swirls and the nature of its character. And to put it simply, this block was clearly up to whatever it was I wanted to do with it. Before long, the eyes, so brilliant and glass-thin, were fully carved – and it was then the notion set in to reveal the entire bird’s lovely curvaceous patterns by hollowing out his body to the point that this same translucence would transform the carving into a glowing, beautiful … lamp.

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So, I set about carving what is essentially, an upright bowl. This being a technique I have utilized before with such COLLECTION SERIES Marble Sculptures as ‘Mystique Masque’. In this case though I left a horizontal shelf above the base to facilitate candles, soft light bulbs, or as is the case with the pictures you see, of the owl’s eyes shining brightly, right at you … a pair of gooseneck lamps placed right behind the wafer-thin marble eyes.

But the real intention for carving ‘Great Light Owl’ was to capture the full effect of the sun’s rays by placing him in a sunny window and letting nature put on the show – with a little spotlighting for the evening performance. Because the play of light emanating in such a translucent manner is as difficult to describe as it is to capture in a photograph. It is something you really have to see.

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The carving process went about as smoothly and predictably as any Collection Series marble sculpture to date. And once I had the eyes placed and carved to within a fraction of an inch of thickness, the hard part was behind me and my thoughts turned to sculpting out perhaps the deepest, narrowest bowl to date: an inverted bowl, but a bowl, no less.

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A marble sculpture of an owl, titled 'Great Light Owl', displaying glowing eyes. It is illuminated from within, showcasing its translucent features, set against a dark background.

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A marble sculpture titled 'Great Light Owl' by Martin Cooney, featuring a stylized owl with prominent eyes and claws, displayed with natural light highlighting its translucent features.

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There are many ways to appreciate the intrinsic nature of Great Light’s mysterious, atmospheric and quite mesmerizing light show characteristics. So, feel free to experiment when you place him around your world. He’s light enough and portably designed to be simply picked up and walked to wherever you wish to place him. Simply clear your path, hold him close to your body, as you would a young child, hug him while you walk; he’ll appreciate the different views – just make sure he has his back to the light; he is a night owl after all.