Sculpture
Murmurings On Mom And Baby
Is it mother and baby or midwife in baby in this logo? I wonder, and yet the mother in me says it is mother. My child is 22, last month, graduated from college and headed off to live on her own, but staying with us for the summer. What a long journey from that moment of adoration, connection, dependency. The rest of the journey is spent breaking away, growing yes, but breaking away. This commission comes at an appropriate time and I fine myself reminiscing and thinking about many different things. What this logo depicts is an incredible moment, unlike any other. I remember the world could have disappeared. It might have even done so as I sat in the hospital 22 years ago. I want to stop working on this and then create a simplified version, now that I have found the passion and the connection, the movement I just can’t stop working on this sculpture.
If I Would Have Had More Time, I Could Have Simplified This Sculpture
I wanted to create the mom and baby sculpture in a more contemporary style. It would force me to “Work outside the box.” Mark Twain once said, “If I would have had more time I would have written you a shorter letter.” Ah, I can identify with that in writing, I also identify with that in sculpting. If I had more time I could have simplified it. Here I am two days before my client is to come to the studio and I have gone from a quick contemporary sketch to a detailed piece. I could do it again and simplify it, make it more contemporary, but the problem is… I love what I am doing. The sculpture is developing into a more art nouveau style, a style that seems to be a part of my deepest soul.
Given the opportunity to play it seems I play art nouveau.
This is the logo that was to inspire me.
David- A Possible Pose
I am surprise I took on a commission where it is going to be created in ceramic instead of bronze. There are design limitations with such a project. And I rarely create something in fired clay these days. The chairs were provided and I wound up a wire armature and roughed in David with wax based clay. This is easier for me to manipulate and to pick a pose. I think I like this one. My husband asked, “What is he looking at?” So I plan on sculpting some really tiny cars. I’ll place one on the floor next to the chair. SO MUCH FUN… but can’t get to it now. Must get other things done for the other commissions and oh yes, the web site updated. UGGGGGG, sometimes business stuff is not fun at all. But it is oh so necessary. I am thrilled with the updating of the website. I have not put any new work on there in five Years! I am also excited about the new bells and whistles and the interactivity.
Are We Creating From Life, or From a Desire Of Our Clients?
Sometimes working on commissions and talking to clients you have to be very sensitive to what you think they are trying to say. Sometimes the need is deeper than a voice. That was the case with this commission. The son asked for a bronze of his father. I loved the sensitivity the son explored in wanting, almost having to have this done of his father. I think I can identify with the son. He lives in one state and his father in another. That is the case with myself. I live in Texas mom and dad live in NY. I too desire to have something artistic of them. I plan on casting their hands. There is just something about hands. I seem to remember a line in the movie Beaches where the woman forgets what her mothers hands look like and does not want her daughter to forget hers. I guess I’ll have to watch the movie again, it is has been years. I do remember crying during that scene. Being an artist, hands are not the only artistic expression I felt I had to have of a loved one. Many, many years ago I took reference photographs of my grandfather, he is long since been deceased. The pictures are of him reading the paper, legs crossed in front of him and his hand nestled under his chin, fingers outspread, and pinky playfully brushing his lips. It was grandpas thoughtful look and I wanted to have it forever. I still have not created a piece in the likeness of this picture. Their have been many emotional times of feeling the compulsion to have this person, to hold this person in my memory and in art for everyone to see.
The father came for a sitting and I began the sculpture. As I came nearer to completion I posted it on the blog. The son contacted me and said that it was not his father, not the way he remembers him in his mind. AHHHHH that is entirely different than creating from a sitting from life. It also can be difficult to find the hidden need of the client. Now I had something to work with. Probing some more the son sent me pictures that resembled the dad he wanted to capture. Which really turned out to be quite younger. Here is the progress on deaging the dad and working not with realism but with a clients desire and memory, a need to hold something dearer than just an image. First picture is the older sculpture and reference before finishing. the bottom picture is the young sculpture and reference. 
The work in progress
A Wonderful Link and Picture of The Sculpture
I found this link today http://www.twwoodgallery.org/hathaway.html Update 2020 The TW Woods gallery has been absorbed by Vermont College of Fine arts. The article is no longer visible.
A section of the TW Woods gallery website. Thanks ladies, for making such an effort to bring Dick Hathaway back to the woods.
Fundraising For the Dick Hathaway Project Almost Complete
I’ve been busy here in the studio creating other sculpture, both posthumous and living subjects.
I just spoke with the TW Woods Gallery and the fundraising committee about the Dick Hathaway project. It has been on hold for a while. I am hesitant to continue the sculpting process unless there is money to bronze the sculpture. I just cannot handle Professor Hathaway in pieces in the studio. I would much rather have him in the corner on the bench. I am told that this month is the final push to have the funds for the project. It will be wonderful to have him complete. Though I will be sad to have him go. I suppose I should really give a push to find another apprentice. Florencia has taken a job and that leaves me alone to finish Dick Hathaway. More later.
A Commission of a Child in a Chair- Introducing David
Here is David. He is my new commission. His mom would like a sculpture done of him and we have entertained the idea of putting him in a chair. During my photo sitting of David I picked up a selection of chairs to consider that his mom was collecting. The chair that I am leaning towards is a small chair and it is very debatable if I can create the sculpture that size. If this was a bronze there would be no problem and I would tackle it with fervor, however, this is to be a fired sculpture and fired clay is very temperamental and unforgiving. I have covered the small chair in plastic to protect it while I work.
Started the New Commission- Mom and Baby
I have been working on roughing in the mother and baby commission. This is a different style than I have used to creating in. The sculpture will be more contemporary and less detailed.
It is important to try and make the design work from all sides. The client wanted the sculpture to stand approximately 8” This size of the sculpture that you see includes the area of the woman’s lower torso that is not actually in the original logo. I thought about trying to make the woman larger and cutting that area off, but to make it 8” it will make it a very wide piece and I feel that might take away from the delicate and tenderness of the piece. It is always good to go away from a piece for a few days and come back to it later to see things from a new perspective.
A New Commission
A man called and asked if I could reproduce this image of his wife’s logo as a small sculpture for her birthday. I am thrilled about the prospect of working on something that is outside of my traditional style. I’ll keep you posted on the outcome.
An Update on Number Two in The Edition of The Life-Size Newsboy Bronze
The Meyer Gallery in Utah contacted me about the edition of the life-size bronze Newsboy. Their client wanted to buy one in the edition to honor the Tabor City Tribune and the former editor/publisher Walter Horace Carter. They inquired to see if the Newsboy could be recreated with a replica of the Tabor City 1953 newspaper announcing their winning of the Pulitzer. That is where the idea of changing each newspaper for the rest of the newsboy life-size bronze edition came from.
According to the 1953 Tabor City Tribune newspaper that was sent to me, they were the first weekly paper to receive such an honor and shared it with Whiteville News-Reporter. Both papers were chosen for their crusade against the Ku Klux Klan, quite an impressive and courageous accomplishment, in this artist’s opinion. I am thrilled to be a part of this place in history.
The client sent me a copy of the paper. I had to modify the design of the newspaper so that it would translate to bronze, but was able to keep the look, headline and masthead of the paper. To recreate this paper for the bronze a wax is poured for each of the papers that are a part of the sculpture. There are some under his arm, one in his hand and some at his feet. Each must be carved in the wax to represent the new paper and headline. Here you will see the copy of the newspaper, my marker layout, the wax and how all of that transferred into the details of the bronze papers. Of course the back of the paper remains as I created it with the tribute to Skinney and others based on the historical article written by history professor Vincent Digirolamo.
I am still waiting for photographs of the placement of the sculpture and official comments.
Follow the newsboy category to see more photographs and to read more about Horace Carter, Tabor Tribune and Tabor City. I am happy to announce that there are several articles coming out about this piece of artwork and its placement. I will be interviewed by Press Time on Wednesday. This is wonderful because there are 8 more in the life size edition left for purchase, and I would like to sell them.
I’ll post more about the publicity later.