Bear Modifications and the finishing of the molds

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.

More finishing, Yew Dell opening

I go over various areas smoothing some, detailing others.


I use a rake tool to finish off the bottom of the womans shoe.


Making a nice edge on the mans sleeve.


I use a brush and orange oil to smooth areas of the mans hand.


A view of the almost completed sculpture.


And from another angle.


Another angle



Yet another angle. I like to make a sculpture interesting from all sides.



This Friday the garden sculpture show opened at Yew Dell Gardens in Crestwood. We had a nice crowd and good sales. By the end of the weekend there were over $20,000.00 in sales and the show will be up until August 1st.


The show has a wide range of styles and mediums. This metal sculpture is by Tom Butsch.



"Don's Limestone sculpture entitled "Nexus"






Glass and steel cattails entitled "Glasstails" by Brian Holden and Paul Nelson.


This is a limestone and bronze sculpture by Wyatt Gragg entitled "Garden Doves".


This is one of my sculptures in the show. She is Demeter from Greek myth, parting the night searching for her daughter Persephone. This piece sold at the opening. Other people whose work has sold are - Caren Cunningham (who sold all her work), David Caudill, Wyatt Gragg, Al Nelson, John McCarthy, Paul Nelson and Bryan Holden, Brian Newton and Karen Terhune.
But as the show will be up for another 2 months I'm sure there will be lots more sales.


Here is something a little different, a black fly with white eyes.


One of my favorite native wildflowers, Indian Pink.

Tweaking the sculpture

Right now, I am cleaning up various areas of the sculpture, adding details, smoothing rough areas, etc.

I am cleaning up the area around the little boys belt. Next, I will add buttons to the little boy's shirt.

I blocked out the hands off the sculpture, but I put the finishing touches while they are attached.

I am defining the area between the little boy's arm and the woman's arm.

I posted this picture in March, reposting it with a pic of where it is going.

This is the new Kosair children's hospital on Brownsboro Rd. The bear will go in the children's playground there.

My nephew Danny had his 18th birthday recently. This is the family outing at a Japanese restaurant - I forget the name. From left to right: Ed and Betty Stivers (Danny's grandparents), Danny, his girlfriend Olivia and Danny's father Steve.

This is a fuzzy variety of grass. Very interesting in the rain...

A little red spider sitting under it's web in the rain.

I couldn't resist taking a picture of this woodpecker on the sea lion.

I saw a little fuzz ball run across the road in front of me. I stopped the car and this was crouching by the side of the road.
It's a Wood Duck duckling. After resting a bit,It took off down the hill, I'm sure mom and siblings are not far off.

Smoothing the surface of the sculpture

I want a nice smooth surface for the skin and hair sections of the sculpture.


I use orange oil to get a smooth surface on the oil clay. First, I apply the oil with a brush, going over the whole surface, paying special attention to areas that are lumpy.

Then, I wipe the orange oil off with a paper towel. I also use the paper towel to further smooth problem areas.

I have applied orange oil to the little girl's hair.

I have smoothed the right side of her hair, but not the left, so you can see the difference.

We had a lot of rain, and as a result, the lower part of the property flooded. These are ant refugees. There were clusters of them all through the trees, waiting for things to dry out.

This is a gar cruising through the flooded field.

A tiny cluster of flowers. I don't know what variety they are.

Refining Sculpture continues and a Gallynipper in my hand

This is a great little tool called a glyptic. It is a loop tool with one side that is serrated (like a rake). What's nice is that you can change out different shape loops from the handle using an included allen wrench (shown). I got this at Sculpture Depot in Loveland Colorado.

I am using a rake tool on the man's shirt to futher refine the surface.

I use a small loop tool for the hair. This is the little boy.

This is the progress on the man's face -I have given him a slight smile.

This is the woman's face.

To make bows for the little girl's hair, I flatten a strip of clay and loop either end over, and join in the middle. Then, I pinch the middle slightly.

After I apply the bows to the hair, I add a bit of clay for the knot of the bow.

This is the sculpture with a black backdrop. The backdrop helps me to see the sillouette of the sculpture more easily. I choose black over a light material because a lighter material makes highlights more difficult to read.

A swallowtail butterfly on locust blooms.

Toads eggs in a puddle.

Got this guy out of the sink. You know what they say, a Gallynipper in the hand...