Michael Binkley – Artist Spotlight

THREE GRANITE MOAI

By Michael Binkley

In the spring of 2009, I received an email from a gentleman who wanted me to carve three Moai sculptures for the house he was building in Whistler, BC, Canada. We agreed I would carve them six feet tall and from locally quarried Hardy Island grey granite.

Each Moai head was to be unique, but they had to retain the iconic features of the originals. And they had to be finished in time for the Vancouver Olympics in February, 2010.

I ordered the three granite blocks from the quarry and had flat bottoms and the bridge of their noses cut to save on my carving time. I began carving outside my studio door until such time as they were light enough for me to move them inside and onto my turntable. I used the fretting method for the bulk removal, then shaved the granite with my diamond blades. I had to experiment a lot with different blades before finding the right matrix for this particular type of granite — another reminder that not all granites are created equal, and not every diamond blade will cut a particular type of granite. I finished the sculptures using four-point T&H bushing chisels.

I completed the third sculpture at the end of October, but mitigating circumstances forced me to delay delivery until early December. It was a clear sunny afternoon as three, two-ton granite Moai heads strapped to a flatbed truck attracted some curious glances traveling up the Whistler highway from Vancouver.

My patron decided to install the three sculptures in a row in front of the house and there they stood for the Olympics. He was very proud that they were the center of attention for photo ops with many visitors from around the world.

You can see more of Michael’s work at: binkleysculpture.com