Installation of the tree of life, Daphne and the paper cat and conversation

 Don's sculpture Tree of Life was recently installed at Cave Hill Cemetery.  This is the granite gase upon which Don's bronze tree will be attached.

 The bronze tree was delivered to the studio.  It was uncrated there to make sure that no damage occured in transit from the foundry.  We then, with Steve Macmillens help, loaded up the sculpture and brought it up to Cave Hill Cemetery's receiving area.  First the sculpture is fitted to the stone.

 Lee Squires,(on the left) General Manager of Cave Hill, met us in the receiving area.  The Leis family (in foreground) also met us there, they were anxious to see the finished bronze tree.

A stainless threaded rod will attach the bronze to the granite securely, but first a hole must be drilled in the granite.  Billy (who works at Cave Hill Cemetery) checks the angle that Don is drilling the stone and indicates which way to move the drill so that it is straight up and down.  After the hole is drilled to sufficient depth, the sculpture is then fitted to the granite again.  Then we go over to the site to install the sculpture.

 Billy manuevers the granite into place.  "It needs to be over to the left more", says Don. But Billy has a plan...

 Using a crow bar and a piece of cardboard, Billy gently moves the stone over, gettting it exactly in the right place.  I was impressed, so was Don.

 Setting compound is applied between the bronze and stone...

The finished tree of life, Don did an excellent job.

I found this picture of my Grey Cat from about 1989.  The cat is made up entirely

of Canson Mi-tientes paper and Elmer's Glue. I folded and cut all those paper hairs which

reminds me of.... 

     

 Daphne and all her many leaves.  A hugely different process, the cat being additive and the stone reductive.  They do have one thing in common - they were both an ordeal.And here is a video of me working on Daphne.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCr64wR9y7U

 And here I am using an air hammer on a piece entitled "The Conversation"  I have also been working on models for a potential commission but won't post those until everything is finalized.

What's this? The inside of a backlit, dried up Queen Annes Lace flower.