Sculpture
Panther Foundry Process Begins- Mold Making/cutting Up
I lost a day of work waiting for the approval on Friday, and some of my crew can’t work on weekends, but I get started anyway. The first part of the foundry process is making the molds. Believe it or not, the sculpture must be cut up into many, many pieces. Seems a shame, I know, but it is just part of the process. I’m dangerous with a reciprocating saw.
Everyone comes to check out the panther
A group of people from Prairie View have come to see the Panther and approve it. I’m sorry I did not write down everyone’s name. If someone can assist me in this, I would greatly appreciate it.In this picture, artist Bridgette Mongeon, _____, Clifford Stiles, Don Williams, Professor Talley, and Paul Miller the taxidermist.
Panther- Final approval
We receive final approval from Prairie View today at 3:00. We have had a crew waiting all day to get going on the bronze process. There is no rushing these next steps. I’ll record them here so everyone can watch what happens.
Panther Changes
There are several changes that are done to the panther. Taxidermist Paul Miller gives me a hand, so that we can meet our deadline. It is a late night, but he is a trooper hanging in there until 2:30 in the morning.
Oh No!
My original deadline was the middle of November. There was a delay in approvals from the college and that put us behind almost 2 months. Then I hear today that the deadline has changed and is homecoming which is the 30th? Oh, my… I’m not sure this is humanly possible. We will do our best. We have finished all that we can and are waiting on the university for approvals. If they don’t get it to us this weekend, I’m sorry, your panther will be missing in action during homecoming.
Panther Project- Face Off
Been working diligently on the face of the panther. Finished late last night. Here are the stages.
This is a sculpture for Prairie View A & M University in Prairie View, Texas of their mascot the Prairie View Panther. The entire process is being recorded on a special blog designate for this project and can be found at http://www.prairieviewpanther.blogspot.com/
Update- Panther Project- Progress, What Day Is It?
It is a marathon to get this done and approved by the 16th of this month.
Where are those Prairie View Cheers?
I am setting up appointments for the approval of the sculpture for next week.
WHAT DAY IS IT? It is hard to say, my day starts at 6 a.m going into the studio and turning on the crock pots with clay. Then it is a marathon of sculpting until 11:30 at night. Often there is an intern at the studio who is helping me by smoothing things out or adding clay, keeping the crock pots stocked and cleaning up the mess.
The texture on the cat is taking forever, but I love that it gives the sculpture such movement, it will look great in bronze.
I so want to work on the paws and the head, but I am kind of saving them as a reward for the rest of the work. This weekend. Yes, this weekend, I will get to paws and head.
I’ll post more, but back to getting clay under my fingernails. Check back over the weekend. Do I hear paws? do I hear face? For now it is back to fur and legs.
This is a sculpture for Prairie View A & M University in Prairie View, Texas of their mascot the Prairie View Panther. The entire process is being recorded on a special blog designate for this project and can be found at http://www.prairieviewpanther.blogspot.com/
Update Panther Project- Sculpting Like A Mad Woman
WORK IN PROGRESS- 18 days to sculpt the panther day 4 and 5.
Now that the messy carving of the foam is done the sculpture is vacuumed and brought into the studio. I love this picture of him/her checking out the new digs before entering.There are several people on our Panther Team, all of which I’ll introduce in later posts. You have already met our big cat consultants from the Houston Zoo in another post. I have some pretty diligent helpers trying to assist me in making my deadline. Once the sculpture is in the studio we seal it with wax. This keeps the gritty foam from getting into the clay that will be applied to the sculpture.
Panther Project-The Process of Sculpting
outside keeps the studio dust free. It looks like he wants to go in the doors.
This is the work in progress for the Prairie View A & M Panther. To watch the process from the beginning please click to previous posts.The sculpting of this project is a quick turn around. We need to finish the panther in 18 days. This is day 2,3 and 4 of the sculpting of the panther. The previous posts state that this is a foam armature that was milled and sent to us from Bridgette Mongeon Sculpture Design Studio’s digital design. A great deal of carving is done on this foam, indicating muscles and action before it is covered in clay. The process is messy and requires constant vacuuming and masks, but it is coming along.I loved being able to attach the tail. You will see that the tail is much different from the original design.
More foam is added to thicken areas. Other areas are carved.
when using urethane foam.
This is a Collaboration- What Does The Panther Mean To You?
I like to create process blogs for my clients. I will often put those same posts here. The process blog for this can be found at prairieviewpanther.blogspot.com .
I posted this on that process blog. I hoped students would read it and reply. I’d love to receive some inspiration with the process. What does this panther represent to the students? What does it make them feel? Anyone out there reading this blog?
One should lead never follow..
Sept 12, 2011 from audi 33
One should lead This looks great, I’m so excited about this project! I can’t wait until it makes its way to the hill of Prairie View A&M University. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!!never follow..
Sept 12, 2011 from Jsmaliz
this is awesome!!!
Sept 12, 2011 from Cherokee
The Panther is a recognizable icon that unites the Past, Present, and Future of Prairie View A&M University. A Prairie View A&M University Panther, is someone that understands that from the rich and sometimes dark history of our nation, a first class institution was created in the rebirth of our beloved country, to educate and knowingly contribute to the rebuilding and progression towards a more enlightened society. The Panther, I believe, represents rebirth in all aspects of life, education is the cornerstone for any society, and Prairie View A&M University is dedicated to just that by, “Producing Productive People”.
Sept 12, 2011 from Cherokee
It is nearly 5 years since this post. I wish I had known about it earlier. My name is Elton McWashington, Jr. I majored in Graphic Design when I was at PV. This is a fascinating blog! It is cool to see the whole process play out. I can only imagine what dealing with Talley was like LOL!!! Sooooooo, what does the panther mean to me? The Panther is a dark and mysterious. I always felt like it symbolized the unseen part of a person. The potential. It has always been a reminder to push the envelope and to not be predictable. It’s a powerful animal, so it has also inspired me to find my own power. I haven’t been on the campus long enough to take a stroll since 2008, so I can’t wait to see this statue and take what inspiration I can from it.
Aug 24, 2016 from Unknown