Prairie View Panther
This is the Christmas Card From the University
How nice. Thanks for sending it to me Dr. Talley
Panther- The Unveiling
What a great ceremony for the unveiling. They did a good job installing it and we are so glad it is done. I’m also elated that the school says it is female. We did not actually “show” the gender. Having it female adds some specialness to this project, you see it was all women who worked on it. Here I am with two of my girls who helped me on the piece- Shirley, and Allison. I call them my Towanda girls. Lots of female energy in the piece!
I was wondering what the sculpture would look like at night. I was a bit concerned that it was being lit from below and it really should be lit from above. I had to fight to keep the eyes the way that I sculpted them and I did so for this reason. The sculpture has intensity.
We did it! I can’t wait to hear what others think about the piece. Please feel free to send me your comments, or post to the blog. And go back to the beginning of this blog to check out the progress, from start to finish. Oh yes, If you pose with the sculpture send me your photographs and I’ll be sure to post them on the blog.
I would like to thank photographer Bill Petty for sending me these photographs.
Panther- I Found This Video Of The Dedication Of The Sculpture
Some Recent Work- The Panther
Thanks to Bill Petty for these photographs. This was installed last week, and there are lots of posts on this blog about how it was done. If you like you can also check out the Prairie View Blog set up for this project.
Prairie View Blog Will Be Updated
As many know I have been working on a huge project with a very tight deadline. I have created a bronze panther for Prairie View A & M University. Today it was installed and dedicated and the crazy schedule of working very, very long hours to make the deadline now ceases. I will be updating the blog with all of the details of the project. For more details check out the Prairie View Panther category on this blog or the clients blog at Prairie View A&M Panther Blog!
The blog for the process of the prairie View A & M panther project can be found at http://prairieviewpanther.blogspot.com
Panther Delivery
Some people take a “first glance” and an early photo opportunity. Then we make a panther fly. The panther is mounted on the pedestal. It is almost ready for the unveiling.
Panther- Packing a Cat
We wake up very early to get the panther ready for the trip to her home. After loading up the panther into the Uhaul we have a little bit of a problem getting the trailer out of the foundry. The wet ground from the previous rains make it difficult. But soon we are on our way.
The Coloring of a Panther
Once the sculpture is complete and approved by the artist, the foundry does one final sandblasting and then begins the patination. Patinas are created by putting chemicals on the hot bronze. Once the patination is on a coat of wax is put over the entire sculpture. The sculpture will have to be waxed on a regular basis to maintain its finish.
Piece of a Panther
Each of the many pieces of bronze must be welded together. The foundry man is a master craftsmen, he must match the texture. The artist monitors the entire process being sure everything is going together the way it should.
Panther- The Pour
In the cavity where the wax once was, molten bronze is poured. Several pours will be necessary to get the many, many pieces of bronze needed for the panther.
