Angelus

57″ x 18″ x 6″

Today clocks and watches, Fitbits and iPhones, let us mark time. In bygone days bells did the job. Whether atop churches or town halls they were also used to celebrate as well as to mourn. Though only a child, I’ll not forget the excitement roused by the near constant ringing of bells throughout Baltimore neighborhoods when World War II ended. Neither will I forget their toll during the burial of JFK.
Even in our high tech world, bells have their place. While walking the bustling streets of the financial district of New York bells sounded at noon. Many churches still ring bells three times daily, at 6AM, Noon, and 6PM. That devotion that harkens back to the time when an angel announced to Mary that she would soon conceive. The ringing is an invitation for hearers to pause in the midst of the day’s activities and to recall the sacred mystery in which we are all involved.
This is a door bell, albeit one that makes a statement at anyone’s front door. It is made from discarded industrial waste. You will recognize the bell as a gas cylinder, the type that provides oxygen for patients or acetylene for welders. It has been sawed in half to make a golden bell. A web of steel tubing holds it as well as the green leaves made from pressed steel. The bell rests atop a piece of steel salvaged from a discarded plow blade. Did you notice the bird atop the bell? I sculpted it in solid bronze. The clapper that hangs to the left of the frame is made from a piece of hard wood, following the Buddhist traditions.
This sculpture reminds the hearer that there is something sacred about the person who knocks at their door.

I want to express my gratitude to Doug Adams (the master of bell making with discarded industrial waste) for his inspiration and help.