The Hereafter show at Craig Kaviar Gallery

This is "Flight" A man leaps into the air, cast in plastic. It will ultimately be cast in bronze.

This is the second of the two sculptures I have in the show, a bird feeding angel. It is cast in plaster, but is intended to be cast in bronze as a monument.

Matt Weir's sculpture was this section of an eagle. He really captures the sweep of the wing.
This is a nice sculpture by Guy Tedesco. He has done a number of public sculptures in the area.
The three stone sculpture are by Don Lawler. The figure on the left is in marble, the other two are in granite.

This is a bench by Craig Kaviar in polished concrete and iron. It is a really beautiful piece, the photo doesn't do it justice.
David Kocka had a number of nice bronzes.

This sculpture is by David Lind - of himself as a child, I think. The poster behind is of work he has in Cave Hill Cemetery.
There was a write-up of the show in LEO, a local alternative newspaper, and Raymond Graf's Urn was featured. It is a very elegant sculpture. The article was nice, except for the fact that my name was left out. Ah well, such is life...

A view of the crowd at the show.
A view from the upper level of the gallery.
I thought this was interesting. I shot this from upper level of the gallery as well. That is Matt Weir on the left and Craig Kaviar on the right. But it's actually Matt's reflection and Matt is standing to Craigs left.
A Webworm moth on a spent buttonbush blossom. It's coloring is so close to the colors of the dying bloom.
A Doe and her fawns visited us not too long ago.
I found a mussel shell as big as my hand and it was so thin I thought it might float. I cleaned it off and set it in the creek and the current took it away...

Mold work on two sculptures for an upcoming show

Steve McMillen helps us do the molds; he is taping the shims which will create the partline of the mold. The angel will be a three part mold, poured in plaster with a faux patina. A potential owner will then be able to tell what she will look like in bronze. She will be part of a monument show at Craig Kaviar's Gallery in Louisville,KY. At this point, she has two layers of Polygel 40 and will get 4 more .

This is 'Flight', with shims attached. The plastic shims (available from sculpture Depot in Loveland, Colorado) are coated with Trewax, which acts as a resist, to keep the mold material from adhering to it.

Polyfill is mixed to the polygel 40 for a stiffer, stickier consistency, which will hold the shims. Then, the pins can be removed.

Here is the angel with the shims attached, ready for the next 4 coats of polygel 40.

Flight, with 6 layers of mold material and ready for plaster.

The angel is covered with plaster; this is called a mother mold. While the polygel will capture even the finest of details, it is quite flexible. The plaster acts to support the flexible rubber mold during casting, to maintain the general shape of the sculpture.

Flight gets a plaster shell first on one side. Then, it will turned over and plaster applied to the other side.

This is a cup of Polygel 40 part A.

Yesterday, I met my sisters and my niece and nephew, in French Lick, Indiana, for a wild west train ride. The train is robbed by men on horseback, but the sheriff (seen above) rides in to save the day. My sister Phyllis is on the left, next to her is her friend Pat. My niece, Beth, holds the shotgun. My other sister, Beth's mother, elected not to be in the photo....

We had lunch afterwards, in the restaurant of the French Lick Resort. These are embellishments on one of the ceilings.

Two pieces for a show and some pics around the studio

This is a piece that I am finishing up for a show in Louisville, Ky. She is an Angel, and I am defining her fingers with a wood tool. I have yet to do her ear...

This is another piece, entitled "Flight", which will also be in the show.

Here are some pics around the studio. A fence lizard...

A tiny jumping spider on my arm taken with a micro lens...

...and this is some type of insect. I couldn't find it in my guide book.

Dancer goes to a new home and Light of Hope and Healing dedication

The Dancer has sold - the new owner built a crate and came to take him home, to Georgia.
The crate was secured and packing material was added to keep the sculpture safe.

The base was secured.
The Dancer, in his new home.

He certainly has beautiful surroundings. It's nice to see my sculptures go to good homes.
My sculpture, "The Light of Hope and Healing", was dedicated at the Hux Cancer Center. This is the plaque.

The sculpture looks kind of cool before the unveiling.

This is a portion of the crowd that came to watch the unveiling.

I (in the middle) wait to talk. Mary Kramer, who I worked with on this project (she was great),is to my right. Jon Robeson, executive director of Arts Illiana, is to my left. I enjoyed talking to him, as he is really into birds and birding.

Scott Teffteller, President and Ceo of Union Hospital, spoke to the crowd.

Here I am with the unveiled sculpture. Edith Tucker, on the right side of the photo, is my brother in law's aunt. She lives in Terre Haute and was able to attend the ceremony.

Here is the finished sculpture. I like all the reflected lights in the floor - they seem to mirror the light in the sculpture.

We stayed the night at the Hilton (courtesy of Artspaces - many thanks) and this (I think it is a hibiscus) was planted just outside.

Otter fountain finally finished

With the return of the summer heat, my thoughts have turned toward finishing a water fountain that I started back in the spring -there are a number of posts earlier in the blog showing the hollowing out of this basin and carving the lilypads and flowers.

I managed to get the old crane truck started, to move the Otter fountain basin close to the shop so that the pump can be plugged in.

I rigged it up with nylon slings to lift it. I placed 'softeners' of old fire hose, to keep the sharp edges of the stone from cutting the slings.

Don made a larger basin area from timbers and pond liner. The limestone basin is sitting on soapstone supports, the pump is located beneath the limestone.

Next, add water...

The pump is plugged in, but the flow is barely visible and not what I had hoped. Ah well, back to buy a bigger pump.

A close-up.

What I saw when I was leaving the studio.