Design Development
Most of my involvement in this project was in the development of the design and properly communicating it to our India Team. Michael and I worked together to get the designs together as we were only given about a month to finish the sculpture. Despite the time crunch, this project was definitely a memorable experience for me.
Ideation
It all started with Michael’s sketch on a hotel memo pad.
This served as a jump-off point in creating the 3 main components of the sculpture - The Ark, Mt. Ararat and the Dove of Peace
The Ark & Mt. Ararat
Ark References
Noah’s Ark had been depicted in so many ways by several artists and builders. However, there was a common thread among all the images - the ark looks like a typical ship/boat with a house-like structure on its deck. We wanted to ark to be easily recognizable so we decided not to veer away from this common look.
Mt. Ararat References
The final resting place of Noah’s ark is believed to be on Mt. Ararat and that’s why Michael created this composition of the ark perched on the peaks of the mountains. The mountain is also a national symbol and considered sacred by the Armenian people. In sketching it, I looked at different images of the mountain including a Google Earth image. I made sure we captured the general contours of the mountain that make it recognizable. Another key factor was that the mountains need to be represented from Armenia’s viewpoint where the higher peak is on the right side.
Drawings and Iterations
The drawings above were my main contribution to the project. From Michael’s memo pad sketch, I studied the main elements and created a more detailed drawing of the sculpture. We went through 4-5 iterations before we got the right look and proportion that we were happy with.
The Dove of Peace
Dove References
The Dove of Peace is another important element in the biblical story of Noah’s Ark. It is said that a dove with an olive branch came to Noah and at that moment, he knew that the flood had already receded.
We looked at different dove sculptures in various positions as reference before Michael and I sketched a version that had more detail compared to the previous doves he’s done for his other sculptures. Despite the added detail, we still made sure that it had a raw handmade feel to it.
Drawings
The dove was a combination of my drawings and Michael’s. He first sketched the general composition while I added the details. He later gave the drawing a raw & unfinished look to make sure it is on brand. We also did a cutout of the dove with the olive branch to make sure the scale and proportion are correct.
The olive branch was an easy addition to the sculpture as we already have an existing collection that our India Team knew by heart.
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