Otolith

I finished “Otolith” yesterday, but inspiration for the piece goes back to childhood memories of collecting fish bones on the shore of Lake Huron. I was, am, drawn to the bones for their interesting shapes. They end up bleaching on window-ledges or lost in various drawers. Over the years I’ve used some of them for assemblage sculpture. Eventually, they get tossed into the garden to return to the earth. The carp skull in this image was taken from a series of photographic references (complete fish skulls are almost impossible to come by serendipitously). The idea of the otolith, earbone or ear stone, fascinates me with its associations:

“Otoliths are part of the fish’s inner ear, allowing fish to hear and sense vibrations in the water and providing a sense of balance so they may better navigate their surroundings.”

NOAA Fisheries

I hope you enjoy this piece. It is available for purchase. If you are interested, the details are on my website Collector’s Catalogue. If you’d like to see other works for sale, including prints, please visit my web store.

Thanks for visiting.

Richard