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Look What I Found On The Grambling University Website
When I spoke to the University this week I was told that everyone wanted to know where to find the blog about the making of their tiger. I guess some still don’t know that there is blog at http://www.gramblingtiger.blogspot.com that has been dedicated to just the making of the tiger. My university contact said they will try to put the link of the tiger project blog on the front page of the website. I went there today and didn’t find that, but I did find a link to the “Campus Beautification Project.” Further digging gave me a slide show of the dedication of the space for the tiger. Seems like there are others getting ready, other than us at Bridgette Mongeon Sculpture Design Studios in Houston, Texas and Shidoni Foundry in New Mexico.
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| I suppose this was from the dedication. There is my presentation of the tiger . |
Will We See The Tiger For Homecoming?
This is a question that everyone is asking. I have just sent Shidoni Foundry an e mail and asked them the same question. It means that they would need to finish the sculpture by the middle of October so that I can go to see the metal and approve the sculpture for patination, the coloring.
I have told Grambling, “Lets not sacrifice the art for the deadline, but we will do everything we can.” If Shidoni can make this deadline I will say it is a miracle, but they have a lot of people and are making headway, so stay tuned!
Update From The Foundry- Waxes
If you have been following along with the sculpting process of the Grambling State University Tiger then you know that the molds have been taken to Shidoni Foundry in New Mexico at the end of July and they are now being worked on there.
The first step to the mold making process is the wax. If you refer back to the mold making process you will find that there were rubber molds made of every piece of the sculpture. These rubber pieces were covered in a fiberglass mother mold. Now, the inside of each of these molds must be painted with wax.
I figured the foundry would start with the massive rocks, and I was right. The wax is painted into the mold and then each mold section must be gated up. Gates and pour cups give the metal a channel to flow through and allow the gasses to escape to give a clean pour.
Shidoni is known for their monumental sculptures and creates larger bronze pieces. I was curious about the metal bars on the waxes. In my 30 years of working in bronze I have never seen that. I contacted the manager to ask him to define the process.
The Tiger Has a New Home, at Shidoni Foundry in NM!
The foundry that is casting this sculpture is not in Houston, instead it is in New Mexico. That means three things:
a road trip to NM.
1. The tiger molds need to take a trip from Houston, Texas to Shidoni Foundry in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
2. The molds will eventually need to come back to Houston. I’ll be flying back to NM to look at the metal and approve the sculpture before it ships out.
3. The sculpted tiger will be taking a long trip from Santa Few, New Mexico to Grambling State University in Louisiana. It would be fun to see if anyone can spot it on the long journey.
We were trying to outrun an unusual storm that was coming from the southeast.
If you have been following this blog you will see that the sculpting is complete, and 1/2 of the foundry process is complete. The molds have been made and now the foundry will be painting waxes in all of these molds. I’ll keep the documentation going with the help of Shidoni.
DATE OF INSTALLATION? We are all trying to have the sculpture on campus by Nov 2nd for homecoming, but there are no promises. A lot of coordinating needs to be done for this to happen. Stay tuned.
I’m looking forward to seeing the entire thing together. Remember I could not see all of the rocks with the tiger as it was not feasible to put it entirely together in the hot warehouse in Houston. I can’t wait to see it all together at Shidoni.
I have always wanted to cast my sculptures at this foundry.
How To Put This Back Together
Can you imagine being a person at the foundry and getting all of these many, many molds and trying to figure out how to put this back together. Documentation! Today I finish the book that will be shipped with the tiger sculpture. It documents how many molds there are and how to put the sculpture together.
The upper rock is labeled before the mold is taken apart. The lines in between are registration lines.
Can you imagine getting this and wondering what part it is?
labeling is important. Guess which part of the tiger this might be.
So Busy I Have Not Been Able To Post, But Here Is The Latest
We finally finished all of the molds on the tiger. As you have read in previous posts we needed a rubber mold and a mother mold. Once that was done it was on to the rock. First we put the upper and lower section of rock together and then cut it in half for mold making. We could not do resin and fiberglass outside of the studio so we coated the inside of my home studio with plastic. It made it look quite spooky but it served its purpose. The same process took place on both the upper and lower rocks. First rubber was painted on and then fiberglass. We worked long hours and one night worked through until 8:00 a.m. I’m really doing my best to try to get this to the foundry as early as possible. Next week, when I am at the foundry, we will find out if the sculpture can be delivered in time for homecoming.
The studio is coated in plastic to protect from fiberglass fibers and dust.
All Night Long!
We are burning the midnight oil, and someways working All night long. Five interns are on call. Just to be able to finish the tiger by next week so that we can bring the molds to the foundry in New Mexico. More updates soon.
Moved Out of The Warehouse And Skinned A Tiger
We had all of the torso molds at the warehouse and the torso was still there as well. We literally had to skin the tiger. We separated the foam pieces from the armature and brought everything back to the studio. These will be saved until the foundry confirms they have metal.
Dental Work
Each of the pieces that make up the entire tiger, must be looked over, cleaned up and modified for making of the molds. I have saved the head for last. I’m actually quite partial to it. Part of this “modification of mold making is some dental work. I must cut out the canines to be able to get a better mold. It is a sacrifice, and in the long run, the only way this thing can come together as a bronze.
so a reciprocating saw is required.
Hard At Work In The Heat
home studio. It is good to be working back home on resin
I much prefer doing this in the fresh air instead of an
enclosed warehouse.
Though all of the remaining pieces have been moved to the studio we are still working very hard, and very long days. Remember this is a part of the foundry process that I do at my home studio. You could say that we are about 1/2 way through this process and 1/4 of the way through the entire foundry process.
multiple part mother mold in fiberglass.
to each of the pieces that are covered in rubber.
