Sculpture
Received Approval
I have been working hard on the surprise sculpture, night and day to get it done in time to get to the foundry and be out by Christmas. I received my approval today. What a weight off of my shoulders. On to the mold making process.
Busy weekend ahead with final approval of metal on Dick and Jenna, and mold making plus getting things ready for the trip to bring Jenna and Dick home. I could use an apprentice here this weekend, but alas Caroline only come in on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.
Approving A Bronze
Long after the sculptures are completed and approved, the molds are made, the waxes are cleaned, and the metal is poured, I’m at the foundry approving the metal. Basically I have photographs that I took of the sculpture when it was sculpted. I want to be sure that all of the pieces go back together again, the way they should and textures are matched- a trademark of my sculptures. This is what I am doing this week and next. The two- year long project of Dick Hathaway is coming to a close. He will be delivered at the end of this month, taking the trip to Vermont College ( see video). Baby Jenna will be traveling with him, going a bit further up to Main. Both will be complete next week. When approving the metal I’ll go around the sculpture circling with a marker all of the things that need to be changed by the master foundry man, and believe me Miguel is a master foundry man. The foundry was miserable, no air conditioning and the Houston, Texas temperature was in the 90’s. Here are some photographs of the foundry trip. I’m headed back again next week, and then the patina ( the coloring of the sculpture.)
Is There A Message From Beyond?
Please pass this post on to everyone that you know.
Would you like to be a part of this book project called – Kisses from Heaven?
Bridgette Mongeon is a sculptor that specializes in creating posthumous sculpture for memorials, prayer gardens and personal art collections. She has heard numerous encounters of messages of comfort from beyond. This book project was created to give her clients and others an opportunity to share these blessings and comfort. The book is compiled by sculptor Bridgette Mongeon, and her client Rosanna Mangini, who recently lost her beautiful baby to cancer.
The two authors met in 2008 when Rosanna Mangini commissioned Sculptor Bridgette Mongeon to create a life size sculpture of baby Jenna for Jenna’s gravesite. As they began to share their own feather moments and kisses from heaven, as well as report the experiences of others, they realized these stories needed to be told. Now they are working on two projects—the completion of the Jenna sculpture and the memories contained in the many Kisses From Heaven.
Here is more information on how to contribute. Please do not send contributions via e-mail but instead submit them through the contract form link listed below. Writers guidelines and samples can also be found at this website.
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Writers are wanted to share their stories in an upcoming book- Kisses from Heaven
There are special cherished moments after the death of a loved one. Some call them coincidences, others a message from beyond. In this case we are calling them Kisses from Heaven.
They are simple things that happen that remind us of our deceased loved one. Some seem so bizarre we are not sure how they could happen. They may be snuggling in a dream, or perhaps having a symbol of a loved one continue to appear over and over, smelling the perfume of a deceased mother, or cigar of a father who passed away. These moments, however strange, comfort us. It is our personal opinion that God gives these moments to the bereaved as a way to say, “I know your pain, and I’m still here.”
If you have a story and would like to submit for consideration for Kisses from Heaven you can find a complete set of writers guidelines at https://creativesculpture.com/kisses_from_heaven.html . There is no monetary compensation for your submissions, but you will be able to share your blessings.
Author Bridgette Mongeon
co-author Rosanna Mangini
SHHHH…… Don’t Tell Anyone….
My newest project is hush, hush, until December when it is given as a gift from wife to husband. I love the idea of portrait sculpture as a gift. How can you go wrong? You are giving what will turn into a family heirloom. Envision this, Sculpture of children given to a parent or gandparent, wife with baby, husband with “man’s best friend”. What to give the person that has everything- commissioned portrait sculpture. I’ll often get calls from organziations. We really want to honor so-and-so for their work with our organziation. What can you give someone who has crystal vases and plaques on every wall? A commissioned sculpture of of their loved one. SO cool.
SURPRISE! Many women have difficulty with figuring out how to “hide” the large sums of money that are taken out of personal accounts on a regular basis to make the three payments. I have heard some interesting stories. This was the first time I ever had 100 bills wrapped in the little purple bank sleeve with 2,000 on it! Felt strange. Sorry, No pictures until December on this project. I am also going to create a video of the process so that it can play at the christmas party and she can have a documentation of the process. An added feature of surprise and intrigue!
New Video Created For The Richard Hathaway Memorial
I posted a new video on you tube and blip.tv about the bronze casting process in creating the Richard Hathaway Memorial project. Anyone interested in checking it out ? Here is the YouTube version. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYgZZjcHCW4
What Is It Like To Sculpt The Famous?
People often ask me what it was like to sculpt someone famous. Really it is the same as sculpting anyone else. Each subject adds their own nuances to the sculpture.
Many of those in the music industry have had people trying to take a piece of them their entire carriers, if that has hardened them to others then it will make my job much more difficult. Because remember, I am trying to capture much more than a likeness, I am trying to capture the essence of an individual.
For example B. B. King was wonderful to work with. Bill Monroe on the other hand was a harder nut to crack. I was able to soften him up a bit, even to the point where he hit me in the arm with his elbow as we were walking from the Grand Ole Opry.
Minnie Pearl was approaching, and Bill said, “Tell er watcha doen, tell er wathcha doen.” It was the first time he showed real emotion over the sculpture.
I have enjoyed not only the sculpting of those who are famous, but also the research about them. I love history, and studying about an individual is a study in history. Especially if they have played roll in shaping that history, either politically, like Jesse Jones, or musically like B. B. King Willie Nelson, and Bill Monroe.
A funny story about B. B. King
I was a sitting, next to B. B. King, calipers in my lap and I said, “Mr. King, I will have to touch you in this sitting.”
I know some people have a problem with people touching them especially their face, so I thought I should say something.
He replied, “Oh darling, you are already touching me!”
I looked at the calipers in my lap and him and said, “I don’t know what you mean.”
He said, “Your thigh is against my thigh and believe me the thrill is not gone!”
I love my stories about sculpting.
By the way, I equally enjoy sculpting for those people who just think their subject is a star!
Giving Blood Can Make A Baby Dance!
I guess I never had an example of what giving blood can do. It can make a baby giggle, and dance!
My client, in case you have forgotten about this commission, I’ll post another picture here
My client posted this short audio.
In it she describes the fight her little baby went through with childhood leukemia, and just how her receiving blood made a difference. Jenna passed away not long ago and I have created this sculpture that will sit at her grave site. If you have not thought about giving blood, this short audio may just change your mind. When you do give blood, maybe you will have a vision of a little baby, kicking his/her feet up in a dance, just like Jenna.
Deadlines Postponed- Sculpture Is In Pieces!
The sculpture unveiling is rescheduled for the end of September. Which will be a great time to visit Vermont, where Dick Hathaway is going. We figured a September unveiling would bring more people. While visiting the foundry the other day I took this picture. I’m creating a video on the casting process and will post it soon. It is hard to believe that the sculpture is cut into so many pieces and put back together again.
Who Is Coming Up With Richard Hathaway?
I thought I would introduce you to Jenna, she is a sculpture that will be traveling on the road from Houston, Texas to Vermont. I need to deliver her to Main. Jenna’s mom is coming to the opening to pick up “her little angel.” I love the idea that we will be coming up to Vermont with an angel. I wonder if Jenna and Dick have met in heaven?
Update on Jenna, and Other Things
When I was at the foundry last week I had hoped to see Jenna. “She is in the dip room” said Miguel. The lights are usually off in there so I figured she was taking a nap and did not want to disturb her. Being that Dick was in pieces was difficult enough. I yearn to see everything back together the way they should be.
My apprentice has been diligently working on a second wax of Jenna for me. I had hoped to get that completed and together to have it ready for my meeting today. But Alas she sat there in pieces.
As stated I prepared for a meeting with a potential new client. I hope the job comes through. It is a sweet story and will be a fun commission. The studio was all clean- that is about the only time it gets clean. Once the new projects begin it is back to the mess.
My daughter’s boyfriend, is now fiance ( he proposed in a photo booth at the 59 diner, on Thursday, after asking the parents for her hand in marriage. The 59 diner photo booth is a perfect place for a person into photography ). Bill stayed in the studio while visiting last week. My son asked, “Does it freak you out sleeping in there?” I’m glad it did not. It does make my son a little weary, don’t know if it is the sculptures or because after the sculptures are done there are a lot of body parts. You see I can reuse the clay, so the clay that was used on Dick Hathaway and Jeanna has been used on Patsy, Lucas, and others. Lots of creative energy in that clay. But I have to get the clay off of the pieces. Right now Dick Hathaway is piled, in pieces in the corner. My apprentices will help take the clay off after he is complete.
After the week-long visit, the kids are gone, and the big meeting is over. Wish I could take time to sit and be still, but there is still a lot of work to do in the studio and office. I will post more photographs of the sculptures soon.
Bridgette