Riccio Sea Thimbles

The oceans are the reservoirs of life, filled with mystery
and beauty. Our kinship with the ocean runs deep.

Every Riccio Sea Thimble is a one-of-a-kind diorama based on
marine life. The series is based on a new miniature format that
took two years of preparation.

The thimble format that unifies this series also serves as a
foundation upon which I build each mini-diorama, using the life forms as elements of composition. While I have hand-carved each tiny organism out of wax and cast it in bronze to serve as a master pattern, every thimble in the series is unique. I place the elements one at a time, by hand, posing and modifying them as needed. The process involves choices and careful hand work. Sometimes one piece can combine more than 100 individual elements into a single finished statement.

My background in Biology is ever-present in my work.
There were already a few tiny marine creatures in my menagerie.
Now I had to add a lot more, and scale them to this new standard.
The plants and invertebrates have multiple versions of posture and growth stages. The fish and crabs reflect a variety of body forms and textures. I am still adding more sea life as the series evolves.

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