Big Idea Studios
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about the artist

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Remember when you were a kid and went exploring behind your house or on a hike, scrambled over some huge boulders, shimmied up a tree, crawled into a cave? It’s that primal feeling of discovery and excitement and simple child-like joy that I want to recreate with my pieces. My big work is essentially glorified playground equipment, experiential work, a towering thing to walk through, an inner room to explore, a feature to climb or sit on, maybe even conquer, a place from which to view the world, something  fun to touch.

I strive to make sculpture that is inviting and accessible—participatory,
experiential work that grabs folks viscerally--on a gut level, while still
retaining a degree of cleverness that allows the form to be read on
several planes—joy and beauty with just a hint of intellect. Art that is
literally accessible—that’s what I’m after.

A Montana native, I now call Portland, Oregon home. After more than two decades of evolution, my pieces have steadily grown in size with the aim of ultimately creating large-scale sculptural environments. My forms derive from an abstraction of the figure as well as naturally occurring forms. Big Leg Mama, a concrete seated figure owned by the city of Puyallup, WA, is my largest work to date and stands just over 8 feet tall, even though the ceramic concept model was only 8 inches high!.

The concept model gallery is a catalog of my vision for monumental
“participatory” sculpture—accessible work on a grand scale. While in
actuality the pieces depicted stand no more than a few inches high, each is a proposal for a sculptural work that could stand anywhere from 1 to 40 feet tall, depending on the needs of the client.






​"I like to think of my big work as essentially glorified playground equipment..."
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I also enjoy designing modern ceramic pieces and will be soon increasing the number of pieces I have available in bronze. Anyone wishing to order a piece for bronze production from the many designs I have available or wishing to commission a brand new custom piece in ceramic, bronze or concrete may contact me directly at [email protected]

Leslie B. Ariel, Sculptor

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BigIdeaStudios.com  :  Copyright © 2016
  • Home
  • About
  • Gallery
    • Existing Outdoor Work
    • Designs for large public works
    • Bench and Chair Designs
    • Ceramic work
    • Bronze
  • Contact