Busy with various things.

The studio has been busy. Bryan has been helping out with the Dick Hathaway satchel and also has helped on the molds for both the life size bust and the wax of the woman and baby. He is a good worker and a pleasure to have around. As I stated before, we are documenting that entire process of mold making on the new forum. We took a tour of the foundry when picking up the wax of the life size bust. Bryan has been with me for only two weeks and has had quite a bit of exposure to the entire foundry process. Next week he will learn to work on waxes as we will be pouring many waxes and working on them at the studio. Besides mom and baby and the bust we will be working on seven small newsboy sculptures.

I have been enjoying working on sculpting the small baby. The head is not attached as I alternate between boy and head. The head has a dowel in it that attaches to the body. I had to replace it with a longer one as it fell off once and smashed on the floor. Little heads are hard to keep on in clay, I have had this happen before. I still have a lot of work to do on this piece but it is a very pleasant distraction from mold making and computer stuff.

The new website is up!

I have finally uploaded my new web site! Complete with bells and whistles! Please feel free to float around it and let me know what you think. The front page has revolving pictures on it, the navigation now goes to the new forum and blog and the gallery is a new application as well. We hope to add video in the near future.

There is more to add, but for now this is sufficient.

Now I am busy trying to add modifications to the forum to make it easier to use and to keep all of the spam bots out! It is a major undertaking because it is in code. I have also finally found software to help me create my monthly newsletter and maintain the mailing list. I expect my first newsletter to go out in August. The computer/web/forum/newsletter/listserver stuff hurts my brain. It feels much better when I am in the studio just creating!

Welcome to my new apprentice

Welcome to my new apprentice Bryan. Bryan has been doing some oil
painting and thought that he would like to expand his artistic
exposure. He will be in the studio for the remainder of the summer. I
wasted no time with putting him to work. We are working on making two
molds for bronze. If anyone is interested in how this is done check out
the new online forum.

What is it about hands?

What is it about a hand that is so intriguing to me? Being a kinesthetic person touch has always been important, as a sculptor they are the tool that I use the most the venue from which the passion, empathy and love comes through my subject into my heart and is to be shared with others.

I have done studies of hands, sculpted them, and created some odd pieces surrounding the hand. Actually they are my most contemporary sculptures. Hand L was one. I found an old window, took a study of a hand that I created and secured it to the window. My daughter, then about 4 years old, had magnetic letters. I glued the purple L in the hand. Get it Hand L! Through the glass in the window I Xeroxed my face peeking through gingham. It was a strange piece, and I am not sure who bought it, but I know when they did they loved it! I thought about creating an entire series of sculptures with hands, similar to Hand L.

Last week I had to fly to the North East because my mother was ill and my family needed me. I had purchased hand casting materials and had it on hand, no pun intended, incase this type of trip should happen. I packed the alginate, and knew I would have to have some plaster, as alginate molds will disintegrate quickly and you must cast within 24 hours or sooner. I thought it might be a good idea to also pack some hydrastone though I was not sure if the airline would allow large baggies of white powder to go through in my suitcase. Low and behold my suitcase was 5 pounds over. I beamed the attendant, “ I know what ways 5 pounds.” You should have seen her face when I took out the baggie of white powder. I told her what it was and talked to four other security people about taking it on the plane, everyone said, “take it out of your carry on, put it onto of your shoes, they will know what plaster is.” Yeah right. They confiscated my hydrastone. The head guy said, “I don’t know if it is plaster.” My sister suggested that I should have gotten a cup of water and taken a few minutes and mixed some up for him- hindsight! I was a little nervous they might detain me and then my poor mother would be waiting in the hospital, so I did not push the matter.



Besides taking care of mother, I was a casting fool. I have a great cast of my father’s hand, and one of my mothers hand. I also cast my nieces’ hand along with her fiancé’s. My mom and her significant other also let me cast their hands together. Everyone was a trooper.

I had the hands sent UPS. They have yet to come. But I can’t wait to get these. They will be one of my prized possessions.