Roundbottomus Hippopotomus!!! 🙂
By Tim Cherry, Installed 2023
“The original commission for this piece was for a park designed for young children in Little Rock, AR. The collectors wanted to have a fun, low level, hands on interactive piece that was engaging to this age group. The hippo has many beautiful round shapes, volumes and curves that it worked beautifully with my style. Many of my sculpture titles are a play on words and I love the word hippopotamus, it is fun and silly….. a child’s word! I also wanted a title that went with the thought process of a fun children’s sculpture and completed the story with a smile…… that is how I came up with Roundbottomus Hippopotamus!!! :)”
Tim produces sculptures which not only attract the viewers eye but also the viewer’s hand. Born in Calgary, Alberta in 1965, Tim grew up in Nelson, a town located among the rugged Canadian Rockies in southeastern British Columbia. This is where he developed a love of wildlife and the outdoors.
In 1988 while Tim was living in Canada, he met noted sculptor Dan Ostermiller who invited him to visit his studio in Loveland, Co. “Ostermiller gave me the opportunity to begin my career,” Tim said. Tim then went to work in the studio of both Ostermiller and Fritz White learning the skills necessary for the sculptural process. According to Tim, “I learned direction, enthusiasm, and perseverance from Fritz White. He taught me the importance of mass and volume and gave me the confidence to keep trying different options, never quitting on a design. Fritz was, and still is a source of inspiration and a mentor.” White also gave Tim the opportunity to try stone carving in his studio. Carving alabaster, Tim began to find within it the shapes of the animals which were to become his life work, experimenting with graceful simple lines and forms.
