My Dear One -Jeanine
Jeanine is the third posthumous commission that is write about in the book “Bringing to Life the Spirit of the Deceased—A Sculptor’s Journey” I learned a tremendous amount from this commission and she helped me with my epiphany! Thank you Jeanine
Jeanine is also at the foundry and is expected to go home before Christmas. It is a life size bronze bust.
I have also been asked to create a casting of Jeanine’s face from a life mold that her mother had created when she was young. 
Update on Patsy Sculpture
Patsy was approved and completed. I have not yet seen her placed yet. The project became part of a book that I have been writing in conjunction with my studies at Vermont College Union Institute. The book title is “Bringing to Life the Spirit of the Deceased—A Sculptor’s Journey”
I began the book with the question of “How do I capture the spirit of those I have never met?” Many people comment that my work has a tremendous amount of emotion and spirit in it. Is this just because I am highly trained? Or is there something else? I know many sculptors that have the mechanics of the work down, yet their pieces seem hollow-soulless. How do I do it? That is the question I asked myself at the beginning of the book and I have found some incredible answers.
The book is the personal journey of the artist and the documentation of 4 commissions, Patsy being one of the first. I am finishing up the book now and hope to have it to a publisher within the next 6 months. I am indebted to my clients for allowing me to be a part of their lives and the lives of their loved ones. I have learned so much through this journey.
Trying To Catch Up!
It has been a tremendous amount of time since I last posted on this blog. Mostly because I had several other blogs and journals going at the same time, and returning to school I have been a full time student. The perpetual learner blog is my blog on going back to school. I documents my process through undergraduate and this study and on to graduate school.
I also have another project that I am working on. The blog for that project can be found at http://www.dickhathaway.blogspot.com
Great News!
By the way, it was approved by the TW Woods Gallery. All donations can now go to them, designated for the memorial. They are now tax deductible. THANK YOU!
Also, the TW Woods called the day before yesterday and said that they received an anonymous donation toward the sculpting project.
Here is a financial update
$7,000 needed for balance of bronze
$2,000 needed for delivery (though I might be able to bring this cost down if I rent a car and put Dick in the front seat. How about a road trip Dick? Any friends of Dicks between Texas and Vermont? )
$9,000 Total needed
$4,060 received to date
$4,940 needed
WE ARE ALMOST ½ WAY THERE!
( PHOTOGRAPH- from the memorial photographs, Dick Hathaway with an ADP packet)
Travel To Vermont
I traveled up to Vermont College for several reasons. The Dick Hathaway sculpture that I am creating was a part of my study at Vermont College. I graduated on November 1st. I presented two lectures one at Vermont College and one for the T.W. Wood Gallery. Both were about sculpting the deceased, the process and the research for my book “Bringing to Life the Spirit of the Deceased—A Sculptor’s Journey”. I especially liked the TW Wood lecture as many friends of Dick Hathaway were there. It was good to have their inspiration. To be fed stories about Dick Hathaway refreshed me. I’m looking forward to getting back to the sculpture. It should be done in about a month or so.
One was for school and the other for the gallery.
The photograph that I created of the progress on Dick Hathaway now resides at the TW Woods. The sculpture needs a bit of work and there is going to be a pile of books near his foot. The question is, “What are the names of the books?”
The other rose was for my sweet instructor Charlotte Hastings.
It Is a Touchy Feely Thing!
While instructing Florencia today I, once again, began to realize that much of my work is done by touch as well as by seeing. I can feel the way something is supposed to be. I don’t think I really separate the two senses much. It is definitely a touchy feely thing!
Turning The Corner Into October
Here I am turning the corner into October. There is still a lot to do before graduation on November 1st and I leave for school on the 24th. I wish that Dick were coming with me, but I still need to raise money to cast this donation. As I prepare for my lecture for the school, actually two one for the TW Woods Gallery and another for my culmination, I am reminded of all of the absolutely incredible and unusual things that have happened in the posthumous sculpting of Patsy, Lucas, Jeanine and Dick Hathaway. And through the death and remembrance of Charlotte Hastings.
I am convinced, that the energy of a living person stays with us long after their death. I have proven that through some of my study and my research for school. I am amazed at my study, and am thankful for the opportunity to have done such a study through Vermont College Union Institute!
Proceeding With Dick
I have to admit that since I have finished writing my black book Dick Hathaway is receiving a lot of attention. I am down in the studio until late at night usually leaving around 11:30. My apprentice comes in at 9 and stays until 1 or 2 in the afternoon. Then I take over. It feels good to have Dick’s hands and feet all attached. Still need to do a lot of detail but now that I have him all together it is much easier to see things. Here are some photograph that my husband took for press purposes. The sculpture goes through its completion from the feet upward. Notice there are no ties on the shoe laces. The foundry fabricates these in metal. I work my way up the socks to the pant legs. The fold in the pants and the hands will take a tremendous amount of time. Once I work my way up the entire torso I will take off the head and work the details separately from the torso.
When the sculpture is cast in metal the entire thing will shrink about an inch, making Dick appear a bit smaller.
More Photos Of Dicks Office
While at the campus last October I was taking pictures of things that were Dick Hathaway. I have a blog about my adventures in undergraduate and graduate school, if anyone is interested.
Here is his mailbox, with incoming mail.
and the phone in his office with 12 messages.
No Feet, But He Has A Hand!
I have been focusing on Dick Hathaway’s sneakers. I took his right sneaker off and replaced it with a Folgers can for the time being. I love working on shoes. Florencia has been helping and in the studio just about every day. I am so thankful for her assistance. I don’t know how I would be able to finish the project on time. Though until we have further funding for casting I have no real deadline. I just want to be able to show the completed sculpting for my graduation scheduled for November 1, 2006.
I miss working on Dick but find that I need to work on the proportions alone. My brain goes so fast and I jump around so much that I need the focus and concentration. At night is a good time to work. But I have yet to really get back to the torso. I did put on the left hand; at least I began to rough it in. I hesitate in putting pictures of it on the web because I don’t know if others can see the finished product, but then that is what process writing is all about. Strange now that the hand is on he feels more alive, more talkative. The previous photo that I took of myself, where Dick appeared in the background proved that.
A rod attaches the hand. You can see the rod sticking out of Dick’s hand. If you remember the entire arm has rebar in it. So I stuck this rod through his hand and then pounded it into the arm. Quickly adding wax and clay between the two to secure the hand. I hate to get in the studio in the morning to find that the hand is fallen off.
The rebar in the arm causes me some concern. I wish I could reposition it a bit, but instead I try to manipulate the foam and rubber around it to bring his elbow in and down a bit.
This entire left side of Dick has been difficult because of not having good reference photographs but now that I have them it should move along quickly, if I could find the time to get downstairs to the studio.