Underwater Landscape V

I have built fish ponds everywhere I’ve lived since 1989, and installed a few extras for friends and family along the way. The ponds have ranged between the size of a buffet pan to the 11′ x 8′ “Lake Victoria” viewable from my studio. The urban raccoons and blue herons that thrive in Atlanta have deterred me from having anything more exotic than comets, but the antics and, believe it or not, personalities of these fish have inspired many drawings and a few works in metal. I love being able to catch the twists and turns of their darting bodies in a material that would seem to defy their softness.

The right person will give it a good home, (feed it regularly, take it for walks, etc). I repoussed the fish from a single sheet of sterling and chased each scale with a tool I carved specifically for that purpose. The fish is specially curved two ways to ensure it lays well across the upper chest and collar bones. I designed and forged the chain to mimic bubbles that the fish might blow near the surface of the water.