MOVING DAY

The move was grueling. Even with the help of the company across the street, their 20-foot flatbed and two of their employees. The owner had ulterior motives as I gave him quite a bit of sculpture that I just did not feel like moving.

Don Shaw, an artist and my previous landlord of 16 years left all of his sculptures behind. I wanted one very badly and moved her. Most of his sculpture is abstract and just not my taste. But there was one that was more figurative and reminded me of a little girl with pigtails, her face a great big circle. It looked like she is waving from behind a picket fence. Now I understand that this is only my own interpretation, but I can not tell you how many of my writing students, over the years, wrote about her. I immediately called dibbs on this sculpture. She was moved in the first load, I had stayed behind at the studio to pack boxes. The men left the sculpture in the front yard of my house. David took all the rest of Shaw's artwork they were very large pieces. I am glad that he took them. I can hardly believe that they were left behind. If left on the property they would end up in a landfill.


Upon my return to the new house I found Shaws sculpture, the little girl, standing. She was waving at me and smiling. I kind of felt like she was saying welcome home! I moved her into the back yard that evening, not wanting to take a chance that she would be stolen. On Saturday we are going to get the few things that remain, my kiln, some plants and a few sculpture left behind. I am anxious to get everything out. Today when I went to pick up some paint from the building next store it looked like someone tried to break into the lock. The entire place sure looks strange.

On the original move many of the items were moved to the back yard, so I had to bring many things in to the new studio. It was a lot of work. I have so much work putting everything away.

The business across the street also helped me take down this old, somewhat rusted metal beam-shelving unit that was in the back of the studio. I had no idea how to get it down, or how to put it back together. But they helped and now the 9'x 9' x 4' shelving unit holds all of my molds for all of my sculptures in the new studio

Today the cable guy came and hooked up roadrunner in the offices. Now Mike feels like he can move. But the drywall needs to be sanded and my office needs the second part of floating the drywall and then sanding.

I need to work on the upstairs offices but I am so ready to get the downstairs organized and get ready to work. That is the update. We are almost moved in. I have been so busy I have yet to really absorb the entire thing. It does feel good to be able to work so late and then walk home. The last couple of nights I worked until I would drop, then locked up the studio, walked past the pond and stream and turned it off as well as the twinkle lights that I plugged in earlier in the evening. Then took the 40' walk home.

This is great!

A Balancing Act

This weekend I learned to balance a ladder on a sloped 10-foot high roof, using a piece of foam on the roofing tiles to keep the ladder from slipping. Then I proceeded to climb up another 9 feet to paint the dormers. Did I tell you I am afraid of heights? I was pretty proud of myself; I was walking around atop that roof like a regular roofer.

Staining handrails, painting the back of the building and trim, and trying to hang a French door were the goal of our weekend. I was very thankful to have my daughter pitch in on Sunday. This is where I wish I had 12 strong friends. I think we will have to do the drywall ourselves. We just don’t have it in the budget. It is a massive job that I am not looking forward to it. Today I am wiring the building for the phone, and packing and moving.

The building does look cute though. I still have to paint the stairs going up stairs, but trying to find 48 hours of drying time where no one can go up or down is almost impossible.

I’m also going to take photographs of all of the interior walls before the insulation. I have done this before on other projects. It is a handy thing to have when you are trying to figure out studs or wiring or plumbing in the future.

All in all the building and moving are coming along, but I am tired and sore most of the time and thought it is only 3 weeks away, it is hard to see myself through these last few weeks. Breathe, and proceed to the next thing and keep going until it is time for bed. That is all I can do. Breathe, Breathe.

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.

A New Studio and a New Resident

I am so intrigued by my newest addition to my new studio. This turtle showed up in our fenced yard. She is a red eared slider. In doing some research this turtle could be quite old maybe even 10-15 years and is about 9-10” long. One night she showed up at the fence line. The next day I looked for her and she was under the brugmansia, 20 minutes later she disappeared. Then my husband found her in the pond. She comes out and suns on the sides, of the pond. When I can I sit on the new studio porch and watch her. It is a great way to relax. I tried to make her a bathing spot by piling a flat rock inside of the pond, but the builders and the very loud compressors they use seems to bother her.

The day before yesterday I was feeding the fish in the upper pond. And what did I see? The slider. I thought she must have had quite a little trip the night before, you see this upper pond is about 15 feet, an uphill trip, and has two waterfalls in between the two ponds.
I have not named her but I have thought about the name Techla. It was my grandmothers name and though “Tecla the turtle” does not exactly roll off your tongue it is fun to say.
Maybe grandmas other name, Tilly would be better. “Tilly the turtle. I love it!

In Loving Memory of Patsy… Holding off on Proceeding.

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.

Here is a photo of the progress on the new building.

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. It 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.

In Loving Memory of Patsy… “Not Patsy!”

I laid all of the photos out of Jennie 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

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.

In Loving Memory of Patsy… Talking to Patsy?

During this process of sculpting I saturate myself with everything that is Patsy. One day while soaking in the tub I was thinking about the pictures and found myself talking to Patsy. I didn’t even realize I did this, and had I not been doing this study along with the sculpture I would never have known that I do. “Your boys are wonderful they have grown into such incredible men.” I said, not even realizing. I looked around the bathroom and thought, “I must be crazy.” However, after taking some time to reflect on what I was doing I couldn’t help myself. I thought of the pictures of Patsy with her grandchildren and I kept talking. “It must be wonderful to be a grandmother,” I said.

In Loving Memory of Patsy… How do I do this?

I think the most profound thing that is coming from the in-depth study of posthumous portraiture, is that I have had to ask myself the question, “Am I communicating with the deceased?” It sounds too eerie, too strange, and too off the wall, but as I am taking a closer look at the entire thing, I believe something is happening. I spoke to my mother about this subject. I really trust her judgement, and she is not only my physical mother but a spiritual mother as well. She believes that The Holy Spirit inspires me to do what I do. Either way, I know it brings healing. There is often healing of family members through the process of posthumous sculpture.