June Days

Below are process photos of the work from this last week or more. I finally have reached a point where I have nearly everything in the right place. I've battled the armature a few more times that I would have liked, but this is just the way it is. To refine and build the work often takes the courage to destroy and pull out what is not necessary and then rebuild. It isn't much different than what we have to do in our own lives as people if we allow ourselves to be malleable. Pain encountered in the process of personal growth is not withheld from the life of the Saints.

View from Below

St. Anthony & Child sculpture in clay standing 75" tall (w/ base) The sculpture will be cast in bronze upon completion in clay and placed in the Lobby of the Gig Harbor Hospital.

Commissioned by Franciscan Health System, St. Anthony Hospital through ARTERRA

Process

Here I roughed in the Child further along with St. Anthony. I placed the feet with more accuracy using toothpicks to mark the center of the toes. I use toothpicks and bbq skewers throughout the process, so I don't lose my place. As I slowly narrow in on the gesture and placement I pull them out.

In the foreground you see the maquette (1/4 life size) cast in a resin. He is boxed in by a wood frame with plumb lines. I use this to calculate the enlargement to life size.

Armature Victory

I discovered soon into sculpting that the armature had been welded together wrong. It was 3-4 inches short in height in places (arms and child) and his torso wasn't twisted enough. The gesture is extremely important to me since it really is the essence of the piece. How the person stands, carries them self, and holds the child depicts what they feel about themselves, what they are thinking, and their philosophy on life. St. Anthony always seemed to me a person of great intellect who was well grounded in his knowledge of the word of God and had a presence about him. How he held the child was everything to me.

SO....he got ripped apart down to his waist, cut apart and re-welded. Next time I am welding the armature myself, and not having somebody else do it.

Left: Before (wrong locations)

Right: After (correct locations..notice how the child is held farther on his right)

It is hard to tell in these pictures, but if an armature is an inch or more off in places that are critical like his hands and feet, then you are fighting against your armature the rest of the time! It isn't worth it.

I'm now back on track. I'm using lasers to plot the spacial points.