Rock Paper Scissors N Clay

Continuing the Mold work on Don's Tree of life and making the model for the heron sculpture

2012-01-15T20:43:00.008-05:00

Daphne is on hold while the molds for Don's sculpture are finished. But it's good to take a break. Working too long on a piece makes it difficult to accurately judge what needs work and it's easy to make a mistake.

Back to Don's mold work on the Tree of life sculpture. After the mother molds have dried, they are opened using a flat chisel.

The rubber mold inside which must then be cut open.

The two sides of the rubber mold are opened and an exacto knife is used to cut through the first 2 layers of mold material. Don does a more thorough job of explaining the process on his blog http://restlessrocks.blogspot.com/

The shim acts a guide as I cut around the mold, separating the 2 halves.

The 2 sections of the mold. Next for Don's job is the mother mold for the tree itself.

Next, for me, is making a model for the heron I will be doing for Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville, KY.

For the model I first print a sketch of the heron at a 4 to 1 scale to the final sculpture. As the sculpture will be 24 inches tall, that makes this sketch 6 inches from just below the feet (leaving room for a shallow base) to top of head. I am using hard Castiline which is a wonderful material. It works like wax and so hard I won't need to make an armature. I use pink foam for the body of the heron so it will be lighter - the legs are very thin and I don't want the sculpture to slump.

I heat the castilene with a heat gun and apply it to the foam body and make a neck. The castilene has a high melt temperature -160 degrees so you have to be careful when handling it not to burn yourself. It will get shiny when it gets warm, but do a touch test to make sure it's not too hot - it can burn you. Heat lamps will also work to heat the castilene, but they can also get the clay very hot, so be careful.

I then make the legs. The thinner the castilene is, the easier it is to keep it workable just from the heat of your hands. When the castilene is warm (not hot) it is fairly sticky so it's easy to attach legs to the body. Additional pieces of warm castilene are then applied where legs connect to firm up the attachment.

I make a small base for the heron and stand it up.

I form the plants that will stand behind the heron, using the sketch as a guide. In the final sculpture the plants act as structural support for the heron as the legs are fairly thin and fragile.

The model for the heron. The body of the heron is a little too horizontal, but that is easily fixed, I'll just heat it and make it more upright.

My niece, Beth just had her 15th birthday - she is on the left, her brother Danny is lighting the candles while his girlfriend, Olivia, watches.

Ice on the windshield.

Continuing mold work on Tree of life, two new pieces and a calendar...

2012-01-09T22:27:00.011-05:00

We have had really warm weather lately so I thought I make use of these nice temperatures and do a little more work on the mystery sculpture. I am using a 9 inch grinder with a diamond wheel making an undercut. It is a little awkward to cut in this position so I use my leg to help stabilize the grinder and keep it from binding.
Back to Don's Tree of Life ...

We put the first layer of polygel 40 on the trees limbs and trunks. I am just hitting the highlights, Don is doing a much more detailed description on his blog http://restlessrocks.blogspot.com/

After 2 layers of mold material, plastic shims are cut and pinned into the negative spaces as well as the outside edge of the sculpture .

The tree is completely shimmed and ready for more layers of rubber. It looks pretty cool as is.
But now we need to get back to the leaves and put plaster mother molds on....

Here are the 23 leaf cluster molds waiting for plaster mother molds. The polygel makes an exact mold of the surface of the sculpture but it remains very flexible and needs something rigid to conform to the general shape of the sculpture. That is what a mother mold does.

The two bowls on the stand are made for mixing hydrocal. They are extremely flexible so the material is easily cleaned out. The metal tool on the left is for applying the hydrocal and well as cleaning up the part line of the mold as it dries.

Hydrocal is just like plaster, but stronger. It is sifted by handfuls onto the water. When it no longer sinks into the water but some sits on top it is ready to mix up and apply.

After applying the first coat of hydrocal (which starts out quite thin) a layer of hemp fibers is worked in. This gives extra strength to the mold.

The hydrocal gets thicker as it begins to set. It can then be shaped and formed. Don is giving this mold a strong edge. The hydrocal was applied to one side of the mold and allowed to cure and then the piece is flipped over and the other side is done.

The bowls had to washed after every application of hydrocal. The sun was shining on the side of the bucket and I thought it would make a nice shot...

I just got a new comission, a Great Blue Heron sculpture. It will be 2 feet tall and will go on top of a Granite base at Cave Hill Cemetery.

This is also a design I am working on -an angel for a stone commission. Keep tuned for updates on these 2 pieces.

We had a couple of days of cold weather and a little snow before it warmed up. The snow was coming down in unusually big clumps and made for a pretty scene.

This is a self published calendar of my work that I just had printed by Zazzle.

I am working out some of the bugs, but it will soon be available for sale.

Daphne, helping Don with mold work and more carving on the new work

2011-12-18T22:25:00.008-05:00

Daphne is nearly finished but I am going to turn her so that she is facing south (she is now facing west). This will help me to finish up her right side since it faces north,it is always in the shadows, never getting sunlight. By turning her to the south I will be able to see both left and right sides of the sculpture in the same light. Also, she is elevated on six timbers to aid in work around the bottom of the piece. This has made it difficult to work on areas on the upper areas of the sculpture, particularly the leaves. Moving the sculpture closer to the ground will make it easier to finish these areas.

I am helping Don do the mold work on his tree of life sculpture. I will only touch on the steps of making a mold. He has posted a very in depth step by step on his blog http://restlessrocks.blogspot.com/ .

In the photo above,the leaf sections from the Tree of Life have been cut off and numbered. They are placed on little pedestals. They are then spray with a release agent.

Two layers of mold material are applied and then shims made of plastic sheet and sections of bubble sheet (which acts as register marks) are attached to the leaves with pins. The shims establish the part line of the mold.

Polyfiber is mixed with the mold material and is used to fill in the area between the shims and the leaves. As it is thick and sticky, it holds the shim to the sculpture and the pins can now be removed.

These are the leaves with 6 layers of mold material. They are now ready for the mother molds which will be made of plaster.

The tree, shorn of it's leaves will get it's mold next.
I spent some time working on the sculpture from the last post. I am removing stone from one side and ....
then the other. This piece is just for me, it's not a commission. Any ideas about what it is going to be?
What's this? A frost covered sunflower seed on the frost covered red truck. This years Christmas card.

A departure

2011-11-27T22:02:00.012-05:00

On rainy days when I can't work on Daphne I've worked on Ophelia. Now she is almost finished - there are just a few areas that need tweaking.

In the last blog posting I used the hydraulic chainsaw to remove sections of stone from a sculpture I will be working on in the near future, entitled Memory. As the weather will soon get cold I thought I should use the chainsaw as much as I can.

I have a sculpture planned for this stone and have roughed out a model for it. I have made marks (the white lines) with a small grinder on the areas that will need to be removed.

After I make a cut I put wedges into the cut and hammer them in until the stone cracks.

Then I use a pry bar to move them out of the way. Don took these last two shots.

I cut wide of the final form with the saw. I use the angle grinder to get closer to the form. It's not nearly as heavy as the chainsaw so I have a lot more control over the cut.

Here is a view from the side...

and from the front. Lots more work to go....

A wasp sippin soda...

Finishing Daphne

2011-11-17T23:14:00.010-05:00

There are many leaves to Daphne and I have been refining them. You can see that these leaves are too blocky and the edges are too hard.

I used a roloc and die grinder to refine them, this gives them more movement and a softer feel.

I use a roloc to finish around the base of the piece.

I begin putting a final texture to the Daphne's roots and bark.

I have been refining leaves as well as deepening shadows through the leaves. I have to go all around the piece looking for areas that need work.

Don used the hydraulic chainsaw to cut sections out of a block of stone for a new commission he is doing. He suggested I try the chainsaw to cut corners off of a block of stone that I plan on carving after I am finished with Daphne.

The saw requires water and so it's best to use it during nice weather. And the nice weather is running out fast, so I decided to bite the bullet ...

I have done a preliminary model of a woman 11 feet tall and laid out where it is in the stone. The section I am cutting is just above her head. It is best to leave too much stone than to risk cutting into the form.

I am cutting the section from behind the head to the shoulder, staying a few inches wide of where the shoulder will be.

The chainsaw is hydraulic. The power unit is gasoline powered, you can see a small part of it in the lower right corner. There are hydraulic hoses from the power unit to the chainsaw and a water hose which of course limits this tool to above freezing temperatures. The saw weighs 25 pounds and the hoses weigh a bit, but it wasn't bad at all.

Two cuts of stone. The chainsaw is an amazing tool. The cuts took about an hour total.
Now I'm looking around at other stones that need corners cut off....

A ladybug sippin' soda.

Daphne continues, a Halloween party and waterfleas

2011-11-03T11:40:00.018-04:00

I use a die-grinder to start deepening the shadows in Daphne's hair. The piece sat for years while I finished public commissions. As a result, the sculpture became dark from grime in the air. The lighter areas are where I have run the die-grinder, getting down to clean (and lighter) stone.

I use a slender diamond burr to cut around and define the ends of the fingers.

I smooth out the branches using a roloc which is an air powered sanding tool. Sanding discs of various grits are easily interchanged. I am using 120 grit. I will then go back and hand sand to remove flat areas caused by the tool.

I am working up a model using castilene. It comes in several versions from soft to hard. I am using the hardest version, its melt temperature is 160 degrees, and so it has to be warmed to be worked. However, it is so hard at room temperature it can be handled without smushing the forms. I used a heat gun to warm up the clay so I could model a rough draft and then use a metal wax tool over a candle flame to smooth areas and work small sections.

Castilene was developed by a local sculptor, Barney Bright and is the best clay for small models. It can also be burned out for one of a kind bronze sculptures.

Don and I were invited to our neighbors for their annual Halloween party...

The daughter of our hostess holds the inspiration for both their costumes.

Black is in this year! Great costumes guys!

Jeff, a friend of Don's, paid us a visit.

I use various burrs on die grinders to put a leaf texture to the interior of the piece.
My sister came to visit with her daughter and little boy. We took a walk near the property. That's Don walking with them.
I use a roloc (air sander) with 120 grit to smooth the branches. I will then hand sand to remove the flat areas left by the tool.
What is this a photo of? Water fleas. I was trying to take a pic of something on the water's surface and when I got close enough I saw all these tiny creatures (the white specs) swimming around.

Daphne continues, a watcher and a snake

2011-10-19T22:22:00.008-04:00

I have been working on several proposals for public art opportunities this past week. That has taken some time away from Daphne, but here is some of the progress I have made... When I am carving an area, I mark on it with black china marker or crayon. On the hand I draw the high point of the fingers -it needs to slope off on either side and this helps me to better see the form. I also draw around the knuckles, shading areas that need deeper carving.

On Daphne's right hand I had the center too high, this made the hand look too narrow. Lots of times when carving stone if one area is too large the eye doesn't necessarily read it as too large, it will read adjacent areas as too small. Once I realized what was wrong and lowered that area the hand looked much better.

I have defined the area between Daphne's arm and the tree limb with a die grinder as well as getting a better shape around the hand and thumb. I still need to better define the ends of the fingers.

I define the edge between Daphne's belly and the bark of the tree using a die grinder, then an air sander followed by sanding by hand with 80 grit paper.

I am working Daphne's hair on her right side. I have been getting better movement and deepening shadows with angle grinders and die grinders.

I was working on the sculpture the other day when I could just tell someone was watching me.

I looked up and saw that I was right, I was being watched!

This praying mantis was on the sculpture, watching me so I moved it away so it wouldn't get hurt....

I nearly ran over this snake crossing the drive. I think it is a black rat snake. The day was fairly cool so the snake was pretty sluggish, it didn't give any trouble when I picked it up and set it over in the grass.

Daphne refinement and baby pictures my Nephew has a birthday

2011-10-12T22:04:00.005-04:00

I photograph either side of Daphne from the front to check the detail from one side to the other.

This side needs a little more definition and dark shadows in the leaves.

I photograph the sculpture from all angles on a cloudy day to see if I need to darken shadows in any area. I see a few areas that just need the shadows to be a bit deeper.

Don is in the background tweaking a sculpture he has sold.

I found some of Daphnes baby pictures and I thought I'd share. Here she is 11 years ago. She was just started. The fact that she is a willow tree is but one departure from the Daphne myth. She was also born from an elephant. An elephant stone actually. The stone she came from was split from one that became a juvenile elephant holding a stick over his head. That sculpture was commissioned from my first elephant Ely. And it was the man who commissioned the second elephant that put Daphne into my head. He had told me about a painting of Daphne he especially liked and his description of her was so vivid she lived in my mind for a while. I tried to work her out in clay and in sketches but had no luck. Then, one day I happened to look at this stone in just the right way and realized that Daphne was inside.

Another view of Daphne 11 years ago. The sculpture has been carved direct, there has never been a model. I drew the outline on the stone and started there. I have worked small areas of stone away first with air hammers and angle grinders, later with a hammer drill and die grinders. I wanted to have as much movement as possible so I couldn't remove too much stone at once. I would look at it at various times of the day and when I saw an area I thought should be removed I would color in the area with black crayon. It has been a long slow process of getting her to her present state but I am very happy with her.

My nephew, Joe, just had his 6th birthday and celebrated it by hosting a party at 10 Pin Lanes Bowling Alley in Louisville Ky.

There was pizza and cake and then presents and then........
more bowling! It was the first time bowling for most and they all had a lot of fun.
I found this among the leaf litter. Not sure what it is (fungus maybe) but it's really interesting. Each one is about 1/2" across. It looks like tiny eggs in nests and the one on the right looks like the eggs are covered with a blanket of sorts. Strange!

Daphne and a lizard

2011-10-03T21:42:00.004-04:00

I am working on Daphne's right arm, shaping the forearm and refining the upper arm. I use a diamond burr on a die grinder to do this. I, then, go back with a pistol grip sander and 12o grit sandpaper. I use the sander on edge to get the area smoothed out, and then, go back and hand sand the area with 80 grit paper. I do this on an overcast day. The even light helps me to see the form on the right side of the sculpture.

I usually go wide of the form. I see the arm needs a little more definition in the forearm. I will work on other areas (leaves, etc.) and come back later with fresh eyes.
This is an area of leaves near the base on Daphne's left. I have been refining the area and adding shadows. Just needs a little work here and there..

I use a die grinder with a mounted stone, to make interesting areas inside the sculpture.

Daphne from the front. I work on her late in the day, so that I can have the even light of an overcast day. This helps me to see the areas of the face and the right side of the sculpture.

I have been working around the base of the sculpture. I am utilizing the existing form in the stone, and changing it here and there to add interest.

Don was moving architectural salvage and found this tiny Fence Lizard. It was a cold morning and it was pretty sluggish, so I held it until it warmed up and ran away...

Wet weather sends me inside to work and shots from the island

2011-09-27T21:47:00.012-04:00

We've had a lot of rain lately - which we needed - but it's made it impossible to work on Daphne. Even when it hasn't rained the stone is still wet and if I do any carving dust will stick to the stone and make it difficult to read. I'll have to work inside... anyway it's good to get away from her for a while. When I come back I'll be able to see her with "fresh" eyes.

Back in April I was working this piece of marble and this was as far as I got before I put it on the back burner.

The stone was moved into the studio and placed up on platform. This has made a world of difference - the stone was way too low before and made working on it difficult. Having the sculpture up has made it much easier to see and work. I have carved the right arm (though it still needs work) and have generally refined the form.

I have worked a great deal on refining the face and making the leg thinner and generally worked all over the piece. I have crayoned where I think I will take the right arm.

This is the model for the 11 foot stone from an earlier post. I have roughly sketched out the model to see what can do in the stone. I have laid it on it's side so I can compare with the stone...

You can see that the stone is thicker than my model. I will not try to follow a silouette of the model, I can cut and remove a sizable area in a nearly straight line and at least get close to the form...

I accompanied Don to a client of mine who bought my limestone sculpture Ely . Ely is in good company, that's a Frederick Hart sculpture on the right of the photo, cast from Ex Nihilo which is on the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.. Don was helping them decide how to safely move a large (over 5 foot tall) jade sculpture into their yard.

I saw this plant out on our island and though it has been fairly chilly, I waded across to get photos. I looked in my guide book and the closest thing I could find was Goat's Beard.

Isn't this a funny looking thing? Looks like a little creature climbing up the log. I think this might be a slime mold.

I spent quite a while exploring the island taking photos. This is my favorite shot.

Daphne continues, an art show and a friend and neighbor turns 50

2011-09-18T18:38:00.012-04:00

This picture is showing how I will handle interior leaves. Just under the swirl of leaves in the top half of the picture you can see a pattern in the stone beneath them. This is how I plan to handle all the interior sections. I will give an indication of leaves using a round diamond burr. This will help keep the movement I'm looking for in the piece without doing all those individual leaves.

On Daphnes right hand I use a diamond wheel on a die grinder to cut between the fingers. This is how I make deep shadows between the fingers.

You notice I don't cut between the knuckles. I used a pistol grip sander to smooth out the form of the hand then came back with a round burr on a die grinder to form the knuckles and bones of the hand. The areas that have been formed by the burr have a lighter appearance. Once I have refined it further I will sand the whole area. Though I won't use a sander, I will hand sand it with 80 grit paper.

These are some of the burrs I use. The ones on the left are for more suble carving, the ones on the right are for hard edges and deep crevices.

Al Gorman (in the grey jacket between the rabbit and the man sculpture) and Scott Scarboro have a show at Bellarmine University's McGrath Gallery. Al makes people and creatures from styrofoam and driftwood he finds at the Falls of the Ohio. He posts his explorations at the falls and his sculptures on his blog, http://artistatexit0.wordpress.com/ . Scott Scarboro had a lot of fun work (the large paintings on the wall are his) as well as some kinetic sculptures that are really cool. On the right side of the photo is an old friend of mine, Geoff Carr. He used to photograph my paper sculptures long, long ago...

A heron by Al Gorman, the inspiration for this piece is a common sight at the falls.

Saturday we were invited to our friend and neighbor's 50th birthday party. His name is Steve and he has been on earlier blogs doing molds on the Home of the Innocents sculptures and the Light of Hope and Healing. He's also had us to his house for his 4th of July and Halloween parties which are lots of fun...

The party was held at the Bourbon Bistro. The food was great, a fun time was had by all...

The weather has been very nice lately and we left the door open. Unfortunately a hummingbird flew in and then found it couldn't get back out. It was between the blinds and the window which made release really easy. Just open the window, and away he flew....

Don's Sculpture installed at Purdue University, Daphne and a new project

2011-09-13T21:31:00.017-04:00

Dereck Sheroan of JBB Inc. loads Don's sculpture 'Man and Technology' onto the flatbed truck that was rented from Penske. Dereck is a very skilled operator and handles each job with care.
Don, on the truck, removing the rigging and preparing to strap down the sculpture.

This is the newest project for me. The plan was to move it to the end of the building and stand it upright. The stone is about 12' long.
The building was put up after this stone was brought in and as a result the crane can't get right up next to it. The crane had to be set up a couple of times before it was close enough to lift the stone. It weighs 13,000 lbs and was right at the limit of what the crane could lift. We got it close to where we are going to stand it up but we are running out of time - we need to get on the road with Don's sculpture. I will drop some weight off of the stone where it is. Stay tuned....

We set out for West Lafayette. Along our route we saw this group of classic cars. I took many, many photos out the truck window, I managed to get a few good pics.

We arrived at Purdue's Picket Park the next morning. Don leaves the parking lot to drive around to the site Purdue has it's own crane - even has boiler maker insignia -they also provided the operator.

Tom Eisman is the Chairman of the Arts Committee at Purdue. Don and he have worked together through the whole process. Only fitting that he helps Don with setting the sculpture in site.
Man and Technology in its new home.
Another view. To the far right is Don's other sculpture in this park. See Don's blog
http://restlessrocks.blogspot.com/ for pics of that sculpture and more photos of the installation.

Tom suggested we stop and see these sculptures, a Butterfield sculpture in the foreground, a large bronze sculpture by Aizkorbe in background and between, a creation of sapling trees which was fun to explore.

Don exploring...

Back to Daphne, I have been cleaning up leaves. The underside of these leaves are somewhat rough so...

I use a die grinder with a diamond burr and clean them up. I do that again and again and again.....

I am using a 4 1/2" angle grinder with a diamond wheel to make deep cuts through the leaves for dark shadows. The leaves I originally cut with a masonry blade on an angle grinder. I get a more fluid feel with a 4" blade than I do with a burr on a die grinder.

A praying mantis cleans it's foot....

Don readies Hand for Purdue Installation, a new project begins

2011-09-05T19:28:00.007-04:00

Temperatures have been in the 90's, and since cooler days have been forecast, I have put Daphne on the back burner until those cooler days arrive.

Don's piece "Man and Technology" is to be installed at Purdue University this next week.

The sculpture is pressure washed and then, a breathable sealer will be applied. Next, it will be loaded onto a truck for the trip to Purdue.

As Don's sculpture will require a big crane; it just makes sense to utilize it for any other lifting needs. This is a rough maquette for a stone that I have, though it needs a crane to set it upright.

This is the stone, which measures 12 feet long. If you look closely, I have cut the profile of the maquette into the surface.

Don has made the bottom of the stone flat for me. When the crane comes, it can be set upright and I can get started on it.

I have been putting together packages for public art projects - called 'request for qualifications' (RFQ) or 'request for proposals' (RFP). The images have to be burned onto cds. When I opened this pack of cds, I thought "this would make a good photo....I'll call it Infinity..."

This is a froglet on my finger. I took this pic back in June, saw it today and thought I would include it. Such a tiny guy, he still has his tail.

and now for something completely different....

2011-08-28T20:46:00.008-04:00

The crane truck needed some work - actually a lot of work. It is parked right next to Daphne, so I thought I'd work on a water clay piece in the meantime. It's been years since I've worked in water clay; it will be fun to try it again.

This is the maquette that I will be basing the sculpture on. I did this years ago and set it aside. It has issues - such as the head is too big - which I will work out in the water clay.

Water clay is worked without internal armatures, so various props are used to keep the clay from slumping. I use clay supports from fairly stiff clay under the arms to hold them in position. I am also using skewers through the leg and both arms. This is a technique I saw Beth Stichter use when she demonstrated her technique at U of L.

I am using the tip of a skewer to draw on musculature, which I will then carve back.

Fairly soon into making the piece, I hollow it. I do this when I have the piece basically roughed out and will be making no major changes in movement, but before I do final detail. I slice the section off with a wire cutoff tool. I will hollow out the entire piece all the way to the bottom, making the clay about 3/8" thick. The piece will be fired in the kiln and, if it is not hollowed, air pockets deep within the clay will cause the piece to explode.

I remove clay with a loop tool.

I score the clay. I also hollow and score the edge of the piece that I cut off.

I stuff the interior with moist paper towels. I will then apply slip to this scored surface, as well as to the section I cut off, and carefully reattach the section using bits of clay to smooth the joined area.

The piece is almost finished, still needing some definition.

This is the back view. You can see how I pulled the leg over for added movement. That's Don's Tree of Life Commission in the background. That commission will be going into Cave Hill Cemetery. Can't wait to see it finished and installed.

I took this pic when we were out on the river. I'm not sure what the little red things are - tiny ladybugs? The flowers are very small, maybe 1/2" across. I didn't even see these bugs until I had the photo on the computer and enlarged it.

This is a spider's shed exoskeleton floating on water.

Don and I went out exploring with his friend Eddie and his girlfriend Loretta. Here they go out across a log...

I found a culvert and crawled inside to see if I could get an interesting photo....

Daphne progresses, a trip on the river....

2011-08-21T21:04:00.004-04:00

I have been working out some of the interior areas on Daphne, opening up areas, working out drill holes, etc.

I opened up Daphne with a hammer drill, often drilling several holes next to each other. In order to open the area between the holes, I used the air hammer and a long flat chisel called a channeling tool. In the lower part of the photo, there is a vertical line. That is where I used the channeling tool but didn't take it all the way to the end of the holes. As I can reach this area from the side, I will use a small die grinder to open up this area. The air hammer has some percussion and I run the risk of cracking the stone if I use it now. The die grinder is much safer at this point.

I have undercut the leaves, making more of a shadow between them and the base of the sculpture.

I periodically stand back from the piece and look for areas I am not happy with. The branch above had a stiff feel to it, as it was too straight up and down . I have crayoned in an area that I think I will remove, to give it more movement and life.

These are the marks from the hammer drill. I will work these out as best I can. Some of the areas are pretty tight and difficult to get a tool in.

This is the right hand preformed. I mark the areas I need to leave high (knuckles and bones) and shade areas that need to be carved away.

These are a couple of drill holes. I crayon how I plan to carve away the stone to transition to these holes smoothly so they no longer read as drill holes.

I have worked various areas around the leaves to add depth and movement. Having the piece outside helps a great deal in seeing sections that need work. As the sun moves across the sculpture, different areas come into the light and trouble areas become obvious.

Our neighbor took his boat out the other day and invited Don and me to come along. We were headed to the Ohio River when this deer decided she wanted to swim across the creek.

We saw this immature bald eagle overlooking the river.

A tiny flower, I am unsure of the species.

It took many photos to catch the rainbow hues of this spider web....

Daphne continues

2011-08-14T20:18:00.020-04:00

It was nice to get back to Daphne. It has been a long time since I've worked on her and it was obvious which areas needed work.... The branches were far too rough, so I smoothed them using a pistol grip sander with 120 grit sandpaper. The branch on the top right has been sanded and is smooth. The next branch over has not been sanded and shows the marks from the die grinder which I used to carve them...

In order for the sculpture to be so airy, I had to use a large hammerdrill with an 18" bit. There are some areas where the drill holes are still apparent, as in this photo. Where I can, I will work these out.

The same area, after using a large die grinder. I may not take out all of the drill marks, but will blend what is there into the sculpture.

This is the back of the sculpture. I have been working out areas of roughness and chisel marks. Overall I am happy with the appearance, as it has the swirling aspect I was going for. I will probably do some deep carving around the bottom of the leaves to darken the shadows.

I crayon the area beneath the leaves where I feel extra depth is needed.

This is an area that I felt was too heavy and needed to be split into two branches. I marked the area with black crayon, stood back to check how it would look and then opened the area with a die grinder.

I am doing the same thing on the other side of the sculpture. The area that I am opening is just below the hand. Look closely for the black crayon marks.

I have sanded over Daphne's body and face. I still need to finish out details - eyes, lips, etc.

I have cut more shadows beneath the lowest leaves. I may add some deep shadows in the leafy section in the lower part of the sculpture. There is an area in the center that lacks definition .

This is probably my favorite view - I like the way she is twisting -though it's hard to read her form against the building in this photo.

I was going to the truck, leaving for the day, and there was this fawn just standing there. It stood still for a while, not sure what to do, so I was able to get this pic. It wasn't long before it turned and ran away.

Daphne up next

2011-08-08T20:18:00.004-04:00

Remember Daphne from a post long, long ago? Well, she's back and now I'm going to finish her.
We had to move her next to the studio for safety when we were building the new stone studio
and she was too close to the studio wall for me to work on her effectively. We have now moved her away from the studio so I can work all around her. She also needed to be where I could have sunlight on her. One of the things I want to do in this sculpture is that when sun is on one side of the sculpture I want some of that light to fill and brighten the other, dark side. The only way to do this is to work on her in the sun so that I can open areas or angle areas to reflect the light into dark areas of the sculpture.
It's mainly detail work I need to do to finish her (fingernails, leaves -lots of leaves) but I may do some heavier carving on areas that I think need it.

And here is Daphne from the side. I may add some deep shadows between the base and the leaves.
And, I bought a kiln. Actually I bought it a year ago and now I will be able to bend my mind to doing water clay pieces. This is a somewhat large kiln so I will be able to do good size sculptures in clay....
One of the realities of country life is either well water or cistern water. We live in an area that is not good for well water so we have a cistern. Another reality of country living is that cisterns need to be cleaned once in a while. I didn't clean it out, Don and a neighbor did, but I went down to see if there were any interesting shots for the camera. I thought this looked pretty cool. The bucket was for climbing in and climbing out.
One of the many rabbits that inhabit the area...

The Hereafter show at Craig Kaviar Gallery

2011-07-31T21:48:00.018-04:00

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

2011-07-24T20:05:00.008-04:00

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

2011-07-17T21:20:00.007-04:00

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

2011-07-12T20:31:00.018-04:00

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

2011-07-03T16:26:00.009-04:00

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.

Installing Light of Hope and Healing at the Hux Cancer Center

2011-06-18T18:13:00.006-04:00

Don and I took the bronze sculpture and base to it's final destination, the Hux Cancer Center in Terre Haute, Indiana in a Penske box truck with a lift gate. We were met at the Hux by 3 employees of Sycamore Engineering, who had done the engineering for the center.

Don made 2 boxes similar to what Art Castings had, so that access was available, for bolting the sculpture to the base.

We rented a Genie lift from Art's Rental in Louisville Ky to lift the sculpture onto the base. Mary Kramer, on the right, is with Artspaces Inc. which oversees public art commissions in the area. She worked with me through the whole process and made everything go smoothly.

Another view from the stairs.

Don lowers the sculpture, while Mike feeds the wires from the light through the base.

We set up the sculpture, and moved it a couple of times, before we were sure of the best position. Next, comes drilling holes for the 4 threaded rods that will attach the sculpture to the floor. Mike holds the template for the bottom of the base, while Don carefully marks the holes.

Then, the drilling begins. First Mike...

Then Dave...

Tom gets a turn too! The floor is not that thick, but there was metal to contend with, so it took a while to break through...

Finally, the holes are drilled, the rod fit into the sculpture and then, it is set in place.

...and then, the light is turned on.

Another view of the sculpture.

...and one from the waiting room..
...and finally a detail.

While we were in Colorado...

2011-06-18T17:46:00.003-04:00

After we left the foundry on the first day, we decided to rent a car and drive up into Rocky Mountain National Park. We weren't even in the park yet, when we saw an Elk in the road.

We saw plenty of Elk in more scenic areas.

There are lots of photo ops...

We went part of the way up Trail ridge road, but there had been lots of snow and the road was closed about a half mile from where this photo was taken.

We almost got above tree line, but not quite....

A trip to Colorado to get a sculpture

2011-06-05T20:30:00.012-04:00

Don and I took a box truck to Colorado to get the sculpture "Light of Hope and Healing" from Art Castings of Colorado.

First, I needed to look at the sculpture and make sure it didn't need any more chasing. Chasing means that the pattern on the bronze matches the pattern on the original clay, particularly where parts were welded together. Don and I went over the whole piece; we couldn't find anything that needed to be cleaned up. The foundry has an overhead bridge crane, which makes it easy to lift a piece onto a table for work. There is a hole through the table so that work can be safely set on it (with threaded rod fit into nuts welded inside the sculpture).

This is Charlotte; she did the chasing on the sculpture. The work she did couldn't be better.

The light fixture had already been attached before we got there, but it needed a little tweaking. The main issue was fitting the globe to the hand so that there wouldn't be any light bleed. Dan welded the hand to make a better fit to the globe, and Ken attached the light assembly and worked the bronze so that the globe would fit down flat and eliminate light from showing between the hand and globe.

This is Dan, who did the welding on the hand.

This is Ken. He really did an excellent job working out the light with help from John Shimp of Lamp Shades Etc. in Louisville Ky. Ken was the main force for bringing the sculpture together while we were there - great guy to work with.

Chad highlights the sculpture. Because I want a very light patina, he is burnishing the sculpture, so that it will stay a lighter color when the patina is applied.

Nate and Chad apply flame to the sculpture as Nate (in the foreground) applies patina.

Nate applies a clear sealant to the sculpture, which will protect the patina.

Nate and Chad, the patineurs. Fantastic job guys, the piece looks beautiful!

This is Jeanne, she is one I go to for quotes and if I have any questions. She is always quick with a response.

Tony wasn't around when I was getting photos of everybody, so this will have to suffice. He is the manager of Art Castings, making sure the foundry runs smoothly.
We did a dry run at the foundry to make sure every works....
The base was created by Bellcomb Technologies and is a granite laminate over honey-combed panel, with a steel frame inside which supports the sculpture.
...another view of the complete sculpture...

....and a view of how it will look from the stairs at the site.

As we left for home, we saw this view in the mirror.

Bear Dedication, a Memorial for Matthew Pollard

2011-05-30T19:47:00.007-04:00

I missed posting this last Sunday because Don and I went out to pick up the bronze and granite base for the Hux Cancer Center from Art Castings in Loveland, Colorado. The mother bear and cubs was commissioned by Steve and Mary Ann Pollard in remembrance of their son Matthew Pollard who died in a car accident 14 years ago. The dedication was on his birthday May 15th.

Lynnie Meyer from Norton Healthcare spoke about the Pollards and about the process of commissioning the bears.

Steve Pollard (Mary Ann is to his left) spoke of the difficulty of losing a child and what the bear sculpture meant to him as a symbol of the love a parent has for their children.

Their pastor Wayne Willis spoke eloquently of the ever present weight of losing a child.
Then it was my turn to speak. I spoke of Mary Ann's ability to visualize my concept of a bear with cubs when it was a roughly cut block of stone and of creating a model so that she and others could see what the final sculpture would look like. I then described how the cubs being on their mother represent the foundation parents provide for their children, offering stability for them until they are strong enough to venture out on their own. And that, within the safety and guidance of Family, is a secure place for children to learn about themselves and the world around them.

I am greatly honored that the Pollards chose my work as a monument for their son, Matt.
People going out to see the bears in the rain...
I saw this mother pigeon sitting on her nest under the Gene Snyder, not far from where the bears are located.

Bears are installed! Dedication May 15th 2:00 All welcome!

2011-05-14T13:05:00.016-04:00

The Pollards, who commissioned the bear as a memorial for their son Matt, came out to watch and photograph the bears being moved.

The rigging was coming up against the mother bear's left hind foot. The resulting pressure while lifting the piece could have broken it, so Dereck Sheroan readjusts the rigging, lifting the bears slightly off center, to take pressure off the foot. Way to go Dereck! Charlie Pollard films the installation for a documentary he is creating. He will be leaving soon for college in San Francisco where he will be majoring in Film.

Loaded up and ready to go...

Away go the bears on their one and only trip away from home.

The Pollards follow in their car.

Out on interstate 64.

The bears arrive at Kosair Children's Hospital

The crane truck sets it's outriggers which stabilize it.

The bears get a look at their new home.

The bears, rigged up and ready to be hoisted into place.

Wheee!

Another view of the lift...

The bears are placed on boards, so that the slings can be removed. One of the slings is then made into a choker hitch, in order to raise up one side of the bear. Then, one of the boards can be removed. The process is repeated on the other side so that the bear sits flat on the concrete pad.

The bears in their new home.

The Pollards with the bears, being interviewed by their son Charlie for the documentary.

"you know...for kids."

Flood waters recede, pinning a sculpture and Music Coming Back tour

2011-05-04T20:21:00.007-04:00

This is as far as the flooding got, just a little bit on the bridge.

The stacked sculpture been taken apart, so that she can be drilled and pinned for stability. I am using a fine riffler to clean out the area around her fingers and neck.

Marks are placed on either side of the two stones to determine where it will be drilled and pinned.

Each end of the sculpture is raised and a piece of fire hose inserted. This is so we can get a good grip on the sculpture section and lift it safely. You have to be careful handling stone as the edges chip easily.

A line is drawn from marks on either side of the sculpture. At the mid-way point, another line is made. The x is where the hole will be drilled for the pin.

Don drills the hole for the pin. It is important that the hole is drilled at a right angle to each section of the sculpture, otherwise the pin will "hang up" and pieces will not fit together.

Don and I were invited to a music fundraiser for MCB records. It was hosted by the Pollards at their home beside the Ohio River.
The tour is entitled Music Coming Back and featured Kri & Hettie, Corey Brumback and Lotus Blake, among others. I took this photo from the steps coming down from the deck where the bands played.

There was plenty of great food...

...and lots of great music... this is Lotus Blake.

This is Corey Brumback. Great food and great music beside the Ohio River, who could ask for more?

I'm leaving you with this peek-a-boo deer that I saw the other day...

Finishing work, getting needed water and way too much water

2011-04-27T18:42:00.007-04:00

I use a slender diamond bit to carve in between this sculpture's fingers - she'll be at the Yew Dell show.

We had trouble with the water and needed it to be fixed, so I can work out the water level on the otter and the sculptures can be power washed before the show. There's Don's guiding hand telling BJ and Mike from J.B. Bennet Plumbing what they need to do. ( ...like they need guidance..)

Here is the otter basin filled with water. I am making cuts down the sides of the piece, as I felt the sides were a bit boring....

We've had a bit too much rain; this is a neighbor's farm that is flooded. The Ohio river is behind him, so right now his place is an island. But, he has a boat and his brother and sister-in-law live right next door.

Another view of his farm from his brother's property.

Another view of the flooded Ohio river. The trees on the far side are in Indiana.

The water has come across our road about 2 miles from the house. If we want to go to Hardinsburg, we'll have to take the long way around. This is another neighbor driving through the flood waters. The man's name (aptly so) -is Phillip Flood. (I can't make this stuff up).

Our property is going under water..

The waterfowl like it. This pic was taken from the front yard before he sunk below the water. I think it is a Grebe.

This is a buttercup under the flood waters, yet it continues to bloom....

Eddie is not happy about his land going under water. But, we've got plenty of hay for him and the other two donkeys to eat until the flood subsides.

But, the water is still rising, forecast to rise another 2 feet. If it does, it will be too deep to drive through. We will have to move the car over to a neighbor's before it gets too high. Then, we'll have to canoe or wade to go any place.

The waters are starting to take out the bridge at the corner of the property.....

Continuing work, a turkey display and flooding returns

2011-04-17T22:04:00.003-04:00

I continue work on the otter basin. I have refined the petals and leaves with die grinders and have opened up the basin using a 4" angle grinder.

I have started blocking out the womans arm. I am cutting it full and little low and as I refine it will get it into the right position.

I do almost all of the carving with a 4" angle grinder with a diamond wheel. While I was working, the grinder started making a funny sound. I turned it off and saw that a section of wheel had come off. Where it went is anybody's guess....

A sculpture of a leaping man I am working on and hope to have in a local show. It is in oil clay for bronze.Here is a Tom turkey doing his spring display, looking for girls.

We've had a fair amount of rain and flooding has returned - this is in our lower field. The pink tree is a Red bud in bloom.

Continuing work on the marble sculpture, and an angel sculpture for a Louisville show.

2011-04-10T18:01:00.005-04:00

Work continues on the Marble sculpture, with continued refinement of hand face and leg. I am just beginning to work out where her left arm is. It will be lifting fabric away, the title of the piece is Lifting the Veil and deals with seeing beyond the "reality" of this world.
The crayon marks show where I think the arm will be. The very dark marks are for the view looking from her left side, showing where the profile of the underside of the arm might be. I will cut wide of any mark, the closer I get in to the form, the easier it will be to see where the arm really is.

This is her right foot. I am just beginning to cut the toes and work out the creases in the sole.

I have marked the areas that need to be removed, on the thumb and around the knuckles of the fingers.

This is an angel sculpture that I am doing for a show in Louisville.

Another creature with wings; I found this wasp in the window at death's door. So, I fed it a bit of soda with a bit of towel paper.

Before long, it was feeling better, cleaned itself and away it flew.

While I was feeding the wasp, I looked up and there stood a deer eating snacks....

Refining the figure, Otter in the basin and a river walk

2011-04-04T20:19:00.006-04:00

Work continued on my Sylacauga Marble figure. The stone that I am carving does not have a lot of depth, so I have to be careful to fit the figure into it. Everything was fairly flat, requiring that I cut back areas that needed to be deeper. Also, I decided to cut back the front face of the stone to add dimension to the piece.

I had the foot too high and used a black crayon to visually remove the stone. I will now cut it off with an angle grinder.

Almost all the carving has been with grinders - 9" for larger areas, 4" for smaller areas and shaping. I also use a large die grinder with a mounted stone for interior and very small spaces. I have been steadily refining the sculpture; a little bit here, a little bit there. I want her arm to be lifting up fabric in front of her. I haven't determined exactly where the arm will be. I used a sander on the arm and face with 40 grit sandpaper. This is the first time that I've carved Alabama Marble - and I was curious about what it would do. I have carved Georgia Marble and some Colorado Yule. This is a very tight stone, with tiny crystals. It's great to carve and has a transluscent, fleshy quality.

I switched back and forth between the marble piece and the Otter fountain. I have hollowed out the basin enough to hold the bronze otter. I have roughed in the leaves and flowers of the lilies.

Another view...

The weather was so nice the other day, Don and I went for a walk by the Ohio River.

The path to the river goes by a field where corn was grown last year. This time of year lots of fields are covered with this purple flowering plants (some sort of cover crop) which makes for striking displays.

It was very windy, and these are bees were blown from the blooms of a plum tree where they were gathering nectar.

Figure in Sylacauga White Marble continues...

2011-03-29T18:17:00.007-04:00

I roughly carve out the figure and use black crayon to indicate the profile of the face. At this point I had considered having both legs in front of her and have indicated that in crayon. I decided to fold her right leg under her and have removed stone to indicate the leg, leaving it roughly cut to indicate fabric. I have cut the profile of the face and have removed some stone from behind the head. I want to move the left leg over and indicate that in crayon. I also need to remove more stone along the line of her back to give her more depth. I crayon the center line of the face and the features. At the end of the stone, I mark where different parts (foot, elbow) are. I leave the foot intentionally wide, so I can move it left or right as the carving progresses. I remove the corners and some of the back of the stone with a 9" angle grinder, in order to open the stone more. Here she is, for now. The arm and hand are wide, for the same reason that the foot is wide. I may want to move things around as I finish. I work a little bit on various areas, like the face, foot and back, as I move toward a finish. Here is a little bumble bee that got into the studio and was anxious to get out. I got it onto a piece of paper and put it outside. Not sure what these are, but they are tiny. Each clump of blooms is only 1/2" across. Close up of a Twin-blade wildflower. The bears have been officially approved- from right to left is Mary Ann Pollard who commissioned the bears, Genie Lee her sister, Mary Ann's niece, Karen Coke, Lauren Wigginton and Lynnie Meyer, administrators from Norton Healthcare Foundation. On the far left is Katherine Vowels, who is responsible, not only for me securing this commission, but also the commission of the baby elephant sculpture (Ely) at the Louisville Zoo. Many thanks Kate!

Otter fountain sculpture and carving Alabama Marble

2011-03-20T20:51:00.014-04:00

This will be a bronze otter and limestone basin with waterlilies. I chose a fairly thick stone, so that I can make the basin deep enough to accomodate the otter. I use a 9 inch angle grinder to remove stone from the basin. But, it is difficult to work like this, so...

...we used the crane truck to turn it onto it's side. I can now more easily remove the stone from the basin.

Then, we turn it back up, so that I can finish the lily pads and flowers.

I am just starting to work out the flowers and leaves.

Don helps me with the bronze otter, so that I can see the way that it will fit into the basin.

This week, I started the Syacauga Marble sculpture by sketching on the shape with a timber crayon. I worked out a model, but changed my mind about what I wanted to do with the piece. So, I had Don take pictures of me in the pose before I began.

The side of the stone. I have marked out how deep various parts of the figure are - hand, head and shoulder, so I can refer to that as I carve.

The figure just beginning.

This figure has progressed, but I like to get away from a piece for a while by working on other sculptures - that way, I come back with a fresh eye.

We've had some flooding in the area; this is our neighbor's field.
The weather has been warm and flowers have begun to open...

Work progresses and the start of two more sculptures

2011-03-14T20:14:00.014-04:00

One thing that I do, that helps me to work out a sculpture, is to take a photo of it and then manipulate the image in Photoshop. I used the pencil tool to add lines to see what areas that I need to remove. In the old days, I would take photos and have them developed and then draw on the photo.

This is the view from the front. I am working out where the leg needs to be. Also, her face and hair are too wide. I need to make the back thinner, but I need to be careful not to remove too much, as this is a stacked piece and I need to keep it fairly thick and substantial to support the top block.

I have started working out where the hand is going to be. The second block has a lot of extra stone protruding, which I am going to incorporate into the piece as drapery. This will be a lot more interesting than if it was cut off.

Another piece, that I am starting, is for the Yew Dell show in May. I am going to carve out a basin with lily pads for a lifesize bronze otter. This will be a fountain with water cascading over the side. The stone is a little big for the otter, so I need to cut it down. First, I drill with a hammerdrill....(photo Don Lawler)

My view of the drill.

I hammer feathers and wedges in to split the stone..(photo Don Lawler)

Another stone for Yew Dell- this is Alabama White Marble from Sylacauga Alabama. I will be bouncing between these three sculptures for the show.

We have had a lot of rain, and the lower part of the propery has flooded. Eddie calmly takes it all in.

A couple of goldfinches at the feeder.

Work continues, trolley hop and bear approval

2011-03-06T21:23:00.019-05:00

I cut the face from the side of the sculpture so that I can begin carving in the facial features.

I keep the face to check against to make sure the eyes, mouth, etc are in the right position.
I use a china marker to sketch the arm, hair,waist and skirt.

I begin forming the body with a 4" angle grinder. I cut around the arm as well. I start to lightly define the leg.

Switching off the stacked piece to Ophelia, I trimed off the edges of the stone using an angle grinder. I used a hammer to tap off the sections of stone to be removed.

We attended the opening of Chris Mozier's one man show at the downtown Bristol. Here are some of the other people attending. Excellent work with a mix of subtle colors with strong accents and interesting textures. Don and I were impressed.

Chris's show was during the trolley hop (first Friday) so we made the most of our Lousiville visit and went to several galleries - Zephyr, Pyro and we also ventured into Tim Faulkner Gallery- first time for us. There is an interesting group of work that can be discovered by exploring through various rooms.

We parked behind this facade of a building. I thought the light made for an interesting shot.

The man and woman who commissioned the bear came out to see and approve it today. They were very happy with the piece. I didn't think of snapping a picture while they were looking at the bear but I got this pic of their son, daughter and friends on our caboose!

Seldom do you see the red belly of the Red Bellied Woodpecker. Here it is...

A new sculpture, Ophelia, Daphne and University of Louisville talk

2011-02-27T18:45:00.020-05:00

I have decided to make a stacked sculpture utilizing these 3 blocks. I will leave the shape of the blocks as they are, and carve a woman in the right hand side. Her dress and hair are blowing in the wind; blending into the stone.

I start by marking out the dimensions of the top block. It is missing stone on the left side, so I plan on having the woman's lifted arm in the right hand side. The measurement is 1/2 the size of the block.

I start the model by creating a head.

I work the figure up, checking my dimensions to make sure that she fits in the block.

Here she is with hair...

...and a dress...

I photographed the model and used the pictures to transfer the image to the stone. At this point, I am using the model as a reference, but if I can get a better feel by a freehand sketch, so be it. I cut sections of stone to be removed with a 4" angle grinder and a diamond wheel.

I cut the profile of the face with the 4 inch angle grinder and cut across the block, to establish the body and find the arm.

Meanwhile, Ophelia progresses...

Daphne has been patiently waiting her turn, and I will soon be able to finish her. We had to move her when work was being done on the new studio, and this was the safest place. But, she's too close to the building for me to work on the back of her, so I have to move her out. Which we will do shortly...

Don and I visited Dick and Ardi Wilson, who are interested in commissioning a couple of sculptures, though I won't be able to do anything for them until the end of summer. Don and Dick stand just to the side of a potential site...

Don and I gave a talk at U of L for the Public Art Class which is taught by Ed Hamilton, who created the Lincoln sculpture on the Waterfront in Louisville. This is Matt Weir, his assistant and a friend of ours, who did the tiger sculpture for Saint X High School.

Here we are - Matt, Ed and Don - after the talk.

Elwood by the creek.

A close-up of a tree's bark....

A new sculpture and the first signs of spring

2011-02-20T18:13:00.005-05:00

I started a new sculpture of Ophelia. I have marked with crayon where the face will be, and the general pattern of the hair.

I have established the face and made general movements of the hair with a grinder and die-grinders.

I have further refined the face and am starting to make deeper cuts, to add shadows in the hair.

We have a pile of stone that have been cut off from various jobs by the chainsaw. I think there is potential in these 3 stones. But what, well, you'll have to wait for the next post.

Tristan Hutchison, a neighbor, directs his father, Mike, who is loading one of two stones for Chris Mozier and Mike McCarthy.

A deer is visiting our bird feeder.

A couple of weeks ago, we had temperatures below zero and the result were these frost crystals on a vine near the creek.

It has warmed up a lot since then, and I was out looking for signs of new life. These Springtail looked like pepper sprinkled on the water; they are so tiny.

This is a sure sign of spring, Daffodils pushing up through the earth.

And what's this? It's peach soda in a blue glass - see the unusual in the everyday.

The Bears are finished!

2011-02-09T14:55:00.007-05:00

The Bears are finished! The Bears are finished!
The sculpture was started back in 2002 and set aside. Originally, it was going to be a polar bear playing with its foot. Then, I thought I'd rather do a mother Grizzly with cubs. Mary Ann Pollard came out and saw the existing sculptural preform. When I explained to her how I'd like to finish the piece, she decided to commission the sculpture and have it placed at Kosair Children's Hospital in Louisville, KY. What follows are before-and-after from various views of the sculpture.

It makes me tired to look at how much it took, to get a finished piece from the old preform.

A cardinal in the snow.

The morning sun over the frozen creek.

Finishing touches on the bears.

2011-02-02T09:04:00.016-05:00

For the finish work, I employ halogen worklights. One pair is up on scaffolding, the other on the ground, to help me see areas that need just a bit more work.

I am nearly finished with this area, just a bit more cleanup necessary.

I use a china marker (basically a black crayon) to mark where I need hairs, and notes about what needs to be done in an area. The note says "edge" and has arrows pointing to the nose indicating the edge needs to be more rounded. Crosshatching means an area is too high.

I have marked where I need additional hairs with the black crayon and have further deepened the crease under the mother's chin and neck.

This is a small flat end burr that I use to create a deep shadow under the mother's chin and neck.

I use a point burr to add fur texture in creases.

I also use it to clean up areas around the eye.

It was a foggy day at the studio....

I feed birds, and today while I was putting out seed, I came upon this possum looking for snacks. I stayed very still - they have terrible eyesight -and watched him as he foraged for food. He would walk along, then suddenly turn to root around in the leaves and eat whatever morsel he found. He came very close to me (just a few yards) never realizing I was there.

And then, he wandered away.

Details, Details, Details

2011-01-22T18:30:00.006-05:00

They say, "God is in the details". But, I've also heard it said, "The Devil is in the details". (Maybe a bit of both).

I have gone back to add a bit more definition to the fur on this side.

This is the claws of the cub's paw. Just needs a bit more refinement.

The back paw of the same cub - the one being cleaned.

I use 80 grit sandpaper to smooth the claws.

I use a die grinder to gently open the cub's pupil.

This is what the family looks like from above. Almost done.

Queen Annes Lace holding snow.

Daphne with ice crystals.

A cat has made it's way to shallower snow.

Otey: the smallest of the donkeys, but the boss!

fur and more fur - detailing the cubs

2011-01-12T16:02:00.015-05:00

I am carving the claws of the cub that is being cleaned by its mother. This is a ball diamond burr with 1/4" shank.

These are some of the diamond burrs that I use for carving the bear's claws, nose, fur, etc. The ball is very effective for removing stone when I start to define an area. I start with the largest burr to begin carving the form, and then work down to smaller and narrower burrs. The two burrs on the right are used more for fur, the point for creases and to define eyes, nose, etc. When carving a form it is best to think about carving around the form instead of carving on the form. If that makes sense. I get diamond burrs from www.lopacki.com

This is the hair inside the mother's right rear leg. The interior areas of the sculpture are some of the most difficult, as I have to use a large die grinder which is slow and the area needs to be blown out periodically as the dust loads up pretty quick.

This is the intersection of the cub's foot, mother's left elbow and her rear leg. I have just begun to define it - it will need a little deeper carving to get the definition that I want.

I have carved out the area between the cub's upper arm and the mother's back foot and have applied a fur pattern. Also, I have opened the area between the cub's head and mother's back foot and I have blocked out the mother's claws.

The bears, from the right side.

This is the left side of the bears. I have recarved the mother's shoulder and have reworked the mother's fur texture on this side, but I will go back and add more depth with deeper carving. The fur needs several passes to get the look that I'm after.
Juanita was in my last post and I thought I'd show you another of my donkeys, Ed. He has had a treat and is begging for another. Can't you tell he's saying "Please?"

A Doe looks at me while her fawn eats cracked corn. We started feeding deer accidentally. The store where we buy sweet feed for the donkeys loaded up a bag of cracked corn by mistake. Corn is too rich for the donkeys to eat, so we started feeding the deer and once you start, it's hard to stop.

This is a snow flake on the car window surrounded by frost crystals .

More work on the Grizzly sculpture, into the New Year

2011-01-02T22:32:00.009-05:00

I have been working on the cub that the mother bear is cleaning. I have applied a fur texture and opened the area around the leg.

I have also defined the mother's head and eye on this side.
I have marked on the cub's arm the areas that need further definition.
I have been working on the interior sections of the sculpture, opening the area behind this cub's head and around the mother's leg.

I have refined both faces and have cut the pupils of the eyes with a straight, round end burr, being careful not go too quickly, carving out little bits at a time. Because, if you try to go too fast, you can blow out an eye.

A view of two cubs across the sculpture.

This is Juanita, one of my donkeys, being friendly.

These are pictures of ice crystals that I took during the extreme cold...

...and these are more ice pictures.

This is a barred owl near the studio at dusk.

We spent Christmas eve at my sister's house. We were lucky, Santa stopped by to visit!

Bear work continues, snow and cold and Seasons Greetings

2010-12-12T20:23:00.008-05:00

I open the area between the mother's paw and the cub's body with a large die-grinder.

The interior has been difficult to work in and has proven slow. I have crayoned around the nose, as it needs to be a bit smaller.

I have defined this cub's brow and eyes and have started to deepen the crease between the cub's head and the mother's leg.

I have been refining this cub's face, adding detail and softening the form.

I have work in the new Book "Bernheim" written by Sharon Receveur and Tavia Cathcart. It is a fascinating book covering Isaac Wolfe Bernheim's life, the creation of Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest, the various species of plants and animals that can be encountered there, as well as the art projects and sculptures located at Bernheim. Paul Fields is well represented in the book with photos from the time he was artist in residence, creating the "Snail", as well as installing "Blossom" which is dedicated to his mother. Paul was the first sculptor in the Louisville area carving large stone and paved the way for the rest of us (Don, Al Nelson, Matt Weir, myself and many others).

There are two images in the book of my sculpture "Emerging" which was donated to Bernheim by Varley Weideman.

I was walking down by the creek and found snowflakes caught in a spiderweb.

A titmouse on the clothesline in today's snow.

Season's Greetings! Here is this year's greeting card, poem and photo (copyright Meg White 2010).

4 Grizzly Bears and 2 open houses

2010-12-05T16:44:00.009-05:00

I have been working on the interior areas of the bear, deepening shadows and applying hair patterns.

I'm detailing the top cub. Some of the crayon marks are to show me the fur pattern, and other marks for the bridge of the nose, which needs a bit more definition.

I bounce back and forth between various areas - a little nose carving here, a bit of eye defintion there, and then there is always fur pattern to be done.

This shot shows a bit of each cub and the mother's face.

Don and I went to Charlie Oldham's open house to see what kind of fossil and crystal goodies he had for sale ... and he has lots - fossils, dinosaur teeth, crystals, jewelry...

A couple of big kids looking for pretty rocks...

Lots of crystals at Charlie's Rock Shop...

There was lots of good food and entertainment.

After Charlies Rock shop, we visited the Studio Works open house. Located at the corner of Bardstown Rd. and Eastern Parkway in Louisville, Ky., it provides an artistic outlet for people with mental disabilities. The work is fun and inventive - these are various food items - roast turkey, banana split, etc. in glazed clay.

Detailing a cub, Thanksgiving and Freezing Fog

2010-11-28T15:59:00.005-05:00

I am finishing the cub on the belly first. I use a pointed bit to work around the edge of the eye.

I have used a flat end bit to accentuate the fur on the cub's cheeks while making the hair on the muzzle more flat.

Another view of the "Belly cub".

A side view of the cub on its mother's belly.

To define the pads of the foot, I use an air tool called a Roloc with a 120 grit sanding disk.

Thanksgiving was at my twin Sister's in-laws. Her husband, Steve, cooked the turkey.

This morning, there was a freezing fog....

which left lots of ice crystals to be found in the shadows.

My nephew is now an Eagle Scout!

2010-11-21T20:40:00.003-05:00

I am adding another blog tonight in honor of my nephew Danny who just made Eagle Scout. Only 1 in 50 boy scouts ever achieves this highest rank, so of course, it's a big deal.

Danny is ready for the ceremony to begin. In front of him, from left to right, are his sister, Beth, my twin sister Liz and her husband Steve.

Danny's project for his Eagle Scout merit badge was to catalog over 2,000 books for the West End School for Boys in Louisville, Ky. Cassius Clay was a student here, many years ago.

Here's Dan in an "after" shot.

Dannys Grandfather and I play dueling cameras.

Dan gives his speech.

Dan takes his pledge as an Eagle scout.

And there were pins for Danny, his father and mother. Congratulations Danny!

And following the ceremony -Cake!

Finishing touches on the Bears and sky high photo

2010-11-21T20:06:00.005-05:00

While I am working on the hair pattern, I check both sides to make sure the pattern is somewhat consistant. I am working in various areas, refining the cub's feet, opening up the areas between the cub's legs and the mother's, as well as refining her face, nose and eyes.

This is the mother's right forearm. I have used a diamond wheel tool on the fur at the bottom of the photo. The testure at the top is from a masonry wheel on an angle grinder. You can see how much more dimension is achieved by using the diamond wheel. It is a lot more work, though. Also, you need a good strong light from the side in order to really see what you're doing.

This is a flared flat ended diamond tool on a small die-grinder for putting hairs on the cub's foot. I do a lot of shaping with this tool, as I put on the hair.

I use the same tool for cutting in the nose of this cub.

It's also handy for setting the eye back into the skull.

I use a larger die-grinder to open the area between the mother bear's leg and the cub's leg. I work the area from both sides until I have it opened.

How did I manage to get a photo of the property from so high up? I'll never tell!

This is some insect work going on here - this is from earlier in the year, just ran across it and thought it was interesting.

More die grinder work, hair patterns and a nest platform for osprey

2010-11-14T19:54:00.003-05:00

I use a large die grinder with a silicon carbide bit to work out stone between the cub's body and the mother's leg. You may notice that this cub is very unfinished. I leave different areas unfinished as I apply a hair texture, to give me a break from all those hairs! I come back to these unfinished areas and do a little defining and cleaning up between hair-applying sessions.

I use the die grinder to deepen the area under the mother's paw and head, to give the area some good shadows.

I am using two separate diamond bits to give the mother and cub different fur textures. For the mother, I use a wheel bit and long strokes. For the cub, I use a flat end bit and short strokes.

I have completed the fur pattern part way up the mother's front leg.
The electric company put in new lines the other day.

And what's that in the field by the creek? A nest platform for Ospreys. We'll see next year if it appeals to prospective Osprey parents.

Die grinder work

2010-11-08T20:53:00.003-05:00

I have been using a die grinder to define the cubs and make them "pop" visually.

I work behind the ear...

under the foot...

between the cubs head and mothers leg...

a then there is a little bit of manicure work to do...

This cub has been crayoned in preparation of die grinder work.

A Daddy Longlegs grooming a leg.

and a branch holding the moon.

Bears continue and a Halloween Party

2010-10-31T16:33:00.007-04:00

I recarved the bears shoulder, as it was too high and long. Also, I have increased the depth of the hair texture. This was done with a masonry wheel on a 4" grinder. I will go over it a few more times to add texture and depth. It will be moved outside for the final texture. Having it out in the sun will help me to see areas that need more emphasis as well as areas that are a little raw and in need of refinement.

On the bears left side I am further refining the head and neck and applying a fur pattern. I am also cleaning up areas around paws, creases, etc.

I formed the faces with a die- grinder as I wanted to go slow and make sure they were positioned correctly, but now I have gone back with a 4" grinder to flatten out the planes of the bears muzzles.

As you can see from this view, the lower cub needs a bit more work on his face, but he's getting there.

Don and I are invited to a neighbors Steve Mcmillen and Alice Kimble's Halloween Party. Don is going as the Cowardly Lion (from the Wizard of Oz) and I am going as a Surinam Toad - they brood their offspring in their back. As you can see they are now in the process of leaving home.

Popeye takes a picture of Don as the Cowardly Lion.

Abrayah is a Goth girl.

A beautiful witch holding a cat with glowing eyes - it sings too.

Carrie and a Pimp. Of course if Carrie had gone to the prom with a pimp they would never have been voted King and Queen and her dress would never have gotten ruined and there wouldn't have been all those killings. But then that would be an entirely different book.

On the left is a Bounty Hunter, on the right a Lady Leopard.

Even Anthony, their dog was in costume. In case you haven't guessed it, he's a clown.

Finding the cubs, a show at Pyro

2010-10-24T18:06:00.004-04:00

I am using a die-grinder to shape the cub's head. I am also using it to remove stone under the head.

I am opening the area around the ear and down the mother's leg. I am careful not to create a pocket that will hold water.

The cub is still blocky in feeling; I will refine it as I apply fur texture.

I am applying fur texture to the mother bear's leg. First, I made a pattern with a masonry wheel on a 4" grinder (right side of picture). Then, I come back with this little die grinder and make random, somewhat deep, cuts with this diamond wheel tool. I, then, use this same tool to make individual hairs, varying the pressure as I go to create dimension to the fur.

Here is the mother's leg with fur texture. I will move the sculpture outside before I am finished, to make sure everything looks the way I want it.

Al Nelson and Bob Lockhart have work included in a show at Pyro Gallery in Louisville, Ky. This is Don looking at a work in wood by Bob Lockhart.

This is a sculpture by Al Nelson. The center is stone and can be easily spun around because....

It has an hourglass inside! Really ingenious.

A woman admires another sculpture of Al's, as seen through Bob Lockharts sculpture.

A screech owl watched us, as we drove by.

Continuing the bear, and a party in the Indiana Hills

2010-10-17T19:46:00.009-04:00

I have opened up the area between the bear's front leg and and back leg on her back side. I am just beginning to form the cub's leg and foot - barely visible in this photo.

Here is a view of the cubs play fighting on mom's belly, still have a bit of work to do on ... I was writing this Sunday night, when Don said, " Something's wrong with Grumpess". I went into the other room and there she was on her side, panting and pupils dilated. Don called Jefferson Animal Hospitals (open 24 hours) and they said "bring her in" and so we drove the hour and a half to the hospital (periodically checking to make sure she was still with us). They admitted her right away and put her on oxygen. Though the first meeting with the Doctor wasn't hopeful (her responses weren't good), ultimately she came around and made a full recovery . Below is a picture of Grumpess taken today -

the orange nose in the upper left corner is Mickey (another cat) rubbing against the camera.

Back to the bears. Here are the cubs play fighting on their mothers belly. I am working the faces slowly, leaving them a bit wide and working my way in to where they should be. I use a crayon to mark the center lines of the faces, where the eyes are, etc.

You can see that there is a lot going on here. Back of cubs head, mothers foot and mouth, two cubs and the cubs back foot. I have to be very careful to get everything to fit together.

I have opened up areas around the cubs paws using a die grinder. I will open it further with an air hammer.

Don and I were invited to Tom and Claire Burkhardt's farm for a celebration of their 20th Wedding anniversary. Here is a pic of Tom with the sculpture Don gave them.

At the party there was a Bluegrass band...

Lots of good food...

And pony rides!

A little girl sits on a bench Don did years ago, enjoying the music.

Here is a beautiful Weimaraner, not sure if her attention is on the music or the aromas from the food....

Grizzly sculpture continues, a visit to the bears final destination and a birthday party

2010-10-10T19:01:00.005-04:00

The mother bear is holding the cub she is cleaning with both front paws. The left paw crosses over her chest and I am defining this area. This is slow work as the area fills up with dust making it difficult to read the form, so I have to repeatedly use the air hose to blow out the dust and make sure of what I am carving. I am also beginning to block out the cubs left ear another area I have to be careful of as the ear is right against it's mother's leg.

I have carved the mother bears belly more deeply which helps defines the legs and I have been further refining the mother bears feet.

Here is the bear from the left side. I had applied more of a fur texture to the cub and I am also getting better definition in the mother bears head and shoulders.

Here are most of the bear faces. It has taken a bit of time to get these the way I want, everything is so close I have had to be careful when working on one cubs face not to inadvertantly cut into the other cubs nose or paw. It has involved a lot of climbing up and down and working from various angles to make sure of what needs to come off. I have used a timber crayon to draw on the mouths. If I don't like the mark I can always erase it with sandpaper. Mark twice (or maybe 7 times) cut once, they say.

This play area is where the bear will be placed when it is completed. The round concrete pad under the green planter is it's final destination.

October 8th was my nephew Joeys 6th birthday, so I had to be there to see him blow out the candles and deliver my present to him.

Here is Joe in the present I gave him, a Hoberman Sphere. He really had a lot of fun playing with it and in it.

Here is a little guy that landed on me. I put him on a plant, but he came back as he was licking salt (or sweat) off my hand.

Meanwhile, back at the Bear...

2010-10-03T16:37:00.006-04:00

I used a 4" angle-grinder to block out the mother bear's foot and claws. I will be back to further define the foot later.

I opened up the areas between the cub's legs and the mother with a die grinder. A hammer drill would be faster, but it might risk cracking the stone, as the cub's leg is not very thick. So, I opt for the slower, but safer, route of grinding.

I have further defined this whole side of the mother bear ( shoulder still needs work). I have been concentrating on feet and opening up the interior spaces of the sculpture, such as under the mother's head and back foot, etc.

Coming around the side of the piece, you can see that I have applied hair texture. I will be back for a couple more passes, to add dimension. The cubs are almost completely blocked, then they will be refined and furred.

The rear view of the sculpture.

This is how the cub on the belly looked, not too long ago. I had the left front paw too high, so I decided to move the elbow up and the paw down.

I have cut the paw down, so that the pad is against the mother's leg.

Another view.

Our neighbors invited us to their daughter's birthday pary at Jailhouse Pizza in Brandenburg, KY. It is in the old jail that overlooks the Ohio River. You can eat your pizza in the old jail cells which are made of heavy steel. Though everyone is interested in looking, most eat elsewhere in the Pizzaria.

The door leading to the dining area cell. (Not especially welcoming- diners check in, but they don't check out).

One of Abrayah's birthday gifts - cash - can't go wrong with cash.
(One size fits all).

This is a green heron in the slough.

Chiseled in Vandalia, Louisville Waterfront park

2010-10-03T13:59:00.009-04:00

Here are some images from a variety of recent activities.

Don and I went up to Vandalia, Ohio to see the "Chiseled" stone symposium. This is John Leon of Cincinnati, Ohio.

The main reason that we made the journey was to see how Matt Weir was doing. He was well on his way to being finished, on the day we were there.

Todd Frahm of Bloomington, Indiana was making great progress on his Tree Frog and lightbulb. He has a great video on YouTube of time-lapsed images that show the progress of the sculpture from start to finish.

This is Lasha Kidasheli, who is originally from eastern Europe.

This is Patrick Sullivan of B.C. Canada.

About a week later, we stopped in at Louisville skateboard park so that I could snap some photos.

I got a lot of pictures of air-borne kids.
This guy is flipping his board.

This little guy is getting help from his dad.

After that, we walked down to Waterfront Park, to see the new Lincoln Memorial. There are a number of plaques on big, polished black granite plinths by Ed Hamilton and Juliet Ehrlich. A granite wall with quotes from Lincoln stands behind the sculpture. It's quite an impressive installation and, obviously, very popular.

This is Ed Hamilton's statue of Abraham Lincoln.

On the way back to the car, I snapped this shot of the sun setting over the Louisville waterfront.

Before we made it out of the city, we found out that it was "India Day" on the Belvedere.

The dancers were fantastic, and we took home 2 boxes with an incredible variety of India food. I'll be watching for the next India Day!

Installing sculptures from Yew Dell show, Art in the Highlands show

2010-09-26T19:25:00.013-04:00

The third Yew Dell show has come down and we are removing the sculptures. Some to return home with us, others will be delivered to their new homes. The Mechanical Hand has been at Yew Dell for three years and now it's time to move on.

Demeter will be loaded onto the crane truck as there is not a lot of room on the flat bed truck because of the Hand. Derrick Sheroan of JBB inc. of Hardinsburg operates the crane.

Nexus is going to a new home too. The hook of the crane is lowered into place.

Don steadies Nexus as it is loaded onto the truck. All the sculpture will be strapped down, then we can head out to deliver the work.

Demeter has the shortest path to travel and so she is delivered first.

A footer was prepared for her by Mark Foster. It is slightly raised as there will plantings around her base and I don't want her to be overwhelmed by the plants.

Demeter installed.
The Nexus installation was a bit tricky. It went into a cool old cemetary, but the site was under a tree which made it a little difficult. Derrick and Don looked at how to approach it - there was a gap in the limbs - and slowly and carefully the sculpture was lifted up and over and then down to the site.

This is Robert Maddox, he and his family bought the sculpture as a monument for their parents. He is pictured here on the left, a passerby is standing next to him, his daughters are on the right side of the photo, petting the dog.

Talk about a small world, he is one of the donors that contributed to the commission of the sculptures I did for Home of the Innocents in Cave Hill Cemetary.

Here is nexus with a bench in the foreground.

Nexus installed!

I stopped by Art in the Highlands to check out the work of Jenni Pollard. She is the daughter of the woman who is commissioning the Grizzly for Norton Children's Hospital. I believe that this is Jenni's first weekend Art and Craft show, but she sold $1,000.00 in work. Way to go Jenni!

I ran into BobLockhart at the show too. He's a great sculptor with a number of public commissions. His animal sculptures are wonderful. In this photo he is reading my shirt, it says "Louisville Leopards". They are a percussion group which performs a great deal around Louisville and beyond and has been on HBO. My niece was in the group - kids can be in the Leopards up to the 7th grade or so.

I found this spider under the wheelbarrow. I'm pretty sure it's a black widow - so I moved her to a safer spot for her and me.

Summer's End

2010-09-22T14:19:00.014-04:00

Tomorrow is the official equinox, and the start of the fall season.I am appyling hair texture to the Grizzly Bear stone sculpture . As I apply a finish to a sculpture, it helps me to see areas that are still high. The mother's left side is high, and I am shaving it down with a diamond wheel on a 4" grinder.

Here, I am working on the mother bear's left side - I have shaved off the area that was too high on her hip and leg and am working around towards the cub. The shoulder area is heavy, I have crayoned in the area that needs to be removed.

Meanwhile, Don was involved with 'crating and freighting' the molds for the Terre Haute commission. The first step, which involved my help, was duct taping the molds together.

Don built the crate, using a standard pallet as the base. He uses 2x4 braces with a 3/4" plywood skin. He is installing a deck mid-way up the box, so that the molds aren't lying on top of each other.

He gathered a pick-up load of carpet padding scraps from Fashion Floors of Brandenburg, and wrapped up the plaster and rubber molds. It's a long, bumpy ride to Art Castings in Loveland, Colorado.

Last night, we received the freight truck from R&L Trucking. The loaded crate is on our crane truck - rigged up and ready to go.

It was a happy moment to see the crate of molds, safely loaded and on their way to the foundry.

Yellowbank Creek wraps around our home property, and as I walked the banks, I spotted this carp feeding up in the shallows.

As soon as he saw me...SPLASH!!!...and he (or was it a she) was gone.

Bear Modifications and the finishing of the molds

2010-09-15T20:48:00.005-04:00

I wanted the hips to be lifting more, to give the movent that I wanted. She is using her back foot to restrain her cub that she is cleaning. I felt that she looked a little heavy at the base, so I colored in the area beneath her shoulders and beneath her hips with lumber crayon. After stepping back and taking pictures, thinking about it, I decided to remove that area.

I used a 4 inch angle grinder and a hammer to remove the stone.

Here she is with the stone removed. I am much happier with the form now.

I have a similar view in the previous post. Here, I have removed the stone between the mother's back paws and have refined the cub and the mother's head. I have carved the mother's left shoulder much farther in, where her left front leg crosses her chest to hold the cub that she is cleaning.

Meanwhile, Don is applying the plaster mother mold to the last of the molds. Soon, they will be packed and shipped to the foundry.

After a thin first layer of plaster is applied, a layer of hemp saturated in plaster is applied to the mold surface. This gives the plaster a great deal of strength.

Additional layers of plaster are added and the form smoothed.

When the plaster is thoroughly dry, it is pried open. The plaster mother mold pieces are carefully set to the side, leaving the rubber coated piece.

The rubber mold is then opened by gently separating a layer of rubber on one side of the shim. An exacto knife is used to cut the little bit of rubber, below the shim, which were the first 2 layers that were applied over the clay.

When that has been done all the way around the piece, you can lift the rubber mold pieces from the clay.

The plaster and rubber molds are then reassembled (without the clay), and labeled. They are now ready to be packed and shipped to the foundry.

Bird n Claws - I thought it was interesting that the branches resemble bird's feet.

The Grizzly Bear Days of August

2010-09-06T17:50:00.014-04:00

My main focus of energy, during the month of August, has been the carving of a mother Grizzly Bear and 3 cubs for the Norton Children's Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky.

I continued to carve the forms of the baby bears that are on their mother. This area is particularly tricky - the bear cubs playing have to relate, somewhat nose to nose. The mother bear's front foreleg is under the right paw of the cub clinging to her back leg. I want the mother grooming the cub clinging to her right forepaw, but I also what a good view of her face on the left side, so I can't turn her head in. (A lot of things to consider in a complicated piece like this.) I have to be careful when I am carving one paw not to take off someone else's. I write "mother's leg" and "cub's paw" on various parts in crayon, to keep myself out of trouble. Also, I am using a hammer drill to open up the negative space under the mother's head, as a grinder is difficult to get in there.

This is the progress of the baby on her belly, that is play fighting with the first cub.

Here is a view from above that shows the 2 front feet and the head of the 2nd cub with a bit of the standing cub's face, mothers face and bottom of mother bear's paw.
This view shows the 3rd cub, that is getting cleaned by his mother. The black marks are lumber crayon. These are areas that I am considering carving further.

Meanwhile, Don continued the mold process for my Terre Haute commission. Don used clear plastic, rather than bubble sheet, to make the part line for the hands. Here, he is drawing the outline with a marker, so that he will get a tight fit with the clear plastic shim.

He uses pins to hold the shims in place until he fastens them with a bead of rubber compound stiffened up with Polyfil 2.

He has finished applying the rubber mold compound to all 17 pieces. Next, he trimmed the edges of the molds so that they would register well inside the plaster mother molds. This trimming process also makes it easier to demold the pieces and make the wax castings.

We attended the "First Friday" series of gallery openings in Louisville. This is Max, a budding artist who had set up on the sidewalk. I hope we see more of Max and his work in the future.
An art appreciator, enjoying the perfect weather.

Hot glass was being manipulated at Flame Run Studio on Market street.

...and, away from the intense pace of the city art scene, life goes on as usual for this resident of Paradise Bottom.

mold work on the Terre Haute commission

2010-08-17T13:23:00.016-04:00

This is my 100th blog posting! The clay work for the Terre Haute family group was approved. The next step is to make molds of the sculpture and send them to the foundry, to become bronze.

The sculpture must be cut into pieces, to make it manageable for making molds and pieces that the foundry can pour at one time. We removed the heads first, using a wire tool.

Next, we used a sawzall to cut off the arms, which were then mounted upright onto waiting boards with pins. It is intensely nerve racking to cut up a sculpture that I've worked on for months.

Then, the children were cut up and removed, leaving the two adult torsos and legs. When everything was cut into handleable sizes, there were 17 separate pieces to be molded.

The mold work was turned over to Don and our neighbor, Steve McMillen. Steve helped Don on the Home of the Innocents sculpture groups last year. Steve is mixing the 2 part rubber Polygel 40 that we buy from Polytek. Even though we bought the mold compound in 5 gallon buckets, they pour the compound into separate quart cans, to keep down spillage. Notice the plastic sheet - mold making is messy, no matter how careful you are.

The first coat is the most important, as that picks up the surface details. You have to make sure that the rubber compound is pushed into every crevice, and that there are no bubbles.

After the first coat becomes hard, but still tacky, they apply a second coat. When it has gone off, but still tacky, thet apply the part-line shims. They use bubble sheet from sculpture depot in Loveland, Colorado. The sheet is cut into long strips, and those strips get smeared with trewax. Don is cutting the bubble sheet to follow the contour of the sculpture. He makes cuts where the curves are too sharp for the strips and tapes the pieces together with a special tape that we get from sculpture depot. The strips are attached to the sculpture temporarily with straight pins, right through the rubber coat and into the clay.

"...there's no place like home..."

They mix up a regular batch of rubber (equal volumes of part A and part B), and then mix in this light fluffy stuff called Polyfil 2 that we get from Polytek. It makes the rubber compoung stiff, like cake icing. They put it into a plastic baggy, cut the corner and apply it along the seams. Don uses a knife to smooth it out. They have seen people use a short cut by squirting a bead along the drawn-on part line and stick in plastic shims, without the fuss of cutting, taping and pins. It's a little sloppy, so they prefer to take the extra steps.

A third, fourth and fifth coat is applied over the shims and sculpture pieces. Then, they mix up more rubber with polyfil (to a thick icing consistency) and apply it with a plastic knife to areas that have any undercuts. A plaster mother mold will be applied to each mold. Those mother mold pieces have to come off easily, so there can't be undercuts that will hold the plaster.

A final sixth coat is applied, as sometimes the surface of the polyfil mix can be rough. The manufacturer recommends that you only start what you can finish that day. Don and Steve have finished 11 out of 17 pieces at this point. When they finish the rubber work, they will apply the plaster mother molds.