The client who commissioned the sculptural birdbath shared a ‘mood board’ to suggest ideas and styles which she was inspired by. I visited the house and garden to get a feel of what would look good in terms of complimenting the style of the house, the garden, and the things already existing there. I designed the piece based where it was going to be, respecting the concepts on the mood board and settled on a design that was fresh, uncomplicated, striking, geometric with an organic twist.
Of course, the birdbath required a section to be carved out with some depth to hold water for the wild birds to use and I used the flat oval design on the top to compliment an oval feature in the base. For additional interest I carved through the oval design in the base to create a shard of light which would bounce off the inside of the hole and slightly illuminate the chamber.
The pool in the top was graded from shallow to deep so that a range of small birds could access it easily; they could stand at the side for a drink or shallow bath or venture in deeper. The client also wanted a ’nod’ to the fact that it was for a significant birthday so I carved simple Roman Numerals at the base of one section.
This was going to be the centrepiece of the client’s front garden to be viewed from all directions but mainly from the kitchen window and in particular, from the sink. With this in mind, I set up the sculptural birdbath to maximise the play of light through the hole for a pleasing view. I also designed the top to pivot on a stainless steel pin in the base to enable variation. This meant that the top could look nice from various angles, and the client could ‘play’ with the ‘look’ they wished to create.
I used two separate blocks of Caen Stone. This is a light cream Jurassic Limestone quarried in north-western France near the city of Caen. It is a fine-grained oolitic limestone formed in shallow water lagoons in the Bathonian age about 167 million years ago.
I drew the design directly onto the stone and cut away. I used various flat and claw chisels with a mallet, a disc cutter, various flat, round and shaped files, diamond pads and sandpaper to finish. The interplay of texture and smooth surfaces provided stark interest on the various faces of the blocks. I used a claw chisel to carve texture up one side; a uniformed panel to give a slightly organic feel that could be suggestive of bark water or foliage.