Drum Circle Sculpture

All posts tagged Drum Circle Sculpture

The Fire Drum Sculpture

Posted by Amulets by Merlin on March 24, 2010
Posted in: Drum Circles, Sculpture. Tagged: , , , , , . 1 Comment

Of all the sculptures I have created thus far, the Fire Drum is the strangest. This sculpture is a bronze Djembe including ropes, rings and a goat skin head (all in bronze of course!). In the center of the drum head is a bonfire where dancers move with the rhythms of the circle. Below are the guardians, protecting the scared space; each facing one of the four directions.

Fire Drum Statue

The Fire Drum was intended to represent the entirety of the Drum Circle. In a real sense the observer is the drummer: by seeing the drum and all of the various participants you view a manifestation of what the circle is: the community coming out to celebrate music and movement, all of which is the wellspring of life itself. The drum holds the foundation: the beat and rhythms of the community. The Fire is the heart: ever changing, transforming the raw materials gathered into light (truth), heat (nourishment) and smoke (the Mystery obscured by the material world). The dancers move about the circle, keeping the time; weaving the sound into new music with every gesture.

Herne is present, with his head adorned with the stag horns that representing the Old God. Here Herne manifests are “The Lord of the Dance” as often said in song. Below Watches and Guardians do not allow themselves to become entranced with the Mystery of the Drum Circle, they gaze out from the circle, protecting the community from harm and keeping the Sacred Circle protected from the Ill Will of those that would do harm.

I once attended a drum circle where to enter it one had to pass a sign where it read:
“You are entering Sacred Ground, leave your problems here” and there was a small pot with salt. Beside it were a collection of small objects: rocks, twigs woven into twisted figures and the like. When I entered the circle I noticed the burdens people carried, the squabbles and self doubt seemed missing. I turned around to see the back of the sign: “See, you really didn’t need all that after all”.

The Fire Drum is dedicated to the Drum Circle itself, a manifestation of what beauty a community can create with care and love: ever reaching out to those of Good Will to participate and enjoy the fruit of Joy and Companionship. This sculpture is a one of a kind piece now in a private collection.

The Sleeping Drummer Statue

Posted by Amulets by Merlin on January 26, 2010
Posted in: Drum Circles, Sculpture. Tagged: , , , . 1 Comment

When first attending Drum Circles, a dear friend who simply couldn’t tear herself away from the down beat refused to withdraw to her tent after drumming ‘till four in the morning. On a blanket and just outside the circle, she curled up with her drum and fell asleep. It was an image that etched into my mind for years to come.

The Sleeping Drummer Statue
The Sleeping Drummer

Just a couple of years ago a young lady often commented the effect that drumming has on her: “I fall to sleep every time. All you guys have to do and start drumming and I am out in minutes”. Her husband chuckled over this and thought that it would be a great subject of a sculpture. He contracted a sculpture for her birthday. “Just add a cat to it” he told me. “She loves her cats!”

The result is The Sleeping Drummer. This bronze statue is over six inches long and placed on a slice of oak for a pedestal. She sleeps while hugging her drum and her trusty cat plays a rhythm that keeps her dozing.

If you would like to have a sculpture created for you simply review my how to order custom page and email me a description.

The Drum Mom

Posted by Amulets by Merlin on October 9, 2009
Posted in: Drum Circles, Sculpture, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , . 3 Comments

For many years I spent a great deal of time at various Drum Circles. If you have never attended an Open Public Drum Circle, you have missed a great deal of fun! One of the many things to watch is how children respond to the experience. They naturally move with the beat and want to participate in every way they can. As the older ones can dance and drum just as well as many of the adults, some are still a bit too little and could be easily stepped upon by spinning bodies and the like.

The Drum Mom

Typically, the Drum Mom is a position often held by one of the mothers attending. She supervises the water and snacks and watches over the health and welfare of the Drum Circle: as drummers tire and take a break through out the night (if we are doing an “all nighter”) the Drum Mom make sure that they are cared for and makes a safe place for the dancers to gather to share snacks and words.

I have attempted to capture the many aspects within the Drum Circle through my work: mostly jewelry, however I still love to revel in my first love: sculpture. I indulged myself in this one: The Drum Mom.

This piece holds an aspect of the tiny struggle between the Drum Mom and a pair of little ones who are more exuberant then for their own good. One struggles to climb into her lap while the older of the two wants to break away into the circle, armed with a shaker. The Sculpture is a tiny moment, a single beat in the Drum Circle, in fact in one’s life; yet it is an iconic position, one of honor. Every healthy Drum Circle has such people looking after each other; in this way the drummers and dancers may focus on their purpose: to generate Joy and Bright Blessings.