This piece is a turned Platonic solid, a dodecahedron. A dodecahedron has 12 pentagonal faces, 20 vertices and 30 edges. The form was totally accomplished on the lathe with many axes of turning to complete the internal spherical hollow and a matching external sphere. The external sphere was then turned on 6 axes with 12 fixings to accomplish the final form. The pentagonal faces reminded me of the pentagonal symmetry of starfish. I carved a different starfish on each face, inspired by nature and given a background reminiscent of the ocean.
Once the carving was completed the exterior was dyed with india Ink then hand painted with acyrlics using a dry brush technique. The interior was gilded with 23 K gold leaf.
While the starfish may appear brilliant in color, I used real starfish as the model for each one and the colors are pretty true to the actual biological form.
A final light coat of Krylon Fixatif was applied to protect the surface paint.
6" x 6" x 6"
