Woody

18" high, Edition of 12, copyright date 1999

Why Woody? As some may know I arrive at titles to my work in various ways: how I feel about a pose while sculpting it, or the particular mood the model conveys, and sometimes by how somebody responds to the finished piece. I did not know until much later after I had named "Woody" that this word connotes (shall I say) a somewhat different meaning that I intended or want this sculpture to convey. So I feel compelled to defend my case and explain how "Woody" got his name.

Has anyone seen the movie "Toy Story"? It is a great story about the relationship of a boy and his favorite toy, a wooden cowboy doll named Woody. Woody is #1 of all the toys in the child's bedroom claiming a spot on the kid's bed as his throne… until one Christmas morning when the boy gets a new toy, "Buzz Light-year", a buffed up astronaut, capable of jet propulsion, and as one can guess, Buzz takes over the #1 spot leaving Woody to land on the floor, defeated and humiliated among all the other toys.

So, what does this have to do with my sculpture? Woody began as a study from a model that I worked on with four or five other sculptors at our Community College. The model posed three different sessions and we each took our sculptures home incomplete. We were to finish the works in our own studios and bring them back for critique and discussion. I really enjoyed this pose and working on this figure and believe that I captured the anatomy of the model as well as the energy of the pose. I really enjoyed cropping the torso and was happy with the composition of the piece. Proudly I placed my 18 ½" unfired white clay sculpture on the table so that it could be viewed from all around the figure. Then it happened! Fay Wagner brings in Buzz Light-year! And worse, she places it right next to my figure so close that it cuts off one point of view. Don't get me wrong, I mean no malice, Fay is a friend and wonderful sculptor and Buzz was a great piece, about 24-15" high modeled in red clay with buffed up exaggerated musculature.
But ……..

Arriving home that evening, my husband asked how the critique went. All I could respond was, "Well, I know exactly how "Woody" feels"! And so………now you know, why I lovingly call him Woody.