Sculpture
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. |
The Head
We are spending a lot of time on the tigers head.
Each part of the anatomy is looked at very carefully. Because this sculpture is so large and the face is seen from a distance, an artist must know how to exaggerate features so that they can read when it is complete, in bronze and from a distance.
The Patina
When the foundry calls and says, “We are ready,” I’m there. First I look over the sculpture and discuss possible tweaks with the piece. The foundry needs an extra couple of days to fix my suggestions before we begin to do the patina.
The patina is done by heating up the bronze sculpture and then adding chemicals to add color. This sculpture is done in a traditional patina. This means there is no real color other than the traditional brown. The care of a bronze sculpture is important.
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| The sculpture is sandblasted and ready for patina. |
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| Miguel heats up the entire sculpture and then adds chemicals to create the dark patina. |
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| Slowly, color is added to the sculpture. |
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| I’m there for the entire process. I like to be able to direct. “Make this lighter here, or darker here.” |
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| Often the foundry will squirt the bronze with water. This helps me to see how the sculpture will look once it is waxed. It helps me to know where I want things changed. |
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| It takes some time to bronze a large sculpture. |
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| Once the entire sculpture is complete it is covered with a coat of wax. |
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| We will wait to polish the sculpture until after it is installed. |
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| Notice the torch on the bible. There was something about the foundry man working in this sacred space. The heat on the bible The patina, making the words pop out of the text. I just had to post this picture. |
to all of my clients so they know what to expect with a bronze sculpture that is placed outdoors.
Looking For Images of Carnassials
Working on the mouth of the tiger. Now searching for reference of the carnassial
Bridgette Mongeon is creating this sculpture for Grambling State University. To watch the entire process you can use the categories on this blog or visit the project blog she created for the client at http://gramblingtiger.blogspot.com/
In A Tigers Mouth
I am becoming very intimate with the mouth of a growling tiger.
Though the foam armature gives me a base for the sculpture there is still a great deal of sculpting to do. Because the sculpture is in pieces. I can work with the head of the tiger on a comfortable table instead of while balancing on a ladder.
Searching through reference of tigers I find myself becoming intimate with the snarl and growl of a tiger. Of course their are several looks of a tiger with their mouth open, some give me reference of the teeth and tongue but there is a great deal of difference between a yawn, growl, snarl, and roar.
The foam is carved to add more detail
Bridgette Mongeon is creating this sculpture for Grambling State University. To watch the entire process you can use the categories on this blog or visit the project blog she created for the client at http://gramblingtiger.blogspot.com/
We Have A Tiger In The Studio- In Pieces
This morning, after we cleaned out some space to receive the sculpture, we awaited for Acts International Crating . The guys were troopers, they helped us take the crates apart and unload the many puzzle pieces. This weekend we begin to assemble the bases and the bottom portion of the sculpture. I’m thankful the head is not on the body, as I will begin to put some details in the head this weekend. That will be much easier as it sits on the table than if it were up in the air.
Panther. Well you can see the clay head that I saved it is on top
of the filing cabinet on the left. The Grambling tiger is on the
right and overpowers that panther.
these milled armatures sure do help. They give me a good base.
I can’t wait to get my hands on this head. That is my weekend
goal. Sculpting a tiger head. Funny, if you took a picture of me
while I am doing it I am sure you will find that I snarl as I work.
these milled armatures sure do help. They give me a good base.
I can’t wait to get my hands on this head. That is my weekend
goal. Sculpting a tiger head. Funny, if you took a picture of me
while I am doing it I am sure you will find that I snarl as I work.
Bridgette Mongeon is creating this sculpture for Grambling State University. To watch the entire process you can use the categories on this blog or visit the project blog she created for the client at http://gramblingtiger.blogspot.com/
Tiger Energy
Where does the inspiration come from? I am surprised that I feel a tremendous amount of tiger energy as of late. It comes from the most unusual place, you see last Saturday my daughter had her first baby. I thought it was very strange. For several months before the baby was born I began to feel like a mother tiger protecting her cub. Don’t mess with my kid during this pregnancy/delivery. I could feel my claws coming out any time someone tried to. So, during the beginning of this project, I feel a tremendous amount of tiger energy.
Bridgette Mongeon is creating this sculpture for Grambling State University. To watch the entire process you can use the categories on this blog or visit the project blog she created for the client at http://gramblingtiger.blogspot.com/
The Tiger Is In Houston!
I ran to the shipping company today to look at the crates that hold all of the many, many pieces of the tiger. It finally arrived in Houston. This is what I found. So this is what a tiger in boxes looks like. Tomorrow it arrives at the studio and we begin to put the entire thing together. Remember that we have been working on this sculpture as a digital model and have sent it out to a milling company to be enlarged. Now this blog will begin to get busy. Keep watching, as their are more posts to come.
I’m so thrilled that Acts International Crating has helped me with getting these from Idaho. A wonderful shipping company. Ask for Lace if you need to ship something somewhere. She will also be shipping the Neil Armstrong Sculpture to Moscow for me.
to sculpt the Grambling State Tiger. I look a little overwhelmed.
Bridgette Mongeon is creating this sculpture for Grambling State University. To watch the entire process you can use the categories on this blog or visit the project blog she created for the client at http://gramblingtiger.blogspot.com/