Sculpture
And Now For Part 1 and 2 of The Newsboy Sculpture Video
“Artist Bridgette Mongeon shares the process behind the mold making, and casting of the life-size bronze newsboys. The artwork was originally created for the Texas Press Association. The life-size sculpture, second in the edition of ten has been created for the Tabor City Tribune and “Billy” the newsboy perpetually hawks their historical headline. The artist searches for eight more historical headlines to be carved in bronze.”
More information about the Newsboy sculpture can be found in video The Newsboy Sculpture- Part Two and a complete journal is documented on her website. If you missed The Newsboy Sculpture- Part One you can find that here.
There Are Always Such Quick Deadlines On Awards
When ever I create an award there are always such quick deadlines! I have been working on the Hands Across Houston Award every chance I get. Here is what it is looking like. To create an award it must first be sculpted, the more people the more time and money. Then a mold must be made and it has to be cast. Plates will be created and put in where the white paper is. All steps take time!
A New Award- Hands Across Houston
I am creating a new sculpture for the Houston Choral Society for their special 20th Anniversary event to be held in the Cullen Theater at the Wortham Center. They will present a commissioned work by Adolphus Hailstork. This concert is a fund-raising event for Neighborhood Centers Inc., a private, nonprofit agency that provides social services to hundreds of thousands of Houston’s low-income children, families and senior citizens.
Here is some information about the event on the Neighborhood centers web site.
Hands Across Houston
Wortham Center
5/2/2008
Please join us on the evening of Friday, May 2 at 7:30pm in the Wortham Center’s Cullen Theater for the Houston Choral Society’s world premiere of “Set Me on a Rock – Songs of Sanctuary from the Great Flood,” a commissioned work by noted composer Dr. Adolphus Hailstork. This composition is the centerpiece of a concert entitled “Hands Across Houston,” which commemorates Houston’s courageous response to our Gulf Coast neighbors in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
This concert celebrates the Houston Choral Society’s 20th anniversary, and all proceeds will benefit Neighborhood Centers Inc. Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for children, students and senior citizens. Sponsorship packages are also available. Please e-mail us for more information on how you can be a part of this extraordinary event.
The sculpture depicts a woman and child on a rock. The photograph shows the roughed in version that I sent the client. They enlarged the requested that the sculpture should be enlarged to 7′
Mcinvale, Mutombo, Demontrond And Montgomery Receive The Samaritan Award That I Have Sculpted
The Samaritan award that I have sculpted is received by a few honorees each year. These people are honored for their “good Samaritan work” that they are a part of. I just received these photographs of this years honorees. You can read more about this wonderful center by visiting their website at www.samaritanhouston.org. It is great to be a part of this project.
Event Chairpersons Susan & Dick Hansen
Special Guests Carole & Ronald Krist
Honoree Dikembe Mutombo (third photograph)
Honoree George DeMontrond, III ( fourth photograph)
Honoree Lee Hage Jamail ( first photograph on left)
Honoree Jim MacIngvale ( first photograph on left)
John Montgomery ( first photograph on right, holding the award)
Looking at their previous honorees list It appears that Sylvan had received his award in 1998. ( I mentioned the story about this award and Sylvan in a previous post) It is hard to believe it was that long ago.
A Wonderful Blessing A Great Story
I have finally finished the God’s Word new website, complete with shopping cart. It has been a massive undertaking. I hope it works, as no orders have been placed as of yet,
and then I got this phone call…
Before I tell you about the call I must say that The God’s Word gift series holds a special place in my life. I wanted the sculptures to be blessed, both in the giving and the receiving. I prayed over the years that people would see them and not only like them but because they come with a card and letter they would see the ministry behind them.
The phone call…
A woman called today telling me that she had seen the Samaritan Award ( shown above) that I had done for the Samaritan Center. This is an award that I designed for them years ago and they give away each year. She wanted to know if she could buy one.
I told her that I could not do so without the permission of the Samaritan Center. I have only done that once before, for Sylvan Rodriguez who requested one and received permission. Sylvan was a wonderful man and news anchor here in Houston. He passed away of pancreatic cancer just shortly after receiving the sculpture.
The woman asked if I had any other sculptures with a spiritual meaning and the feeling of the Samaritan. I directed her to The God’s Word gift series and the two of us browsed through the cards and letters of each piece. She told me a story about how her husband’s brother had been on the streets for years and no matter what the tried they could not help him. Another family befriended him and took him in. He lived with them for 14 years. This past week the consequences of street life caught up with him and his body, worn, shut down. He was 49 when he died. They were looking for the “perfect” gift to give the family. I was so blessed that they felt this type of ministry in my artwork. when she say the God’s Word Sculpture “the bad I do” she new that it was perfect! I don’t have a video on this piece yet, but you can read the message behind it on the God’s Word website
This is what I prayed for. That people would utilize this series for a ministry to others. That it would bless in the giving and the receiving.
One more thing…
turns out Sylvan had purchased that Samaritan sculpture for this woman’s husband. Knowing this I can only imagine the type of person her husband is, he must be a warm and wonderful man. They didn’t know the trouble Sylvan had gone through to get the piece. It is one of their cherished possessions.
The entire story gave me confidence to keep pushing with the God’s Word series. I have worked 3 months so far on the back end of that new endeavor. The call gave me a little more incentive.
My Memories Are Gone To The Dogs!
Working on this new sculpture of the child with his dog and knowing how the dog is aging makes me think of the other dog sculptures that I have done. I have sculpted many animals before. Many were commissions of pets or people and their pets. One would think, “Oh a dog that should be a rather easy thing to sculpt.” But really they are just as intricate and have just as much emotion as the humans.
My first animal sculpture was my own wonderful black lab Conan. It was done just after he died. I remember that when I was sculpting my beloved pet I cried. My husband came into the studio and asked what I was doing. “Sculpting Conan,” I replied. He said, “If it is that difficult then why are you doing it.” My response that was said in between my sobs, “Because I have to.” That was when “Puppy Love” ( limited edition of 100) came into existence. I sculpted myself with my dog. In fact, when he came out of surgery and was on the floor of the clinic, I snuck in and cuddled up behind him in a similar position. The doctor said that his vitals changed when I did this, even though the dog was totally unconscious. I still think that is amazing. The dog was old, and a few days later, after we brought him home I was in this same position, but after many hours of staying awake to help him I literally passed out. He died in our kitchen. I was devastated, as I wanted to be there for him when he died. My husband who was on the floor in front of Conan said that every time I spoke to Conan he would see the fight to live in the dogs eyes. But the fight was too much. He had to go, and he could only do so when I was silent. I know it sounds strange, but what I learned from this event was that it is very important to give our beloved animals permission to go on.
I have owned 4 other dogs since, fostered 4 and had 3 that neighbors owned and I interacted with at my studio. I have never allowed myself to love a dog as much as I loved that one. I wrote a poem to go with this sculpture. I’ll have to see if I can find it.
In grandpas swing (bronze limited edition of 10) I was originally going to sculpt just the children, then I found out the dog was aging and not expected to live. I added the dog, which really did make the piece because the little girl is reading, “If you give a mouse a cookie” book to her brother. The little boy is looking at the book and not paying attention, his cookie balancing from his fingers; the dog smells the cookie. Maybe the piece should have been called “Give a dog a cookie” instead of “Grandpas Swing” Yes the swing really swings! The entire food theme came about because at the sitting the little boy kept saying. “I’m hungry.” It is funny to see how a commission comes together.
The Mr. Hevrdejs had me sculpt his wife and their two Rhodesian ridgebacks. I never got meet the two dogs as they are in their home in California. I was thrilled to have a piece of my work in their collection because Mr. Hevrdejs is a collector of art. In fact they have a wing in the Museum of Fine Art-Houston. Photographs were provided of both animals and I was surprised that after viewing them I had a sense about each of the animals. The same sort of feeling I get when trying to sculpt deceased loved ones. I went to Mrs. Hevrdejs and said. Porsche, she seems like she is one of those dogs that needs a lot of attention and would rather get that then even eat. Symba, on the other hand has a cat like mentality and frankly could not be bothered. Turns out I was right on. I sculpted Porsche waiting for the bone from her master and Symba turned away not really caring.
Playing Ball ( limited edition of 10) was another commission of master and dog. I loved getting to meet these dogs and taking the pictures of them. It is interesting that meeting a dog for a commission is quite similar to meeting a person. You get a feeling about them and you bond. I have learned that one of these dogs passed away a few years ago. I am glad they have the sculpture to remind them.
Jack- ( bronze limited edition of 10)This was my first posthumous dog commission, other than my own dog. Jack passed away. I visited the family and got to view his seating place, his toys and his bowl. The death of the dog was very difficult for the client and in turn having the sculpture come to completion was also difficult, as it sometimes can be when sculpting the deceased. I am sure they love having this piece.
A New Work in Progress
I have been working on this new commissioned sculpture of a little boy and his dog. I was not actually commissioned to sculpt the dog, but when I saw the two together in a photograph, and heard that the dog is aging… well it pulled at my heart strings. Besides the photograph of the little boy whispering in the dogs ear is to say the least so cute.
Here a quick roughed in sketch of what I am going for. The dog and boy are two pieces. That way the parents can place them around the shelf. You must remember David. He is the other child in the family. I love that the mom had miniatures made of the children.
Now that I look at them together I can see the placement. Maybe David is not looking down at his toys, but at his brother and his dog. What fun!
A Video On The Creation Of The Dick Hathaway Sculpture
I hope to add the bronze process next.
I Love to Hear That My Clients Are Pleased About The Artwork
It was lovely to receive this e mail from my client about the recent portrait sculpture of their father. I am thrilled that everyone loves the portrait bust.
“Hi Bridgette,
I wanted to share with you how excited our father was with the
sculpture. He was in Houston last week and was able to see the piece for the first time. He loved it and was so pleased with how it
looked.
Thank you for making that possible.
Regards,
Patty Maxin”
I Wanted to Share My Inspiration
Vermont College Union Institute provided me with this video taken at the completion Ceremonies—April 3, 2004. Richard Hathaway was the speaker. There is a lot more to the video but I edited it down to show Dick talking about progressive education. Listening to his talk, watching his hand motion and animation helped me to remember him, and I hope it allowed me to capture that in the clay. It is a shame that this video is not made available to more people to see. Especially those who loved him and need a little Professor Hathaway fix.
As I finish up the details on the sculpture, preparing it for the foundry join me for a moment in the wonder, wit and charm of Professor Richard Hathaway.