TRIBUTE TO MICHIO

TRIBUTE TO MICHIO - START

February 2, 1998

Douglas and Jane Kim have commissioned a carving from a whole moose antler. They have asked for a moose to be represented in the carving. After perusing countless photos, they settled upon a calling moose from Michio Hoshino's book, Moose.

In my opinion, they couldn't have made a better choice. Michio was a great wildlife photographer, popular in Japan and North America, whose life was cut short after being attacked by a bear in Alaska.

May this work serve as a credit and tribute to Michio's photograpy and spirit of adventure.

In designing this piece, my goal was to reflect the physical size and presence of the moose. I photocopied the image from the book in different sizes and then cut out the moose as silhouettes to try out on the antler.

It took a couple of days to determine the composition. I decided to extend the legs, rather than have the moose appear to be wading through tall shrubs, and then added a tree on the right side for balance. I also decided to use the largest silhouette possible and to reduce the sides of the carved antler in order to allow the moose antlers to project outside of the finished piece. Finally, I added three bare branches, in such a way as to assist the eye in its travels over the carving.

Shane

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