Venus of Willendorf

Venus of Willendorf

One of the most famous early images of a human is the “Venus of Willendorf” found in 1908 by archaeologist Josef Szombathy in an Aurignacian loess deposit in a terrace above the Danube River near the town of Willendorf Austria.  The statuette is carved from oolitic limestone not local to the area found and tinted with red ochre.  It is presumed to be carved elsewhere using flint tools. 

Originally thought to date from approximately 15,000 to 10,000 BC, a revised analysis done in 1990 estimates the carving to date from 24,000 to 22,000 BC.  It stands at just over 4 1/2 inches and seem to be meant to hold in one’s hand since she is lacking feet to stand upright. 

Taking the name “Venus” causes resistance in some modern analyses.    Many similar female statuette and images are collectively referred to as “Venus” figures although they pre-date the mythological figure of the goddess Venus by millennia.  This idealization of the female figure has traits of fatness and fertility that may have been highly desirable in the harsh ice-age environment in which the person who made this statue lived. 

It has been suggested that she was carved as a fertility idol due to the exaggerated breasts and genital areas.  She may also have been an early portrayal of “Mother Earth” and prominent female deity.  Unlike today, women in the Paleolithic society must have played a more dominant role.  The figurines and images of women are outnumber those of men supporting this theory.

Do you have any thoughts regarding this wonderful sculptural representation of our early cultural heritage?  Please send us your comments.  We would love to hear from you!

 

Welcome Spring

We anxiously await the arrival of springtime here in the Midwest.  Small glimpses of warm breezes and green grass let us know it’s not far away….

 

Spring by William Morris

Spring am I, too soft of heart
Much to speak ere I depart:
Ask the Summer-tide to prove
The abundance of my love.

All Birds Welcome

 

“One Tall Skinny Lawyer from Illinois”

I loved the quote. Anderson Cooper said it last night on CNN about Barack Obama who was inaugrated the 44th President of the United States today:  “One tall skinny lawyer from Illinois paying homage to another tall skinny lawyer from Illinois.”

It’s an exciting day for America, a new possibility, and it’s nice to be from Illinois!  We will always be proud of our first “tall, skinny lawyer from Illinois” who became the  16th President of our country, Abraham Lincoln.  At Statue.com we have numerous sculptures of this fine man, and we think this is the perfect time to get one if you don’t already have one.

I especially don’t think any classroom should be without one. We also offer a bust of our new President Barack Obama so consider that as well.

God bless our new America!  And I leave you with a favorite quote from Abe Lincoln:

“I desire so to conduct the affairs of this administration that if at the end, when I come to lay down the reins of power, I have lost every other friend on earth, I shall at least have one friend left, and that friend shall be down inside me.”

Statue.com  100 N. Main St.  Edwardsville, IL   62025  (618) 692-1121

 

the David

facial features of David

bust of David

full figure of David

My oldest daughter is blessed to be in Europe right now on an 11 day college Fine Arts trip.  The first email I received from her said:  “Please send more money!” as  reality of the value of  the US dollar versus the Euro ascended upon her.  Of course this request made me smile to myself; so classic was it.

Her email today tells me they have left Paris and are now in Florence. “Saw the David again today. Always a brilliant experience,” she tells me and I hear already the sound of a seasoned world travel.   Of course this makes me smile to myself.

Yes.  “The David“, kind of like Madonna, never needs a second name. At Statue.com we sell this famous statue in various sizes, as a full figure,  as a bust, and even just as parts, which make wonderful design elements for the artist, drawing class, or interior decorator.

Call us at 618- 692-1121 if you need any help in choosing the perfect David for you!

 

The Oval Office from Above (& Your Office from Below)

Not only is it a new year, but it is also exciting to watch a new presidential family moving into the American White House. I got a kick out of this Wikipedia photo from the Oval Office, and a bit of history about the decorative changes various presidents made in this famous office.  Being in the statuary business, I’m interested to hear what art work President-elect Obama will bring in to take the place of President Bush’s Remington sculptures.

This is the  perfect season for you too, to  bring in striking visual changes to your home or office.  Soon Mr. Obama will be looking up to see this patriotic eagle ceiling medallion with an Art Moderne touch.  How about this one below for your office?   Or perhaps the   absolutely brilliant golden focal point  for your dining room ceiling!?

 

We sell oodles of ceiling medallions in   different shapes, sizes and colors at Statue.com.

Make a statement.  Be the king or queen of your own domain!

 

Cool Clocks

the clock strikes twelve
lips connect
and are frozen together

                    Jamilah Smith

Happy New Years Everyone!!!!

from all of us at Statue.com.

You can’t buy Time, but you can always buy a cool clock at Statue.com.

*Student Haiku by Jahmila Smith courtesy of:  http://www.worldhaikureview.org/3-1/haikuined_dl.shtml

 

Feeling like an Elf

I think my co-workers will agree.  We feel like elves. We have spent the last week at Statue.com really kicking into high gear to make sure all the boys and girls, grown-up and small, received their packages under the tree. 

In the office we’ve been busy as elves taking orders, helping phone customers decide on gifts, processing orders, & emailing out tracking numbers. 

In the shop we’ve been casting statues, applying finishes, waxing and hand-buffing , packing and shipping out the door just as fast as we can! 

I think we’re worn out!

We hope you enjoy your statues, and want you to know that we are really glad that you have chosen to do business with us  this holiday season! We appreciated working together with you.  Have  a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah or blessed Holiday event, however you celebrate.

Come back and see us!

Andrew, Gloria, Donna, Bob, Lydia, Carol, Anne, Josh    

Statue.com

(618)692-1121 or toll free: (877)675-2634

(ps.  if you’re a real elf, please don’t be mad about the gnomes.  We just sell so many cool ones  here at Statue.com!)

 

What a long strange trip it’s been…..

Statue.com is glad to introduce artist Number 2  in our  Music Legends statue collection!  “Come and join the party ever day,” sang Jerry Garcia and his band in the first original song on their first album.

Born in San Francisco on August 1, 1942, he joined with Ron “Pigpen” KcKeman in the early sixties playing a folk bluegrass style of music and forming the “Grateful Dead” band in 1965.

Over the next three decades, the Dead would extend its repertoire to include many different musical idioms, and would bring its wild show and entourage to cities across America and Europe, but throughout it all, the band’s music would remain rooted in what was eventually called the “San Francisco Sound”.

The Dead carried the spirit of the Sixties counterculture through three decades of touring and a dozen more studio and live albums.  The “hippies” lived on in the form of Deadheads.

Another lasting legacy of the Dead was its influence on a new generation of jam bands which adopted improvisation as the basis for their music.  The Dead’s music endures because it is so unique. No other band brought together jazz-inspired improvisation and all of rock’s root idioms – country, blues, folk, R&B – into a live performance art with such wide and sustained appeal.

Jerry passed away on August 9, 1995.  What a long strange trip it’s been…..

 

“One World ~ One Love”

What makes a Music Legend?

Limited Edition Bob Marley Bust

At Statue.com we are interested in seizing the opportunity  that our history, experience, and artistic potential afford,  to create new statuary products for our global customers.    We are excited to introduce the first statue in our new collection of Music Legends!

As possibly  the first third world musician to break on to a global, world-wide music scene, we are proud to offer this limited edition bust of Bob Nesta Marley as the  first piece in a groundbreaking collection.   Cast solid in a heavy composite of hydrostone and polymers, this unique art piece is hand-finished in a rich bronzed patina.

As the artist of this piece, and a huge Bob Marley fan, I am happy to share a few pictures of the process from the gathering of images for proportional reference, preliminary clay work up, and sculpting to the final cast product. 

 I listened to my share of Bob Marley music along the way, and watched Youtube videos to try and catch his character.

The mood that I have sought  to portray in this sculpture  is “One World ~ One Love,”  the very essence of Bob Marley’s message for me.

This limited edition sculpture will arrive in a specialized box with a Certificate of Authenticity signed and numbered by the artist.  Be one of the first to own,  or give a statue of,  not only one of the  foremost music legends of our time, but also a beloved champion of social justice for all peoples.

~Lydia Shalanko

 

Gather Round

Gathering around the table.  That’s what I think of when I reminisce about my childhood Thanksgivings.  

I have long admired how some people seem to have retained a vast storehouse of  detailed memories from  childhood, while I feel I recall just very small snippets of odd things.   If I  squint really hard at my youthful holidays, I see  my family gathered around the Scrabble table.

Nautical theme Chess Set

 I don’t remember the Thanksgiving food, or the plates, or even the holiday  decor (save for those fun 60′s Pilgrim and Indian candles.)  My mind is funny that way. 

 I know the spread was beautiful & tasty  (knowing my Mom:), but boy did I enjoy those games of Scrabble!

So.  Gather round the holiday game table.  Perhaps this is the Thanksgiving or Christmas to teach  those kids of yours the game of chess.  Entice them with some different characters from our Statue.com chess collection.

Endangered Species Chess Set