Dancing Bird, Sentry and Holy CowMonday 17 October 2011
Dancing Bird, Sentry and Holy Cow
I needed to catalogue the cast iron sculptures I created in the USA this summer, as well as two commissions now sited in Herefordshire and Shropshire, and my friend Julie assured me that photographer Nick Clark was the man for the job. She was right.
Nick arrived at my studio for the first shoot during my Open Studio Exhibition and weekend visitors had the bonus of seeing this 'behind the scenes' aspect of the business. Using natural light and opening and closing doors (amazing!) Nick's sensitive eye and expertise produced astounding results.
A fortnight later, with glorious autumn weather on our side, we spent a day racing between locations to catch the best light for the outdoor shoots. We couldn't have wished for better and the images are amazing. Many thanks to my lovely clients for greeting us so early in the morning and plying us with coffee to help the job along. And here are a selection of photos from the shoot. A number of the sculptures are currently on show at the GreenStage Gallery until 4 January 2012. You may also like to see more of Nick Clark's photography on his website.
cast iron portraits of Joe and Jean
After the excitement of yesterday its finally time to weigh the iron, calculate the sand, pack up and move on. A longer job than I imagined. Everyone has been tremendous in helping me achieve what I set out to do. Its been a spectacular experience both on an artistically creative and human level. I have bubble wrapped 12 sculptures ready for finishing once back home - these will be carried in our luggage via Amtrak to New York then to the UK on our transatlantic crossing on the Queen Mary 2. Seems like a million miles away just now. I'm looking forward to the rest!
Finally packing up the two little cast iron portraits for Joe and Jean to send in the mail, friends we started our great adventure with in Toronto. Thanks everyone for your wonderful hospitality, hard work and friendship - here's to the next time.
Andy and Josh release the still hot iron sculpture from it's mould
After the excitement of last night's pour I was anxious to get the iron sculpture out of the mould. However, it is such a mass of metal that the piece needed to be released gently, just by cracking the mould open bit by bit and then walking away ... patience, patience ... as it slowly cooled. This would prevent any warping and 'case hardening' of the iron's surface that could make it hard to finish and drill for fixings. Eventually, about 2pm, after Josh and Andy set to (skilfully) with big hammers, wedges, drills and levers, the mould was off, revealing a beautifully complete iron casting.
What a relief. The piece, an Angel, inspired by the majestic and peaceful Sculpture Trails landscape and my recent visit to the Niagara Falls, will be carefully finished and sited for the Museum's new exhibition. The last time I was here we barely finished installing my sculpture 'Indiana Visionary' before flying back to the UK. Again, I will have to wait for photos and, of course, this will be a perfect reason to make a return visit next year!
ghosts behind the flames as my styrofoam model inside the mould creates a spectacular firework display as the iron is poured in
Everything was geared towards the evening pour. My huge mould was carefully transported by fork lift to the pour site near the furnace (I couldn't watch and took refuge in the pool!) A great stack of wood pallets was erected for Gerry to stand on while he guided the bull ladle to the pour cup on top of the mould. I watched the crew do a 'dry run' practice of how the pour would go and it gave me goose bumps to think how much care and dedication these people were putting into the dangerous task of a big, high and tricky pour to get my sculpture made.
Finally, after dark the furnace was hot enough to tap 2 lots of molten iron into the bull ladle and the 'dance' commenced, steadily, carefully and very beautifully. It was an amazing spectacle. Every last drop of metal was poured into the monster mould, then back to the furnace for a final top up for the sprues - 850lbs in all! The biggest piece poured here by the Sculpture Trails furnace 'Lady D' to date. This photo taken by Lisa Masse says it all. Also check out the video taken by one of the spectators capturing more of the action.
I'm back! After a couple of days of the most amazing sculpture experience I've finally found a moment to give an update. My big sculpture has taken round the clock work - 4.30 a.m. the night before last with Will's comedy stories on the ipod keeping me awake.I carved the piece in 2 days with the help of a really neat hot carving tool lent to me by Bert, which saved me at least a day's work as it was so efficient at gouging out big voids. Finally by lunchtime today Gerry and I put the styrofoam sculpture on the scales and, with its sprues on, it met the 2lb limit. This will translate to about 800lbs of iron, the limit for the bull ladle. We even had to adapt Josh's flask to make it bigger and taller. Sorry Josh, THIS is the mondo mould of the season! Then my crew and I were given a mandatory break in the pool to cool off before our mammoth task of ramming my mould with sand. It took 3,600 lbs of sand and 4 hours to pack, an indescribable experience with a fantastic crew to help. I think the photos say it all ...
cutting styrofoam for my sculpture model with Bert's jigsaw
I've spent the day preparing to make my big sculpture for the Sculpture Trails exhibition. Josh has let me use his monster flask used in the big iron pour last night so that has saved me a day's work, as flask making is definitely not my forte! Gerry took me into Bloomington to get my big sheets of Styrofoam from which I'm going to carve the piece. It has been so hot today we worked late at night to avoid the heat, hence the late blog entry. I've just scaled up my model and cut the preliminary sheets of foam. Favourite tool of the day is my trusty head torch which worked well while I was feeding sheets of foam through the bandsaw. Time for bed, I'm really tired now. Think I'll leave the glueing until the morning.
Josh's sculpture being moulded in the early hours this morning in anticipation of the night pour using the bull ladle
After cracking open my eclectromelt mould to reveal 2 perfectly cast portrait sculptures (thanks to Nathan's excellent instruction and assistance), I was ready to think about the next project - a big sculpture for Sculpture Trails. Even though I have a week to make it, I know that you can't rush a sculpture, and a big one can easily gobble up that amount of time. I took myself off for the day with Philip and we sat in good old Starbucks uploading our huge bank of photos while I did some drawings and calculations for the piece I'm going to make. Then we made a quick dash to Menards for some extra tools and materials for the job and back for an early dinner before the biggest pour of the week.
Josh had arrived last night with a large sculpture model and we all helped make the sand mould in the huge wooden flask he had brought with him on the trailer. The crew got the bull ladle out for the pour, and craned the ladel up to fill the mould with 800lbs of molten iron. It was just spectacular to watch and my heart was in my mouth for them all. Looking forward to seeing the result in the morning.
adding the pour cups to my mould ready for iron pour
When we finally crawled out of our tent following last night's post pour party we realised it was going to be a scorcher of a day. Devin, Philip and I got straight to work cracking open the 8 moulds I had cast last night and I was really pleased they had all poured brilliantly. I really think the heavyweight sprues saved the day as some of the pieces had big masses and drew a lot of molten iron through the system as they cooled. Then Phil and I got to work with the angle grinder and wire brushes cutting off the sprues and cleaning up the pieces so we could weigh them and start planning how we were going to get them home.
Meanwhile Nathan had wired my portrait waxes up to heat the mould and melt them out ready for another pour tonight. It was as spectacular as ever and the night ended with a fireworks show by Toby. You don't see that every day!
applying Velvacoat to the wax portrait 
fire at night iron pour
After setting up my flasks ready for moulding my remaining polystyrene pieces I decided to tackle the 2 small portrait waxes I had brought with me from our visit to friends Joe and Jean in Toronto. I walked up to the cabin through the Trails to retrieve them from the fridge then did a final tweak on the modelling. The wax is very sticky to use in this heat, a bit like very soft licourice, so Allison very kindly gave me samples of red sprue wax and another called Victory Brown, a harder wax, to try out. I've been waiting all week for a bit of space to have a go at Nathan's 'eclectromelt' technique - and today was the day! Together we attached sprues to the models, then covered them with a spray of 'Velvacoat' to help capture the detail in the mould, then rammed the mould with sand, embedding an electric element in the process. Just fascinating.
After an early dinner it was all hands on deck once more in preparation for another 'fire at night' iron pour - 8 of mine on the pour line. It was a really slick operation with 900 lbs of iron being poured in 38 minutes. I marked my foam gap filler moulds with a red star so the crew would know which ones were likely to spark. What a great show, just beautiful to watch, and I managed to capture the action with my camera. Big smiles all round, with lots of happy people now ready for a cold beer then a good night's sleep!
the mould is broken open to reveal the iron sculpture
We were all itching to get down to the workshop this morning and start breaking open our moulds. The great thing about these Cast Iron Workshops is that everyone is willing to share tips and ideas and be experimental with their work, so we are constantly extending the boundaries of our knowledge with the possibility of 'happy accidents' when the moulds are broken open to reveal our sculptures. My first test piece came out really well and I attacked the second one in the big mould with a hammer drill. The resin sand is extraordinarily hard and in the end I needed Garrett's assistance with the big sledge. Great result, I'm really pleased with the castings. I'll cut off the sprues when I have a bit more energy.
I spent lunchtime with Kate chatting about trying out 'rust prints' from a cast iron printing plate I'll carve from some scratch blocks while I'm here. So many ideas! I'm making a concerted effort now to get all the models I brought out with me into moulds so I can concentrate on the new ideas that are bubbling away. Another 5 done today, just 3 to go!
iron pour
Lots of progress this morning - by midday I was ready to ram my two biggest moulds with sand. The crew kept the barrow rolling, 12 bags in all, with all hands on deck to help mix, shovel and pack the sand around the carefully held polystyrene model. We were certainly ready for our lunchbreak. It was a brilliant surprise, Diane and her daughter Michelle had organised a delicious picnic for us all under the trees, so we refuelled ready for a busy afternoon.
Tonight was scheduled for an iron pour so we spent our time preparing the coke and iron charges. I had a chance to look over the furnace - a really beautiful majestic construction made by Gerry and his crew and named Lady D. She is something of a beast and the pour went smoothly with tapping every 4.5 minutes. Unbelievable!! It was a truly spectacular event, literally glowing in the dark with the fireflies and cicadas joining in their chorus. All moulds filled, thanks guys, excellent, now beer time!
investigating Nathan's Eclectromelt box of tricks
Well, I couldn't identify any of the animal sounds last night. Its a jungle out there! I didn't quite make the very early start I'd hoped for but my sprues are coming along well. Nathan gave us a lunchtime talk on his Eclectromelt technique for melting wax out of moulds using wire elements embedded in the resin sand moulds. I've taken notes and will be trying that out on my return home, remembering to adapt the materials for the different UK electrical voltage. I can't wait to try this out with my two small portrait waxes later in the week - exciting. Escaped the afternoon heat by heading out to Bloomington for coffee, blogging and to recharge for a productive evening's work.
After dinner I felt re-energised and decided the best plan was to work really late making the most of the cooler hours. I finished all my sprues so I'm ready for making flasks (cases to surround my polystyrene models and hold the resin sand in). I've also brought a few smaller test pieces with me made from different types of foam gap filler so we'll see how that works out. We decided to put extra big sprues on and reservoirs for molten metal to help release gases from inside these moulds and reduce the risk of metal shrinkage on cooling. I just love to experiment!
all sprued up ready for the flask and sand
Wow! Avoiding heatstroke is a real issue here. Gerry made an emergency trip out for a bid new electric fan for the workshop, which we all really appreciate. We spent the day acclimatising and findng our way around things, pitching our tent early in the morning before things got too hot. Then a trip to Lowes for a scan of their tools and equipment and on to Starbucks for a quick coffee (thanks for the wi-fi guys!) Then it was back for dinner kindly cooked by Diane who has amazingly accommodated all crew and artists' dietary requirements for the duration of the workshops. Afterwards I worked late checking over my polystyrene foam sculpture models, that have travelled amazingly well, needing just minor surface repairs.
Toby has discovered a special model makers adhesive available in the UK to use on foam, giving it a strong bond without melting the material - magic! That's what I love about these workshops, everyone shares their discoveries and progresses the world of art! My plan is to get up super early and get my models all sprued up with styrofoam strips ready for ramming sand moulds in the evening.
workshop action
We arrived late after dark at Sculpture Trails. Everyone was still working in the workshop which was a bit of a surprise until we realised Solsberry has a 'heat advisory' of 100 degrees, so its everyone in the pool during the afternoon and return to work after dinner. Its great to meet up with old friends and see some new faces. We are already chatting about sprues, mould making techniques and waxes! My two little portraits are in front of the air conditioner keeping cool - amazingly they travelled intact from Toronto in my hand baggage on the Amtrak train, largely I think due to the dodgy air con in our roomette that had cold air blasting all night. Anything for art!
The bull ladle at Sculpture Trails that can pour a massive 1600 lbs of molten iron. Time to think big!
The excitement is building for my visit to Sculpture Trails Outdoor Museum in Solsberry, Indiana where I will be creating my latest sculptures in cast iron with artist friends from the USA and UK. These Cast Iron Sculpture Workshops are held annually at Sculpture Trails - lovely people, great facilities, fantastic sculpture on permanent display. Check them out.
Newly installed bronze sculpture commission
I took advantage of our recent sunny weather and jumped in my car and headed off to Herefordshire to take some shots of my newly installed bronze sculpture commission. It was completed just in time for the opening of Herefordshire Art Week and couriered up from the foundry in London for display at my Open Studio for the duration of the event, with kind permission of its owners. They decided on a light patina that shows off the bronze and glows as the sunlight catches the highlights at different times of day. Now sited in their beautiful garden, I hope to visit to take more photos as the seasons and light change and different aspects reveal themselves.
'Worship' newly installed at Dudmaston
I am delighted my sculpture 'Worship' is going to be part of a fundraising auction for Ironbridge Open Air Museum of Steel Sculpture. This auction of contemporary cast iron sculpture and drawings will take place at Dudmaston Hall in Shropshire on 19th September 2010 with Will Farmer of Fieldings Auctioneers, a frequent guest expert on the BBC's Antiques Roadshow, wielding the gavel. The auction is to raise funds towards establishing a charitable Foundation dedicated to the practice and preservation of iron and steel working that might otherwise be lost.
Leading up to this exciting event Pam Brown, Director of Ironbridge Open Air Museum of Steel Sculpture, will be presenting 2 illustrated talks at Dudmaston about the creation and production of the exhibition and auction on 26th May and 2nd June at 1.30pm. A real treat for you if you'd like to find out about the magical process of creating cast iron sculptures. For further details of the talks and auction contact Kellie at Dudmaston on 01746 782824 or 780866.
With a new water pump installed and wood burning stove chugging away contentedly, I hosted a 'Hot Iron Cool Sculpture' educational workshop for 6th form students from The Chase Technology College in Malvern. The sun shone and we sketched outside drawing inspiration from the beautiful studio surroundings, then spent the afternoon creating unique works in plaster from carved clay moulds.
Using alternative materials the students leaned the method I used to carve detail into the insides of the huge sand moulds that were poured with molten iron when I created 'Indiana Visionary' in the USA last year. It was wonderful to see the variety of ideas and the sculptures being created from the students' inspirational drawings. And we even let the teachers play too! Nice work everyone.
Rachel Hibberd and husband Phil from All Yours Photography visited my studio and brought photos she had taken at my Studio Exhibition Private View in the summer. It was a lovely surprise when she turned up to cover the event for Worcestershire Life magazine - Rachel and I met as mums on a school outing many years ago and it was great to catch up with her and see how her artistic enterprises have progressed. I was delighted with the photos and Rachel demonstrated she's as good with the people shots as the artistic ones that make the sculptures stars. She and husband Phil also run photography workshops for enthusiasts too in all sorts of interesting and inspiring places so take a look and maybe you'll be tempted.
'Worship'
Here's my finished piece at last - 'Worship'. After a fabulous 3 weeks in Ironbridge working with fellow artists and crew from the UK and USA to create cast iron sculptures I am now having a little break. The exhibition remains on public display at Coalbrookdale Museum of Iron in Shropshire for the coming year so do come and see it - it really is a spectacular showcase of the skills and creativity of some great artists.
Our final iron pour took place on the site of the original furnace at Coalbrookdale Museum of Iron. It was amazing to think that 300 years ago Abraham Darby first smelted iron using coke on this very site and it made it a very poignant event for our crew who have travelled across continents to build the furnace and work together for the past 9 years. The weather was perfect for us and visitors to the event were much impressed. I spent the time talking to our audience about what was happening moment by moment then excused myself to take a few photos of the very last mould to be poured - which was mine!
It was a very emotional celebration for us all afterwards, but no time to relax just yet. The furnace will be dismantled and ferried back to the Museum of Steel Sculpture and everything cleaned up before we all fly back to our various parts of the world. So now we are starting to think about the future - cast iron workshops will be held at Sculpture Trails Outdoor Museum in Indiana, USA next July and it seems everyone is signed up already. Onwards and upwards.
Today my sculpture 'Worship' was installed at Coalbrookdale Museum of Iron. After an amazing 3 weeks of continuous work it all seemed to happen in a flash! Walter had carefully chosen the positions for each of the 9 sculptures on the Furnace Lawn and left instructions with the rest of the team as he flew back to the States. I'm really pleased with the site he chose for mine, all the pieces are quite different and they all look good in their individual situations as well as a group. Charlie made some big pins from rebar to ensure ultimate stability and Gerry, Chris and Chris did an excellent job at installing and leveling my piece. We all had fun. I found their handprints on the piece as I was about to finish the patina and was tempted to leave them their briefly after getting quite nostalgic about our extraordinary time together. But my perfectionist spirit and the piece prevailed and I gave it a good final wax before heading back up the hill to the Museum of Steel Sculpture.
It will be another late night tonight - lots still to do including the tidying up and I still need to bolt together my final mould (for another sculpture) that will be cast at the Museum of Iron. Rick has promised to cook his 'fish head chicken' for us all tonight (very much tastier than it sounds!). He's often up late in the kitchen cooking us all midnight munchies to keep us going into the small hours - there's always a job that needs doing!
Today was the final iron pour at the Museum of Steel Sculpture. It was a very emotional experience for us all as the last moulds for the artist's sculptures were poured, the culmination of 9 years of cast iron workshops hosted at MOSS. Many of the artists and crew have returned year on year for the amazing experience of working with the best and most committed in their field, a wonderful group of people with extraordinary skills, a zest for life and making art and with big, big hearts. Despite the considerable sleep deprivation we all stay up well into the early hours to make sure the kiln is turned off at the correct time once waxes have been melted out of moulds, helping each other lift, carry and fabricate as we work to get our sculptures ready on time for the exhibition that opens at the weekend.
I've spent the day on the patina for my newly assembled piece, using a solution of salt, warm water and hydrogen peroxide brushed over the iron surface to accelerate the rusting process. Nate suggested it and it seems to be doing the job. I've yet to apply a coat of rust converter to give it a permanent black colour (about 10pm tonight) then leave it overnight to do it's stuff. The boys will take it to Coalbrookdale Museum of Iron for installation tomorrow so I'm just checking I have all the fixings and tools necessary for them.
We spent the morning working out how to stabilize the plinth. We are going to bury it's base in the soil and cover it with turf up to the edges of the plinth so it looks like it's rising up elegantly from the grass. The cunning plan for stabilizing the whole thing is to attach hidden outreaching arms made of steel in all directions to the base of the plinth, with a big enough span to ensure the piece is secure and won't topple on the unsuspecting public. Charlie is helping me with the calculations and doing a grand job of the drilling.
Next up is to ensure the piece is fitted correctly to the plate on top of the plinth which has been drilled and tapped in readiness. I've still got the patination to do and I need to get on that immediately. I'm going to accelerate the rusting process and apply some rust converter to turn the piece a blue-black colour. Fortunately the plinth is already nicely rusted which will assist me greatly.
It's been a slow and steady day and we've got a lot done. The assembly of the two cast sections of my sculpture went well after we took our time over minor adjustments. Philip has drilled and tapped two holes spanning the tab on one section and the slot on the other and we've recessed a couple of grub screws to secure it all. It's great to see the piece standing after all this time and looking just as I imagined.
I can now concentrate on the plinth and it's fixings and then onto applying the patina. I envisage it being a lovely black velvety colour when finished and it will need to go through a number of chemical processes over a few days to achieve that. I've got all sorts of pigments and wax products with me to cover all eventualities, but I'm interested to see what the other artist's are using on their pieces and learn some new tricks too.
Today has been spent carefully grinding the two cast pieces of the sculpture to ensure a good fit. When the larger section is slotted into the arch section we will need to mechanically fix the two soundly together and I want a really snug fit when the tab drops into the slot so that it sits perfectly upright. It all looks very simple but it's success as a piece will rely on everything being at just the right angle and height. The iron was at just the right temperature when it was poured and it's a nice clean cast with very little touching up needed which is a relief as time is precious on this job.
I've calculated the height of the plinth I will be using and have organized Nate to cut me a suitable length of hollow square section for that purpose. I've visited the blacksmith to get some steel plate cut to size to go on top of the plinth and to fix the cast sculpture sections onto. It's all going to plan so far.
It's been a tiring day for us all. The rain has been persistent and we are all black and grimy from incessant grinding of our iron pieces. The shower is also out of action, nevertheless we are in high spirits and have decided to fire up the barbecue tonight. Tony is in charge of the chicken assisted by Chris and Jim. I'm glad to sit down and relax and wait for dinner.
I'm about to remove the sprues from my big piece and give it a good clean off with a wire brush to get rid of the loose material. After many technical conversations I've decided to shorten the height of the arch section of the sculpture - we've got a very clever bit of hacksaw equipment in the workshop that can cut through the cast iron in minutes. It takes a lot of thinking and setting up and Rick has done a great job on it for me. The shorter arch looks much better and creates a more balanced feel in the piece overall. I'm pleased with that decision. Time for some more grinding now.
The pour of the big mould went great and I left it overnight to cool slowly. I've had lots of fun breaking it out and the detail I carved into the mould has come out really well. It's amazing how such fine detail can be picked up, so it just goes to show it's worth being meticulous.
The smaller mould had a bit of an adventure! The amount of metal calculated wasn't enough and resulted in a short pour! Even though the ladle crew dashed back to the furnace and managed a quick top up the surface detail is affected considerably so I'm considering my options. Sometimes things just don't work out as you expect and you need to look for an opportunity within that to learn and create something a bit different and often better.
And here it is... my lovely mould ready for today's iron pour. I've attached a pour cup on top - we are pouring the piece horizontally as we were concerned there wasn't quite enough sand mould depth to turn it on it's side without risking metal bursting out. The sprue system will feed the metal in just fine, I'll just have to make sure the ladle is skimmed well so there are no impurities or 'slag' that would rise to the surface of the cast and affect the detail of the piece.
I've put paper over the pour cup and vent holes so nothing will get in the mould while it is being moved or waiting it's turn to be poured. And I've just written an encouraging message on my mould for the ladle crew!
It's been a bit of a slow day today and we are all feeling a bit tired. My big mould has had a sprue system carved in and the graphite and alcohol core wash has been burnt off. So its ready to bolt together for the pour tomorrow. We're hoping for a good weather window as its been a bit dreary and wet here the last couple of days. Its getting a bit soggy for camping - ugh!
My small mould has been carved and coated with a mix of graphite and alcohol to help the molten iron retain detail as it is poured in. It's important to burn off the alcohol as it can cause an explosion if trapped in the mould once the metal is poured in.
The mould has been reassembled and the sections held firmly together with long bolts and it now good to go. After some deliberation I changed my plan at the last minute on the carved detail of my big mould and drew with end of a screw to create some very fine lines of detail. It's a brave move but we'll find out what it looks like after the demould
Nate's spent the day on his piece - lots of welding - I'm looking forward to brushing up on my fabrication skills later in the week. The workshop here has some fantastic machinery for drilling and cutting. The machinery is lovingly cared for by Rick when he is over here from Poland. You don't find machinery like that produced these days, they have beautiful yet functional designs and belong in a museum themselves. I'm very tired after the exertions of the week so I'm off for an early night.
We've poured the small moulds today. The weather was perfect and we had the BBC visit to record some footage for TV so that was fun. I felt dehydrated after the pour even though I drank a good quantity of water at regular intervals. You get surprisingly hot in the leather foundry clothing. I was teased about my pristine new jacket and was offered a tow around the grounds with the Landrover to dirty me up a bit, but I declined! It doesn't take long to get a few spot burns from the sparks of moulten iron and the graphite and carbon will make me grubby soon enough.
I've finished the big mould and it just needs opening for the carving I'm planning to do in the inside. I've decided on something rather subtle, more like free drawing, rather than the heavier angle grinding I often do. The form of the piece is subtle and quiet and I want to keep that sense. We are having a bit of a party tonight as it's Nate's birthday. Handling the barbecue is an easy task after firing the furnace.
We're getting ready for the first pour today. The moulds are generally bigger than can be moved by manpower alone so we are employing the use of our very nice forklift. Jim is at the helm assisted by Nate and Chris as one of Richard's big moulds is moved outside for the pour. Because the impurities in the molten metal rise to the top it's good to consider where the pour cup is attached to the piece so that the metal in the sculpture is clean once demoulded. This mould is a big one and tall as well so the ladle crew will need well warmed up muscles for this pour.
It's a hive of activity in the workshop with an interesting variety of pieces and techniques being employed. One of the artists, John, is creating some small sections for one of his sculptures cast in wax from impromptu moulds made of silicone sealant and wide weaved cotton cloth. The plan is to then encase the waxes in the sand moulds and melt out the wax in the kiln so the iron can be poured in. I'm looking forward to seeing the result of that one. I'm on cooking duty tonight for 15 hungry mouths so I'm off for a wash and brush up first.
The day has been well spent and I've managed to get the first half of the big mould rammed with resin sand. As anticipated the smaller mould has been a little tricky to get just right. When the sand is rammed in the mould it puts the model under considerable pressure and it can distort. I want the arch section to be level on top with parallel uprights so Rick, Jim and I have devised a method to hold the styrene rigid using the wooden flask sections and building up the 3 pieces of mould as we go. I will need access to the outer parts of the mould as I want to carve detail into them once its taken apart, so that has needed a bit of brain power. In addition the sections will need to interlock when assembled to hold the structure rigid for the pour!
I've been looking at what the other artists and crew have been making. It's a wonderfully diverse lot of sculptures. The USA crew are very good fabricators so that will come in handy for me. I'm pretty good with an angle grinder but have limited experience with welding. I'll be getting plenty help and practice up here though, so should be super good at it by the time I return to my studio.
I've arrive at Ironbridge and I'm getting straight on with the first of the two moulds I'll be making this week. I've brought the ready made flask with me to save some time and bagged myself a space on the floor in the workshop. The other artists are arriving at various stages this week so we have a finely tuned system for making sure everyone has the space and facilities they need to get their pieces done in time for the exhibition at the end of the month. I've already got the first section of the mould made and I'm having discussions with Jim Wade over the construction of the smaller mould for the arched section of the sculpture. It looks very simple but is actually rather a challenge.
Its wonderful to see all those friendly faces from the USA and meet up with a few UK colleagues again. Lots of new faces too. Most of us are camping on site and we are all eating together (I'm on cooking duty later in the week!) so we'll all get to know each other very quickly I expect.
Here's the finished model for the piece I'm going to be casting at Ironbridge next week. It took a lot of work to get just how I wanted it and I've made some subtle changes to my original idea a I've been carving. The surface texture when sanded is really velvety and I'd like to retain that in the top section of the piece. I'll be carving detail into the resin bonded sand mould once its ready so its important to be able to envisage how it will all come together in the end. Very exciting. The piece will stand on a tall length of square hollow section - I'll calculate the exact length once the piece is cast and I can see it in the flesh. I've got a nice long length reserved so its just a base plate to organize now.
Its also time to start packing up my tools and equipment and making sure I have everything I need to take with me. The Museum of Steel Sculpture has an excellent fabrication workshop that is well tooled up but I like to have my own tools with me as they are familiar to work with and a spare set is always useful.
I've been carving the top of the new sculpture today. This new styrofoam is not the same as the one I used in the US on my last sculpture, it's much denser. This makes it harder to cut back and shape, but once its done it will sand to a beautifully smooth finish. My hands are sore and stiff now though I'm really pleased with the progress. I have included a spigot on the bottom to fit into the lower part of the sculpture.
There is a lot of thinking goes in to every piece of sculpture for public display. Aside from the technical considerations about how to actually construct the piece, safety and durability need to be major considerations!
The first job in an iron pour is to collect the iron we are going to melt and pour into the sculptures. So, we've gone own to the Aga factory in Ironbridge from whom we've purchased enough scrap cast iron for all the pours! Aga are very helpful and bring out a JCB to help us load the pile they have set aside for us. That speeded things up - I love watching machines in action. They used the earth mover like an extra hand - a couple of heavy crunches and the iron is broken into smaller pieces. That'll save time and sweat later! Here Philip and Walter Early (one of the early arrivals from the American crew) are just loading the remaining items from the scrap bin to the trailer.
I've hurt my back moving things in the studio, so on this occasion I can't help!
I've started carving the sculpture I'm going to cast in iron at Ironbridge this month. It's been a long time coming! Sometimes the simplest seeming ideas take a lot of working out and it's always worth the effort of investing time up front. The piece I'm making is for siting outdoors and needs to be simple yet have impact for my idea to work. Another consideration is the ladel size for the iron pour, so yet again I'm working within limits for this one. The piece is going to be broad yet thin when turned sideways on, so that will add interest. I'm going to make 2 moulds, one for the top section and one for the broad arch that the top will be mounted on. If all goes well, the feeling will be of radiance and strength yet with a sense of lightness and uplift! I do like a challenge.
I'm using a sheet of Styrofoam again, but it's harder to carve as it seems a more dense product than the one I used in the States. It sands to a beautiful fine finish though. Swings and roundabouts really. I've had the double doors to my studio open today as the weather is so glorious. I've been accompanied by the sounds of buzzards and swallows today. It's a real joy at this time of the year.
After weeks of deliberation on the sculpture I'm going to create at Ironbridge Museum of Steel Sculpture this month I woke up with the idea in my head. I immediately captured it on the back of a scrap of paper and raced to the studio to draw it up full size on my drawing wall. And here it is! I've decided to keep the forms simple and strong and add the final touches by carving into the sand mould just before the iron is poured in. That's always fun and allows the maverick spirit in me out once in a while! The sculpture will be exhibited outside at Ironbridge Museum so I'm already thinking about the plinth. I always design with the site and finished viewing height in mind and think the practicalities through as the piece progresses rather than leave it to the end. That way everything ends up looking and feeling just the way I intended.
It was a bit too warm to want to mix up resin today so the Indiana Visionary maquette will have to wait to be cast another day. Its not as if I'm short of things to do - I'm just pacing myself and enjoying the lovely weather.
Its been a beautiful day today and I've taken the opportunity to photograph the Indiana Visionary maquette now that it's demoulded. I'm mulling over which bronze resin patina will look best when I cast the first one from the newly made silicone mould. I'll do some test patinas before I decide - I usually have a 'happy accident' and discover something fantastic as I'm working through things. I've learnt to write every 'recipe' down rather than commit it to memory. I love trying out new ideas, it makes everything so exciting.
On the theme of trying out new things, I have been given a sheet of Styrofoam product by one of my neighbours who heard I had used it successfully during my recent trip to the States. This one is much tougher and not quite so easy to carve although gives a lovely fine textured finish when fine sanded. Hmm. It will be ideal for the model for my sculpture for Ironbridge (which is going to be broad and thin) so I'll be getting on with that soon. If anyone out there knows where I can buy Styrofoam Scoreboard in the UK please let me know as I'm having difficulty sourcing it. Lots on the go at the moment, all requiring creative adventures, so I'm a happy girl.
It's Sunday and it's a day off (or as near a day off as I allow myself). We've done a bit of planting at the studio - which is relaxation really - and fed the tubs of flowers that are really loving our warm sunny spell. Being a sculptor is different to lots of other jobs - it's not just about what I do, it's closely interweaved with who I am as a person. Self expression through my art is as important to me as breathing. Creating art keeps me happy and healthy and I'm passionate about what I do, so a 'day off' seems a weird concept!
I've been thinking over the issues of the sculpture I'm creating for Ironbridge and now very excited about getting on with carving the model. I've been gearing up for my stay up there and got some really great steel toe safety boots made by Amblers Steel. I need good arch support in my footwear otherwise my knees swell - very strange - and these were a perfect fit. Check them out if you like comfy feet like I do.
I've spent the day chilling at the studio. Well, I have and Philip has mowed the grass. We're doing a bit of landscaping and planning a rethink of the studio interior space at the same time. I've decided to convert a room at the end into a print room. We'll move my etching press in there next weekend when we'll have some help. Its a substantial piece of kit that was designed for me by a nice man in an underground workshop in Norwich. Hence it dismantles into relatively small pieces for easy transport - some bits are still incredibly heavy and it's definitely a team effort getting it moved and assembled.
Chatted with Nate again this afternoon. Jim, Emma and Walter are here too from the USA and so the iron furnace team continues to assemble. It's not long now before the Ironbridge action starts and the furnace is fired for the first time this season. Can't wait!
I had a phone call from Nate who has just arrived in the UK and was on his way to Ironbridge. Next week sees the first week of the cast iron workshops at the Museum of Steel Sculpture where invited UK and US artists will be creating pieces for exhibition at the Ironbridge International Cast Iron Art Exhibition. I'll be working on the model for my piece next week and joining everyone for mould making and casting for a couple of weeks in July. I'm already really excited and can't wait to see everyone's ideas for their pieces and help bring them into being.
The silicone mould I made for the Indiana Visionary maquette sculpture has turned out just fine. I love it when all the seams meet exactly - it feels like a really satisfying job and well worth the extra time and attention spent getting things just right. I'm looking forward to taking the first cast.
I've been making the hard case for the silicone rubber mould. I tried an interesting product called Plasti-Paste - its a odour-free resin material with fine fibreglass fibres mixed in. Very pleasant to use, but it cures really fast and you can only mix up small quantities at a time or the exotherm it creates snap cures it! Rather more expensive than other products but its proved a good investment in the past and my Indian Visionary maquette is worth it! I've drilled the holes for the bolts in readiness and I'll leave it overnight and demould tomorrow. Then there will be the excitement of taking the first cast in bronze resin. I will be selling a limited edition of just 25 in bronze at £2450 and an edition of 50 in bronze resin at £495. 2 are already reserved so I've a feeling these will go like hot cakes. If you want one email me quickly!
Its back to making a mould of a smaller size - this time in silicone rubber - for the Indiana Visionary maquette. Its been quite a restful day and I've applied the coats of silicone rubber enclosing the aluminium cast. I use a brilliantly designed plastic 'shim' for separating the rubber sections. Its got semi spherical indentations that act as mechanical keys when the sections of the mould are aligned on casting. That way you know you'll always have a perfect join at the seam. I love elegant solutions!
I'm also thinking about a redesign of the studio working space - efficiency again. Having cleared the space for my annual studio exhibition (and having a good chuck out of all those things I've hoarded for years because they were bound to be useful one day) I'm thinking about ways of incorporating my new found skills and some new technology in my future work. But first I have a mould to finish and the Indiana Visionary maquette to cast.
What an unbelievable trip to the USA. Philip and I (admittedly jet lagged!) keep looking at each other and saying, "Did we really do that? Did we really reate a 1150lbs cast iron sculpture from scratch and leave it standing on a hill in Indiana in just 3 weeks?" We are tremendously tired and have big grins on our faces :) I'm now back at my studio thinking about the next stage in the 'Indiana Visionary' project which will be to make a mould from the maquette (that has arrived back in England safely in my luggage) and create a limited edition of the piece. More about that later as things progress.
Everyone here is excited to hear of how we got on and we have had lots of followers of our progress while away which is great. I've enjoyed showing our catalogue of literally hundreds of photos and hours of film (yet to be edited) - I don't know how Philip found the time with everything else he was involved in while 'Indiana Visionary' was being created. But for now its back to the studio and time to start work on that mould.
We're all packed up and ready to leave after a great night of celebration at Ramsays. We had to find an all night Wal-Mart to buy an extra luggage bag on the way back to the hotel. I've got my maquettes carefully wrapped up and its time to say goodbye to everyone. Its quite emotional and I'm glad it won't be too long until we meet up again in Ironbridge for the Cast Iron Workshops at the Museum of Steel Sculpture in July. Nice to think I'm leaving some tools here that other sculptors will be able to use to create their pieces over time. It all adds to the story.
A big THANK YOU to you all - Gerry, Lisa, Gavin (in the pic) and the Masse family in Solsberry, Indiana; Brad, Nate and all at Tuska Fine Art Foundry, Lexington, Kentucky; Jim, Emma and Will and our friends and helpers at University of Kentucky; James, Tripp and Eric, Joe, Remy and Bones and all who helped us complete our project at Sloss Furnaces in Birmingham, Alabama.
Gotta go folks, time to get on a plane.
The aluminium pour was great fun. Liquid aluminium (or ‘aluminum’ as it is called here) sort of swells up like some alien metal and flows weirdly. Quite different to iron. The moulds are only small so I have been able to crack them open quite quickly and now that the metal is cool enough I’m applying a ‘cold’ black oxide patina to the pieces. They’ll be waxed shortly then we’ll see what they look like …
I’m already planning on upgrading my studio tools. The folks here at the foundry have some great and very practical equipment. Its been good working on a large sculpture and trying out different equipment much more suited to the scale of the job. Its been wonderful learning for us all as we’ve shared skills and swapped experiences. This has been the most exhilarating project and I have had the pleasure or working with some really big hearted people without whom the sculpture could not have been completed. Tonight we celebrate with our friends and ‘cast iron family’, but first, I’ve got sculptures to wax.
Well here we are back at Tuska Fine Art Foundry in Lexington, Kentucky where our exciting adventure began just a few weeks ago. Its been quite a journey and we've made so many good friends who have been just wonderful to work with. I am so tired this morning. I think now that we’ve actually achieved what we set out to do I am finally able to relax and my body is feeling the strain of the huge output over the past few weeks. Still important stuff to do though. We are going to pour the maquettes in aluminium today so that will be loads of fun – and I get to wear my new foundry leathers. The there’s the big tidy up. Its important to clean off all drills and hand tools that have been used on iron and keep them separate from those used on bronze as the rust can cause blemishes. So, excuse me while I ‘git ta work!’
We finally did it! ‘Indiana Visionary’ now stands on a hill in Sculpture Trails Outdoor Museum in Solsberry, Indiana for all to enjoy for generations to come. What an achievement. The crane was invaluable in assembly, all the fixings worked perfectly and the black patina has given the sculpture the intense velvety finish I wanted. Its astonishing to notice how delicate the form looks from the front and back in cast iron, as if it could just take off any moment, yet when you walk round to the side it looks broad and strong and completely rooted. I am just delighted.
Time to pack up and head off back to Lexington as its back to work at the foundry tomorrow and still plenty to do.
The JB Weld is pretty amazing and I’m just finishing those last minute bits of grinding – on the trailer of course! Just when I thought I’d got away from all that dust! Its another beautiful day – the gods are truly with us – although it can be surprisingly cold at night still. To make sure the concrete pad would be sound we put a little antifreeze in it yesterday and its taking a little while to set as hard as we would like, so we’ll just have to sit back and enjoy our surroundings for an hour or two more.
Everything’s going swimmingly. The site has been cleared and the concrete pad is finished for the sculpture. We’re nearly there! Just got to sit back and relax and wait for the concrete to set enough to withstand the weight of the sculpture.
I’ve enjoyed looking at Gerry senior’s workshop that has a brilliantly designed storage system for timber. I’m going to build one when I get home – it’ll save me dismantling my piles of wood to get to the big bits at the bottom every time I need a piece. Fantastic. Last small job this afternoon will be filling in some imperfections with this wonderful product called JB Weld. It’s a 2 part resin product that bonds to metal and can be sanded and shaped once set and will even withstand incredibly high temperatures. That’ll be handy when we come to patinate the piece by applying heat and chemicals tomorrow. Can’t wait to see what happens! I’m definitely taking some home in my suitcase!
Its all one big party really. What a fantastic place this is. We arrived late last night having side stepped the big storms and this morning is bright and sunny with blue skies! Perfect. We’ve had a good long walk around the sculpture trail and enjoyed all the other diverse work. You really do have to create something on a decent scale for this kind of outdoor environment. The trees are very tall and skies seem so wide, its important to bear all this in mind when constructing a sculpture for such a site. I was always clear when I designed the sculpture I wanted it to be on a raised site and be able to be approached from all sides. Finding a hill in Indiana is not necessarily an easy feat … but Gerry has the perfect one here.
Emma and Will, Brad and Amanda and many other family and friends have turned up for the grand event and are enthusiastically clearing the site ready for the sculpture. There are lots of smiling happy faces and hospitality provided by the Masse family who are our hosts for the next couple of days and are feeding us particularly well! Its just great to be part of an adventure like this.
We’re spending the afternoon loading up the trailer Jim’s lent us for the road trip to Indiana. We need to take the crane too and every imaginable fixing device and tool just in case …! Storms and tornadoes have been forecast so we are rushing to get ready so we can leave after the first and before the second one arrives. My lovely shiny metal sculpture will, undoubtedly, be covered in orange rust and look quite different when we arrive. We will be travelling in convoy with the big truck and trailer in front. Our wonderful and enthusiastic friends from University of Kentucky will be joining us for the fun of it all and some good physical exercise installing the sculpture. Its going to be nice to sit down for a few hours and enjoy the scenery as we make our way to Indiana.
It’s the final check for the fixings and the join is perfect. We’ve checked and double checked we have everything as well as duplicates in case anything fails or needs repair. I like to be really well prepared and have a back up plan because you just never know …
The re-texturing of the iron surface has gone really well. Philip used a neat cross hatched cut metal device on the end of a pneumatic gun that replicated the cast surface brilliantly when used with care! The extra time I took on grinding the side seams of the torso section has really paid off. I know it added hours to the grinding work but that’ll all soon be forgotten when I see the sculpture as I imagined it in my head and standing on its site. What an incredible feeling – I’m starting to get REALLY excited now.
While I was busy today Gerry and Nate knocked up some mould flasks for the maquettes I made at the start of the project. Yes, you heard right – I made two, the other is an idea for a sculpture that I would love to see come into being so I’ll be pursuing that on return to the UK. I can never tell when inspiration is going to strike and I had a strong feeling it was right to go with the flow and just do it there and then despite the time constraint on the project!
Back to here and now. The maquettes will be cast in aluminium and Nate’s been packing the resin sand so the moulds will be ready to pour as soon as we get back from installing the big sculpture in Indiana. What a piece of cake that will be compared to what we’ve done in the past few weeks! It seems so weird to be working on something that you can turn around in one hand again. This maquette of the big cast iron sculpture will be cast as a limited edition and be on sale soon, so contact me for details and to reserve one.
I worked out we averaged 5 hours sleep a night, working 7 days a week so far on the trip. We've used 9300lbs and, 1450lbs iron and consumed countless burger calories!
Its an exciting moment to see the sculpture standing on its steel plate for the first time. this will be set on the concrete pad we have yet to construct on site. Drilling and tapping is a precise art that can't be rushed! Its been time well spent on this big piece and everything is looking good. We've drilled the wing and have fixings ready and there's a buzz in the foundry as everyone is excited to see the piece near completion.
We’ve had a great time staying in the countryside with Jim – we even spotted a racoon on the way home late one night. I got really excited but apparently they are considered vermin out here. The project is taking up all our time and we can just about stay awake long enough for a beer and a quick catch up on the day’s news with our host before sleep overcomes us.
Here's a nice pic of Jim and his dogs Copper and George who are getting used to us now - probably that familiar foundry furnace smell! Very tired and looking forward to my bed.
We’ve checked, double checked, then checked those fixing points again! We’ve ordered special stainless steel countersunk screws that will look neat and unobtrusive as well as do a great job. Its been important to ensure this piece is going to stand safely on its site. I encourage people to look and touch as I think you can get so much from the tactile nature of sculpture. We’ve made sure we have everything we need for the installation in Indiana that is now only a couple of days away. Gerry has ordered some patina chemical for the piece – we’ll do that in situ. I want a lovely soft velvety black finish that will give the sculpture a strong presence and let the form speak for itself. We’ll do a test on one of the iron offcuts to check its what I want.
Its time to start on re-texturing the iron where we’ve been grinding to give it the same finish as the rest of the sculpture. The boys have some weird and wonderful tools they’ve designed for the job – the fun side to problem solving!
Hooray! Final day of grinding is done and I’m encouraging Philip to take a long hot shower! He looks like he’s spent the past week living in a coal store and I probably look no better. I gave up looking in the mirror days ago. Make up and jewellery seem a lifetime away and as for a manicure…!!! It doesn’t bear thinking about.
Its not just the physical work I find tiring when working to a tight deadline, but the alertness and thinking involved in the day to day decisions as I’m encountering problems to solve that I have no previous experience of. I have a greatly competent and knowledgeable team here and that is a real blessing. We all share our skills, discuss possibilities then choose the route that seems best. Its working great so far and we are enjoying learning from each other.
Well here we are with the boys checking the alignment of the torso on the legs after drilling and tapping for fixings. It took a long time to drill some bits as the metal was so hard in places. Gerry reckons that it was radiators melted in the furnace for the softer bits and disk brakes for the really hard bits!! We’ve got through numerous drill bits and as much time has been spent on sharpening tools on the bench grinder as on the drilling. Think we’re getting there now.
The sculpture is staring to look really good now and I’m finding myself grinning around the workshop which is a good sign. I’m feeling a bit more relaxed today although the muscles still ache.
Well, we’re still at it. Philip and I are working as a team on the grinding now. We must have done 200 hours between us. We’ve got a neat system going - he cuts off the big bits and grinds down to about eighth inch thickness, then I follow on behind with a second grind to thumb nail thickness and a final polish with the flap disk. When it gets dark the boys bring out floodlights so we can keep going. I just want this bit finished now so we can get on with the fun bit of assembly and finally see what this sculpture is going to look like!
It feels like time’s stood still. The grinding continues! It’s a long and sometimes tedious job, but well worth getting perfect. Lovely to have a bit of light relief listening to Nate’s band, ‘The Other Brothers’, on Philip’s i-pod when I get to take my earplugs out.
Very tired today. And very tired of being so dirty. Even my black boiler suit feels gross to put on now.
Not a lot more news other than … grinding, grinding, grinding. Its coming along slowly but surely. My fingers are even starting to feel as if they’ve had a work out at the gym. I’m having a break to get some sense and feeling back in my body and just appreciating the carved pattern on the leg sections of the sculpture. It feels really free and was a good last minute decision to do just before the iron pour. It will add a lot of energy to the sculpture, without visually disturbing the simple and elegant forms that are essential to the success of the piece. Free carving into the inside of the mould is always a bit of a risk – you just have to go with it intuitively and be bold. No hesitation or it shows in the piece. And you can never quite tell what its going to look like until cast. Worse case is lots of extra hours of grinding and retexturing of the piece if you don’t like it. Fortunately not the case here!!
Well the weather’s dry so we are grinding outside today. It makes clearing up so much easier! I’ve enlisted help from Philip who is pretty handy with a cutting disk and I’m following behind with the grinding. Its quite companionable really – except you can’t have a conversation due to the noise.
The wing section I’m working on has cleaned up really nicely and the carving I did on the inside of the mould is a real success and gives a lovely uplifting feel to the sculpture. I’m really excited about seeing it assembled – I can only imagine it now, but I’ve got a really good feeling about this one.
The test welds Gerry did weren’t strong enough for a big piece like this one. He super heated the iron before welding with special iron welding rods and cooled it down really slowly by wrapping it in fire proof blanket material to make the join as strong as possible. Nonetheless it still popped apart when we took a mighty hammer to it. So its back to the drawing board. We had a conference and decided a mechanical join would be a bit tricky but the best and safest option. Philip has suggested drilling and tapping the piece to insert 2 pins in each leg that will go up into the torso section and then notching them and tightening with grub screws set at right angles through the inside of the leg. It’ll take a while to get everything aligned and its a bit of a tricky machining job for drilling accurately but I have every confidence in Gerry and Nate who are on it as we speak. I’m back on grinding duty.
We’ve spent the morning cutting sprues off the cast sections of the sculpture. Cast iron is incredibly tough stuff and you just have to be persistent – and have the right tools for the job! The grindings get everywhere (up my nose, in my ears…) and then go rusty if they get wet so its pretty grim work at times. All the sections are so heavy to move, I’m growing muscles on my muscles!
We had to do a mega laundry wash very early at our hotel this morning as we’d run out of clean clothes. I love the enormous washing machines here. We’re off to stay with Jim for a few days and really looking forward to the peace and quiet of his rural retreat. Its so noisy in here with all those grinders and drills going. A good discovery is the earplugs keep the metal grindings out of your ears too!! Hooray.
Gerry has hired some specialist welding equipment in anticipation of our return. We are hoping to create a really strong weld as an alternative to mechanical fixings to join the leg sections to the torso. I had to make a rapid best educated guess at how to section the model into 3 separate moulds when it broke at the furnaces. I’m hoping there is enough thickness of metal where the legs join to do a mechanical fix if necessary. Welding is always difficult in iron and I want to ensure the piece is secure and safe once standing in the sculpture museum.
Gerry’s going to do lots of test welds on the giant sprues we have yet to cut off the torso. Its going to be a long and dirty job cutting those off, but I’m all geared up now with cutting and grinding disks and the castings are near perfect, so I’m happy!
We had a long, leisurely drive back to Lexington yesterday with some added excitement of tornado warnings. We could see one start to build as the clouds formed into their strange purple grey menacing hue as we passed Nashville, hurrying through the pelting rain and hoping it was going to go in a different direction. Fortunately it did. There’s nothing like a little adrenaline injection to keep you alert on the road. We are so unused to this type of weather in the UK. My legs were so swollen Philip had to make a neat seating adjustment so I could prop them up on the dashboard for a few hours. They’re a bit better this morning and I hope will just carry on improving as we have a number of days of heavy duty grinding and metal work ahead of us.
We’ve arrived back at the foundry in Lexington (seems like we’ve been away for weeks but its only been a few days!). Everyone’s very excited to see the sculpture. It seems we are now famous and word’s been spreading like wild fire about our adventures at the furnaces – and our resilience in the face of adversity! Still a long way to go so we’ll take the morning to unload and return our faithful van and assess what needs to happen next!
Despite having 24 hours to cool, the metal is still tremendously hot in the moulds. You can feel it when you touch the sides. The big mould in particular has such a thickness of resin sand due to the large volume of metal poured in, it takes so much longer for the iron to cool. Everyone was really keen to see the results of our labours, but I was in no immediate rush! We just cracked each mould open a little to slowly let out the heat, then returned each hour later to open up the cracks a bit more. That way things cool in a controlled manner and we avoid a rapid contraction and splitting of the metal. And we avoid melting the floor of the van on the journey back to Lexington!!
From what I can see so far, all 3 sections have poured really well. What a relief!! We are just about to cut off some of the sprues to reduce the metal weight, then clear up and move on out. The armatures James welded for the big torso mould are works of art in themselves – I’m definitely taking those back to show the guys at the foundry!
Sadly this is our final morning at our lovely B&B. Everyone has been so nice to us – the other guests have been following the story of our adventure and been so kind and generous to us - Jean giving me ‘healing touch’ for my aching shoulders and Roseanne presenting me with a beautiful bracelet to remember my experience by. We are looking forward to offering them all hospitality when they eventually make it across the water to the UK. Sheila and Ira, our hosts, visited the furnaces to watch the progress of my sculpture and Ira, who is a sculptor himself, has taken us for a tour of his studio. We have promised ourselves to return purely for leisure another time.
We are all packed up and off to the furnaces for our final day. Time to crack open the moulds and start clearing up.
I’m taking the afternoon off to watch what everyone else is doing. In particular a visit to Jim’s university students doing their thing. Its like watching a brilliantly choreographed performance. Jim says Philip and I have earned our U of K T-shirts. The same one that I admired Nate wearing back in Lexington!! I seriously want a hot shower, a big steak and a cold beer!
I can barely believe we’ve made it. The furnace has been firing up for some hours now. Its just enormous. I’m used to breaking up small pieces of iron for a furnace – this monster eats whole radiators at a time! Its an astonishing sight watching the iron pour. The leg moulds poured perfectly. I held my breath and willed the metal up the risers. Jim was on the phone to Gerry back in Lexington giving him a running commentary – eveyone’s hopes are invested in this project now. I almost couldn’t watch the big mould pour. The furnace crew were positioned around the piece with shovels ready to shovel on sand should there have been metal breakout at one of the seams. I have been very nervous about the integrity of the repaired torso mould, even though we gave it extra thickness. There’s just such a lot of metal pressure I this one. Joe, who is in charge of the furnace crew stood on top of the mould as the metal was poured from the giant ladle. Now that’s what I call commitment! Can’t believe its done, I’m so relieved and so proud of my wonderful team. And so tired.
This is just amazing and so exciting – an experience of a lifetime! The big mould is enormously heavy (over 3500lbs of sand alone!!) One of our concerns was the weight of molten iron to be poured into it. It would go in at such tremendous pressure that there was a real danger of the metal bursting out at the seams or any weak part of the mould. Another expert, Butch, was called in. He looked at the situation and said just one word. “Chains”. After discussing size and weight of chain Philip went of to source some at the wonderful Home Depot. And here is the finished mould secured with chains and weighted down with tons of iron finally ready for the pour. Just amazing.
Finally, everything’s coming together nicely as the leg moulds are craned into place ready for the iron pour. I finally had my fit of nerves this morning when the moulds were turned. I just couldn’t watch. Any failure in the moulds at this stage would mean the end of the project. Chris gave me his lucky turtle (small plastic animal!) to hold onto and I went off for a walk while the moulds were craned over.
Never a dull moment, I’m about to carve into the inside of the leg moulds to create a nice free texture. Another expert, Doug, has arrived to advise on sprues (risers and vents) for the moulds. The big mould in particular needed some careful thought. We are putting some really big risers on and a giant pour cup to make sure the metal reaches everywhere it needs to. Making the risers a good size will enable any shrinkage in the main body of the sculpture as the metal cools to be compensated by drawing on the molten iron they contain. It all makes sense to me, but like anything, the proof will be in the pudding!!
I’m just having a coffee and looking at the inside of the torso mould. They can be really beautiful in negative, very other-wordly! Just gearing up for constructing the flasks around the moulds again, then its more sand and resin. Its meant to rain later and the sides of the sheds are open, so I have saved a load of empty enormous plastic bags to cover the moulds with if necessary. The resin hates humidity and if the sand mould get wet it will destroy the resin bonding, so I’m being extra cautious. The last few days have been really nerve racking and I’m quite exhausted. We just seem to solve one problem when another crops up to keep us on our toes.
Look at my fantastic crew! Folks whose names I don’t even know yet helping turn the leg moulds. We packed them with resin sand late last night – a really slick operation by everyone with the fastest hopper change of sand in history. After our last experience we wanted to make sure the layers of resin sand bonded together properly to avoid de-lamination. Tripp brought 2 of his best workers over, Alex and Mike, who ran and shovelled barrow loads of sand. I lost count how many. We’re definitely part of the ‘cast iron family now’.
Things are feeling quite calm and there’s an air of expectancy about the place. Everyone is focussed and working brilliantly as a team. For the first time I realise we are in with a good chance of getting this completed on time. We’ve still a lot to do – the second sides of the moulds need completing today. So its back to work!
I’m watching the clock like a hawk. Still sanding away at the Styrofoam. Realising the way I was doing it was going to leave me out of time for getting the moulds completed in time for the pour, I just asked for help from the ‘management upstairs’. It arrived in a way I hadn’t anticipated – a small group of spirits who had worked and died at the furnaces. It’s a strange feeling to have unseen companions who are answering all those questions I put to them on tools, techniques, anything that helps. I tell you what, I’m suddenly being extraordinarily productive and I just KNOW we are going to succeed with this piece. I wouldn’t have believed what was happening if it hadn’t been happening to me. Thanks guys. Life savers!
Time for a break and another burger and watch the University of Kentucky furnace crew fire up their furnace along with other crews from around the USA. Now that’s something you don’t see in UK universities!!
The top section mould is coming along as planned. I’ve got Eric helping to construct a new flask around it while I’m working on the Styro pieces. James and Philip are welding up new armatures for all 3 moulds. Its quite a production line and everyone is feeling much better about things. The surface work on the styro is much harder than I thought – the sandpaper gets blocked really quickly, as do the pneumatic sanding heads. All sorts of people are coming up to offer their tools and equipment. Its really quite a humbling experience. I keep saying ‘thank you’ ‘thank you’ – and the response is always the same, ‘that’s ok, you’re family’. Amazing!! If you are committed to working in cast iron, you are part of one big ‘family’ – a network that extends around the globe. Everyone works together and helps out to bring a sculpture into being. You just introduce yourself and get stuck in - We are all here for the adventure!
OK, so here’s the plan. The Styrofoam has proved unbelievably resilient and, with a lot of patience, I should be able to repair the model. Most of the top section of the sculpture is still encased in undamaged mould so we are going to fix that one up quite quickly. An unexpected difficulty was the resin used to bind the sand has eaten into the surface of the remaining model leaving a tough, shrunken skin. The only thing I can think to do is to carefully scrape and sandpaper it away to regain the original texture of the Styrofoam as best I can. This is not easy!! Fortunately I brought lots of sandpaper and some hand tools and Gerry’s magic home made modelling clay with me that should help. Everyone’s been fantastic. It seems they ‘like my attitude’ here (as I didn’t have hysterics when the disaster happened) and all staff are now committed to doing whatever it takes to help this project succeed – even if that means working ‘til midnight running barrows of sand, etc. What a wonderful thing to be working with such great people.
I’ve organised my team, making full use each person’s area of expertise and put James as lead. We are now going to make 3 moulds for this part of the sculpture to reduce the weight issue and this will mean we will certainly be within the iron pour weight limit for each section. Although the ladle does indeed hold 1000lbs of metal, it is only stable at up to 800lbs and, with all the sprues needing extra metal we would almost certainly have been over the limit and ended with a short pour. Now that would truly have been disastrous!! Sometimes I’m sure the universe helps us by presenting us with a smaller problem to solve that will avert a bigger problem downstream. Wish us luck!
Absolute disaster this morning! Things don’t always go as planned. The mould delaminated on turning due to a combination of factors that on their own we could have got away with, but not together on a mould this size. It was a hard lesson to learn. The extraordinary thing was I watched it happen knowing that logically this was the end of the model as it came crashing down with 3000lbs of sand mould on top of it. Yet I feel so sure that this isn’t the end – I can see the finished piece in my mind standing on its site in Indiana.
Everyone is really despondent, but I haven’t got time to dwell on that now. James is so committed to the project he’s really taken it to heart. I’ve never once in all these months of planning contemplated the fact that we might not achieve what we set out to do!! I’ve instructed my team to retrieve every bit of broken Styrofoam and then I’ll look at the possibilities and formulate a new plan quickly. I’m aware of how little time we have but can’t stop to worry about that now.
We’ve packed the mould with sand now. It was a very tricky job. The sand is very fine and white and the resin is different to the one I’ve used before. It has a very fast cure time and we had to work really fast. It was a bit scary. Luckily lots of hands arrived to help pack the sand as the barrow loads kept coming. Just got to leave it to cure now, then it’ll be ready to turn with the crane tomorrow so we can get started on the other side.
Philip seems now sensitised to all resin and I had to order him away from the mould! We are looking forward to an earlier night tonight, maybe even a meal out. It’s such bliss to have a hot shower at the end of the day, the grindings and ash get into everything. We leave our boiler suits and boots in the van before going into our nice B&B. Its like leading a double life!
Back in nice and early today. Breakfast at our B&B is glorious and gets me up enthusiastically each morning, not an easy thing when I’m getting so little sleep! In fact we worked out that we have averaged 5 hours sleep a night and worked 7 days a week since we arrived. I’m using it as an excuse to eat all the burgers and fries I want, something I rarely touch at home.
The flask is constructed and I’ve welded the armature that will strengthen this side of the mould. Ready to pack with resin sand now.
James is going to work with us for the week assisted by Eric. We are going to start making a flask for the big mould straight away. There’s a lot to consider with something this size. We decided to work underneath the big crane so we can use it to turn the mould when we need to. Its going to be a giant one – literally thousands of pounds of sand weight.
We are spending the afternoon getting our materials and equipment ready. It feels like we are starting to assemble a good team. Hopefully we’ll get the flask built by the end of the day.
We've arrived bright and early at the furnaces where we will spend the week constructing the large sand mould. I think they were surprised at what we had fitted in the van and very impressed with Gerry’s beautiful sand mould and the fact we had thought to put it on a wooden sled to aid getting it out this end. The furnaces here are enormous and we will be working next to them in this huge shed. I’m feeling a bit apprehensive at the task ahead – I haven’t built a mould this big before and I thought lifting the wing mould into the van was a big deal but here I’m going to be working on a completely different level!
Everyone seems really friendly and willing to help which is a very good thing. My sculpture is the biggest thing here and we are starting to attract an audience already. Off to meet some more folks.
We've finally arrived after a long and pleasant journey through Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama. We needed lots of coffee stops due to the resin fumes - Philip’s been sneezing with streaming eyes for hours. Boy will we be glad to unload tomorrow!
We’ve just arrived at our amazing B&B, Cobb Lane Bed and Breakfast in Five Points Historic District of Birmingham, Alabama. It’s the most incredible place, beautifully decorated in Victorian style and so comfortable. Its going to be so wonderful to be looked after for a week. We are so tired, going to just grab something to eat and fall into bed.
We had such a late night last night and we are both completely exhausted but running on adrenalin. We’re loaded up and ready to drive to Birmingham, Alabama. How we got that mould into the van last night defies logic. In fact it can’t be done, yet we did it! One thing we hadn’t banked on was that Philip is allergic to the resin bonding in the mould and the van is filled with fumes as the mould is so fresh. Its raining and we can’t wind down the windows in case it gets wet – water dissolves the resin and that would be a very bad thing for our lovely mould!
We’ve just time to call in at the University to catch up with Jim and his students who will be joining us in Birmingham later. Great people, a lot of them fabricators with all sorts of skills like master welding. Looking forward to seeing a bit of the countryside today. We’ve been here over a week and seen little more than the inside of the foundry so far!
Its been a crazy day. I’ve taken as much material off the sculpture as I feel I can without compromising the form. And we are still way over 600lbs for iron. Its been a real roller coaster of emotions today, anxiety and determination both in good measure! I have complete faith that this is all going to work out, yet my logical mind is worrying away at the weight of the piece. Just got to solve one thing at a time as long as its today. We leave for Alabama in the morning.
Stop press…Hooray, hooray!! …at the eleventh hour of conference calls back and forth today the furnaces in Alabama are going to get the ‘bull ladle’ out for us by special arrangement– a monster that will hold up to 1000lbs molten metal – providing we can get the piece down to 750lbs (we’ll need extra metal allowance for sprues and vents that will head the figures up towards 1000lbs). By my calculations I’m just about there – so let me at those carving tools!
Another day, another tool. I’m still happily carving away to reduce the volume of Styrofoam. I’m using pneumatic sanding and drilling bits now to get into awkward to reach places. Its tricky and a little frustrating at times and the drill bits get clogged easily and need cleaning off. Its definitely getting there though and the piece stands well balanced. That’s a very good thing – if it’ll stand in the Styro it’ll stand in the iron.
I’ve scalloped the inside of the legs of the sculpture to remove a good bulk of material and it really enhances the feeling of uplift in the piece. That was a good decision then! Its still considerably over the 600lbs weight limit for the iron pour. We considered making the main body of sculpture as a 3 part mould, but the furnaces are limiting us to one mould plus the wing mould. Joining the sections together would be another tricky issue. Just gotta keep going with that carving for now.
I’ve moved off the main body of the sculpture and I’m having fun doing something a little different. Its completely mad and I suppose could make or break a piece, but I just love doing it. Carving into the inside of the finished wing mould which will give a lovely free etched texture to the iron. Its totally intuitive – and quite mad! Your brain can’t comprehend what you are doing as you are carving from the inside out and in negative – you just have to trust in the process, take a deep breath and ENJOY it!!! Added bonus is I get to do it with pneumatic tools. Eye protection and a mask are essential!
I’ve decided to carve out as much material from the inside of the Styro piece as I can get at, leaving a reasonably uniform thickness throughout to keep it strong. It’s a bit tricky to get into those hidden depths, but worth the inconvenience to keep the original form of the sculpture. All good so far and I’m feeling hugely relieved.
Another new day, they seem to roll into one long experience of just existing for the sculpture. Gerry’s drilled the wing mould for the fixings so when its bolted together we know its perfectly lined up and will hold together when the molten iron is eventually poured in. I’m a little anxious about how we are going to get it in the van – its big, heavy and cumbersome to manoeuvre.
I’m having a few problems with the overall weight of the Styrofoam sculpture too. Jim came over from the university yesterday evening to help us with calculations for conversion into iron weight for the pour. We are limited to 600lbs of iron in a single pour due to the furnace ladle size. I need to lose an estimated 25% of current Styro volume to get anywhere near that and I don’t want to compromise the design of the sculpture. I’m going to have to work smart to carve that much away and still keep the piece strong. Feeling rather frustrated – it feels so light in Styrofoam!!
This is completely knackering work! I feel like I’ve done 12 hours today already but I’m not going to wimp out in front of all those boys! Philip’s really getting into the swing of things which is just as well as I’m flagging. I can just about cope with brushing the sand off the floor which is truly pathetic for a hardened sculptor. That’s enough whining now.
However, a brighter side to things, I’m back on the power tools again! Angle grinding always makes short work of carving and you have to just go with it intuitively and not get freaked. Having great fun with this and definitely enjoying making one hell of a mess. I’m starting to feel the spirit arrive in the sculpture. It always happens at some point and I can never predict when. It’s a bit like being a midwife and helping to usher in a new life. Such a privilege really – it seems to catch me unawares each time and is such an amazing feeling. This bodes well.
It was a very late yesterday and a lot of physical work packing that mould with resin bonded sand. We packed 1000 lbs of sand in an hour by hand and just about fell into bed when we finally got back to the hotel. Can’t imagine what the hotel staff think of us. We arrive dishevelled and grimy and leave bits of Styrofoam all over the bedroom carpet. It gets into everything! Gerry says we’re not like regular British people, we’re more like Americans – so I’m taking that as a compliment!
We are about to turn the mould (by hand of course) ready to pack side two after brushing out the oil sand. On an estimate the whole mould is going to weigh about 2000lbs. We’ve reinforced it using rebar and iron pipe, sliding thinner pipe through it to help us lever it over. You have to think ahead when its this big and I’m glad for all the engineering expertise here as well as the muscle. Time to put gloves on for packing the resin sand – it stains your hands black and gets me strange looks at breakfast in the hotel!
The wing is now bedded down nicely in oil sand. It doesn’t look very exciting yet, but once the mould is made we’ll remove the Styrofoam wing and I’ll carve into the mould to add detail. In the end I increased the wing depth by 2” to look right. Because it was so high up it looked smaller than in the maquette.
Nice flask, boys. I’m off to continue the carving…its going to be another long night I can tell.
The carving continues. It’s a considerably bigger job than I imagined so we’re in for some long nights!! Gerry and Philip are constructing a big wooden flask to make the sand mould in for the wing section. Thank goodness for the van, Philip’s been back and forwards to get wood and rebar and metal pipe for strengthening the mould. I’m concentrating on refining the carving.
Gotta have a strong coffee soon!
Things are going really well, I’ve hardly taken a break today but wanted to get well on with the carving. The basics are done and I’ve made a wing form that we are going to make a giant sand mould for here in the foundry. The other mould will be made at the furnaces in Alabama.
I keep checking measurements from the maquette. When you build something much bigger you sometimes have to make a few artistic adjustments to keep the same sense in the larger piece. Its all one big exciting journey really, and I love that feeling of exploring in the unknown. I get a bit freaked sometimes, but … there’s always a way. Never been beaten by a sculpture yet!
Yippee! We got the sculpture standing for the first time and I’m pleased to say its looking good so far. The proportions all seem right which is a relief. I’ve used a 1 ¼ human scale to suit the piece and where it is to be sited. I want it to be big enough that its not swamped by its outdoor environment and to have an angelic feel, but be near enough human size for people to be able to relate to it. That’s the plan!
Now I’m ready to start carving the form. Its where the creative fun really starts. Seems like its been a long time getting to here. Time to put the boiler suit on – Styrofoam bits get everywhere and I’m a very enthusiastic carver!
I’m feeling a bit stiff and sore today, things must have been more energetic that I thought. I’m building up the layers of my sculpture slowly but surely, remembering to kneel on a bit of styro rather than the concrete floor. My knees were like balloons last night, not an attractive look!
Its all taking a bit longer than I thought so I hope the carving goes well once I start. As always I see the piece finished in my head with everything going smoothly and perfectly – not always the case! But if it did I guess I’d never learn anything new. Strength through adversity and all that. I’m a perfectionist too (which can be stressful as well as a good thing) and a stickler for hanging on in there until the piece is exactly as I would like it. Ho hum – back to work.
Ok, so the first section is looking good and its time to assemble the sections. I’m using a spray adhesive that is suitable for foam products. It took a bit of getting used to – if you put too much on in one go it starts eating into the foam (that was a bit scary!), but patience and a couple of thin coats left to go tacky seem to do a good job.
Lots of interesting stuff going on here this morning. Nate is patinating a bronze horse and I’ve been picking up tips on chemicals and techniques. Gerry’s trying out a new oxide for patinating aluminium and iron. Can’t wait to see how that comes out with my piece in mind. Nate wore a great T-shirt today with 'Git ta work' on the back - must find out where he got that - I want one!
Glad we hired a big van. Philip’s done 3 trips to Lowe’s today for Styrofoam. We recognise we are a bit short on time so I’ve decided to build the piece in a time efficient way that will use more material than I normally would.
Gerry’s got a lovely old band saw he lovingly rebuilt and I’m enjoying ripping through the Styrofoam with it. It’ll be done in no time! Might even get a reasonably early night tonight. We’re working late most nights and takeaways are a regular feature. I’m just enjoying it all – burgers, pizza and something called a root beer float.
The proportions of the full scale drawing on the floor look about right so I’m now transferring the drawing onto a sheet of Styrofoam. I had to think about that one - ended up tracing the drawing from the floor onto the clear plastic protective film on the Styrofoam then using a corkscrew to prick the design onto the Styro sheet. I like improvising with materials at hand and often find I have exactly what I need for the job if I just stop and think about it. There's always a way! (one of my favourite sayings). It doesn’t quite feel like a sculpture is about to happen but I’ve learnt to trust the process. Its definitely a 2 man job working on this scale and I’m pleased to have Philip’s help. Officially he’s here to audio and video record the project but is really enjoying getting into the practical aspects of things too.
Looking forward to lunch. Apparently a fish sandwich is the plan for today. Yummy!
Hmm, getting to grips with the calculations now. I still work in feet and inches and glad to see they do so here too. Philip has been a star and is constantly dashing out to Lowe’s (wish I was there!) and other useful stores to pick up my requests. I asked for chalk to draw up the big design on the floor and was given a choice – board or pavement chalk. Can you believe that? Wonderful. I opted for pavement chalk and its doing a grand job.
A small and exciting diversion this afternoon as an Anthony Gormley piece arrived at the foundry. I find his cast iron work very atmospheric and I’m looking forward to working with it nearby.
Well, here it is. I’m really pleased how the maquette has turned out. Sometimes they just seem to flow and work without any effort. Mind you I’ve been dreaming for weeks of this one so I’m not surprised it just leapt out once given the chance. Its about 16” high yet looks as if it could be a really massive sculpture. I’m ready to start the full size piece now so its time to switch on the left brain and do some scaling up calculations.
It’s a great atmosphere in the foundry here. People keep popping over to see what I’m up to. Horses are big business in Lexington and that is reflected in a lot of the art that comes through these doors, I sense they are intrigued to see something a bit different being created in the studio.
Its been a nice quiet afternoon so far as I’ve got myself organised and started work on the maquette (a scaled down version) of the sculpture. I’ve tried out all sorts of tools for the carving job. Files and sandpaper work well on a small scale. Tried out Gerry’s neat little hot wire tool which was fun. Don’t like the smell though and can’t help thinking those fumes must be bad for your health. I feel like something a bit meatier will be needed for the big sculpture. Maybe even some power tools?? Yes please.
We’ve arrived at the foundry and I’ve been given a studio space and access to all sort of tools and equipment. Great. Everyone’s so welcoming and really interested in the project. And they keep a ready supply of good strong coffee on the go. That’ll certainly come in handy. I tend to forget to take a break when my head’s in creative space.
First things first - a visit to Lowe’s for materials and tools. I know its sad but I actually like shopping for tools more than clothes. And Lowe’s is just amazing – there’s so much stuff here you just don’t see in the UK. I’m going to build the sculpture out of Styrofoam over the next few days. It’s a dense blue coloured insulation board, nothing quite like it in the UK, and nice to carve. We’ve decided to hire a big vehicle so we can be self reliant and transport the giant sand mould we will make this week to Alabama for the iron pour. Philip’s actually quite excited. I’m not keen on driving on the other side of the road so I’m happy to leave that to him. Quietly starting to work up my ideas now.
We've arrived at our hotel at long last - tired but happy. Actually really knackered, I always sleep on planes yet never feel properly rested. I hope the hotel bed is comfy as I could do with a really good night's sleep. I'm so excited about starting the sculpture. I've been planning all winter and in my mind I've made it a dozen times already, so it'll be a relief to finally bring it into reality.
Our friend Gerry picked us up from the airport and gave us a quick road tour of Lexington. The buildings are really beautiful and there seems like so much space here. The dogwood trees are a pretty sight - such a lot to take in. We're off to Gerry and Lisa's for a hot meal and start planning. So it's a quick bag drop at Holiday Inn and out the door again. So excited! (Have I said that before?)
On a plane bound for the USA. Our quest is to go to a place we've never been before, work with people we've mostly never met before and, using skills we've yet to learn, in the space of only 3 weeks, build and install an 8.5 ft (2.5 mtr) high cast iron sculpture for permanent display in an outdoor sculpture museum.
Its hard to describe the scale of the task that faces us. We're going with drawings on 3 pieces of paper and a vision of the finished piece in my head. The plan for its achievement essentially consists of only a few main steps and most of which is our belief we can get it done.
On the flight to Lexington. Time to check the working drawings!
A gripping adventure
Preparations are well under way for my Indiana Visionary sculpture. It will be 2-3 metres high, made of iron and enormously heavy. Its going to take real muscle to create the giant sand moulds and work with the furnace crew to pour the iron, so my Personal Trainer, Josh, has had me working extra time in the gym developing those core muscles. Watch out America!
Thursday 29 January 2009
'Angel' cast iron sculpture 2008
The past few weeks have been some of the busiest I've known, as I've been working towards a number of projects for 2009/10, all involving a substantial amount of planning. Later this year I will be travelling to the United States as I have been invited to create a large cast iron piece for an outdoor sculpture museum. The project will span the 3 states of Kentucky, Alabama and Indiana as I progress from making moulds at the foundry to pouring iron, grinding and finishing and finally installing the sculpture on its site. Its a lot to do in a short time, but with great American colleagues to work with it will be a real pleasure. An educational study tour for Worcestershire and the wider region will follow, so watch this space....
Tuesday 30 September 08
Bob is presented with his portrait by the Lord Mayor of Birmingham (photo courtesy of Steve Turner)
Birmingham's first ever Art Fair had a jubilant and colourful launch at the Gas Hall. My favourite piece (sculpture of course!) was the Elisabeth Frink bronze 'Goggle Head' exhibited by Anthony Hepworth Fine Art Dealers from Bath - deeply absorbing and quite wonderful. My completed clay portrait of Bob Warman was rushed in at the eleventh hour and took its place on the plinth just in time for the camera call and presentation by the Lord Mayor. We are now on to the next stage of preparing to have it cast in bronze and the TV cameras will be following its journey through wax and flame. That's always fun!
Monday 15 September 08
Bob Warman's portrait sculpture progresses. Its been lots of fun and ITV Central feels like home! The finished portrait will be revealed at the opening of Birmingham Art Fair at Gas Hall this Thursday evening. I hope Bob is delighted - he certainly deserves to be, he's been a very good sitter. The fab photo was taken by photographer Tony Flanagan.
Friday 5 September 08
In preparation for the grand opening of the Birmingham Art Fair (18 - 21 September) I have been at ITV Central studios creating a portrait sculpture of presenter Bob Warman. Here are some pics from our first session! The televised feature charting the progress of the work will be aired in the run up to the Art Fair. Watch this space as the project progresses...
Thursday 31 July 08
The sand mould, carved and iron cast
The Cast Iron Sculpture Workshops held at Ironbridge Open Air Museum of Steel Sculpture count as some of my most exhilarating and adventurous sculpture experiences to date. Meeting up with friends from last year and sharing expertise and ideas with new faces has been immensely rewarding. And I've earned every one of those aching muscles on that final iron pour!! Thanks to Pam Brown and the American crew (you know who you are!) for your encouragement, assistance and generosity. See you in Alabama next year.
The RBS Gallery in London is hosting an exhibition of sculptures produced at the Museum of Steel Sculpture until 29 August. It is excellent. Do visit.
Monday 2 June 08
The bronze pour and Richard doing a grand job on patination
I've just got back from a few days in London working with Bronze Age foundry who have been casting one of my larger sculptures, 'Emerging Woman', for exhibition. As always it was a fascinating experience and daughter Harriet (who is studying in London) was able to join me to watch the bronze 'pour' - such an impressive event. The team were as lovely to work with as ever, so ... as Arnie would say ... "I'll be back"!!
This sculpture can be seen in exhibition in London at the Sheridan Russell Gallery (June) and the Limehouse Gallery (July and August).
Sunday 27 April 08
This week I was invited by Malvern Hills Gymnastic Clubs to sketch their competition group while they performed for visiting World Champion British gymnast Beth Tweddle (Beth hopes to lead the British Team in the Beijing Olympics this year). The girls performed brilliantly and I loved capturing the grace and energy of their movements as one drawing flowed immediately into the next. It was an exceptional experience and one I look forward to repeating.
Special thanks to Laurie Bilby and gymnast Neve.
Monday 31 March 2008
Majesty
I've been inspired by our sunny yellow daffodils to get stuck into some colourful printmaking. Its been lovely using luscious oil colours and soft textures, working with expansive shapes and movements and just going with the flow of ideas as they come up. I feel some new sculptures emerging too ...
Monday 18 February 2008
Bird God
The well froze over today which means no water in the studio until it thaws! It takes imagination to keep the rubber and resins at workable temperatures at this time of year, but we're getting the knack after a few cold winters. Lovely to hear the birdsong - it inspired my new piece 'Bird God' that I plan to progress into a 7ft 6" high figure, one of a group that will grow over time to inhabit their own garden of Eden.
Monday 10 September 2007
It will be ready just in time for my exhibition supporting the Autumn In Malvern Festival next month!
Titled 'Imagineer', the sculpture was first seen in its early stage of creation at my studio exhibtion in June. Here's the finished clay... the piece being signed... and George Cox helping make the mould last week. 'Imagineer' will be cast in bronze resin over the next few days. You can see the sculpture in exhibition at Robson Ward in Malvern 1 - 27 October.
Saturday 18 August 2007
An amazing photograph of two 8 foot high sculptures at the studio during the recent floods! Fortunately the studio escaped damage - the water just lapped at the door.
Monday 23 July 2007
I've just spent a week casting iron sculptures from bonded sand moulds at Ironbridge Open Air Museum of Steel Sculpture. The skilled crew from the USA and Poland helped make it an exceptional experience. Many thanks to you all - I'm looking forward to seeing you again in 2008. Also 'thank you' to fellow sculptors Tim Thorpe and Achim Schmidt for the photographs.
Sunday 1 July 2007
We had brilliant sunshine for the Studio Exhibition again this year. Here are some pics of the preview evening.
Friday 1 June 2007
I've just fired my new kiln for the first time - its been a brilliant adventure! I am a complete novice at firing claywork and I wanted a small kiln to fire clay sketches and maquettes. My kiln is a small but robust second hand one. Its probably a decorating kiln for glazing ceramics, so we expected the temperature to level out at about 900 degrees C. I spent the day watching it like a hawk and getting regular phone advice from friend Rob. Everything shimmered orange white inside when I looked through the peephole and at 1050 degrees the temperature was still climbing steadily. I chickened out and turned it off. The adventure continues on Monday...
Sunday 6 May 2007
Kate, Alan and Sarah with one of the sculptures
I have just spent a delightful 2 days giving a helping hand to sculptor Alan Thornhill, cleaning and waxing his wonderful bronze sculptures at Kingscote Park in Gloucestershire. The majority of the sculptures are to be sited in Wandsworth (7) and Stroud Museum (4) later in June. Alan was an inspirational tutor for me when I studied at The Frink School, so it was a real pleasure to work with him. See more of his heartfelt figurative work on his website www.alanthornhill.co.uk
Alan and Kate provided wonderful hospitality, including the most delicious home cooked food. We ended the project with lunch outdoors and were blessed with lovely warm weather and a spring garden filled with blossom and birdsong.
Another bonus was that I got to work alongside my good friend and fellow sculptor Sarah Smith, who had travelled down from Yorkshire for the occassion. Sarah and I were at college together so we found plenty to talk about. See her work on her website www.sarahsmith.org.uk
Sunday 18 March 2007
Bluebird commission (see larger image in back catalogue)
I have been working on a commission for a lovely lady called Diana. Now Diana and I have never met, but we have discussed the work by phone. Diana wanted a sculpture that expressed a certain feeling - something vibrant and affirmative - and translating feelings into visuals through the shapes, forms and materials in the sculpture has been very exciting, if at times challenging.
This reminded me of a commission for a large mural that I did years ago. The client described her vision of a mermaid kneeling on the sand with hair streaming behind her. When the drawings were ready I took them to her for approval. She thought they were lovely - all the elements that we discussed were present, yet the overall feeling the mural evoked was not quite what she had in mind. So we sat and discussed further, and then it became clear...my vision was of a mermaid on the sandy beach with the wind blowing her hair. Her's was of the mermaid kneeling on the seabed with the water moving through her tresses. A subtle difference in movement, but an important one visually. Happily, this was easy to resolve once we had a common understanding.
It just goes to show how limiting words alone can be when describing a feeling you want to translate into a visual object. And also how tuned in you need to be to your client's view of the world. Diana's commission has proved quite an adventure - I've experimented with different colours and materials to enhance the forms and express those feelings, with lots of 'happy accidents' along the way that I am already feeding into my current other work.
Sunday 4 March 2007
I made a stop on the way back from St Ives to visit my cousin Alison Jacobs in Gweek who is a fab painter. A wonderful colourist with such empathy for her subjects, the directness of her paintings radiating a mix of sensitivity and purpose. We had a conversation around that. Our view is ultimately that you see in others what you have experienced and know within yourself. So, if you are able to sense beauty (and create beautiful things) it is because you can recognise beauty in yourself. That's a very affirming and encouraging thought. It certainly fits with my very happy memories of our childhood holidays together when Ali and I would walk arm in arm in laughter for hours through the bluebells and wild garlic of the Helford estuary. Lucky are those people who have the pleasure of one of Ali's paintings hanging on their walls.
Monday 19th February 2007
Philip and I decided to take restorative few days in St Ives (one of my favourite places). We hadn't tried February before - with fresh fish and fresh air and the sound of the sea, we were bound to be onto a winner. The surf was spectacular and we watched the hardened surfing enthusiasts from the haven of the Tate. The coffee shop at the top of the building serves mouth-watering lunches made from fresh local ingredients as well as home made cakes - and really great freshly ground coffee. We did the exhibitions too. Francis Bacon had some work on display that he had done while in residency at the nearby Porthmeor Studios. A reverent hush descended on each visitor as they stepped across the threshold into the small end gallery. Hmm. Well, it was rather brilliant, but I felt a bit uncomfortable with all that voyueuristic revelling in figures that started to resemble contorted, incised carcasses the more you looked at them. It was a bit like a horrid fascination for me, and a little unsettling after my indulgent yet healthy lunch. Time for another breath of fresh air.
Friday 2 February 2007
The winter months are usually the quietest in the studio. As the temperature drops I tend to concentrate my activities on relationship building, for example visiting galleries and exhibition venues. Its a good time for reflection and gathering influences and inspiration for a burst of new creativity in the spring. This year has been different and our continuing mild weather has led to a really productive time in the studio.
I wanted to create a series of smaller sculptures exploring our dynamic relationship with our natural environment - little snapshots of our lives in motion, that everyone can relate to. I realised I needed to work with a new material or method to get the particular result I wanted - and fate gave me a big helping hand in the guise of Rob Price. Rob, who works for Kidderminster company Bentley Creative Chemicals, is an expert on moulding and casting materials and techniques - what Rob doesn't know ain't worth knowing! And I'm a perfectionist. I wanted high quality materials that would give the sculptures an excellent finish and be affordable for collectors. Rob came up with the goods - a very high quality bronze resin.
Resulting from this happy collaboration, one of the sculptures entitled 'Rider' (see Sculpture Gallery web page) has been selected for the Birmingham Open Art Show (10 Feb - 29 Apr, Gas Hall, Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery). So that's a result. Thanks Rob.
Wednesday 27 September 2006
When people ask me what I do I tell them I'm a sculptor. The next question is usually, "What sort of sculpture?" That can be a little hard to describe in words. For me its much more than about creating a decorative piece of work, its a life mission.
What is it about?
Its about connecting people to themselves. Its about connecting people to others and to their environment. Its about nourishing the soul in a way that transcends culture and religion. Its about reminding us of our amazing potential as human beings.
What does that mean?
It means: Celebrating our uniqueness. Honouring our environment. Promoting understanding and acceptance. Inspiring future generations. Leaving a legacy. Making the world a better place.
Why sculpture?
Because: It makes thought and feeling physical. It has many viewpoints. It communicates through the language of our unconscious. It causes us to pause and contemplate. It enables us to view the bigger picture. It leaves a legacy.
We are all equal, just different. We all contribute, sometimes by what we do, always by who we are.
What do you inspire by being who you are?
Wednesday 6 September 2006
Thank you to photographer Gerry Matthews who sent me this shot he had taken after I bumped into him enjoying the sculptures at Hergest Croft a few days ago. See more pictures of Eve and Adam in the website gallery.
Thursday 24 August 2006
Looking for an interesting day out? Come and see my two giant heads of 'Eve' and 'Adam' along with many other sculptures by a wide range of artists at 'Sculpture In The Garden IV', an exhibition of sculpture set in the beautiful rolling grounds of Hergest Croft in Kington, Herefordshire. The exhibition runs from 26 August to 17 September and is open daily between 12.30 and 5.30
Photos of finishing touches in the studio and installation of the pieces earlier this week at Hergest.
Wednesday 5 July 2006
Ever wanted to see inside the studio and how I create my work? BBC TV did and came out to film just before my studio exhibition last month. View the BBC audio video 'A passion for making sculptures' on the BBC website.
My studio, Beeches Barn Sculpture Studio in Bransford, will be open to the public for one day only on Saturday 24th June between 10am - 4pm. All are welcome - follow the signs on the A4103 Bransford Road. Visitors will have the opportunity to view and buy work direct from the studio, as well as see the process of sculpture from original claywork through to finished bronze.
Here are some photos from the preview evening yesterday.
Thursday 4 May 2006
I am delighted to have had the opportunity to model a portrait of William Boughton, Founder and Creative Director of the English Symphony Orchestra, just before he leaves Worcestershire. Here's the recently finished clay, a foundry proof will be cast later this month.
Monday 20 March 2006
Thursday 16 March 2006
The life-size bronze sculpture of Emerging Woman will be unveiled tomorrow at St Michael's Hospice in Herefordshire. The sculpture was gifted to the hospice by The Elmley Foundation for the benefit of its residents.
Tuesday 24 January 2006
Work in progresss...
Portrait sculpture of artist and writer Ron Hull modelled over the Christmas period in Cornwall.
The finished clay...
Interviewer: "So, if you were talking to somebody else who was thinking about having their portrait done - what might you say to them?"
Ron: "Ah, if it was someone else I would say jump at the chance, you will never have an experience like that again in your life."
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