Zebra Lips Black and White Marble Sculpture

Zebra Lips

• Stone:  Marble (Utah), one-of-a-kind
• 12.5" h x 19" w x 7.5" d
• © 2006 Kelly Borsheim

     Not wanting to make a one-sided 3-dimensional work of art, the Lips Series of stone carvings changed as I thought more and more about what would make it interesting for me.  Nature has good design.  And Nature tends to repeat herself on this good design.  That is why we see faces in the patterns of wood grain, for example.

     So the basic premise of the Lips Series is that we are all connected in some way that combines form with function.  In the artistic studies of anatomy and other forms of Nature, at some point we artists leave Nature and create art. 

     I took these kind of liberties with Zebra Lips. For example, the ear does not stick out above the mane because I wanted the zebra to be more of a surprise as the viewer walked around the sculpture.  I morphed the zebra anatomy to fit the idea because I doubt that anyone seeing the artwork would not understand there was a zebra before him.  But it made little sense to have a big ear sticking above the line of the upper lip -- from the front view. 

     The pouty mouth was fun to make, with the lower lip extended beyond the upper one.  The mouth was closed to aid the design of the zebra on the other side, unlike the other stone carvings in this Lips Series.

     This stone sculpture weighs 76 pounds, is crated when shipped (from Norfolk, Virginia, USA, unless you prefer to pick her up), and would look great on a covered porch. It is a cool stone and a very fun sculpture and conversation piece! 

 

 

Carving the Original Marble Sculpture:

    February 2006: I became aware of the existence of this zebra marble from Utah when my friend Vasily Fedorouk showed me some of his newest sculptures while we were at the MARBLE/marble Symposium in Colorado one summer. He even gave me pieces left over from his sculpting.  So I asked my friend Myles Schachter to bring me the largest piece of zebra he could find.  Myles sells stone and I knew he was on his way to a gem show in that part of the country.  And afterwards, he was headed to my home in Texas to help with a stone carving workshop that I was teaching with Vasily.

    Anyway, this is a good-sized piece (it weighed 221 pounds before carving).

 

Above:  the bird's eye view

 

Below, 1 March 2006: At first glance it might appear to be perfect for lips (you may even be able to see the pouting lower lip in the profile shot, above), but in reality, that was only true from one dimension. The rock was simply not there for making a full upper lip. So, I had to cut off some from both ends to create a more lip-like form.

 

Below, 2 March 2006: Another problem with this individual stone: a lot of cracks throughout. Not all cracks are weak points. Some are just interesting veining and will not cause a problem. But this one below WAS a problem. Off with it. And redesign.

    Zebra Lips has been sealed so that you may safely touch it - no damage from the oils on your fingers.  Although this is a marble from Utah and the sealer will protect it, this stone had more noticeable veining than other marbles I have carved and I would be a little nervous saying that you may display it outside without some concern. That said, IF a good stone sealer is reapplied each year and/or IF the collector brings the stone in for the freezing months, there should be no problem. [The sealer is designed to keep water out of the seams in the stone. If water gets inside and the conditions are right, the stone may split.]