Steven Whiffen
objects of art
I spotted the piece of wood, with its grown shape and crazy grain, in a pile of firewood! I asked the owner if I could buy it but he insisted I cut kindling for fifteen minutes instead. Then we had a cuppa while I explained what I wanted it for. The quartz was shimmering in a local river bed, where I take my kids some hot summer days. They sat together for weeks while I waited for something to suggest a way of placing the stone. Then, while repairing my gas forge, a piece of copper tube gave me the notion of a dish on a stalk, something of an optic nerve. To me, the rest of the inlay suggests signals rushing to their destinations. Another example of work begun a couple of years ago, while looking for something to stretch what I'd been doing for years.



