“Give me a field and it’s pure inspiration,” sculptor Thomas Sayre says. He likes stainless steel, sure, but at the moment, Sayre is into earthcasting, in which he “digs holes in Mother Earth, pours or sprays concrete into their shapes, and then stands them up against Father Sky.” Sayre wants to marry human intention and the grain of nature, which means that a 16-foot-tall, 30,000-pound piece is “small and intricate” for this artist who uses complex detailing and structural engineering to build his creations. Oh, and a very large crane.
Feature image: The massive sculptures that Sayre casts in dirt worldwide, including Flue in Kinston (above, right), begin as designs in an old plumbing supply warehouse in downtown Raleigh.
Learn, plant, celebrate, and discover what North Carolina has to offer this month.
Warren Wheeler’s love of open spaces inspired him to start his own airline, blaze a trail into history, and pass his knowledge on to a new generation of pilots.
For our editor in chief, spring sunshine means marveling at a masterpiece.
At the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh, some of French sculptor Auguste Rodin’s bronze figures live in the outdoors, steadfast yet ever-changing.
