Through Your Spotting Scope
Through Your Spotting Scope is the first Alaska Percent for Art Program commission for an Alaska State Park. It’s in the Kesugi Ken Interpretive Center which is on a knoll at the foot of Curry Ridge in Denali State Park, mile 135.4 Parks Highway, just north of the Denali South Viewpoint.
The wall sculpture was made using techniques I’ve developed over the last 25 years for making heat tinted, engraved steel pictures. Heat tints are the oxidation colors resulting from heating the metal to various temperatures; the same colors a blacksmith uses to judge the heat when tempering a tool.
The visual effect from these pieces is quite dynamic. The steel surface is ground using carefully chosen abrasives and deliberate movements to model the forms and create patterns and textures. These give the metal a great sense of depth and movement that changes dynamically with the angle of light and your point of view.
Though it needs to be seen in person to fully experience this dynamic effect, the following images will give you a sense of what you’ll see if you visit the Interpretive Center. The wall sculpture depicts Denali and its surrounding landscape, the Culitna river, some of the animals found in Denali State Park, and some of the parks cultural uses.
The wall sculpture was made using techniques I’ve developed over the last 25 years for making heat tinted, engraved steel pictures. Heat tints are the oxidation colors resulting from heating the metal to various temperatures; the same colors a blacksmith uses to judge the heat when tempering a tool.
The visual effect from these pieces is quite dynamic. The steel surface is ground using carefully chosen abrasives and deliberate movements to model the forms and create patterns and textures. These give the metal a great sense of depth and movement that changes dynamically with the angle of light and your point of view.
Though it needs to be seen in person to fully experience this dynamic effect, the following images will give you a sense of what you’ll see if you visit the Interpretive Center. The wall sculpture depicts Denali and its surrounding landscape, the Culitna river, some of the animals found in Denali State Park, and some of the parks cultural uses.
