City Daily Photo Theme Day - The Creative Artisan

Ira Chaffin is a world renowned sculptor living right here in Birmingham.  He is well known for his portrait sculptures,  but today I share a sample of his carousel horse and menagerie work.  I found thepieces as beautiful as the finished pieces.  The Ira Chaffin Carousel Carving School is an amazing place to visit and photograph.

Today is City Daily Photo Theme day and photobloggers around the world are sharing creative artisans in their city.  Click HERE to see them all.

Horsing Around

"The things I make may be for others, but how I make them is for me."

                                                   - Tony Konovaloff

Jack carves carousel animals at Ira Chaffin's Carousel Carving School almost everyday he told us.  A hobby that obviously gives brings him a lot of pleasure.

Shhh, No Roaring in the Museum!

Earlier this week, I posted two photographs of my granddaughter Eva riding the carousel in Tuileries in 2007 on Paris Through My Lens. My dear blog friend Shell Sherree created a delightful watercolor of one of the photos, so I posted the orginals.

Imagine my surprise when I did my volunteer work at the Birmingham Museum of Art on Tuesday and found this majestic carousel horse on display. Made by the famous Gustav Dentzel in 1909, it is carved polychromed wood with a glass eye. It is on loan to the museum by Jimmy and Carol Filler. I composed the photo so that you could also enjoy the BMA's magnificent Bierstadt, "Looking Down Yosemite Valley".