Granite 7 x 10 x 6ft 8.00 tonnes Location: Cramond Waterfront. Sold.
The Cramond Fish
A local community fundraising campaign resulted in the purchase of the Cramond Fish in April 2009 – a heartwarming experience for the sculptor who spent twenty years carving his sculptures in the grounds of Cramond Kirk. The Fish is now a landmark and looks as if it has been on the beach forever. It has been described as a wonderful evocation of the sea and marine life. It is also the earliest symbol of Christianity.
To see a short video of Ronald Rae talking about this sculpture go to Latest News on Video on the right margin and click on Ronald Rae visits his Cramond Fish.
Granite: 7x12x3ft 9.00 tons. Location: The Falkirk Wheel. For Sale.
Bison
Carved in relief in Corrennie pink granite this work was inspired by prehistoric cave art. Rae carved out the background and left the image of the bison on the natural surface of the stone. The drill hole was his first point of reference for the nostril.
Ronald Rae at the Falkirk Wheel
To see more footage of Ronald Rae with his sculptures at The Falkirk Wheel go to the right margin of this page and under Latest News on Video, click Ronald Rae at his Falkirk Wheel Exhibition Part One, Two and Three.
On Saturday 27th August 2011 Ronald Rae opened the National Trust for Scotland Threave Sculpture Garden in Dumfries and Galloway. The private view was hosted by the NTS in Threave House where George Thomas the project manager for the new Threave Sculpture Garden talked enthusiastically about the benefits of the project and his future plans for the growth of the Sculpture Garden. He then introduced granite sculptor Ronald Rae who spoke passionately about this new venture at Threave which will be an attraction for visitors and add a new dimension to the Gardens, whilst giving talented sculptors an opportunity to have their work in a beautiful setting and in the public eye. Well done NTS!
This permanent exhibition of figurative works by local sculptors including Lucianne Lassalle, Peter Dowden, Dawn Rhodes, Andy Breen and Willie Wight, is ideally sited in the Formal Garden at Threave. The sculptures are for sale. For further details on the sculptors contact Rupinder Dulay, curator at www.nailfactory.org.uk
Whether you believe in salvation or not
At least give this young kid a chance
Here he is shouting to the crowd and
The crowd with stones to throw not a soul is listening
Is this how it is with the inconsolable
They throw stones and in the throwing accuse themselves
They lynch their own shadows and hang them against white walls
Until it becomes the unbelievable
The water in the well is not fit for drinking
With guns and stones glued to their hands
The crowd moves and it grieves
And the kid tired of shouting at his own face
With anyone who will share it
He offers bread that the crowd bears what it has to bear
For this the profoundest dark
He carries an unlit candle in his heart
If it’s down to laying waste our vineyards
And armies that they are burning wheatfields
What else can we do but leave our homes
In this madness all you can think of is getting your family to safety
Anything to get away from the smell of good grain burning
Those that are doing this they should be made to stand on hot coals
The generals they should be made to eat the ash of their doing
Damn my country’s flag and damn the politics around it
Can they not see that I carry on my shoulders
Something more valuable than my own life is to me
One day my son’s life will cross yours
He too will wonder for this short distance
Was it worth it the time we took to count the cost
In your preparations for war
Have you thought closely on
The instant and on the deed
For what are you implementing
An inventory of skeletons
In whose name are you taking names
And over what distance are you expecting to come home
Why should it be an order against ourselves
That so many innocent people have to die
Instead of a surrender flag wave your comrade’s bones
This should bring us up close to our inhumanity
The sight of someone who was and now no longer is
This should be enough to weaken the resolve of going to war
The little master his village is in ruins
And here he is fishing for his own face in a puddle
Brave little bastard his ambition does not reflect his situation
Nor does his age reflect his purpose
Here at the edge of a stagnant puddle
A world situation is being resolved
He spits into his face and watches for it to come back into place
One day this puddle will be nothing more than a dry pothole in the road
And the little master’s face with no puddles to go home to
Instead he draws his face in the dust of the road
In this final video of the creation of the Baby Elephant we share the motivation of the sculptor and the joy that the Baby Elephant brought to the families who arrived on the scene just as it was finished.
To see the whole process of making this sculpture from selecting the stone in the quarry to its completion go to the right hand margin and under the heading Latest News on Video click on Ronald Rae returns to carving granite Parts One,Two and Three.
Rae was motivated to carve this sculpture having seen wild boars in the forests of Germany. Wild boars also roamed Britain in ancient times and are found incised on Pictish stones. The image of the Wild Boar in Celtic art symbolised hospitality and feasting as well as hunting. Rae worked on the sculpture during a very wet winter, literally slipping and sliding in the mud whilst carving it – and grunting – just like a wild boar! Perhaps this is why the sculpture is the very essence of a wild boar.
It is a well-loved sculpture – when on exhibition at Newby Hall, children left apple cores at its snout.
Granite: 5x8x4ft 4.00 tons. Location: The Falkirk Wheel. For Sale.
Ox
The emblem of St. Luke, the patron saint of healing. The ox is the beast of burden and of hard labour in the fields. The ox also witnessed the birth of Christ.
To see a short video that includes this sculpture go to Latest News on Video at the right hand column of this page and click Ronald Rae at his Falkirk Wheel Exhibition Part Two.
Hand-carved granite sculptures in public and private collections
