“Sid”

SOLD

23″ high x 14″ wide x 19″ deep

Hand-built, one of a kind ceramic, oxide and pigment patina.

I considered titling this piece more formally, maybe something like “Vast New Territory.” But I’d been calling this apparition ‘Sid’ while sculpting him, so it seemed impersonal not to continue calling him by his nickname (short for ‘sentient’ + ‘id’, or, ‘Steve’s id’). He represents the archetypical primal man I imagine still living deep inside me, in the root layer of my subconscious; from way back when hominids first ‘awakened’ to self-awareness. It is Sid who continually reminds me how amazing it is just to be alive and aware of the cosmos.

Sid has a voracious appetite for exploration. At the time I sculpted him, I felt that ‘Vast New Territories’ were opening up for me artistically. This got Sid all excited, and he wanted to walk beside me as I explored this new territory; to fast forward through the millenia and materialize into this time and place. So here he is, manifested into a new fleeting reality, joining me on an exposed mesa to scan the bright, boundless, virgin territory all around us. Which way should we go? As I fret over the “importance” of choosing the “right” path, Sid’s exuberance for exploration reminds me to stay present in the moment, no matter the path.