This was my my second sculpture. A walnut tree had been donated to the Eureka College Art Department. I told my professor, Wayne Forbes, that I wanted from “here” to “here” on the tree. He thought it was very funny and expected that I would not carve such a large sculpture but to amuse me had the piece cut out of the tree. It took me a year but as you can see, I wasn’t kidding.
I used a chain saw much of the time. The wood was not dry so it had a very strong smell. The cracks in the wood resulted from not drying it out in a slow manner. I think they add interest to the surface.
I was interested in forms where you could not tell if it was one single entity or two or more that were intertwined. (I took much chiding about going through an “intestinal” phase.) The result is a hug. The name is from Carmina Burana which we were singing in chorus at the time – Give me Kisses. If you know the proper spelling, please let me know! The piece was made so that it could be flipped and shown in different ways, although the pictured view is the one I like best.
| Completed: | 1978 |
| Dimensions: | 27″ x 24″ x 20″ |
| Materials: | Walnut |
| Collection: | Property of the Artist, Deb Vandenbroucke |
