Q: Tell us a bit about yourself!
Although I go by @ammonite, surprise surprise, it is not my real name. That would be Daniel Doyle. I am a native of Dublin on that little island that looks like a teddy bear off the far west of Europe. I come from a large family of ten children and now I am married and have one son along with my wonderful wife Clodagh.
Although I am a professional sculptor and artist I do many things on the side to keep the wolves from the door. Luckily it is usually something creative from making projects in wood and other materials to video production.
Q: What is your art background?
I have always been making things but I remember in my early teens I really got into oil painting. After school, I went to art college with the intention of becoming an illustrator of book covers. After a few weeks, I discovered the sculpture department and quickly changed to that pursuit. It was so enjoyable learning all the processes and materials. The possibilities were very liberating.
The week I finished art college I got a chance invitation to go to Denmark and help make a large sandcastle. Since I had no plans for the rest of my life I jumped at the opportunity. Even though I grew up close to the beach I never gave sand much thought as a material to build with and figured what the hell.
The idea of using sand to build a castle soon bored me and I began trying to make more organic forms and figures. I was soon hooked on it as a material as I knew I had so much to learn and discover, it can be very addictive in that way. Over the years I have travelled the world to take part in competitions, festivals and other events as the art-form developed international appeal. Through sand, I also met many ice and snow sculptors and soon was able to try my hand at those.
The ephemeral nature of these materials really intrigues me. I look at them as performance art with a solid outcome, You have a fixed window of time and there are so many environmental and material variables that it really keeps you on your toes. The finished piece is like the fruits of a jamming session. I like to start with just a basic concept and allow the sculpture to form as I do what I can to help. It is very important for me to keep the creative process going all the way through.
The fact that it is ephemeral is also quite freeing. Nobody can own the physical sculpture except the beholder, in their mind's eye.
Whatever the material my style is ever-changing based on all of the reasons listed above.Even though I have been sculpting for over 26 years I still learn with every sculpture and enjoy pushing myself to try something new. I embrace my failures as it is where I learn the most. Luckily my work won't be around too long to remind me or my audience of them.
Q: How long have you been in cryptoart/ NFTs, how did you discover them and what has been your experience so far?
I am relatively new to cryptoart and NFTs but have been aware of them since the Cryptokitty days. I really thought back then is was a passing fad. But now, like trading cards and the art market in general I can see its long term value. My blog on Hive has been a personal journey of me trying to document all the ephemeral sculptures I have made, giving them a new life on the blockchain. These works have long since disappeared and all that remains are the photographs and the memories. When I first heard of NFT art I did not know if it was something for me. I didn't want to just throw myself in without first giving it a lot of thought.
Having had time to think I realised that my work is a great fit for NFTs. So much Ephemeral work is produced each year and I hope that I can attract more of my friends to help grow this sub-genre of NFTs.
For me, the NFT of the sculpture is the embodiment of the piece and whoever holds it becomes part of the community of these art-forms. Preserving their history.
Q: Any new art or upcoming projects you would like to tease?
I am just about to 'drop'. I would prefer to say 'gently place' my newest NFT in the showroom. It is based on a sand sculpture I made about the shower scene in Hitchcock's 'Psycho'. I always loved this scene and the intrigue behind it. You can read my post all about it Here.
It is about who actually directed the scene and the image is a remix of the piece. I will be including unlockable content which I am working on right now.
Q: What are your top three favorite pieces of art you have tokenized on NFT Showroom?
My catalogue of NFTs will continue to grow. For now, my gallery seems quite sparse
Evolution
My musing on the creation of life. 10 additions.
Robot of future's past
A bit of steampunk that was created in the heart of Copenhagen. 20 additions.
Gift of the gab
This is my first tokenized piece and it is, as far as I know, the first piece of NFT sand sculpture ever created. There is one addition.
Each Featured Spotlight artist will now also get their own popup gallery in cryptovoxels!
You can check out @ammonite's cryptovoxel space Here
Find @ammonite:
Since I discovered Hive I have given up on most other social networks. I still have @fleetingsculpt on Twitter but I want Hive to be the go-to place for all things @ammonite on the internet. As the ecosystem builds out with things like NFTshowroom and the SPKnetwork I will have everything I need for my creative process. Hive and NFTshowroom are perfect for NFTs. Low fees and decentralised to the max. There are amazing artists and discerning collectors. What else could I want?
Thanks for this opportunity. Sorry if I went on a bit, It really was a great honour to be spotlit.
Visit the site and browse art: https://nftshowroom.com/
You can follow us on
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NftShowroom
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nftshowroom/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3iRvtv3A7EAGRcZMYGJmHw
Visit our virtual gallery in Cryptovoxels: NFT Showroom Exhibition
For any questions or support please visit us in discord NFT Showroom discord
Excellent artist, his art is spectacular.
@tipu curate
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Thank you very much for the spot light. That cryotovoxel gallery looks cool. I must experiment with it more as my collect builds out.
I've been following him for years now and it is some of my favourite art. His posts are excellent and a lot of that is his explanations or life musings that go along with them.