Sculpture
An Introduction
( From the Dick Hathaway project blog.) I should probably start by introducing myself. My name is Bridgette Mongeon I am a sculptor and writer living in Houston, Texas and I am a student at Vermont College Union Institute in Vermont. ( Since the writing of this blog post Vermont College as it was known has been sold. I believe Goddard College has a similar program. ) I am presently in my culminating semester and will be graduating on November 1, 2006.
My study through my three semesters has been continuous; I am working on a book titled “Bringing to life the Spirit of the Deceased – A Sculptor’s Journey”. I have been a sculptor for over twenty years and one of the things that I specialize in is posthumous sculpture. After Dick Hathaway’s passing at residency in October of 2005 I proposed to Vermont College to do a sculpture of Dick Hathaway. At first it was going to be a bust, but I longed for a life size bronze to be placed on the green outside of the historical building of College Hall. I am donating my sculpting time, and because I often do part of the casting process including mold making and wax I can also donate that part of the foundry fees if necessary. I am in need of further funding for casting and shipping the sculpture to Vermont. The details of the costs of creating this memorial are found on my website. You will also find information there, on how you can donate to the project and help to raise the minimum amount of $9,000 that is needed for casting Dick in Bronze.
My heart’s desire is to have this sculpture done and received by Vermont College by November 1, 2006, the date of my culmination. My culminating presentation will be on finding and capturing the spirit of Dick Hathaway in sculpture. Though it is a quick turn around for sculpting and casting a bronze, I do expect to meet the challenge and extend my personal invitation to each of you for the unveiling of the Dick Hathaway sculpture and my presentation
Given that six months is a short amount of time for sculpting, casting and shipping a bronze, much depends upon my having the necessary funding to finish the job before that date. If for some reason it is postponed, then Dick will have to sit in my studio until the rest of the money is raised. I can think of worse things than having Dick Hathaway hanging around.
Those interested in viewing my work can see it on my web site at https://creativesculpture.com.
My most recent commissions was a life size newsboy commissioned by the Texas Press Association and intended for the state capitol in Austin. I have documented the process of sculpting the newsboy on my blog as well.
I have also just finished a life size bronze of Patsy-a posthumous commission of a 60-year-old sitting on a bench. In addition, I’m finishing up a life size bronze of Lucas-a five year old running, and life size bronze bust of Jeanine a twenty six year old, both of which are posthumous sculptures.
The purpose of this blog is to share the adventure of the sculpting Dick Hathaway so that everyone can be a part of it. I would love to hear your stories about Dick. I am also very excited to hear the “Hathawayisms.” And please, if you have photographs of Dick they would be extremely helpful to the sculpture process. You can mail your copies to my mailing address: Bridgette Mongeon, P.O. Box 10562, Houston, Texas 77206 or you can send them digitally through e-mail.
I also hope to raise awareness of the project through this blog to encourage the donation of funds. I have set up a separate account at Whitney Bank in Houston, Texas. Unfortunately, donations are not tax deductible. I am sorry that I could not get a not-for -profit organization involved so that the donations would be tax deductible. There was just not enough time.
If you would like to view the financials and schedule for the project you can do so at on these blog pages.
In Loving Memory Of Patsy… Packing Patsy
Making the decision to hold off on sculpting Patsy until I move into the studio has relieved me of quite a bit of pressure. For the first time I could go to the studio and just pack. I sat down at my sculpting table cleaned off all of my tools and packed them into a special box. I wrapped up Patsy dress, collected the many photos and tossed a working smock into the box. Then I marked the outside of the box “Patsy and tools”. Even as I packed it up I thought, “Maybe given a little time and space I can pull these tools and work on the bust while sitting on my new porch.” It will be a welcome reunion between Patsy and I as I open the box and begin to work. I look forward to having her be the first thing created in the new space.
In Loving Memory of Patsy… Holding off on Proceeding
building.The new studio without doors.
The new studio is so close to being finished. I wish it were done and I could move in. More than that, I wish I could be working on Patsy in the new studio. I may stop working on Patsy until I move her in. It is not unusual to move a sculpture in the process of sculpting or after finishing the sculpture. Many sculptors do this when it is finished and when they need to send it to the foundry to go into the bronze process; however, I want to get Patsy to the new studio because the feeling of the place is so good, where as the feeling of the other place is getting drearier and drearier by the day. I am not sure if it is the packing or knowing it is going to be torn down. It takes a lot of my energy not to have those “feelings’ transfer to the clay. I think it is best if I hold off on Patsy for the next 3 weeks and work on her when the move is final. It will be so refreshing and hopefully I can get the clay to hold that refreshing feeling. Once again, I am not sure if anyone else feels these things when they look at the clay, but I do.
Yesterday while over at the old studio I walked past the clay of Patsy’s torso. I must talk to Howard about changing the position of her legs. It just does not feel like Patsy. I feel she should have her legs crossed and her head cocked slightly. It seems to be something I have seen in several photos. This pose looks too stiff this way. Changing the pose at this point is a bit of a problem, but not impossible especially if it makes it “feel” better. I’ll have to cut off the clay, dig down to the armature and readjust that before proceeding.
In Loving Memory of Patsy… Torso and Clay
I have begun to put clay on the torso. The arms are just wires, covered with tinfoil and then with clay. The feet and legs are the same. The sculpture does not look like much right now, but it is on the way. I still am concerned about the feet. They just do not feel right, maybe her legs should be crossed?
In Loving Memory of Patsy… The Armature
The sculpture begins with the mundane mechanical process of creating an armature, but I cherish and guard my times alone with the sculpture. I often have an apprentice in the studio. I was glad I had alone time with Patsy even if it was just twisting wire and putting together pipe. This is a portion of the sculpture that people will never see. I begin with my armature, made of plumbing pipe and chicken wire. Usually a sculptures armature is mounted, but because Patsy is sitting on the bench I have opted for doing her “free standing”. Once the bodice was wired together I sprayed spray foam inside of the wire. This is the same foam that is used for insulation. If you plan on doing lots of these type of sculpture I would suggest getting a spray gun. You will need to buy the appropriate spray to go with a gun, and I would also suggest getting a cleaner spray. The foam gun allows you to use just as much as you want and it won’t clog up or the can won’t go bad. The spray will give me mass without much weight. I can cut away what I don’t need, and then I’ll cover the foam with foundry wax. This is for no other reason but to keep the grit of the foam out of my clay. I love smooth clay and can’t stand it when it gets gritty.
the armature of the memorial sculpture
Do note that some of the foam may need to expand so give it a day or two to get to its full expansion before putting your clay on the foam. Also, keep a spray water bottle handy. As it will help to cure the foam quicker. Always wear rubber gloves. This stuff is a mess.
In Loving Memory of Patsy… “Not Patsy!”
I laid all of the photos out of Jennie, my model and the friend of Patsy, as I began the sculpture of Patsy. Remember I am trying to pay attention to my little nuances of the process of this sculpture and in looking at the photos I kept mumbling the following words in my head, “Not Patsy, not Patsy!” The more I looked and worked with the photos the more I had to say it. It was exhausting. I was wondering if this was the mixed up personalities thing that I mentioned in a previous post. It was as if I did not say this then somehow I would be sculpting Jennie instead of Patsy. I looked closer at the photos and began to question things. I asked Howard about a few of them. And he confirmed that I was right, some of the nuances of Jeanie were not Patsy. I can’t help but wonder, how on earth did I know this?
I wish I could be so bold in some of these feelings as to be able to sit down and tell the family what I think I know, and see how close I am. But all of that is just a little strange and I keep telling myself, “just do the art.”
In Loving Memory of Patsy… The Pose
have a model.
In all posthumous sculpture, when it is possible I will try and have someone pose in the pose and in the clothes that I am doing the sculpture. It will become my reference material. If you look at Ellie’s sculpture you will see her friend posing for the piece. I asked Patsy’s husband, Howard if he had someone in mind, if not I would take care of it. He suggested Patsy’s friend Jeanie. I was elated that I would have someone who not only was a similar shape and size but actually knew and loved my subject. The photo sitting went very well and the photos were extremely helpful. Later we did change the pose of the right hand. I hope the feet are all right, Most of the photos of Patsy she has her legs crossed.
In Loving Memory of Patsy… Feelings
I have been thinking about all of the posthumous sculpture that I have done over the years, and the feelings that have accompanied each sculpture. They are all different. With Ellie I felt like she was my student, but even though she was only 7 years old I also felt like she was my contemporary in art. Casey, felt evasive, when I sculpted him. Kipper felt formal and cordial. I could go on, each sculpture, each person, leaving a residual of a feeling. With Patsy I feel hmmm, It is hard to explain. I feel very close, like she is a mother figure. The love of children and grandchildren feels so strong.
It is funny. I don’t even know Patsy, but I miss her.
In Loving Memory of Patsy… The Bust
I’m working on the bust of Patsy separately. By doing this I can get much closer and spend a considerable amount of time on it. I love the photos that Howard gave me. I don’t think there is one angle that I am missing; it is great to have such good reference material. Patsy feels friendly from the moment I put my hands in the clay. This is not the case with all sculptures; often it takes some time to get used to the sculpture.
The clay that I use for the sculpture is a waxed base clay and must be heated up in a crock pot. The armature of the bust is wire and foam. Carefully I put the clay on this armature. The clay is extremely hot and it causes terrible burns if I am not careful.
I keep looking and comparing the photos of Patsy.
In Loving Memory Of Patsy… Be Patient
While away at college in Vermont at the end of April. I was anxious to get home and work on Patsy. In my study of the process, I must say I am not sure what I read into this process to help me do it, and what is really happening. Several nights I said, right out loud, “Not now, be patient, I’ll get to sculpting soon.” I am not sure if I was telling Patsy or myself. However, since then I have had a second commission that has come about. Lucas was 5 when he drowned in the pool at his day care. As soon as his mother called and she began talking to me about Lucas and doing a sculpture of him, I felt an immediate connection to him. I have not seen any pictures of him however, I can feel him, and kind of see him in my head. I need to get Patsy further along before I can think about sculpting Lucas. I had noticed in the past that when I try to work on more than one person at a time, unless they are siblings, their personalities, spirits or whatever seem to get all mixed up in the clay. I don’t know how to define it, I don’t even know if anyone else notices. But I do!
The funny thing is I feel that same urging that I felt from Patsy about getting going on with the sculpture however, there are some differences. Instead of a nudging or a reminding, as I felt with the Patsy sculpture, there is this feeling of “Come play with me, please.” Once again, this may be what I read into the sculpture to be able to do it, and not anything mystical or psychic or of that nature. I just know that with that sort of pleading from Lucas it is hard to ignore.