Creative Endeavors Blog

An intern and I work on getting the foam mold together for the 11 foot panther

I often bring interns into the sculpture studio and office.  Being an intern is a win win situation.  I obtain help with my projects and the intern gets to learn.  A studio intern helps me with my sculpting projects. An office intern works in the office helping me with marketing and public relations. Most of my internships are unpaid.  Though they are unpaid that does not mean there are not advantages.  Here are some of them:

• Information/education- I’m a talker and often I will talk about new projects, new material, and just about anything the intern wants to talk about while we work.  It is an opportunity for an up and coming artist to pick my brain.
• Instruction- Often the same thing an intern is learning, say mold making, other people are paying me to learn in a class.
• Marketing Information- The information that interns receive are not just on how art is done or how to sculpt. I teach marketing to artists, and an intern can expect to learn this, if they are so inclined.
• Opportunities-On more than one occasion  I have had requests for jobs that I thought might be very appropriate for an up and coming artists and have passed them on to interns.
• Connections- Besides being in the studio, when the opportunity arises I like to bring interns to gallery shows, introduce them to other artists and art organizations and take field trips to such places as my foundry or manufacturing facility. On other occasions, with long term and dedicated interns  I have paid for luncheons and conferences that were pertinent to the interns studio and work in the studio. I have traveled with some interns to conference and shows.
• Perks- I offer all interns discounts on my classes and from time to time if I have one more chair to fill and an intern is willing, I’ll offer them the class for free.
• Personal one on one- sometimes interns are working on sculpture in their own home/studio and want to have some guidance. They are welcome to bring their piece to my studio so that we can discuss it. From time to time interns have used my studio to work on their own pieces.
• Experience If you are applying for a job and have worked as an intern I can write a letter of recommendation. If you need a letter of recommendation for school, or other I approach this on a case by case basis.  You are also welcome to put your work at B. Mongeon Sculpture Design studio on your resume.

Another intern paints wax on the foam so the grit does not get into the clay

What is required?
Having a passion for what you do and a knowledge that your efforts can make an extreme difference is more important to me than the amount of experience you have. I  can teach sculpting, but I can’t teach you passion.

Studio Interns -In the studio some other things that are helpful but not necessary
A love of sculpture, knowldege of the human anatomy and a desire to grow as an artist
Digital modeling or sculpting in zbrush or mudbox as well as knowledge about 3d scanning is also helpful.

Two interns flip the panther after completion so that we can make a mold of his tummy.

Office Interns
we work on both PC’s and Macs, but the intern computer is mac. A Knowlege of WordPress and microsoft word are the basics.

Hours?
There is not telling. Sometimes I am working on a job, say mold making for a life size sculpture. I know it will take me a week of intense work and at those times I am looking for someone who can help me as much as possible.  Other times the work load is much less intense.  I have had people come in the evenings, on weekends or through the day.  The amount of time and the time of day can be arranged with each intern.

After long hours I have been known to get a little crazy with the interns.

What it is not

• The studio is not a clean environment- work shoes and clothes are necessary, and if you don’t like getting your hands dirty… well the studio internship is not for you, you might be more suited for the office marketing internship.
• Though I love what I do, I spend a lot of time cleaning up messes.  Before I can start another project or another part of project I have to clean up the mess from the previous one.  This also includes me getting down on my hands and knees in the studio and scraping the clay off of the floor, if I do it you do it as well.
• The studio also has dogs and cats that wander in and out. So if you have severe allergies, you might reconsider.

Where?
My studio and office are located just north of the Heights area, in Houston, Texas It is a very laid back atmosphere and you will often find me taking breaks by the pond or visiting with the creatures that I find on the way to the studio.

How Do I apply?
Simply drop me a line and tell me you are interested. If you are under 18, I’ll have to visit with your parents and have them sign a release form. Please note work with FIre, power tools, hot wax, knives and many other tools.  I’d love to set up a time to meet. We can chat, and please bring by some of your work so I can see what you do.

Someone needed to take all of the clay off of the pieces of the panther so that it could be reused. No interns so I did it myself.

What are some of the things interns have helped you with?
Putting together armatures
Smoothing clay
Adding wax and clay
mold making
cleaning waxes for bronze casting
Assistance art art shows, conferences, presentations,  and the Upsidedown Christmas party
Helping me to organize and clean-  One day I will find the time and the intern who can help me clean the back room.
Look up the following blogs to see the jobs that interns have helped with Richard Hathaway sculpture for The TW Woods Gallery Vermont Evelyn Rubenstein for the Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center. Prairie View A & M panther

Office interns help with:

Marketing in print and digital, public relations and other areas of the business of art.

Other information

What we do at B. Mongeon Sculpture Design studio
Portraits, life size sculpture mascots, The God’s Word Collectible Gift series, Digital design and technology digital sculpting 3d scanning.  Also, My husband is Mike de la Flor and is a medical illustrator, you may see him from time to time. He has the same philosophy as I do about up and coming artists. We both want to encourage individuals.  As any successful artist knows you spend a great deal of time marketing your art and sometimes I am up in the office while interns are working downstairs.  I’m also a writer, and a host of podcasts which keeps me upstairs just as much time as downstairs.

You are welcome to take pictures of our work together, but permission must be obtained on a case by case basis. Some of my projects I’m not allowed to talk about publicly until they are completed.   You can also post the work, but I will need to tell you how to post credits, as my contract states I have to do this.

Loved this owl

Culture Shapers is a wonderful opportunity for high school students in the Houston and surrounding area.  If you are a student and want to know more, check out their website. I have been honored to judge Culture Shapers since they began, I believe that was 12 years ago.  I often try to write something to the students about their process and the judging. Here is this years letter.

I love judging for Culture Shapers.

This is to  all of you who participated in the sculpture portion of the competition. There were so many, many wonderful pieces. I have heard it said that because the schools had more time and the sculpture is judged later in the school year, this made it better for both schools and students. It certainly showed in the work.

I was bowled over with the quality of work.  I had invited a friend to help judge, Lori Betz from Betz Gallery and Art Foundry in Houston. By the way she is having an opening April 14th you are all invited. She walked in and said, “I thought this age group was high school.”  You impressed her.  Doing shows, making connections, getting involved with the art community this is an important element of  being a successful artist.   I wish I would have known this at your age.   If you did not place or did not win don’t be discouraged.  You have to keep trying and pushing yourself.  I have said it year after year, “judging is subjective.” It depends on who the judge is.

The last round of judging.

In the last round there were some piecesI really wanted to advance.  I have never had this difficult of a decision on where to place those final post its to advance the final 12.  I have, asked Culture Shapers to get me the names of some of the teachers of the students on certain pieces. I’m just so impressed about your work, and the work that the school is doing I would love to come and talk to you all.

Here are some hints for future contests

1. PUSH YOURSELF
Make sure you push yourself all the way to the end. Many times a judge won’t pass a piece because of poor framing or poor base.  Push yourself and if you think it looks like a shlock job on the base, then redo it.  There was one piece in particular that I wanted to advance to the final round. I had three other pieces I was deciding on, and I passed over the one I really liked just because of the poor quality in the connection to the base.

2. DESCRIPTION
If something is done intentionally, even a icky base, tell us in your description. Matter of fact, tell us everything in your description.  Give us your process, the meaning, the emotion behind the piece.  I judge purely on emotion.   If a piece gets me emotionally then you got me. I can’t believe how sparse the entry forms are. I even asked if the kids were limited with word count in this field.  There has been many times,  over the years that the description sold the piece.

Having a moment with a sculpted giraffe

3. SIZE
I am not sure that this is a given, but I have noticed this year that all of the pieces are about the same size. I tried to think over the years if all of the winners were the same size and I do believe they are.  Now this is my theory. the first round is held in a big room, the lighting stinks, large pieces are placed next to smaller ones, and many times a piece next to yours just overpowers yours.  This is unavoidable, though I did ask them to begin to group them by size.  It does not help that unlike other ares of judging we cannot see all of our first selections together.  Culture Shapers does not like to move the pieces around.  It makes it very hard to see where a little yellow post it has been placed by another judge who may have noticed a great piece that I overlooked.

At the end of the final round I have written some thoughts on our judging papers.  These are thoughts to the artist. This year I have offered  some individuals a internship in my studio.

Let me say that I am always looking for interns to help out here.  So keep that in mind.

4. GO GET EM!
Be bold, don’t hold back- your career as an artist is in your hands.  Meet people, get to know those in the arts.  If you would like further encouragement let me encourage you regularly. You can sign up for my online newsletter on my blog at http://www.creativesculpture.com/blog.

Congratulations to you all, even entering is a huge accomplishment.

Be creative

Bridgette Mongeon – Sculpture Judge

When hiring a sculptor be sure you have all of the information you need to compare apples to apples.

Finding and Hiring a Sculptor – Compare Apples With Apples
By Bridgette Mongeon  2012 ©

15 or 20 years ago the only way to find a sculptor was through a gallery. Now, with the Internet, it is much easier to find a sculptor for commissioned artwork. After finding a selection of artists, what is the criteria that a collector should use to select one artist for a project?

How to find a sculptor
Searching the Internet for artists is pretty simple. A search for “sculptors”, may be too broad, and narrowing the search by using location or subject, or even style: “Houston, Texas Sculptors”, “Sculptor of Children, or realistic bronze sculptor” may assist in the process.

With a handful of artists to choose from, the following questions can help in narrowing a collectors search:

Is the work appealing?
The first criteria a collector should use to decide on a sculptor is how they feel about the artists sculpting style. Many artists website have sculpture galleries where potential clients can explore more of the sculptor’s work. Is the sculptor’s artwork similar to the style desired for the potential project?

Experience
A collector has a choice of seasoned-professional or a budding artist. A collector may prefer the value added to artwork when created by a seasoned and collected artist. Some collectors select a budding  sculptor because of a limited budget or a desire to assist the artist’s career. A collector can get a feel for the experience of a sculptor by floating through the sculptor’s website. However, there are still many seasoned sculptors who have not taken to the Internet and do not have Internet representation. A Google name search of the preferred artists may reveal further information. Online articles or interviews may help a collector get a better sense of the person behind the sculptor.

Personality
Getting along with an artist is an essential element of commissioning them to create a piece of artwork for your home, company or loved one. Are they easy going? Are they going to listen to a clients input? How do they work with changes? Do they ask questions? Do they go above and beyond for time and presentations?

Type of work
There are some sculptors who prefer not to sculpt children, or do not like doing posthumous sculpture. Not liking the subject matter has to affect the outcome of the sculpture.

As the client reviews the work that the sculptor has done, if the potential project is different from anything else in the sculptor’s portfolio, ask the sculptor how they feel about it. They may not have a sample similar to the potential project, but the sculptor may be waiting for the opportunity that your project holds.

Their workload
Some sculptors may be an absolute perfect fit, but their schedule may not fit into the time frame of your project. If the collector hopes to get the work completed in a designated amount of time, this may be a prime factor on who to use.

Location
This may or may not be an issue for a collector. If a collector wants to watch the project and visit the artist studio for approval, then having a local artist might be something that they desire. But there are advantages to having an out of state sculptor, as well. One advantage is that the sculptor may not have to charge sales tax on the project. With a hefty commission, this could be a considerable amount of money.

In some cases, location is not a problem. Sculptors work with collectors all over the world. Files, photographs and videos can be sent to the client for approval. A blog on the progress is also a solution, that way, the collector can follow the progress of the sculptor.

Presentations
The sculptor will want to narrow down your thought process before trying to create a final design. If the client requires preliminary sketches, how many are expected?

Is a pencil sketch of the life-size sculpture sufficient? Some collectors prefer a clay maquette. A clay maquette has the same look, as the large sculpture but is a small tabletop version. Some artists create maquettes as part of their process of sculpting, others will charge for the maquette. Some artist may provide pencil sketches and still others may provide digital models giving the collector a 360 degree view of the potential project.

Price
Artists charge different prices. The actual cost of creating a bronze is costly; the sculptor’s sculpting fee adds to the cost and will determine the different prices sculptors charge. If a collector wants to compare estimates from different sculptors, be sure each has the same information, that way you are comparing apples with apples.

Here are some thoughts and questions to get a collector started on the process. The artist may help the collector figure out someone of these details.

• Is the collector looking for a life-size sculpture, a larger monument, or a small figurine?
• Be descriptive when asking for a portrait bust. There are several sizes including shoulder and neck or larger. Some portrait busts include the chest.
• It is important to give each artist a good description of what the collector would like. Include the size of the sculpture or figure. Don’t just say, “I want a life-size sculpture of my son.” Say, “I’m seeking a life size sculpture of my son at the age that he is now, which is 15, he is 5’ tall and slender in build, I’m attaching a photograph for you to see.” What clothing does the figure wear? The good rule of thumb is the more mass on a sculpture the more bronze it will take and, therefore, the more the sculpture will cost. So, if the sculpture is of a man and he has a beard and a cloak, that is more money than a clean-shaven man in a suite. Are there other elements to the sculpture? Remember more bronze equals more cost. Is the figure to sit on a bench? Will they be riding a bronze bike, swinging on a bronze swing, or balancing on a bronze log?
• Where will this sculpture be placed?
• Is it going to be installed indoors or outdoors?
• Will the sculpture be flat on the ground, if not, do you envision a bronze base, wood or marble?
• In addition to the above items you may want to ask the artist, does your prices include all charges? Such additional costs may consist of:
• The artists expenses for travel. Sales tax or other taxes Installation
• Shipping, crating and delivery. If you need prices for this, please be sure to give the artist the shipping address, so they can calculate it properly.

Payments
How does the artist receive payments? What are their payment terms?

Contracts
Does the artist have a contract? Once you specify all of the above they will send you a contract to sign.

Editions
Is this a one of a kind sculpture? May artists will reserve the right to pour editions of their bronzes. Of course, not all bronzes are marketable. An edition of your Uncle Joe may not be of interest to an artist, but an edition of a child reading a book may. The contract will state if this is a one of a kind or a limited edition bronze. You can specify a one of a kind, but the price may be higher. Often the artist weighs what they will charge for a bronze, compared to what they will charge others for future editions. The edition  may not sell out right away, but they may over the life of the artist. You might also specify how many will be in the edition and what you would like to collect. Some collectors want to collect only AP’s Artist Proofs. Others want to collect the number 1 in the edition. Many collectors have no preference at all.

Having a clear communication between yourself and the sculptors that you may hire helps you to compare apples to apples. Understanding the nuances of the process keeps you informed.. This article will help you to start asking the questions necessary to see your own creative thoughts come to life.

By Bridgette Mongeon is a commissioned sculptor, writer and speaker on the arts.
http://www.creativesculpture.com

If you would like to use this article and image you may do so at no charge. The byline and copyright must be included. Please send me an email to let me know where it is used.