ARTcnet.com Presents Canadian and Israeli Sculptor of Biblical stories Naomi Spiers

	Naomi Spiers
	Biblical bronze sculpture
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To me, the characters in the Bible are not just historical or religious figures. They are real people whose stories are archetypes of human experience and with whose feelings we can all identify. I usually choose to portray them at a dramatic moment, frequently at the pivotal point of their stories - the moment of decision, realization, testing, transcendence. I try to enter into the emotions of my subjects as I work. I feel their tension and action in my own body while, at the same time, my brain is busy organizing the forms from an abstract point of view as a satisfying design from all sides and angles. In most pieces, there is a strong spiral element which leads the viewer to walk around the sculpture. No one view ever tells the whole story. This makes the pieces difficult to photograph, but it also discourages people from placing them in niches or up against walls. Of course I sculpt other subjects - birds and animals, portraits and contemporary people - but I always return to the Bible for inspiration. Bronzes: Bronze is the sculptural medium with the fewest limitations. I usually work directly in wax and then make a rubber mould from the wax original in order to produce wax copies for the edition of ten. A wax is needed for each bronze as the sculptures are cast by the lost wax process. Each copy is slightly different because I work over each one by hand and change a few details. I only make one bronze at a time. If I sell one, I cast one. Since I have much foundry experience, I complete the finishing and patina myself.
Biblical Sculpture below Please click on the sculpture for enlargements and details more Biblical bronze sculpture including Biblical animals \| Biblical Papercuts

Naomi Spiers: Jonah and the Fish
$4500
17 1/4" x 13 ½" x 8 ½"; 44cm x 34 1/4 cm x 21 ½ cm; bronze edition of ten; irregular hexagon walnut base is 11" x 9 1/4" x 2"; 28 cm x 23 ½ cm x 5 cm; bronze edition of ten; Shipping, handling and insurance at cost.

"And the Lord spoke unto the fish and it vomits out Jonah upon the dry land." - Jonah 2:11. The story of Jonah is about forgiveness and is read on Yom Kippur. The sculpture represents the moment when Jonah realizes that he has been forgiven for his attempts to avoid his mission to Ninaveh and that he will be given a second chance. He looks very surprised and rather ridiculous. The fish just looks disgusted.
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Naomi Spiers: Elijah and Elisha
$4500.00
13 ½" x 14 ½" x 6 ½"; 34 ½ cm x 37 cm x 16 ½ cm; bronze edition of ten; walnut base is 12" x 7 5/8" x 1 ½"; 30 ½ cm x 19 ½ cm x 4 cm; Shipping, handling and insurance at cost.

"So he departed thence, and found Elisha, the son of Shaphat, who was ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen before him and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed by him and cast his mantle upon him." - 1st Kings 20:19. Elisha is dismayed and astonished as the cloak envelops him and he feels the spirit of prophecy possess him. No-one asked him whether he wants the job. By contrast, Elijah is confident and purposeful. The cloak, vehicle of the spirit, dominates them both.
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Naomi Spiers: Noah and the Dove
~~$6,800.00~~ $5,800.00 On Sale!
31" x 7" x 7 3/4"; 79 cm x 18 cm x 20 cm; bronze edition of 10; A base would be included if desired; shipping, handling and insurance at cost.

"And the dove came in to him at eventide; and lo in her mouth an olive-leaf freshly plucked;" Genesis 8:11; Noah is trying to catch the dove, which is being a bit elusive. I did this piece in response to Israel's peace negotiations, as the dove has become the symbol of peace. Noah is leaning so far back in his efforts to catch the wild dove that he may fall flat on his tail-bone. But the subject of the bronze is not whether Noah is going to achieve peace (catch the dove), but rather, his intense desire for it.
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Naomi Spiers: Jacob and the Angel
$3,000.00
16 ½" x 5" x 5"; 42 cm x 13 cm x 13 cm; bronze edition of ten; walnut base is 4 3/4" x 4 3/4" x 2"; 12 cm x 12 cm x 5 cm; Shipping, handling and insurance at cost.

"And Jacob was left alone: and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day." - Genesis 32:25. The angel arrived before Jacob in a dive-bomb attack as in the airforce. Jacob wakes in alarm, tangled in his cloak in which he had been sleeping and begins to defend himself.
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Naomi Spiers: Ruth and Naomi
$6000.00
29 ½" x 15 ½" x 4 ½"; 75 cm x 39 ½ cm x 11 ½ cm;bronze edition of 10; A base would be included if desired; shipping, handling and insurance at cost.

"And she [Naomi] said, ‘Behold, thy sister-in-law is gone back to her people and to her gods: return thou after thy sister-in-law." Ruth 1:15 ; This is the moment just before Ruth makes her "Whither thou goest I shall go" speech. After Ruth's husband died, Naomi, Ruth's mother-in-law, tried to persuade Ruth to return to her people. Ruth refused to leave Naomi and decided to share Naomi's fate and live her days with Naomi.
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Naomi Spiers: Ruth and Naomi, small version
$3000.00
11 3/4" x 6" x 2 ½"; 30 cm x 15 cm x 6 ½ cm; walnut base is 5 3/4" x 2 3/4" x 2"; 14 ½ cm x 7 cm x 5 cm; bronze edition of 10.

See explanation above.
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Naomi Spiers: King David
$3,000.00
8 3/4" x 5" x 4 3/8"; 22 cm x 13 cm x 11 cm; bronze edition of ten; walnut base is 4 ½" x 4 ½" x 2 1/4"; 11 ½ cm x 11 ½ cm x 5 3/4 cm; shipping, handling and insurance at cost.

"A psalm of David: I will sing of mercy and justice. Unto Thee will I sing praises." - Psalm 101:1. The harp is one which appears on the fifty agarot coin. The harp that David is playing is said to be the kind of harp that King David was supposed to have played.
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more Naomi Spiers papercuts