Rivkah conveys a feeling of abundance – she is an ‘intuitive’ sculpture that was carved over a number of months from late in 2019 to early 2020. Made of translucent Italian scaglione alabaster which is almost flawless, Rivkah glows from within and her moods change with the changing light - when sunlight hits her, she comes alive.
Rivkah was created organically – she is a sculpture that is an extension of my inner being - I do not create maquettes or pre-plan the outcome of any of my sculptures – they naturally evolve. I work very ‘softly’ not trying to impose my influence too strongly, I feel alabaster is a very feminine stone – unlike marble where I have to impose my opinion much more strongly.
I start the process by chipping out the material I know I do not want and from here all the interlocking forms are created very slowly using hand rasps and files in a ‘conversation’ with the raw stone. The sculpture is then hand polished using different grades of sandpaper. There is a unique and close connection between me and what I create – they are one of my ‘family’.
Rivkah is the Hebrew name of one of my relatives.
Italian scaglione alabaster on a black granite base with brass turning pin
39 x 28 x 32 cm
Finalist
Carol Lehrer Crawford, in conversation with Sebastian Goldspink, discusses her work Rivkah. Recorded on 7 November 2021 at the 20th Anniversary Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize exhibition, Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf.
Judges of the 20th Anniversary Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize: Dr Lara Strongman (Director Curatorial and Digital, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia), Joanna Capon OAM (Art Historian, Curator and Industrial Archaeologist) and Jenny Kee AO (Artist and Fashion Designer).
Download PDF (750 KB)