You are bidding on Fierce Creatures - a pair of Copper Sea Otter Sculptures by Mark Noll!

"Your sea otter sculptures are each 14 to 17 inches long and 10 inches high, made from a sheet of old, aged copper, and created specially for this auction. Fierce creatures, you may ask? Aren't sea otters cute and cuddly like on TV?

In my day job as a workplace safety consultant, I have the pleasure visiting behind-the-scenes at the Oregon Coast Aquarium. Their raft of adolescent, male sea otters are the most likely resident to hurt the aquarists during daily care and feeding. Not the sharks (keep them well-fed and they're very docile) or any of the other animals.

The aquarists dress up in suits resembling riot gear, and synchronize dropping the last bits of food. If they don't, the otters' hand-like paws have sharp claws and the crafty buggers are known to reach into the keepers' pockets when they aren't looking! They are surprisingly large, powerful animals when you see them out of the water, and aren't easily moved for medical exams.

Hope you enjoy your pieces and please bid it up for this great cause. They have a 10-year UV-protective coating, can display inside or out, and come with a signed artist's sheet showing how they're made."

Ocean Futures Society feels so lucky to be able to offer you a chance to bid on this very special pair of Sea Otter scupltures donated by our friend, Mark Noll. It will look great hanging on your wall or in your garden!

About Mark's Artistic Process:
"Your metal nature sculpture is made from a sheet of solid copper or aluminum. The metal is repurposed, originally to be used for roof flashing. Sometimes, I use naturally-aged pieces of copper that may have been tucked away in a corner somewhere for many years.

First, I draw the rough shape on the metal and cut it out with aviation snips. Chisels, punches, hammers, and mallets bring the form to life. After polishing the surface with ultrafine steel wool, I etch it with a patina solution or wipe on an antiquing wax.

Finally, the piece is sprayed with a clear coat to preserve the colors and finish, and a glass taxidermy eye is added on some pieces. I'm self-taught and use a blend of tools from traditional metalworking, autobody work, and woodworking."

About Mark Noll, Nature Art Studios:
Mark Noll from Nature Art Studios grew up on Buzzards Bay in Massachusetts. As a boy, the shoreline and ocean were his constant companions.

Fascinated by the Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau, he attended the local college intent on becoming a marine biologist. As fate would have it, the research vessel, an old fishing boat, was always broken down and getting an internship at Woods Hole was nearly impossible! To help pay for college expenses, he began creating marine animal sculptures that made their way to the New England and Baltimore Aquariums' gift shops.

After college, he and his bride Wendy made the journey to Oregon and he put his art on hold to pursue a professional career and raise a family. The need to make art persisted and he has now found a home creating nature sculptures using repurposed metals.

He¿s been creating this metal art for a few years now and loves to experiment with different designs, tools, and patina finishes. In that short time, the fish, marine mammal, bird, dragonfly, butterfly, and guitar pieces have made their way to patrons all over the country and around the world. Ironically, his most famous patron is the legendary rock guitarist Slash. His wife Perla recently gave him a Les Paul guitar sculpture for their tenth anniversary, and it hangs in his home studio.

A family affair, wife Wendy does the calligraphy lettering on the metal signs and son Ethan has learned to make copper fish and cool masks, and is learning to build acoustic and electric guitars.