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We Are Moving The Beast!
Here we are at the first of May and we have the following sculpted:
1. A very large rock
2. 4 incredibly large paws and legs, with tiger stripes
3. 1 large tail- with tiger stripes
4. 1 large head growling- with tiger stripes
to give us a bit more space when sculpting pieces. It will
be nice to uncover it again. We will however, miss eating
lunch at the pond. Instead we will be eating in a dark
warehouse.
The only thing left is for us to put the pieces together and carve and sculpt the torso of the tiger. This means we need 13 1/2+ foot clearance, which we do not have in my studio. So, we are moving. Yes, Sunday morning we will be hauling sculpted paws, rocks, tail and heading to another location and assembling them in the warehouse.
1/2 of the torso. it got wedged between a tree and a waterfall.
Waiting for male interns to come rescue us from the situation.
This may be a foam armature, but the reinforcement inside is
making it very, heavy.
This is a little unnerving as I don’t want to harm any of the work that we have already done, but it is also a part of the process.
We will miss the atmosphere of my studio. We love to have lunch at the pond with the turtles, instead we will be in the belly of a large, non air conditioned warehouse space, with no windows.
We are motivated to finish this last part quickly as there is no air conditioning in the warehouse, and we are in Texas, and it does get hot, and my clay melts! So the clock is ticking. The final countdown begins.
The hoist has been installed in the new/old warehouse space. I am happy to report no one was injured hanging this hoist 20 feet in the air. I have had nightmares about this part. I must say, when looking up at how high this sculpture is going to stand I say the same thing over and over, “That is a really big cat!”
in the warehouse. We are
lifting the tiger next week!
I’ll be sure to post some pictures.
Moving
One of my interns and I tried moving the back end of the tiger foam, and well… it is very heavy and we are waiting for ( male ) assistance as we now have it wedged between a tree and a waterfall. This rear end is headed to a welder to modify the armature. Then it will be brought to the new location with the rest of the pieces on Sunday.
Our goal is to get the sculpting done and the sculpture approved in 3-4 weeks, or less. Remember we are motivated by working in the heat. Then we will take the sculpture apart and send it through the foundry process.
This is the tiger mascot created for Grambling State University. This entire process can be found on this blog by searching the category Grambling Tiger. You may also visit the process blog created for this project at http://gramblingtiger.blogspot.com/
STUDENT, TEACHER AND ALUMNI CHALLENGE
While visiting the Houston Alumni group I was able to hear their song and some of their cheers. Boy, when we are working late nights in the studio, being able to listen to a cheer would be just the thing to get us into that tiger mode. So here is your challenge. Shoot a creative video of yourself or a group doing a cheer and send it to us so we can listen and post it on the blog. Be creative. Show us something that depicts your school spirit and help to make this tiger roar.
Spending Time On The Head And Paws
behind the Tiger?
We have lots of paws and legs around the studio. I’m alternating from head to paws. Here is the progress from the last few days.
My Distractions
I’m not always sculpting. It is true that I have a life beyond the Grambling tiger, though I have to say, the tiger holds a great deal of my attention, even in my dreams. My biggest distraction is the birth of my new granddaughter Issabella, but you could say that we sacrificed her to the Grambling Tiger as well. Now don’t get upset with me, I didn’t come up with this idea on my own. It was my daughter who thought of it as we were wandering around the studio looking at the progress. Christina is a very creative person, and by the way, my photographer from Diliberto Photo and Design. We both kind of made up with the idea of putting Issa in the mouth of the tiger.
Presented The Tiger Process At The Houston Alumni Group
This past Saturday I went to the Houston Grambling Alumni group to present how the sculpture is coming along. The best part was to hear the school cheer. I think everyone enjoyed the presentation. I volunteered to come back and to show more slides when it was further along.
“How can we get involved,”someone from the group asked. Well if you are following the blog you know that we have been looking for warehouse space to put the sculpted tiger together. That means I have to move my entire studio. So we may need helping moving the tiger pieces and the studio to the “temporary” location. Moving within the next week or so.
Sorry I don’t have pictures, I thought I saw someone taking pictures, if they want to send them to me I’d be happy to post them on this post.
The Dedication Of The Praying Man
The Rock
The rock is pretty much complete, thanks to the wonderful milling at Across the Board Creations They were able to take my digital model of the rocks and enlarge it along with the cat. It has come in sections so that we can take different sections of the rock down and work on the paws attached to the rock. We painted the rock to look the same color as the clay.
for injuries or death caused by interacting with this sculpture.
Do as I say, not as I do. It is very tempting.
a few sitting ledges for photo opportunities. I will need to
check these out. I like the design of the rock digitally, but
seeing it this large gives me an opportunity to inspect how
it works in real life. We painted it the same color as the clay.
This will help both my client and I to see how they
work together.
it works with the top most paw.
in about the same position as it is in the picture
where I am pretending to climb.
Send Us Your Pictures And Comments- Dallas Baptist
We would love to see pictures of the dedication, installation and even pictures of you with the praying man. Tell us what this sculpture means to you, what prayer means to you and how you feel about the Dallas Baptist University campus. We would love to hear from you and post your photographs and comments.
Delivering The Praying Man Sculpture
We arrive onto the DBU campus ready to complete the praying man sculpture project. The last few steps are
1. Deliver 2. Install 3. Dedicate
Of course we are not doing the installation or dedication so we can only hope picture of both of these come back to us for the blog.
and greets us when we arrive home.
Also, we are working on a small table top version of the sculpture for purchase. Stay tuned to this blog for more on that. The travel time up to Dallas was nice. Overcast- I prayed the rain would hold off until it was delivered. It didn’t start raining on us until we got into Dallas.
I have sent a text on ahead and said, “have lots of strong men, gloves and a covered area
to unload.” Everything is in place when we arrive.
It is estimated to weight about 350-370.
covered. We are on our way back home in no time.
My job is done, until we begin the process of manufacturing
the small sculpture of the praying man.
Loading /Of The Praying Man Sculpture
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| It is necessary to make a template for the sculpture. Bolts are welded in the underside of the sculpture. Threaded rods are put into these bolts. Holes will need to be drilled in the concrete where this sculpture is placed. A template will help my client install the sculpture. |
Whenever I am going to deliver a sculpture weather is an important factor, especially if it is big. We had not had rain in a while in Texas and sure enough, the day I have slotted for delivery, the forecast says heavy showers.
I’m thankful that we have no rain while loading the sculpture up in Houston.
How do we get it in the van? An engine hoist and two creative foundry men assist with this.
We are blessed with no rain, until we reach Dallas. The trip home is another story entirely.
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| Going for a ride down a ramp. |
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| The sculpture is hoisted onto the waiting pallet |
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| No, he is not putting on the prayer covering, this shirt is protecting the bronze. |
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| An engine hoist works perfectly to get the sculpture into my awaiting van. |
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| Miguel is a wonder when it comes to the foundry. I trust this man with all of my creations. |
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| Strapping down the sculpture, just in case. My template is packed, I have the threaded rods and we are on our way. |