David Shankland and a cherry wood bust of Samuel Clemens, better known as 'Mark Twain'.
Of the many things to see, do, enjoy at the Metroparks fall fest (Brecksville) was meeting people. Some people were enthusiasts of something, they enjoyed what they did, and they were eager and pleasant in explaining and describing the history and mechanics of their interest and craft.
The man worked on and off, over years, on a personal subject of interest. Mark Twain is an American writer and personality of continuous international appeal. To his right hand was his model, and in front of him is his finished masterpiece.
David Shankland sculpts naturalistic subjects and contemporary subjects. [Not pictured, is a large parqueted bivalve, a clam.] But people do not recognise things that are. I heard one child ask his father about the bust, the father answered, "Albert Einstein". A child with more knowledge asked his mother did Twain die before the Titanic episode? Some of the public is inquisitive, some appreciative, some interested, some with a modicum of knowledge and intelligence, and some as dumb as rocks.
Shankland's pieces were smooth, one soft, often elegant, curve after another. I was looking at a slotted spiral. Then i saw the label on the base, 'Peas on Earth'. It was an empty pod. He kept the peas in his pocket, they tended to disappear. He dropped the peas into the groove, and they slid into place. Wonderful.
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postscriptum: the man also sculpts totem poles, see [click]
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