Edward Scissor-Crow

Scarecrows--They Aren't What They Used to Be!

I have always loved challenges, especially when I have a pile of stuff to create something that has no pattern, no real identity, and has never before existed. Give me a theme and a pair of scissors, and I am well on my way. They say, "someone's trash is someone else's treasure" and for me that is absolutely true.

I remember taking on the challenge to create a scarecrow for a community event that was based on a movie theme. This was so much fun, and it was for such a wonderful cause: to support the art community in our local area. I started out by gathering left over supplies that I had kept from a multitude of projects. I found left over casting material from creating large scale sculpted high-relief figures for a hotel in Montgomery, Alabama. I had wire left over from showing teenagers how to create wire sculptures where I taught Art. I had a stack of hay for autumn decorating. I had the shucks from fresh corn-on-the-cob that I had made for a family gathering recently. And my best tool ever, scissors, were perfectly poised to snip each medium as I started the process of creating.

I remember worrying that someone would think I was doing something super sinister in my garage; after all, from a distance, this body I was creating had been suspended by a bungee cord from the rafters and looked like he had seen much better days. But, inch by inch, as I cut and snipped wires, and twisted them together, he began to look more and more real. I carefully wrapped the sculpted wire with dripping wet sections of plaster infused gauze that I cut in one foot sections and dipped into water. After squeezing out the excess water, I gently stretched the fiber and rubbed it in place. Carefully, I twisted the body and head to make more of a dramatic impact. Finally, it was time to add the fun part, the finishing layers of paint, the carefully cut out corn shucks and, of course, the scissor fingers. It was a painful process of securing each corn shuck to the figure individually with hot glue to design his suit. I snipped some more to carry the lines into the designs dreamt for the occasion. To carry the theme a bit further, hay was added, and was also sticking out in strategic locations to create the feeling of a real scarecrow. Hay was also snipped to make messy hair and glued on too. Even a backdrop was carefully created by carving sections of dried plaster cloth with scissors and adhering them to a leftover section of foam board with more plaster and gauze. To set the stage for this artful scene, a topiary was neatly trimmed using scissors on scraggly plant and brought into the scene. It was the perfect touch as I positioned Edward Scissor-Crow's scissor hands over the top, as if he was carving out the topiary himself.

The process of creating this first serious scarecrow on a theme led me to create six more in the years that came afterwards. I cut and sculpted out: "Sam Houston-Crow", "The Amazing Spider Crow-Man", "Mystical Dragon-Crow", "Kiss-A-Crow", "Rosie-the-Riveter-Crow" and "American Gothic-Crow". I have also taught this process to teenagers creating scarecrows on a theme to promote "No Place for Hate". Each of these years, part of the passion has been to carve out a better world by supporting causes that enrich the community and drive people together in a friendly, inclusive environment. Though I would love to say that I had been able to keep these fabulously fun scarecrows, there just wasn't enough room in our gallery for them. Hopefully, they have left an indelible imprint in the minds of the viewers--that of favorable images passionately promoting good causes for great and grateful people.