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Big Cat Rescue Is So Inspiring
I am very indebted to Big Cat Rescue in Florida.
Jeff Kremer, Director of Donor Appreciation, has spent a great deal of time with me talking about “big cats” I have to say their you tube channel has been very inspiring and don’t be surprised if you find quite a few of their videos on this blog. They give me feline creativity.
I do love to watch the videos of the casts playing. Often I’ll play the videos just to watch the movement of the big cats. Then I’ll work on my digital sculpture while watching. I’ll be posting many videos from Big Cat Rescue on this blog. The pride that comes in the Grambling State Tiger is more than just school pride. It is the symbol of a very majestic creature.
Because this blog is also about education I encourage you to watch the video below. Grambling State University will soon have a big cat on their campus. It is important to note that there are a lot of big cats that are in danger. The below is an important education for anyone looking at this tiger sculpture and thinking about big cats. Lets help to educate others on the big cats, they are important.
Technology In Art
Sculptor Bridgette Mongeon is pretty much a geek when it comes to technology. She received her MFA from Goddard College with a focus on bridging the gap between new digital technology and the traditional art studio. This blog is created not only for the client, students and alumni to be able to watch the process, but also for educational purposes. Ms. Mongeon is a proponent of education and will be sharing some of that through the blog.
Below is a video of how Sculptor Bridgette Mongeon has used Digital Technology in her sculpture studio.
As the above video described, often using programs like Poser helps the artist work out the designs and poses. The preliminary sculpture is still a long way from being approved; however, the committee is moving right along and the designs are helping everyone think through the process.
Ms. Mongeon often speaks about the topic of using digital technology in the sculpture studio. She will be speaking at 3DCAMP Houston in September. 3DCAMP is a local organization supporting education in all things 3D. 3DCAMP Houston is being sponsored by the University of Houston College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics and the School of Art. Ms. Mongeon is knee-deep on the planning committee for 3DCAMP Houston as well as a speaker. The up and coming press release for 3DCAMP 2012 states,
” The goal of 3DCAMP Houston 2012 is to encourage and educate individuals about the use of 3D in various disciplines; therefore 3DCAMP 2012 is returning with STEAM, an educational initiative that supports 3DCAMP Houston educational goal of incorporating and encouraging the blending and education of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math (STEAM). “
3d Art – Fabric to Frankenstein-
3d technology, science and art are combined to create some incredible and sometimes bizarre artwork. Sculptor, Bridgette Mongeon shares the work of different artists, and the vendors and universities who are making some interesting discoveries. Many artists are embracing the new technology, having fun and creating some incredible and sometimes gruesome artwork.
Bridging the Gap Between the Traditional and Digital Sculpture Studio
Sculptor Bridgette Mongeon shares her workflow and resources of incorporating both digital and traditional technology in what is referred to as tra-digi art that she creates in her Houston, Texas studio. The new technology expands the creative process and expedites her work flow.
Dipping The Pieces of Evelyn
I ran by the Betz Art Foundry today after receiving a message on my phone. “We are dipping.” Dipping is the next part in the bronze process. Before the foundry could dip they had to gate up each of the pieces. The waxes need pour cups to pour metal into and gates that will help the gasses escape. Each piece is coated and dipped many times covering both inside and out. This creates a ceramic shell. The ceramic shell is where the bronze will be poured, but I’m getting ahead of myself. Next post the burn out and pour of Evelyn Rubenstein.
Which Way Do We Go?
To expedite the process several quick sketches are put together for Grambling State University to look at. At this point in a project it is important to find the desired direction of a client. They might not even know what they are looking for, these quick sketches, help us to narrow down our direction.
Some of our thought process is this.
- To make the sculpture look large if we place it above, climbing on sculpted rock it will enhance the height.
- It is necessary to have a sculpture that others can interact with. I love this type of sculpture. As an artist I want people to interact with my work. I can’t wait to see pictures of people interacting. When the sculpture is done and placed this blog won’t stop. I will post what you send me. Please be sure to send the names of the people interacting. A school mascot is meant to be interacted with. Having large pedestals for sculptures suits some purposes, but for this… can someone say photo op?
- Grambling State University says they want an open mouth, a growl.
From the Grambling State University project blog at Gramblingtiger.blogspot.com
The Beginning
Welcome to the blog of the process of creating this wonderful sculpture for Grambling State University. Bridgette Mongeon, is the sculptor of this life size bronze mascot. She does her best to keep everyone abreast of what is happening with the tiger. This blog is created so that everyone can follow along.
Many times Bridgette Mongeon up to my elbows in clay, which does not work very well with typing up blog posts, but we will try to keep the blog current.
The rock looks like the state of Louisiana. That was
unintentional, but lets see how that plays out
in the sculpting process.
The Beginning-
Everything is all done in secret. A contact form comes into the Bridgette’s inbox requesting information about a sculpture and she responds. Then there is a lot of red tap to go through, contracts etc. and always a very quick deadline.
“I’m thrilled to be working with Grambling on this project. I love to capture the spirit of an entire school in a sculpture. ”
GO BIG OR GO HOME! Well not really, but that is what it appears. Bridgette presents several designs and sizes to Grambling State University. They decide they are going to have the largest size created for their campus.
From the Grambling State University project blog at Gramblingtiger.blogspot.com
What Now?
I’m working on the few waxes that are here and I expect to receive a call from the foundry that the others are ready. If I am lucky then by the end of the week the foundry will have all of the waxes and they will begin the pouring process of Evelyn. It is so exciting. For the time being, in between working on waxes, I’m resting my hands and preparing for a meeting when I bring back the photograph of Evelyn.
Oh yes, it took us two days to get the studio cleaned up and it is ready for the next project.
You can follow along with this entire process of creating a life size bronze for the ERJCC on the Evelyn Rubenstein project blog located at http://erjcc.blogspot.com/
The Next Step- Waxes
Once all of the molds are at the foundry, they pour waxes. For every mold there will be a hollow think wax created. Because I finished the arms, head and base these are sent back to me first. What do I do with these? The wax stage is one more opportunity to add detail, and clean things up. Remember the rubber molds were in to parts and so there is also the cleaning of seams. Once I feel I have all of the pieces clean and that they go together correctly, we will start our process of bronze casting.
You can follow along with this entire process of creating a life size bronze for the ERJCC on the Evelyn Rubenstein project blog located at http://erjcc.blogspot.com/
I have signed the bottom.
Evelyn will be welded to this base.
The base will then be secured to the
floor of the Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish
Community Center.
Mold Making
I like that I can work on the area under
the skirt.
The mold making process is often done by the foundry. However, I create my own molds. It takes about 2 weeks of time and is very labor intensive. I’m thankful for the interns and helpers who have come to assist in the last two weeks of mold making. My husband kept coming down from his clean office and watching me tug, lift and pull and just shakes his head. My interns say it is better and more physical than working out in the gym. The mold making process consists of several steps.
1. Cutting up- This was already mentioned in an earlier post
2. Claying up- In this part of the process the mold is divided into two halves with clay seams. Pour cups are also added to the mold- This offers a place for the foundry to pour the wax.
3. Painting Rubber- Once the pieces are cut, cleaned and clayed up the rubber is painted on both halves of the sculpture. Four plus coats are used on each piece. It takes about an hour for the rubber to dry in between coats.
4. Mother mold- the mother mold is called that because it is placed on top of the rubber mold and holds the rubber in place. Without it, when someone tried to pour wax into the mold the mold would be miss shapen. Creating the mother mold is hard work. A very stiff plaster/cement is mixed for each half. I mix my plaster by hand. It takes about 40 minutes for each half of the mother mold. Everyone of the molds that I made had at least 2 mother molds- front and back. The chest had three because it was so large.
You can follow along with this entire process of creating a life size bronze for the ERJCC on the Evelyn Rubenstein project blog located at http://erjcc.blogspot.com/
coats of rubber.
to be sent to the foundry .
How Do I Stay Focused While in The Studio?
Thought I would share this little tidbit. I stay focused by….
Listening to audio books. I’m pretty much addicted to audio books and have a regular relationship with my library.
I also have the company of a very faithful, yet somewhat stinky old dog. And when I need a break I head outside my door and hang out watching the turtles at my pond.
watch nature for a moment.
Now For The Next Part Of The Process- Mold Making
The sculpture is divided into 8 pieces.
Once the approval is received, I then begin the next step. Even though I have spent hours painstakingly putting in all of the texture and detail, I must now cut up the sculpture. In the end there will be molds made of the following.
1. left arm
2. right arm
3. toros
4. head
5. two parts of skirt
6. left leg
7. right leg
8. base
The best part of cutting the sculpture apart is that I can work on the detail so much easier. For example, I work on the detail on the underside of the hands. This means that all though I have approval I still am spending an entire week on making parts as perfect as possible. While working on the hands, I found some chord and was able to make a better wedding ring, and give Evelyn a manicure.
You can follow along with this entire process of creating a life size bronze for the ERJCC on the Evelyn Rubenstein project blog located at http://erjcc.blogspot.com/