Into the Garden

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Into The Garden Diana Reuter-Twining

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Book Design & Layout: Pamela T. Owens, Middleburg, VA Photographers: Brandon Webster, Washington DC Photoworks, UT Mark Walker Smith, UT F. Turner Reuter, M.D., Aldie, VA Diana Reuter-Twining, Aldie, VA Graphics: Jeremy Sanders, Winchester, VA Foundries: Adonis Bronze, Alpine, UT Wegner Metal Arts, Fredericksburg, VA

Published by Chocorua Publishing First Printing 2009 All Rights Reserved Copyright Š 2009 Diana Reuter-Twining Chocorua Publishing Aldie, VA 20105 No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or by an information storage retrieval system, without the permission in writing from the publisher.

ISBN: 978-0-9826001-2-2 Printed in U.S.A. Edition 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Opposite: GRASSHOPPER in the garden

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For Ned

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An elevated view of Glenstone Gardens in Aldie, Virginia which prominently displays NAUTILUS and THE NEST.

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Preface Sculpture has always held a fascination for me. As a young girl growing up in Washington, DC traveling over Memorial Bridge I loved to see the huge mythological horses in The Arts of War sculpture. They were the sentries to Arlington National Cemetery and The Lincoln Memorial. The Dumbarton Bridge buffalos announced the entrance to Georgetown as it spanned Rock Creek Parkway. The Taft Bridge lions were the gatekeepers to upper Connecticut Avenue. In Washington, every major circle boasts a sculpture of a general on his favorite horse.

While organizing this book I thought how little we see of contemporary sculpture in gardens today.

When we see sculpture it tends to be copies of Renaissance figures in studied poses. Ironically however, after the Renaissance came a period of art which acknowledged the Age of Reason, which came to be known as Mannerism. It was during this period that artists played with the new reality that man was no longer “the center of the universe” and in this age of discovery a sculpture’s purpose might be to ask a larger question of how he fit into this new world.

It would not have been uncommon to walk around a corner and see sculptures which seemed out of scale to a space for the sole purpose of jolting the viewer into a new awareness. I have chosen to show how some of my work might play upon this sentiment, and with nature as my palette and the luxury of the Glenstone Gardens as my stage, I am pleased to present some of my work to you.

My love of the natural world is my inspiration. It is all there; grace, beauty and mystery.

I owe the nurturing of this passion to my parents who raised me to love and respect the natural world in all of its forms. To have their gardens at Glenstone was the opportunity of my lifetime to study scale and design. I owe the development of my art to my husband Ned, without whose patience, mentoring and patronage I would never have lifted a hand to clay.

“Who knows where memory begins?

Who can say where the vibrant voice becomes an echo, the face so vividly intertwined on the retina, a fading copy in the mind.”

—Lawrence Thornton, Under the Gypsy Moon Bronzed

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Honeycomb

Honeybees are nature’s architects. How incredibly rich in texture and structure is the honeycomb with each cell designed to receive one drop of honey.

51" H x 70" W x 16" D (approximate) (130 x 178 x 41 cm) Bronze on stainless steel base Edition of 9 Weight: 450 lbs.

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Grasshopper

GRASSHOPPER is an homage to the insect world.

In producing this sculpture I was in awe of the incredible mechanics of this creature.

Every part is so beautifully articulated: at times I felt as though I was working on a mechanical toy.

54" H x 66" W x 24" D (approximate) (138 x 168 x 61 cm) Bronze on stainless steel base Edition of 9

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In The Foundry

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The chambered nautilus is nature in such a rich abstract form.

I was commissioned to do this sculpture for the GreyGreen Garden at Glenstone.

The base became integral to the sculpture as it elevated the form to eye level and allowed the energy of the piece to unwind into the entire garden. Putting the verdigris patina on the base and the stone-like patina on the nautilus helps even more to thrust the form up into a higher level of site.

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Nautilus In The Foundry

Bronze with bronze base 72" H x 48" W x 18" D (approximate) (183 x 122 x 45 cm) Edition of 9, each signed and numbered Provenance provided

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The Nest

I am fascinated by nests. Hornets' nests are bold and delicate at the same time. As they decay they become nests for other creatures. Here twigs grow out of the center and I see its abstract beauty.

Bronze (Cire perdue) 66"H x 30"W x 30"D (approximate) (168 x 77 x 77 cm) Edition of 12, each signed and numbered Provenance provided

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Trumpeter

Swans have been photographed and depicted over the ages for their grace and beauty.

While studying the bird I was more taken with its beak than with its long neck. In reality, the beak is a musical instrument with incredible detail and fantastic form.

Bronze (Cire perdue) 17" H x 35" W x 18" D (approximate) (44 x 89x 46 cm) Edition of 12, each signed and numbered Provenance provided

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Under Cover In The Foundry

The enigmatic fox is the master of camouflage.

I have chosen to show how easily he slinks along, trying to meld into the landscape.

Bronze (Cire perdue) 66" H x 50" W x 27" D (approximate) (166 x 127 x 59 cm) Edition of 12, each signed and numbered Provenance provided

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Prophet Here a coyote reaches to the sky in a celestial pose. I chose to accentuate the form by placing him on a triangulated base.

I was reminded of one of Wallace Stevens’ poems as it speaks to the mystery surrounding wildlife in early morning and twilight. In paintings this genre is referred to as tonalism. It is when your eyes play tricks on you in the dim light. It is as much about a mood or what is referred to as “dos” or a yearning for something lost. I imagined him in this winter scene reaching toward the moonlight. He almost becomes one with the landscape.

THE BLUE GUITAR The man bent over his guitar A shearsman of sorts. The day was green They said. “You have a blue guitar You do not play things as they are” The man replied, “Things as they are Are changed upon the blue guitar” And they said then, “But play, you must, A tune beyond us, yet ourselves A tune upon the blue guitar Of things exactly as they are" —Wallace Stevens 20

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Bronze (Cire perdue) 64" H x 24" W x 24" D (approximate) (163 x 61 x 61 cm) Edition of 12, each signed and numbered Provenance provided Opposite: This is a virtual image showing the appropriate size and scale of this sculpture at Glenstone.

This is a virtual image showing the appropriate size and scale of this sculpture in Glenstone's Quadrant Garden.

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Midsummer Night's Dream

Taken from Shakespeare’s play of the same name, a wood nymph sits in contemplation in the garden. I used this patina to accentuate the feeling of dappled light filtering through the trees.

Bronze (Cire perdue) 21" H x 20 3/4" W x 5 3/8" D (approximate) (54 x 53x 14 cm) Edition of 12, each signed and numbered Provenance provided

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Macaw

Macaws have attitude and this one was no exception. He reminded me of a wonderfully nimble athlete who was constantly showing off his abilities.

He is placed in the Ting at Glenstone and is framed by a trefoil arch. I chose to patina him in a bright green patina which expresses his character and allows me to explore the many rich shades and shadows of his feathers and wings.

Bronze (Cire perdue) 66" H x 15 1/2" W x 21 1/4" D (approximate) (168 x 40 x 54 cm) Edition of 12, each signed and numbered Provenance provided

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This is a virtual image showing the appropriate size and scale for this sculpture in The Lily Pool at Glenstone Gardens.

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Octopus Bowl In Portugal, bowls are used to capture octopus. This bowl is a study about this process. Octopuses are so clever they can escape from a sealed jar by maneuvering their tentacles to open the lid from the inside. Not only can they camouflage themselves by changing color to adapt to their surroundings, but they have very sophisticated memories. OCTOPUS BOWL is shown in different patinas to contemplate this camouflage. It can be made into a fountain by adding a base of granite which is drilled for water.

Bronze (Cire perdue) 16" diameter (approximate) (41 cm) Edition of 12, each signed and numbered Provenance provided

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Arctic Circle

After visiting the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve in Alaska I was inspired to look at nature slightly differently. The auf ice that is everywhere in the summer has an endless palette of its own. Shadows, reflections and abstract forms created by partially melted ice prompted me to look at this experience in bas relief. Here two birds form a circle which becomes the nest of eggs they are protecting.

At Glenstone, I imagined placing it in the Tea House within the circle in the lattice work already designed to fit into this Japanese structure at the end of an allĂŠe.

Bronze 16" H x 20" W x 4" D (approximate) (41 x 51 x 11 cm) Edition of 50, each signed and numbered Provenance provided

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Opposite: This is a virtual image showing the appropriate size and scale of this sculpture in Glenstone's Tea House.

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Mezza Luna

The owl is an elusive, mysterious raptor seeming to dwell between worlds. Mezza Luna means eclipse of the moon. This sculpture explores that aura of half sleep/half wake, twilight/ night which an eclipse symbolizes.

Bronze (Cire perdue) 12" H x 12" W x 16" D (approximate, without stand) (31 x 31 x 41 cm) Stand: 60" H (153 cm) Edition of 12, each signed and numbered Provenance provided

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Into The Ukiyo-e World

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“Ukiyo-e is [a Japanese woodblock art form which strongly emphasizes silhouetted design] with a history spanning more than three centuries. It developed as the bourgeoisie’s own form of cultural expression, and is unique in the world. In the course of time, the style of ukiyo-e naturally underwent changes, as did the lives of the people with which these woodblock prints were closely linked. But from Japan they have travelled the world; unbeknown to their creators, ukiyo-e have had a profound influence on modern Western painting. With this in mind, we can still appreciate their great vitality.”

Definition of Ukiyo-e as defined in Wikipedia

Ohara Koson's woodblock, to the left, is an example of an offshoot of the ukiyo-e style called kacho-e which focused on birds and flowers.

Ohara Koson's CARRION CROW ON A SNOWCOVERED BRANCH AT DAWN, c. 1930

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In the following sculptures I have drawn from my interest in the Japanese art genre known as ukiyo-e. The challenge was to turn a two dimensional woodblock print into a three dimensional composition. As important to this was the emotion behind the print which is so poignantly expressed in Tales of the Floating World (Ukiyo-monogatari) by Asai Ryoi: Silk screen images showing Diana's contemporary interpretation of ukiyo-e

“Living only for the moment, savoring the moon, the snow, the cherry blossoms and the maple leaves, singing songs, loving sake, women and poetry, letting oneself drift, buoyant and carefree, like a gourd carried along with the river current.�

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River Dancers

The river otter has a strong group dynamic. Here the three otters seem to be caught up in an eddy of emotion: each otter is focused on its own path but they all swirl to the same rhythm.

Bronze (Cire perdue) 41" H x 24" W x 13" D (approximate) (105 x 61 x 34 cm) Edition of 12, each signed and numbered Provenance provided

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Carousel Rabbits

As a young child I was taken to the carousel at Glen Echo Park in Maryland where we rode, hoping to capture the golden ring which would give one a free ride. I have paid homage to that memory by imagining rabbits dancing with these rings.

Bronze rabbits on stainless steel rings and base plate; sold as two sculptures or one Single rabbit: 60" H x 48" W x 27" D (approximate) (153 x 122 x 69 cm) Double rabbit : 72" H x 61" W x 27" D (approximate) (183 x 155 x 69 cm) Edition of 9, each signed and numbered Provenance provided

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Turtle Boy

Turtle Boy is a sculpture which is reminiscent of the nineteenth century's tradition of figurative sculpture. A young child rides a sea turtle as if in some mythical dream.

Bronze (Cire perdue) 24" H x 18" W x 18" D (approximate) (70 x 46 x 46 cm) Edition of 12, each signed and numbered Provenance provided

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Parakeets

Parakeets offer constant entertainment. I saw this small group as pieces of jewelry themselves.

Bronze (Cire perdue) 16" H x 14" W x 9" D (approximate) (41 x 35 x 23 cm) Edition of 24, each signed and numbered Provenance provided

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Hummingbird and Dragon Fly

How much of the macro world do we miss because it seems so inaccessible? The hummingbird and the dragon fly approximate each other in size and incredible jewel-like beauty.

Bronze (Cire perdue) 18" H x 12" W x 12" D (approximate) (46 x 31 x 31 cm) Edition of 12, each signed and numbered Provenance provided

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Rufus

The japanese ukiyo-e "floating world" style of art has always fascinated me. Here I attempt to mimic this in sculpture using a very strong silhouetted design.

Bronze (Cire perdue) 24" H x 20" W x 9" D (approximate) (61 x 51 x 23 cm) Edition of 12, each signed and numbered Provenance provided

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Peacock

The peacock has haunted my imagination for years. I chose to “study it� in pure line form almost as if I was drawing it. In reality, it could be the armature for a much more realistic interpretation. I stopped at this point, however, in order to emphasize the incredible complexity of its structure.

Powder-coated welded steel 70" H x 84" W x 17" D (approximate) (178 x 214 x 44 cm) Modele unique

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Ko Phi-Phi Patination The final step in the creation of a bronze sculpture is the application of the patina. A propane torch is used to heat the metal to the point where chemicals are acid etched into the surface.

I chose to use stainless steel as the base for this sculpture because I could not achieve the same quality of finish using patinaed bronze.

Like recipes for cooking, there are many different chemicals used, but the order in which they are put on to the bronze will affect its final color.

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Bronze on stainless steel bamboo base Mounted on black walnut 6 3/4 " H x 21" W x 5 " D (approximate) (18 x 54 x 13 cm) Edition of 100, each signed and numbered Provenance provided

“…Living only for the moment, turning our full attention to the pleasures of the moon, the snow, the cherry blossoms and the maples leaves; singing songs, drinking wine, diverting ourselves in just floating, floating… refusing to be disheartened, like a gourd floating along with the river current: this is what we call the floating world.”

—Asai Ryoi, Tales of the Floating World (Ukiyo-monogatari) Bronzed

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Grasshopper Vase

The Art Deco period emphasized the stylized geometry of decorative art. Insects continue to push my imagination and here the exaggerated gossamer antennae of the grasshopper hover protectively over the vase.

Bronze (Cire perdue) 17.5" H x 8" W x 7" D (approximate) (45 x 21 x 18 cm) Edition of 24, each signed and numbered Provenance provided

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Temptation

The vervet monkey sits playfully under a tree. His tail approximates the limb he watches. I imagine he is watching a bird and is keeping very still.

Bronze (Cire perdue) 33" H x 24" W x 5" D (approximate) (84 x 61 x 13 cm) Edition of 12, each signed and numbered Provenance provided

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Still Life with Pears

So much of my interest in art comes from the process of discovery. I have always been attracted to pears because of their sensuous forms. While working on this sculpture I realized that each pear had its own distinct personality depending upon the angle in which it was positioned. I underlined this individuality by using different colored patinas for each pear.

Placed in a semi-circle the group of pears implies a conversation. I used the hummingbird and its beak as a counterpoint to the pears' stems to reinforce this idea.

"The boat and the shore conversing all day in terms of water." —Shiki

Bronze (cire perdue) 6.5" H x 17" W x 7 " D (approximate) (17 x 44 x 18 cm) Edition of 50, each signed and numbered Provenance provided

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Carousel Rabbit Weathervane

This stainless steel weathervane pays homage to my memories of the carousel animals we rode as children at Glen Echo Park in Washington, DC. They were part mythical, with a huge degree of whimsy and fantasy. I imagined here that the rabbit effortlessly glides through space with padded feet and long ears.

Stainless steel rabbit on steel base 26" H x 25" W x 15 " D (approximate) (66 x 64 x 39 cm) Edition of 12, each signed and numbered Provenance provided

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I have come to understand art as the exploration of boundaries.

In architecture these boundaries are described as “edge conditions”.

It is the negative space created between forms which is the essence of a building or a garden. Sculpture and painting explore these boundaries through expression (gesture or image) and emotion (memory).

—Diana Reuter-Twining

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Having been trained first as an architect and photographer, Diana has the vantage point of an intimacy with space and nature, which is made evident through her use of a bold stroke and a quick eye.

Diana's interest in art may have started after she assisted her father on a photographic assignment for the National Geographic. Diana went on to apprentice as a photographer with the magazine. She later became a registered architect.

Her formal studies in art and architecture initially took her to Paris with Hollins College where she received a degree in Art History.

She then went on to Catholic University where she received her Masters of Architecture. She studied sculpture at the Corcoran School of Art, Loveland Academy of Fine Arts and Scottsdale Artists' School.

Living in Virginia and traveling worldwide affords Diana the opportunity to catalogue the nature which is so vital to her work.

As an architect, she is keenly aware of the plasticity of space. As a sculptor she understands the emotional response sculpture has the power to elicit.

Diana's bronzes are found in private collections and gardens throughout the world.

Her work has been exhibited with the National Sculpture Society, The Center for American Sculpture at Brookgreen Gardens, The Society of Animal Artists, The Leigh Yawkey Woodson Museum’s annual Birds in Art exhibition, The National Zoo, The Center for Conservation Research, The National Museum of Wildlife Art, The Rainforest Foundation and Artists for Conservation for which she contributes a portion of her sales to worldwide conservation efforts.

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Creation of UNDER COVER in the foundry

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