richards poey

   

ONE RARE BIRD

Marbled Murrelet
Edition Size: Unique Piece
Material: Bronze and Mahogany
Size: 6" x 7" x 17"

In 2014 my wife and I took a week-long cruise of Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands. The ship's naturalist learned that I was a sculptor and asked me if I would be interested in sculpting a rare bird of the Pacific Northwest—the Marbled Murrelet.

This Murrelet spends its entire life in the sea, only leaving the water to mate. Then they fly inland 20 to 30 miles and make their mossy nest high in the cedar trees of the virgin forest. Like penguins the birds take turns keeping the egg warm. When the parents see that their chick is big enough, they fly off, leaving the babe to fend for itself. Somehow, the newborn's instinct directs it to fly the long journey to the sea to begin its new life. This was the first time it had gotten out of the nest!

When the foundry owner first saw the wax sculpture, he doubted that the mossy nest would cast properly, but it did. I completed the sculpture just before Christmas and shipped it to the naturalist who emailed me, "Just finished opening our gifts and I got to see the sculpture for the first time. I am extremely pleased and proud to be the owner of such a magnificent work of art. You are a master and I can't thank you enough. It is certainly the highlight of our Christmas."