Hermit thrush commisioned by Adirondack Carousel

Comment

Comment by Tracy Kochanski on June 18, 2015 at 3:05pm

Thank you for your kind comments.

 I also was enamored with the idea of using indigenous animals on a carousel and jumped at the opportunity to be included on the project. The green seat is indeed a leaf. It provides not only a comfortable "saddle" but ties in with the requirements that the carving not only be an indigenous animal but include plants and flowers local to the region. Each woodcarver was asked to include a ladybug hidden somewhere on the animal. Mine was hiding amongst a cluster of blueberries and the little girl in the picture apparently has just discovered it.

Comment by Resident Curator on June 18, 2015 at 2:34pm

Curator’s Comments:   

 

I’m impressed by the exceedingly high level of craftsmanship in these carved carousal pieces. The image of the wooden hermit thrush installed on the ride platform with the small child in the photograph gives one a full appreciation of scale and function of the finished work.  I’m also enamored with the concept of creating a carousal of indigenous animals.  It not only removes the expected fantastical genre in favor of surprise visual elements, but connects the work specifically to the geographic place. The bird itself, in the previous stand-alone picture, shows interesting use of floral elements.  The manner in which they’re intertwined with the form no doubt was considered as a type of organic embellishment that wouldn’t interfere with the smooth, continuous contours of the thrush. I’m uncertain from the light in the photograph if the dark green seat has gradations of hue or value, but in the context it looks to form a large single leaf.