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Wendy Ford - The Tortoise and the Hare (or Bad Hare Day)
Category: Sculpture.
Somewhat circular peyote, increasing and decreasing, was used to give the moulded form of the shell “color shields”. Between the color shields brick stitch was used. The edge of the shell was done in tubular brick stitch, and the inside of the box with the hair was made with flat peyote. The inside and outside walls of the box were done in flat peyote with a few increases and decreases to make the fold over more smooth. The underside of the box has peyote running perpendicularly to the peyote of the inside to give it more structural strength.
I chose this favorite old folktale because I love the story of how the slow and persistent turtle wins a race against the hare. In the end, the turtle wins because she’s consistent, she keeps a steady pace and she stays focused on her goal, the finish line.
Somewhat ironically, this piece has come to represent more than my interpretation of a favorite folktale. Now I see it as a perfect metaphor for the start, the long haul and the finish of any big project. I began early last fall, with an ambitious start, completing the entire shell in a few short weeks. With the holidays, I got involved in a number of other projects and let the tortoise rest for nearly a month. In January, I completed the inside of the box (metaphorically, letting the hare jump out to a lead). All through February and March, I worked nearly every day on the tail and the legs. With a week to go before my own deadline, I completed the head and the hinge.
Originally, I wanted to make a container — I love boxes. I thought it would be clever to make a “box turtle.’ The patterns on the turtle came from my head with inspiration from nature books and turtle websites, but are not supposed to be that of any particular type of turtle. The hare, in its subtle coloration, is a figment of marital imagination and meant to be subdued because it is the hare’s bad work habits that we do not want to reward; we want to keep that hare-like behavior under control, boxed up.