Sculpture
How Do We Start?
The crockpots that heat up my clay and double boiler holding the wax are both turned on. First time for the new year.
For those of you interested in the process of sculpting here is how we are beginning on this new sculpture commission.
First I searched around for an inexpensive cowboy hat to use with the new commission. It will be covered with wax and clay to thicken it up enough to cast in bronze. I didn’t want to buy a good new expensive one. I Found this hat at Fiesta grocery store.
The armature that I use for this project is purchased from the ceramic store in Houston Texas http://www.ceramicstoreinc.com/.
I covered the armature with a plastic bag and then sprayed some spray foam into the bag. This is the kind that is used for insulation purposes and you can get at Lowes or Home Depot. It is messy to work with and the bag holds it somewhat in place. The next day I have to cut away some of the plastic bag so that the foam can cure. This foam gives me a lightweight structure for the clay. Once the foam is cured I can shape the head, as you see it now. Before I will put clay on this I will coat the entire thing with wax. This is done to keep all of grit from the foam out of my clay. I am a nut about that. I hate gritty clay! Florencia, my apprentice has helped me a great deal with all of this. She has put the put the wax on and the clay.
Now we begin our dance of me coming in the evening and making a mess while I sculpt and she coming in and smoothing out areas of the sculpture and cleaning up after me. Today she asked me, “just what do you do in here at night.” As she was picking up my mess. I guess I am focused and don’t really notice until either I am done for the evening or my tools become buried in scraps of clay.
A New Life Size Newsboy
Another life size newsboy was ordered. We have been working on it the last few months. I went to the foundry yesterday to take some photographs of the work. This new bronze has a great story with it, that I will have to share at a later date. It is a surprise for someone.
A New Commission
I am always blessed to create posthumous sculpture. I would like to introduce to you Stan Hockett
The memorial printed and sent to me states-
We are saddened to share the news of the passing of one of the true Heroes of Faith, Stan Hockett. Stan went to be with his precious Saviour on October 24th, 2006, in his home in Manhattan,, Montana. Stan and his wife, Simone, served the Lord in North Dakota from 1962-1995, first with the American Sunday school Union and then founding the organization that became FaHoCha bible Conference.
There will be a memorial service in North Dakota in the spring of 2007. The date and invitation will be printed in this publication at a later time when the details are secure. Stan was one of the most Godly, loving and caring man that you will ever meet, with faith and trust in God that was unmatched. He was a cowboy and a hero through and through. His legacy continues as one of Godliness and lives touched by his ministry. My life (Jay Deckert), just one of the many touches. There would be no greater way to honor Stan and who he was, than by living our lives to serve and love God with our whole heart. He had a saying that went like this, “We will see you again here, there, or in the air.” This time, Stan, it will have to be in the air. May we all meet you there!
1924-2006
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Signing Off On A Sculpture
Just be sure that everything is the way it should be before the sculpture goes into the bronze process. After that, changes can cost a considerable amount of money. In fact, I have my clients sign off on the project at the final sitting, before the sculpture goes to the foundry.
The fear of capturing the expression of someone and investing your time and money into a process with the results being unsure is something to think about. If you have reviewed the artist’s work and credentials and like the artists work, if you have discussed your fears and expectations and provided the artist with the resources that they need, and if you know the artists process includes your input, then your can be assured that the sculpture will be something you like. With all of that said you must remember, it is art, and even my contract states…
“It is here by understood and agreed that it may not be possible to create the Work exactly as described herein or as depicted in preliminary designs, and the Artist shall only be bound to use her best aesthetic judgment to create the Work according to the style and intent of the design, The artist is hereby free to make design modifications as the work progresses.”
I point this out because there was one commission, a posthumous commission where it was impossible to please the client. I have written about this commission in my book “Bringing to Life the Spirit of the Deceased—A Sculptor’s Journey” and at first I was very irritated with the entire process. But my feelings soon changed. You see I was the 3rd or 4th artist that this man came to. He was trying to capture the image of his deceased wife. Though he said I did the best job in capturing a likeness, the commission never came to a finalization. It was after much prayer and consideration that I believe I understood why this happened.
First I think the man was trying to get the artists to create something that just could not be created. In a way I think he wanted his wife back and expected the sculpture to somehow fulfill this need. The second reason was because I have noticed with posthumous sculpture that the emotion, the healing the grieving does not happen when the client comes for the approval and sees this three dimensional loved one, on the contrary it happens when the sculpture is placed, complete and there is nothing left for the client to do but grieve. Until that time the client can busy themselves with the process. The commission gives them something else to do before having nothing else but loss.
Photographic Reference
I can’t say enough about photographic reference. I know you will think this is strange but an artist can make a sculpture look exactly like your loved one from one angle, say the front, but when you look at the sculpture from the side it could appear to be someone totally different. That is because the sculptor works in three dimensions. It is imperative that good photographs are provided to the sculptor from both side and front, in fact as many angles as possible, at the photographs should be at the age that you want the subject captured. If it is not possible to provide this then you must understand the limitations that are set upon the sculpture. You might be able to work with the artist one on one to fix any discrepancies in one view or another but this could take an enormous amount of time and patience and should be clarified before the artist give a price.
I believe it was Rodin that talked about how a person cannot look at a true portrait of himself or herself, because often the sculptor captures so much more than the image. It is true that this may play a part in the approval of some sculpture commissions. But more times than not it is something different entirely.
Change What?
First let me explain that in a final sitting with the sculptor there is an adjustment period. Moments when you first see the sculpture and you must stop, take time with the sculpture and absorb it. In the case of creating a sculpture in memory of a deceased loved one this can have many other emotions attached to it.
Please be aware that when you do come to a final sitting it is important to be as explicit in your thoughts as possible. Don’t just say it looks strange, say, there looks like there might be too much distance here, or the right eye looks closed and should be opened more. Then let the artist do their work. You see when you work in three dimensional work the artist might have to translate what you say and see if there is something else that is off. If the face looks to narrow, it could be the placement of the ears. If the eyes look too close, it might be the width of the nose. The artist must assimilate your comments and perform their magic.
It Is Not What I Expected…
The difficulty about blogging a process is that many times people see parts of the process and think that it has ended. It has not ended or complete until the artist writes- I am done. And then there is an entire client approval process. I am sure there are some artists who won’t change their artwork, but I am not one of them. This process of approval is an important element to the entire process. It is the place where the client can have input. I know you might ask is a sculpture totally correct when a client arrives to the studio? Sometimes, but this is rare. I think there are many reasons for this.
Let me give you an example…
Years ago, I was sculpting a little girl and the client came in and was quite bothered by the sculpture. They did not know how to explain it but, it was just not her. Together we looked at the piece and decided that indeed all the features were the features of the little girl. The main element in the sculpture that did change was the mouth. You see when I shot all of the photographs of this little girl for the sculpture sitting she was very timid toward me. This is not unusual; I am after all a stranger. In most of the photographs her mouth was closed, but her mother informed me that she is a talker and that is not normal for her. With a little work from my tools I had opened her mouth into a perpetual talking motion and that was all it took. This was a nuance that only the mother would know. This is what I depend upon from my client.
What If It Does Not Look Like My Loved One?
I am sure that many clients or potential clients have the fear that they will pay a lot for a sculpture and it will not look anything like what they have envisioned in their own mind. Here are some thoughts on that fear-
When commissioning an artist you must be absolutely sure that the artist understands what you want. First be clear of your thoughts. How do you see this loved one? Do you see them younger? Is it a formal pose or casual? If it is a full figure pose or life size what mannerisms does the individual have that can be portrayed?
If the artist requests a photo sitting it is assumed that the sculpture is at the same age as the sitting. If you request a different age be sure that you have as much reference of the person at that age that you can possibly provide.
Jeanine
Working Around The Holidays
Working around the holidays. I have been working on this commission, slowly it is coming along. Remember what it looked like just a few weeks ago? I hope to have this bust complete by the end of the week. Another commission has come in and is a rush and must be started next week.
Jeanine and Lucas still have not shipped. I had to find a chain for Jeanine. The chain that is around her neck is real and threads through the heart pendant. Unfortunately it was too long and could not be shortened. So I ran around town for a few days trying to find just the right chain. When I found one it was not the proper metal to be hold a patina. The foundry came to my aid and helped me with providing a chain. Now Jeanine is finished!
meanwhile…
I am struggling with getting just the right materials together to send my book “Bringing to Life the Spirit of the Deceased—A Sculptor’s Journey” off to the publishers.