Sculpture
Two Sculptures At Once- Getting Started
I have been absolutely overwhelmed with the latest commission, of a monumental sculpture of Alice in Wonderland’s Mad Hatter Tea Party. It has received a great deal of attention in the media. We are still not done, but I’m taking time to start on the sculpture of John Tuner. Can’t wait to share about John. If you are interested in this Alice in Wonderland Project for Evelyn’s Park in Bellaire, Texas, just outside of Houston, follow along on the Finding Alice Sculpture Facebook page.
This is a recent segment from PBS on my artwork.
Houston Public Broadcasting and Bridgette Mongeon
For artist Bridgette Mongeon having Houston Public Braodcasting come to her studio and film was like old times. When she first began her career they came to her studio and created an artist documentary segment. It won an award. Now, all these years later they are back in her studio.
Just in case you would like to compare the very old channel 8 segment here it is. This was produced by Manny Santos and won the best artists documentary award.
Sculptor Bridgette Mongeon Is Mad As a March Hare When It Comes to Bringing Literature to Life.
Sculptor Bridgette Mongeon is completing the sculpting on a monumental sculpture of Alice in Wonderland’s Mad Hatter Tea Party. As a lover of literature, she would be thrilled to find more patrons that could help her to bring to life children’s literature.
“I want to encourage literacy, inspiration, family and community, and wonder through these works. There are many wonderful books in the public domain from which we can choose- The Wizard of Oz, Brothers Grimm, Peter Rabbit just to name a few.” States Mongeon.
Follow along with the Alice in Wonderland’s sculpture on Facebook.
Alice Gets Bigger And Smaller Not With Mushrooms And Elixirs But With Technology
Many of you have been following along with my very busy schedule of creating the monumental sculpture of the Alice in Wonderland Mad Hatter Tea Party for Evelyn’s Park in Bellaire, Texas.
You may also know that I had a new book that came out last November called 3D Technology In Fine Art and Craft: Exploring 3D Printing, Scanning, Sculpting, and Milling. I’m proud to say it has been a number one new release on Amazon. It seems that from starting the sculpture last July, to the book release in November, it has been a whirlwind of activity in my studio.
You may not know that I have used the same digital technology with the Alice Sculpture as I have written about in the book. It is fascinating, and I can’t wait to write a new book on the process of sculpting Alice.
The Whirlwind Continues
I’m thrilled that my publisher, Focal Press is jumping on board. With the new Alice in Wonderland Movie coming out we have an entirely new promotion strategy for the sculpture and the book. I’m thrilled when Focal Press has asked me to come to book signings, be a featured author, etc. This is a great way to start off my first solo book. I have longed for a publisher that could work with me as a team, and Focal Press is doing just that. Thanks to everyone for jumping down the rabbit hole with me.
Bridgette
Continue to Fall Down a Rabbit Hole
did a wonderful photo shoot for press photos.
The studio has been so very, very busy. Those watching along on the Finding Alice Facebook Page can see just how far we have come. We are over 1/2 through the process of creating a monumental scene of Alice in Wonderland’s Mad Hatter Tea Party. The interns that are working in the studio are a marvelous group and have done a great job. I could not have done this project this quickly without them. Of course incorporating digital technology with traditional technology is also important. I’m using the same processes that I recorded in my book 3D Technology in Fine Art and Craft: Exploring 3D Printing, Scanning, Sculpting and Milling. I can’t wait to write a new book on creating this project. So far, The Mad Hatter, March Hare, Alice and her chair and the Cheshire Cat are complete.
The client came by and gave his approval of the main characters.
Christina Sizemore of Diliberto Photo and Design came by and did a marvelous shoot of both the approval and some press photos for the finished pieces. We also had a gathering at the studio to show family and friends the sculpture. Thank you to all who participated, brought food and drinks and dressed up for the occassion. Alice and the Hatter where also in attendance.
Evelyn’s Park also had a gathering at the studio, bringing the Mayor of Bellaire. People are still dropping by for a photo opportunity before the sculpture is cut up and into mold.
MEDIA WEEKS
The last few weeks have been a media frenzy.
* Ruben Dominguez from Fox 26 came to film a segment for the news.
* Street Stories CW 39 came in and did a segment that made me giggle.
* Channel 13 (ABC) Houston came out and did a feature on Evelyn’s Park and the Art for a piece on parks in Houston. Look at the bottom of this page and see the video.
* KHOU Houston gave Alice her debut. Several segments aired live and then later on in the day.
park, the city council and the mayor. The evening hours Bridgette
Mongeon and her interns invited family and friends. Over 130
people took part in this private viewing of the clay.
* Houston PBS created a segment that is expected to come out in April
* Local Houston Magazine also came out and shot some photographs for an article to come out.
The Houston Chronicle also was out shot images and the Leader was putting something together.
I was also featured on Women in 3D Printing and listed as one of the 25 most influential women in 3D printing.
WORK CONTINUES
The studio has 58 days to get these pieces into mold, but we are still not done.
We have the table and benches along with the hatter’s chair and the pedestal with the book, and we are still hiding things in the scene. Still we celebrate all that has been accomplished so far. It has been a great trip down the rabbit hole.
Measurements And Photos
I don’t always have the luxury of measuring and taking photographs of my clients. Often the photographs are provided by a client and the subject matter is not available. I took some measurements of Eben and John and spent a few minutes in the drizzle and cold to try and get some action shots. When ever I’m doing this and think, “that is enough photographs, ” I remember that I can never have too many photographs. Linda, John’s wife, will be sending me some more photographs of John at a different age as we have decided to sculpt John at a younger age.
While taking measurements of Eben he decided to became a bit more intimate than I would have liked and gave me a very wet kiss. I felt like Lucy from Charlie Brown and the expression in this video pretty much sums it up.
Getting To Know My Subject
and recognitions look over a dog who love and now have
a challenge of helping the blind to see.
I have thought of this photo often as I think of the many memories they have had.
After arriving in Dallas, John and Linda took me to their home. I love visiting a subjects home. I have always said, “you really don’t know someone until you run your finger along their bookshelves.”
This type of interaction though brief is important. While trying not to be intrusive and asking permission to take photographs I try to absorb a life time of memories. I often wish I could be alone in these spaces to run my finger along the shelves and envision a past. These pictures remind me of another commission of a former professor at my undergraduate college in Vermont and visiting Richard Hathaway’s home, or spending time in his office.
I have a book about casting faces
of famous people so the blind
can “see” their faces. I cast faces
and hands, as well as digitally scan
them. My favorite personal possession
is the casts of my mom’s and dad’s hands.
Reviewing The Space For The Sculpture
under a water color Texas evening sky.
The Texas sky streaked into watercolor purples and the wind bit through my poncho as we explored the area where the sculpture celebrating a man, a journey and possibilities would be placed. The Heritage center and the Heritage Museum is located at 6455 Page Street Frisco, Texas 75034.
“The mission of the Frisco Heritage Museum is to collect, preserve, study, interpret, exhibit, and stimulate appreciation for and knowledge of the history and culture of Frisco, Texas and the North Texas region to all the people of the region and to the visitors attracted to the area”
The Patrons of this project Linda and David Griffin
John Turner and his wife Linda Turner and Ebon
A Visit To Frisco Texas
I knew I had to take time away from Wonderland, and visit Shirley and David. I looked forward to the opportunity of meeting John Turner. A date was set, and on January 5th, I made a quick trip from my Houston, studio to fly to Dallas and then drive over to Frisco, Texas to see sculpture was to be placed.
GETTING TO KNOW A SUBJECT
To meet a subject in person is so very important and really a luxury in my creative journey. I work on many different types of projects. People are my favorite thing to sculpt, along with dogs and especially children. Though, over the last few years, more people have been calling me “the cat lady” after creating the panther for Prairie View A & M and the Grambling tiger for Grambling State University, Louisiana. But many of my subjects I never meet. This is either because they are far away or they are deceased. This is a wonderful treat to be able to meet John.
John and his wife Linda met me at the airport. To my surprise they walked up to me inside the airport Now, for many people that may not seem like anything special, but for me it was a treat. I have traveled often and my hometown is not Houston, though I have lived here over 35 years. When I would fly home in years gone by, I remember how people could greet you at the gate. I remember my mom waiting anxiously to greet me with my baby girl, or my sister and brother waiting for hugs. It occurred to me, that over the years, with the extra security and people not going down to the gate, that things have gotten very lax and when traveling and visiting used to be a treat, the process has become impersonal. Many times in my travels, I find myself taking taxis, or maybe waiting at the curb for family to drive by, open their door and I jump in before some guy in a yellow vest shouts at us and waves us off. So seeing these friendly faces greet me with a hug, meant more to me than I even realized at the time. It was the perfect way to start this adventure.
Speaking at Penn State
This past week, Penn State University, The Behrend College invited me to Erie PA to speak on my new book, “3D Technology in Fine Art and Craft: Exploring 3D Printing, Scanning, Sculpting and Milling
My host was Heather Cole from Penn State’s new interdisciplinary degree major- Digital Media, Arts, and Technology. My visit was supported by the Endowment Fund. Penn States interdisciplinary degree combines the broad perspective of the liberal arts with technical skill. The Penn State website describes the Digital Media Arts, and Technology major. The students study technology history and theory at the same time they are learning to use the newest programming languages, digital tools, and computer systems. I’m thrilled that this program is looking at using my book as a textbook for Digital Media, Arts, and Technology major.
There were both students from the campus and others from art groups in the area that attended. Many students from the engineering department were also in attendance, in fact, when I asked how many students in the arts that there were in the audience, 1/3 of the audience raised their hands. There were, in fact, more people interested in engineering than those working in the arts. That is no surprise to me. The book and the lecture are very interdisciplinary. I cover such things as 3D printing, and computer numerically controlled machining, digital presentation, and the workflow of a project from digital concept to fabrication. It is a good lecture for both those in the art, those studying engineering, architecture, design, industrial design and more.
Along with the book signing, I had samples of the 3D prints created by 3D RP of the digital design that I used to create the 15-foot bronze sculpture of the Grambling Tiger. 3DRP also created a 3D print of the March Hare. He is a bit stained with clay as we have been looking at him constantly while we are making the 8-foot tall sculpture. Other examples that I brought of 3D printing were some 3d printed bronze by exone. Some 3d printed wax jewelry, articulated pieces and 3d prints that are examples of the great detail you can get from the different types of 3d printing and 3d printing of objects inside of other objects.
Of course, there were plenty of Alice in Wonderland pieces that I was showing and I encouraged attendees to follow along with this newest project on the Finding Alice Facebook Page. And I always try to have other materials that attendees can take home like a list of all of the contact information such as:
- A description of the website created for the book at digitalsculpting.net that has further information will hold tutorials and has podcasts about art and technology.
- There is also a Facebook page for the book. These are created for others to share their work. It is a place where others and I can address questions that people have about the technology and processes, I also encourage vendors to come and share their processes and expertise.
- Brochures from my vendors like Shidoni foundry, my ( CNC) Computer numerically controlled milling companies such Synappsys Digital Services and Across the Board Creations. The video of milling by Synappsys was a big hit in the presentation, and you can see it for yourself on you tube. (Fast forward to about the two minute mark.)
The Digital Media, Arts, and Technology Department brought their MakerBot fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3d printer and had it running. Many thanks to Heather’s Bread and Circus Club at Penn State who monitored the table while I was in giving the lecture.
My daughter created a wonderful banner for my new speaking engagements, and we had that outside the auditorium.
The attendance was great, the hospitality and the quaint campus a pleasure to visit. The next day on my way back to Buffalo for my next engagement, I took a short jaunt to Presque Isle state Park. It was a lovely little side trip. I drove through the park, looked at the wildlife and learned about the Battle of Lake Erie, from which came the saying “We have met the enemy, and they are ours.” The Penn State Library with their intriguing exhibit complete with a replica of the ship was my first introduction to the-the battle of Erie and Master Commandant Oliver Hazard Perry.
Thanks, Penn State University, The Behrend College. I look forward to helping your students through the various resources mentioned above. Who knows, maybe their work will be in the next edition of 3D Technology in Fine Art and Craft: Exploring 3D Printing, Scanning, Sculpting and Milling
If you are interested in having me come to your University or group, please contact me through my fine art website. I am traveling around quite a bit and would love to come and talk.
Bridgette’s presentation excellently conveyed the practical aspect of 3D modeling. Being able to see the models she created come to life in a real physical project was very inspiring.
Will Gerould- Student
I was thrilled about the broad turn out of students and community members that were in attendance. Bridgette did a wonderful job of covering the subject from an interdisciplinary approach and I think many came out with a better understanding and appreciation of the work involved.
Heather Cole- Instructor Digital Media, Arts, and Technology
Heather, thanks for bringing Bridgette, it was a great glimpse into the life of a professional artist and some amazing technology.
Dr. Chris Coultson- Professor School of Engineering.