Richard Hathaway

Bryan has been working diligently on Dick Hathaway’s satchel, and we moved the sculpture back to the center of the room. It is time to finish Dick Hathaway and get him home to Vermont.

The mom and baby are at the foundry, along with the portrait bust. I should hear back any day now and am looking forward to seeing them. The sculpture of David is complete, but I do need to cast him in something. Onward or shall I say back to Dick Hathaway. This is a sculpture that I have been working on for a while. The TW Wood Gallery in Vermont has been trying to raise funds for the casting of the piece. It is of my former professor Richard Hathaway.

Bryan has been working on the clay satchel of books that sits at the feet of Dick. And yesterday we moved Dick to the center of the room again.

It has been months since I have worked on the sculpture of Dick. I have put him aside waiting for the rest of the funding to come through. I heard the T.W. Woods Gallery is getting very close to having the funding. As I have said before, I will have to cut the sculpture up into pieces to cast it into bronze. I hate the idea of Dick going to pieces without knowing he will soon be put back together.

I have pulled Dick center stage for a couple of reasons. The first is that my new apprentice Bryan is doing such a wonderful job I know we can work through this quickly with his help. And I’m feeling that it is way beyond the time of sending Dick home to the Green Mountain State. Maybe he can be there by fall, and if not maybe by sugaring. Though we would have to be sure the ground was not sill ice so that we could install the sculpture. I can’t wait!

It is sometimes good to get away from a sculpture for a while. Rarely do I have the opportunity to do so. Commissions come and have deadlines and it means working one after another. But walking away from a sculpture and coming back gives you an entirely different perspective. I can’t wait, give me the pot of hot clay, the large tools. Time to finish the upper torso of Dick Hathaway and then the details in the face.

I found this link today http://www.twwoodgallery.org/hathaway.html Update 2020 The TW Woods gallery has been absorbed by Vermont College of Fine arts. The article is no longer visible.

A section of the TW Woods gallery website. Thanks ladies, for making such an effort to bring Dick Hathaway back to the woods.

I’ve been busy here in the studio creating other sculpture, both posthumous and living subjects.

I just spoke with the TW Woods Gallery and the fundraising committee about the Dick Hathaway project. It has been on hold for a while. I am hesitant to continue the sculpting process unless there is money to bronze the sculpture. I just cannot handle Professor Hathaway in pieces in the studio. I would much rather have him in the corner on the bench. I am told that this month is the final push to have the funds for the project. It will be wonderful to have him complete. Though I will be sad to have him go. I suppose I should really give a push to find another apprentice. Florencia has taken a job and that leaves me alone to finish Dick Hathaway. More later.

Somewhere I heard a quote about how much money Dick raised in his life
time as an auctioneer. Anyone know that answer?

I sent this out to some that new Dick. I have been working on the chapters in the book about Dick and Sarah Hooker was kind enough to reply.

“I picture Dick sitting on the bench at Vermont College hand in the air as if he is beckoning to the person passing by or across the green. Greetings from Dick were not just average hello’s as Sarah Hooker states, “Well, it was more that he had a megaphone with his hands as if to announce whoever it was, but it was personalized—so, for example, he’d say, “Heeeer’s Miss Sunshine herself, Sarah Jo Hooker” or “I give you the goddest of the Adult Degree Program, Sarah Jo Hooker”, or it might be “Here’s Portland Maine’s most renowned druid, Susan Hammond!”–“

I have a couple questions about dick Hathaway.

I am writing the chapters on the sculpture of Dick Hathaway for my book “Bringing to Life the Spirit of the Deceased—a Sculptor’s Journey” and wanted to ask a few questions. Can anyone help?

Can you please give me a few suggestions of things to write instead of etc. In the following statement

While attending his exploratory meeting to discuss my study and this book project he said, “I’m not sure why you are here, we really don’t go together.” I knew his expertise in such things, as social reform, history, (etc). Did not really go with sculpting the deceased but, I was too embarrassed to tell him that I found him absolutely charming and I just wanted to spend time with him. I don’t remember what I murmured; it may have been something like… “Just trying to get to know the professors.”

Also,

I know for the school auctions Dick would find unusual items that he would purchase somehow from obscure places. Artisans from around the world. There was a man that was always at the school auctions with him, what was that mans name, they seemed to get this stuff together. Also from what areas, tribes or countries did Dick get these things?

Also,
Somewhere I heard a quote about how much money Dick raised in his life time as an auctioneer. Anyone know that answer?

Thanks in advance,
Bridgette

Updates on the progress of the sculpture are still being posted at http://dickhathaway.blogspot.com

I have just received the following letter from Vermont College Union Institute. You may have remembered that we were all a bit worried what would happen to College Hall if it were sold, and then what would happen to the Dick Hathaway sculpture. It looks like the MFA is going to purchase the entire property. I assume that this secures the TW Woods Gallery and Dick on the campus. I am thrilled. He should be here.

LETTER RECEIVED FROM VERMONT COLLEGE UNION INSTITUTE
February 26, 2007

Dear faculty, staff, learners, and alumni,
I’m pleased to announce that this past Friday, February 23, 2007 I signed of a Letter of Intent to transfer the historic Vermont College campus and three MFA programs to the newly formed Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA). After a period of due diligence, we project that the sale will be completed by July 1, 2007. UI&U will continue to operate its undergraduate adult degree program, as well as the Master of Education and Master of Arts programs, without interruption, in leased facilities on the campus.

Included in the proposed sale to VCFA are the campus’s 11 buildings and 33.5 acres, as well as the Master of Fine Arts in Visual Arts program, the Master of Arts in Writing program, and the Master of Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults program. The Vermont College of Fine Arts, under the leadership of MFA alumnus Tom Greene, a longtime administrator with Vermont College, and William Kaplan, an expert in real estate acquisition and conservation, is committed to a seamless transition for the three MFA programs. According to Tom, the vision of the new non-profit entity is that the “historic campus and renowned academic programs will form the foundation for a new college, one that not only plays a critical role in arts and letters in this country, but also is firmly and forever anchored in central Vermont.”

For the past months, we have made concerted efforts to appropriately staff the Montpelier-based programs in anticipation of this sale. We are pleased that academic and academic support staff associated with the programs retained by UI&U will not lose their positions because of this transfer. Academic support staff and faculty related to the MFA programs will most likely become employees of VCFA. Discussions are still in the very early stages regarding facilities, housekeeping, and security staff, but VCFA officials are quoted as saying that they are committed to operate the campus and the MFA programs without disruption.

In the proposed framework, UI&U will lease office, classroom, dormitory, and meeting space from VCFA and operate its educational offerings as one of UI&U’s five national academic centers. All current programs will continue to operate out of the Stone Science building, including the undergraduate adult degree program; the MA and new MA Online; and the MEd. The Gary Library will also continue to operate under UI&U auspices, serving all UI&U and VCFA students in a shared arrangement. UI&U’s Brattleboro Center will also continue to operate without interruption. UI&U has also recently leased offices in Brattleboro to house its new Psy.D. program which will operate pending approval of the Vermont Department of Education.

Alumni of the three MFA programs, as well as alumni of the historic programs housed on the campus (Montpelier Seminary, Vermont Junior College, etc.) will transfer under the auspices of the VCFA. All alumni who earned UI&U degrees since the 2001 acquisition, including all those who earned degrees from the programs staying with UI&U and alumni of the Adult Degree program, MEd program, and MA program will remain with UI&U.

This Letter of Intent moves us closer to our goals, stated clearly last spring, to divest all real property at its Cincinnati headquarters and Montpelier campus in order to focus resources on our core mission based on our founders’ vision to be “learner-centered” rather than “building-centered.” The decision to sell the historic Montpelier campus as well as other property is part of an institution-wide re-visioning that redirects the university’s assets away from owned real estate to focus on creating innovative programs for adults, investing in our people, enhancing learner services, and providing state-of-the-art technology.

We are proud to have been stewards of the Vermont College campus and its academic programs for the past five years, and gratified that our substantial investments in the buildings, the campus, the programs, and the people have given birth to the new and promising entity of the Vermont College of Fine Arts. We are particularly pleased that VCFA will not only continue to operate but also enhance the nationally renowned MFA programs in Writing, Visual Arts, and Writing for Children. We are also very much looking forward to continuing to operate our undergraduate and master’s programs on the campus without interruption.

UI&U remains wholly committed to learners, staff, faculty, and alumni in Vermont, providing strong and viable educational opportunities. It is our intention and the intention of VCFA that this transfer is contingent upon being a seamless transition similar to when UI&U purchased the campus and programs from Norwich University in 2001. There is no foreseen alteration of the academic experience: the learning model will continue, and even improve; faculty will be retained; and residencies will continue without interruption. While there are still details to work out, officials from both organizations are working diligently with federal, state, and local agencies.

I express my deepest appreciation to all of you for your patience throughout this past months. I know that the uncertainty about the campus and program caused rumors and unrest, but I hope you understand that these are serious negotiations and the level of detail is such that much of the information must remain protected in order to safeguard the eventual outcome. I thank you for allowing us the time to make this transition a reality. We owe it to our learners, alumni, and ourselves to continue to work every day to serve our learners and continue the legacies created by both Union and Vermont College.

I also thank officials in the city of Montpelier and the state of Vermont for their warm hospitality and support throughout the past five years. We all look forward to what promises to be a fruitful and lasting partnership on a beautiful and unique campus.

I’m sure that you will have questions in the coming weeks and months. We will do our best to answer them and to provide as much information as possible to ensure that we are serving our learners, our alumni and friends, our staff, and our faculty. We will continue to stay in touch as we know more.

Warm regards,
Roger H. Sublett, Ph.D.
President

The stack of books and satchel that I bought are now covered with wax. Florencia will be cleaning the stack of books and covering them with clay, so that I can add the details. Meanwhile the sculpture of Dick sits patiently waiting for me to return. Two commissions have a tight deadline and I’ll get back to Dick as soon as they are complete.