I have been cleaning up fussy bits on the heron, mainly getting crumbs off - I found this little tool at an art supply store.  It is basically a pipe cleaner on a stick but it has been a big help getting tiny cumbs out of tight places. The clay I am working with is very hard - like wax.  I'm not sure if this would work with softer clay or if it would leave marks.

 I am trying something new with the shims on the heron - let's see if this works - I printed off a photo of the heron to the actual size and then laid the clear plastic shim material over the photo. I then drew on the shim material and cut each piece.  I tested it against the actual heron and I had to trim a bit but it seems to work.  I will probably have to trim again as the first two coats of mold material will change the shape somewhat, but cutiing the shims is the most difficult part of the mold work and I'd like to get as much done ahead of time as possible.

 The shims get a coat of Trewax (floor wax) so the mold material won't adhere to them.

 I went to the foundry to watch Flight getting chased....

 This is the mystery sculpture from a few posts back.  You can also see from my clothing and the trees that this pic was taken some time back.  I've been working on her off and on for a while and thought I would share another pic of her.

 Don and I went uptown for John King and Mike Ratterman's two person show at Zephyr Gallery in Louisville Ky.  But we went to 21c first to see the golden reproduction of Michelangelo's David - here he is peering through the trees.

 John Kings show consisted of glass cut in various shapes and mounted in wood frames - as you encounter each piece you discover that some, such as this, have human proportions.  You really have to see them in person to get the full scope, really nice work.

Mike Ratterman's show concerned the ephemeral nature of life and he demonstrated this with various installations involving salt.  Ingeneous concept and extremely well done, a must see.

 A friend of ours, Marilyn Matthews and Katherine Wariner recently had a show this is a very nice watercolor by Marilyn. 

Some good news, Daphne is a finalist in a competition sponsored by the Art Renewal Center.  There were 2100 entries, 500 finalists.  The ARC promotes a more traditional type of work and has had an annual competion for a few years.  I entered last year but wasn't accepted.  Visit their website to see work from past competitions http://www.artrenewal.org/pages/contest.php?contest=2010-2011%20Salon&page=Main

My Otter water feature had to make room for a visitor - today was a scorcher so this raccoon decided to take a dip and cool off. She looks happy doesn't she?  Racoons are normally nocturnal but nursing mothers will be seen during the day looking for extra food, she is coming up for bird seed.

 I have fixed the mouse damage on the leaves and leg of the Heron and have gotten final appoval.  The next step will be the molding process.

 Another view of the finished heron.  The clump of leaves is removable so it can be molded separately from the bird.  I will cast them fairly flat - this will keep the mold as small as possible - and then the leaves can be bent out when it is cast in wax to give little more movement and interest to the piece.

 and another view.

 On the horse I use die grinders to form the nostrils and eyes.  I used a 4" angle grinder to make the folds of the neck. I then will go back over all the areas of the face hand sanding with 80 grit paper.

 I have defined the leg and should with a 4" angle grinder using a die grinder for tight places.

 The finished horse - it is currently on ebay....

 A long, long time ago I started Ophelia.  I did some tweaking of areas around the face and on the supports and now she's done. Ophelia is a character in Shakespeare's Hamlet who is in such despair she is unable to save herself from drowning. I never thought she committed suicide, she just wasn't aware of what was happening to her. There are two wedge shaped stones which keep Ophelia upright so she holds water.  These represent the rigid societal pressures which helped to shape her fate.  One of the stones can be removed in winter so that the piece can drain and freezing will not be an issue.

 Ophelia filled with water....

 Ophelia empty - well almost - there are still a couple of areas that are holding water, I need to go back in and open them up so the piece drains completely.

My nephew Danny ,who is currently attending University of Louisville, recently celebrated his 20th birthday. And that's not a cake - he's blowing out the candles of his birthday chocolate chip cookie!

Rats! Actually, Mice! And the Horse nears the finish line

 I looked at the leaves for the Heron and thought they looked funny - they had been chewed by mice! Almost all the leaves had damage, some significant.  The heron too was nibbled up one leg.  I had to move the heron out of where I had been working to a more secure location.

 I am repairing the damage to the leaves and heron.  After the damage is repaired I will be able to do final touch-up and go on to doing the mold.

 I am continuing work on the horse.  The horses back is too heavy on the right side. In this photo I have made a cut with the 4" angle grinder with a diamond wheel in that area.  I will shave this section of stone off  with the grinder to get down to where the horses side actually is.  I will make several passes shaving off a little less than I think needs to be removed at a time, just to be on the safe side.

 I decided to make the leg straight instead of bent.  The decision was made by the stone.  There is just not enough stone on that side to have the leg bent -  A horses leg comes out a little from the body when it is lifted so the leg has to be down and actually angled under his left leg.

 I have cut the mane down on this side to just a small section of mane.  I considered removing all of the mane but thought I'd leave some for interest.

 I draw on the leg of the horse but I will not carve it all the way down, I will have it disappear into the stone like the foreleg on the horses left.

 I cut the leg into the stone stopping the carving at the knee joint.

 This is the view looking down at the front legs.  The left leg is raised and is crossing the right leg.  I have just begun to carve out the stone to define the horses left leg and knee joint.  You can see there is not a lot of stone to work with.

 I have to move the leg further into the stone in order to get the line of the leg correct and so the knee joint which was defined in an earlier photo has now vanished.

 I have carved further into the stone to redefine the joint and I have begun defining the belly.

A view of the horse in the evening sun.  Not far now to finish.

A horse for Derby

With Derby approaching I thought I'd do a horse emerging from stone. The concept is one of achieving freedom -the horse is releasing itself from the confines of the stone. I've always liked horses and have drawn them from the time I was a kid. It has been years since I have carved any and even then, they were just rough sketches.

This piece of limestone is a section from a large block for an earlier commission. It was cut from the block with a hydraulic chainsaw. That is why it is this odd shape. I like using pieces like this, there is a challenge to fitting a sculpture into it and sometimes you end up with a better sculpture. This piece will be carved directly, there will be no model though I will use various reference photos. The horse was drawn on out in the stone yard to see if it would fit.

I cut a line around the outside of the drawing with a 4" angle grinder. Any stone beyond that line I can safely remove though I will still cut wide. I begin cutting with an angle grinder with a diamond tipped 9"blade. I make vertical cuts and I will come back across with the grinder to remove them. The diamond cuts quickly through the limestone and it makes a lot of dust!

I roughly cut the front profile of the horse then start removing stone from over the horse's back.
In this photo I have drawn the horse with a raised knee. As I get further into the piece I realize that I can't do that, the leg and shoulder will have to be dropped on that side because of the shape of the existing stone, the body will have to twist down on it's right, but that's okay, I enjoy direct carving because you may start with an idea and then changes as I carve. Sometimes the changes occur as I carve because I see a new direction to go in. With this horse it's because I am limited by the existing stone. It is a challenge and I enjoy it.

The cuts in the horses back. You can see from this photo that the stone is somewhat wedge shaped. It is also seems to be leaning to the right. I will have to twist the horse's body slightly to fit the stone.

The stone sticks out on it's left side and I know I can comfortably remove this area. The facial features of the horse are barely cut in and thick. As I work I will define various areas. I leave the ears very thick until I have a better form on the head.

I work my way down the horse shaving away areas with the grinder. I have cut the ear although it is still a bit heavy. While I use a 9" angle grinder to remove large sections, the 4" angle grinder is the tool of choice for the actual carving of the piece. I use a diamond blade for roughing out the piece. I approach it from various angles - front, top, back as I carve to be sure of where I need to cut. I find it is best to define one area (such as the head) and then follow that form down into the stone - the head leads to the neck, the neck to the shoulders and so on. As I refine an area it becomes obvious where the next part of the horse is.

I use an air hammer to remove stone from behind the sholders. I start defining the mane being careful not to cut into the neck underneath. I have marked the line of the neck with a china marker in order to maintain that line.

The horse's right side will be slightly lower and the neck will have to run on an angle in order for the horse to fit into the stone. I drew the neck on the stone with china markers before I made any cuts.

I grind over the area that had chisel marks from the air hammer in order to better read the form. I begin to form the horses leg and shoulder.

I used the crane truck to rotate the horse so that it faces south. I was having trouble with one side as it was on the north side and always in the shade. That side was lagging in progress but now it will catch up.

I draw on the facial structure of the horse, making a line across the head to ensure the eyes are symmetrical to each other. I mark the bone structure and draw on the vein that is usually seen running down a the length of the face. I switch to a masonry blade for forming the face. It is less aggressive than diamond so I can get a smoother surface. I will cut the basic details (eyes, bones, vein) with this tool.

I begin carving this side of the horse by starting at the front and working back.

I refine the forms with a 4" angle grinder. I have yet to define the shoulders and leg on this side.
I am undecided whether to have the leg bent (as drawn) or straight and pointing down.

This side is more finished though it still needs work. I was going to define the lower leg but I like having it disappear into the stone...

Cutting down the neck of the Heron and Feeding Koi

In the last post I realized the Heron's neck was too long. I used photoshop to determine the correct length. I mark the section of neck to be removed...

and use a hacksaw blade to cut through the neck and copper tubing inside. I will then cut through the neck at the point marked on the right and remove that portion of the neck. But how to get the neck back together?

The Heron's head, cut off. You can see the copper tubing inside the clay. I will use a wood dowel to join the two sections. It is about the same diameter as the tubing. I insert it into the neck of the heron toward the head as far as it will go and then mark it. I then do the same with the other section of neck. I then carefully measure and then add the two distances and this gives me the length I need to cut the dowel.

I use the hacksaw blade to cut the dowel.

The dowel is such a tight fit I have to twist it into the copper tubing but this is a good thing - the tight fit will hold the head securely in place. When I replace the head I see the fit is not exact, but that is an easy fix...

I carve clay away from beneath the neck and put it on top and on the sides of the neck.

I then use a soldering iron and more clay to completely fill in the gap between the two sections.
The shortened neck, now all it needs is little feathers on the front of the neck like those on the breast.

I have been experimenting with the grass clump. In this photo the lower part of the clump is just in front of the herons straight leg...

And this is the clump starting just even with the leg. I have removed the supporting rod from the scene via photoshop so I can get a better feel for how the piece will look in the site. I like the clump a little forward of the leg, the clump even with the leg feels a little weak visually, but then I suppose I'm splitting hairs....

Another view.

Don and I went to a store specializing in fountains to see if they have grating for disappearing foutains. I am interested in using that for the Otter Sculpture.

While we were there I got to feed their Koi. They were swarming in for food. Really cool creatures....