Most people associate the open palm gesture seen here with good feelings and happiness. Anyone who has dealt with me knows that High Fives are pretty commonly given out for praise or excitement here at Dale Rogers Studio; they are definitely ingrained as part of my overall philosophy and outlook on both life and work. C’mon, who doesn’t love a High Five?

I have combined this with another favorite recurring and popular theme in my work, birds. This piece is another in the evolution of the crows/raven sculptures in my work. It is the next in line following 3 Birds in a Tree. Either cardinals or crows/ravens can be added to this sculpture. Bird in Hand came about at the request of a client who has one of my Retro Trees and really liked the miniature cardinal featured on that piece. He asked if I could scale the cardinal up to work into this design. It was a great suggestion, and once again, I am drawn to the “pop” that the color red brings into my sculptures. The inclusion of the red cardinals gives a very different feel to this piece than the ravens/crows. I think either bird works well, and I am happy to be able to offer some flexibility in choice, so the sculpture will reflect the desired mood of the client.

In addition to being a sister piece to the crow sculptures, it has a distinct design similarity to another sculpture that was new for 2012, Think and Be Free. From a visual and imagery point of view, these two pieces don’t seem to have much in common. Overall, Think and Be Free has a more sophisticated and contemporary feel, while Bird in Hand is more whimsical and light-hearted, but they are the first two pieces I have designed that feature a line drawing within a 3-D work. There is a fabricated tube design element in both sculptures that creates the effect of a portrait within the sculptural work. The hand from this sculpture and the head from Think and Be Free are both done in a manner which lends a 2-D dimension. Once again, it is a seemingly simple idea that adds an additional layer of intrigue to my artwork, and I am very happy with the overall results of both.