St. Sweeper

St. Sweeper is driving out the bunnies and dirt devils! This 8-foot-tall aluminum sculpture is the latest creation from Joel Haas. He tells how the saint came about:

St. Sweeper was commissioned as a combination birthday and anniversary present. The client's husband sweeps but does not vacuum, dust, or mop.  He sweeps.  He loves to sweep.  Their driveway is very, very, clean--brain surgery could be performed at a moment's notice in front of their garage.  Inside the garage, he keeps a large collection of well worn brooms.
 
Medieval depictions of "St. George Slays The Dragon" inspired my design. Traditionally, St. George is depicted stabbing a spear downward at a sharp angle into a dragon about the size of a large dog.  Centuries before movies and comic books--dragons were not thought to be so large.
 
I set to work on "St. Sweeper Driving Out Dirt Devils and Dust Bunnies."  The client's husband is clean shaven and wears glasses, thus, so does "St. Sweeper" as well.


 
St. Sweeper stabs down, his broom scattering dust bunnies and dirt devils.  Both to save weight and dramatically lower wind resistance to this outdoor sculpture, the long broom handle provides the main support for the upper body, while the swirls of dirt add stability to the upper body.

Then, I faced a problem: I had not actually thought out how to make the dirt devils or dust bunnies--or even what they looked like.  This is the fun/scary/challenging/creative part of making art.I found stainless steel scrubbers at the local drug store.  I modeled them over a simple welded framework, adding doll eyes and metal washers for eyes.  Devil faces with long swirling tails provided a solution for the dirt devils.  I used doll eyes for the devils as well.

A dust bunny runs for his life!

See more of Haas' creations at his website. Link -Thanks, Joel!


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