Abstract: It is what you think it is.

Bronze, alabaster stone, turquoise stone, unpolished granite base.
This is an abstract. You can determine for yourself what you think it is. Two people independently have said it reminds them of a bear hugging a rock. One person said it was a male and female figure hugging. Neither is what I had in mind but I can see their interpretations in the piece. If you have read this entire blog, you will know my typical themes. This is an abstract of one of my typical themes. If you are familiar with my sculptures, you will see, in this one, symbols, perhaps techniques taken from others. However, I wonder if anyone can guess what I really intended? I think a person could make a good guess if they knew the order in which I made all of my sculptures. But since I have been pretty vague about the exact order in which I produced after the first few, that hint might not help.
My friend Laura, who is so kind and supportive of my sculpture endeavors, remarked repeatedly that this was her favorite. So, it is now happily ensconced at her house. Bill, Laura's husband, is very patient and like Laura, very kind. Laura, myself and two other friends have an art group. We have lunch and do art at one another's homes and often go on art related outings. Bill tolerates our "art lunches" and has even attended some of our outings. He actually sketched with us once at the Zoo. I'm not sure what he thinks of this sculpture sitting near his TV! No complaints thus far.

Creating the image in wax

In an earlier post, the brown wax used in bronze sculpture is shown in slabs and pieces. That wax was used for this sculpture. The wax is shaped into the image a person wants to become the bronze sculpture. In this sculpture, I created the image of the little girl then placed it on the stone for final shaping.
The shape of the girl was formed by pushing together two large pieces of wax which eventually became the torso and legs. The head was a ball pushed onto the torso then shaped. The hair and hands were added. The blanket was added last and molded to fit the stone. Decorative symbols, etc. are added last. The red wax used for the necklace [we call it spaghetti wax] is usually used in the gating process but because it is the perfect size I needed for the necklace, I used it for that purpose. The red wax is a sturdier wax which is necessary for gating. Gating is the next step in the process.

I will continue to refine this image until I am satisfied with it.
The image is inspired by a photo of a little girl sitting on a rock in an ad in New Mexico magazine seeking mentoring volunteers for American Indian children.

Tortuga grande

Translation: Big Turtle. Turtle shell: bronze Head, tail, legs: alabaster stone. I used alabaster on the head, tail, and legs to cut down on the weight and to allow me to move it more easily. The shell simply rests on the head, tail and legs and can be lifted off to transport.
My son likes this sculpture because he puts his CD player on top of the shell when he is hanging out on the patio. I wanted it to be big enough for a small child to sit upon.
This sculpture received a lot of attention in sculpture class because of its size. It required two people to carry it during the entire investment and casting process. Luckily, there are some very nice male students in class who helped me every step of the way. When I started this sculpture, bronze was relatively reasonably priced. But, when it came time to cast it, bronze had sky rocketed. Fortunately, I had lots of left over bronze from the gating in other projects so it was not as costly as it could have been. This sculpture required metal clips on the edges but luckily my instructor did not suggest pins. When the stone deteriorates, as it will [and has] because it is outside and alabaster cracks with moisture, I will make, cast and weld on a new head, tail and legs like the ones I later did for the NM Turtle for Chris.
This sculpture has a brown patina. However, Edison has added a patina of his own. Ammonia will turn bronze green/blue. The Tortuga has become one of Eddie's favorite watering spots. In fact, one side has become quite green. I have turned the Tortuga shell so that the other side can benefit from Eddie's contributing artistic touches.

New Mexico Turtle for Chris

Bronze About 13 inches head to tail. Brown patina.

My brother Chris has a turtle named Baby Lucy. Baby Lucy gets baths and she loves cherry tomatoes. Last summer, Chris mentioned he would like a turtle sculpture. Because he lives in New Mexico, I decided to use New Mexico Indian designs on the turtle shell. In the two sections closest to the head and the two sections closest to the tail of the shell, are designs of birds from four different New Mexico Indian tribes. I used American Indian Design and Decoration as a source for the designs. The remaining sections contain my own interpretations of American Indian designs.

Luckily, Chris likes his New Mexico turtle and she happily resides at his house. I wonder what Baby Lucy thinks. At least she doesn't have to share her cherry tomatoes.

The wax used to create the sculpture

People are surprised to learn the sculptures are created in wax. The school has large chunks of the brown wax that we melt and pour into molds for thin slabs. The pieces of wax on the right are remnants of slabs I used in prior projects. Some students carve directly in large chunks of wax like the thick piece on the left of the photo. We use dental tools, ceramic tools, putty knives and other items in shaping the sculpture. Jewelry torches are used to melt the wax and warm the tools for carving. A soldering iron is also used to melt the wax.

Shaping and polishing the stone

A prior post showed the stone selected. The next step is to shape and polish the stone. I use power tools [power grinder and a power sander] to obtain the general shape for the sculpture. The stones usually have divets, cuts, and cracks throughout. I like to incorporate as many of the divets as possible into the sculpture because I find they add interest. I use the power tools to even out and smooth the surface. However, tool scars remain. Hand sanding is required. I start with 100 grade, sand thoroughly to even it out. Then sand again thoroughly with 200 then 320 then 400 and finally with 600 grade sand paper. I like to sand the stone until it looks translucent. The colors come out and the stone is smooth to the touch. When I am finished sanding I clean the stone and apply mineral oil to create a sheen.
This is the stone depicted in the prior post after the process is completed. This will be the general shape of the stone section of the sculpture. Further sanding and even modifications to the shape may take place after the bronze is cast. However, this will be used in the process of creating the wax sculpture.

Santa Fe Basket Weavers

Alabaster stone and bronze. 12 inches high by 3 inches by six inches. The lower part, the skirts of the basket weavers, is alabaster stone. The shawls/baskets/heads are bronze. The bronze sections fits on top of the stone. The bronze was polished to its gold color to pick up the gold in the stone. White patina was applied then wiped.

This sculpture was inspired by a photo in an ad for Santa Fe New Mexico in Sunset Magazine. Apparently, there is a life size sculpture in Santa Fe of four female basket weavers. The original depicts the women facing each other at an angle, they each have the same hair style and are not wearing shawls as in my depiction. A friend asked if this was a Christmas sculpture due to the designs on the baskets. The designs on the baskets are representations of designs I found in a text entitled American Indian Design and Decoration, a resource I use for most of the designs I use.
I am going to Albuquerque and Santa Fe in July and I hope to see the life size sculpture then.

Abuelita

Abuelita means little grandmother in Spanish.

The grandmother is bronze. The baby is polished alabaster stone and the base is natural alabaster stone. The baby and base were fabricated first. Because, according to my instructor, the design is complex, he suggested separate casting of sections of the sculpture. The skirt, shawl and torso/face of the grandmother are individual sections and fit together. My instructor volunteered to weld the sections together after it was cast but I like the ability to deconstruct it for transport. The baby, when inserted in the shawl, holds the sculpture together.

This was a difficult project because if the bronze warped during casting the shawl and skirt would not fit together. Accordingly, my instructor had me fabricate metal plugs to be inserted into the shawl and skirt in order to help hold the shape. After casting, the plugs had to be removed with special tools and bronze nuggets had to be inserted and pounded to fill the holes. Although the insertion of the plugs did hold the shape, I don't ever want to do that again! The patina is brown with rust highlights.

This piece very happily resides in my parents' home.

Getting started: Selecting materials

The first step in designing a sculpture is determining the subject matter and the materials to use. If I decide to use alabaster stone in the design, I look at individual stones in our pile at school from different angles then try to imagine an image. In this case, I like the colors in the stone and the general shape. The bottom is pretty flat and will not need much modification. The stone does not have major indentations that will need work. Once the stone is selected, I purchase it from the Sculpture Club at school.

Years ago some kind person donated a ton or so of alabaster stones to the Sculpture Club. The stones come in various sizes, shapes and colors and is available at school for students to comb through, select and purchase at a very low cost. Alabaster is a very soft stone. Power tools [sanders/grinders] and regular sand paper can be used to shape the stone. Water is used sparingly because alabaster tends to crack easily.

The real Edison

This is Edison a.k.a Eddie, Edisano, Edmyson, Sonaman, good boy, pie boy, sweet pie. He is the subject of three sculptures. All at his owner's request. He is named after my son's favorite scientist, Thomas Edison and he is 11 years old in April 2007.
This is the first sculpture I did of Edison for my son. He takes it to college with him during the school year.

King of Corn

Bronze on marble.

Eight inches tall.

This guy is solid

bronze. He is very

heavy. He is

inspired by Hopi

Corn Kachina images.

This is my only project thus far that came out perfect. Very little clean up. No defects. The patina came out the way I liked it on the first try.

Hopi Tribe

Bronze.

Each is about 4 inches by four inches.

My first project. The guy with the big wings

on his head in the middle is the tribal leader. He is flanked by his tribe members. The stands were painted to enhance, hopefully, the images.

Home on the range

Bronze on marble.

I think the buffalo is a very majestic creature. I liked the idea of a buffalo family. Many folks think the baby looks like an elephant...but I used a photo from an encyclopedia as a guide. Oh well! Since these are on separate platforms, they can be displayed singly or in a group as shown.

The buffalo family members are depicted grazing in a field.

The hind legs of theses images were the thinnest part of the sculpture and when the bronze was cast, it did not spread into those areas. Thus, although the front part of the images cast perfectly, none of the images had hind legs! Despite the defects, they looked pretty good and some students suggested I leave them as they were. I also contemplated just starting over. My other alternative, encouraged by my instructor, was to construct hind legs, have them cast then welded to the front portion. I did the latter. I have not learned how to weld yet. My instructor did the welding for me.

Escher Fish

Bronze 4 inches by 4 inches.

Inspired by an M.C. Escher

wedding invitation.

I made this for my son since Escher is one of his favorite artists. This was my second project.

We were learning how to do reliefs.

Blue Moon

Bronze 4 inches by 7 inches.
Inspired by an M.C. Escher design. The moon is surrounded by interlocking birds. The birds are difficult to see in the photo. If you put the cursor on the photo and click the mouse, the photo will be enlarged and you can see the birds in better detail. The same is true for all photos.

This is the second project I did for my son.

Kathy's Moli

Bronze on alabaster base.

Three inches tall.

My friend Kathy asked me to make a sculpture of her dog Moli, a Pomeranian/Pekinese mix. Moli is a certified therapy dog. Kathy dresses her up and takes her to schools, nursing homes, etc. Since some folks have said my Moli sculpture looks like an Ewok instead of dog, I am in the process of making another Moli. Kathy will then be able to choose which one she likes better.

UPDATE: A year ago my friend Jeff scolded me for not giving the Moli sculpture to Kathy. I was concerned because although everyone who has seen the Moli sculpture thinks it is cute many said she looks like a bear or an Ewok. Well, I never told Kathy about the sculpture. As mentioned above, I intended to make another Moli and give Kathy the choice. In fact, I currently have a new Moli, that looks like more like a Pomeranian in the investment process. This May, I saw Kathy, she asked about the sculpture and I confessed. Kathy has now seen this Moli and loves her! According to Kathy, people often comment that her live Moli looks like an Ewok, so sculpture Moli does in fact correctly depict her. So, my Kathy's Moli is now on its way to Kathy's home. Happy ending! Except Kathy says she wants the new sculpture too.

Violin girl

Bronze on marble base. About seven inches tall.

Friends Martin and Miriam decided Violin Girl belonged at their home and I agreed. I am hoping they will give her a name.

Violin girl was inspired by a photo of a girl playing the violin in an ad in the San Diego Chamber Orchestra magazine. I gave her legs. The hat is as large as the one depicted in the photo. Imagine trying to keep that hat on and play the violin at the same time!

Turquoise

Bronze, turquoise on marble base.

This piece was designed around the small turquoise stone in the middle of the sculpture. The patina was intended to blend with the stone.

This was one of my easiest sculptures to make, patina, etc. Yet, it is one a number of people really like. Go figure.

The Sun

Bronze and alabaster on granite base.

I don't think most people get this until I say it depicts the sun starting to set on the horizon. Somebody said it looked like an eyeball. That person is right!

If you look at the bronze in the center of the stone, you will see an old Indian symbol for the sun. I thought the stone, after polishing, looked like it had "sun spots" as does our sun. If you look at the stone carefully you can seen the swirling fire.

Eddie the pug

Bronze.

Maybe I should publish a photo of Edison? Those of you reading this have seen Edison.

These were made for my son. He loves his dog.

Sitting woman

Bronze and alabaster stone.

Eight inches high. Four by five inches wide.

Since bronze has tripled in price since I started sculpture class, I thought I would try incorporating stone in my designs to minimize cost. The base or skirt is alabaster stone. The shawl and head are bronze. People are surprised when I lift off the top. You can't tell from the photo but the bronze has a rust patina that coordinates with the rust color in the stone.

Loving mother

Bronze and alabaster stone. About eight inches high and four inches by six inches wide.

This depicts a mother cradling her child in her loving arms. A fellow student suggested I use white patina to unify the upper part made in bronze with the lower part made in stone. I chose the stone because I saw knees and a foot in the lower part of the stone and imagined then created the upper part of her body.

This sculpture was given to my cousins Davy and Gloria because I have been touched by the love they have for their sons. When I see this sculpture it reminds me of how they always "hold" their sons in their protective arms. I love this sculpture and I love them.

Comadres II

Comadres: A Spanish word for the relationship between the parents of a child and the child's godmother. Compadre is the Spanish term for the godfather. A comadre/compadre is a cherished extended family member. When I get together with my comadre we talk, talk, talk about our boys, our lives, our families, and everything else. This depicts two comadres sitting next to each other talking. My comadre has Comadres I which has different images but the same design. I made it for her to celebrate her new home. But my son liked it so much he wanted to keep it! I gave it to her anyway and made another one for us.

Bronze with marble base. About 18 inches high.

This sculpture was not difficult to create because the image was similar to Comadres I. However, there was a problem with the furnace when the mold was burned out and the mold literally broke into pieces. My instructor insisted it could be repaired. I spent days repairing the mold. When it was time to cast it, the instructor was so concerned about the fragility of the mold we decided not to heat it in the furnace with the other molds. Instead, I held a blow torch to it for about fifteen minutes to heat it enough so it would not break apart when filled with bronze. We all held our breath when the bronze was poured into it. It sizzled but no cracks! However, when the investment was removed, there was a lot of work to be done. I spent hours with my much loved Dremel tool cleaning it up.

Head over heels

Bronze on marble base.

This was inspired by a photo in an ad for life insurance in a magazine. When people see this little guy, they always pick him up and flip him over. He is just a little guy having a fun day.

Mayan King

Alabaster with bronze and marble base. About 9 inches tall.

My cousin, Savrina, the feng shui expert, suggested in July 2005, that I had primarily female figures and needed additional male figures for balance. So I got moving and added a few male figures as companionship for all the mother figures. I think I do so many maternal figures because being a mother is the most important part of my life.

The head dress here is inspired by very famous ancient Mayan sculptures. People have been able to identify this as Mayan inspired due to the head dress.

Aztec King

This is alabaster stone with bronze and a marble base. It is about nine inches tall.

Does he look Aztec? Some say he looks African. I don't correct them. But, he is Aztec.

Mother and child

Alabaster stone with bronze.

This is about nine inches tall and six by three inches wide.

Our sculpture class assignment was to make a container using mixed media but bronze was required to be included. We were asked to make a container depicting something special to us. There is nothing more special to me than my son. As I thought about that, it came to me that the "container" of life is a woman's womb.

The "child" is removable but I have attached him with velcro so he won't fall out in an earthquake and scratch the furniture. Many people try to remove him. Does it look like an interactive sculpture? I hope not.

This is the first time I worked with stone. This stone is really beautiful. It has brown, beige and yellow swirls. The colors pick up the gold tone in the polished bronze.

Hopi on a mountain

This is bronze with rust patina to pick up the rust color in the alabaster stone. The stone is in its natural state: not polished nor cut except to make a flat base.

It is about 14 inches tall and five inches by three inches wide.

This is my minimalist version of a Hopi man dancing on a mountain top. This piece is very heavy and must be carried like an Academy Award with one hand around the bottom and one hand around the waist.

Wise woman

I completed this sculpture my second semester in class. It is bronze and is about 12 inches round and about nine inches tall.

The base is a piece of slate.

This piece was inspired by R.C. Gorman paintings. No one in particular....all of them.

We construct the art out of wax which is quite light. During "investment" we dip it numerous times in a slurry mixture [like cement] to make a mold. After about 7 dips, the instructor advised me to put metal clips around the edges so the mold would not split. I was required to cut thick metal wire then bend them into clips to attach to the edges. Of course, I had trouble cutting the wire and when a very kind strong, male student saw me, he took pity and cut the rest of the pieces for me. During the investment process, this sculpture became so heavy, I could not dip it by myself. I relied on the help of other students to help me dip it.

Why Bronze and stone?

Three years ago, when my son went off to college, I entered Grossmont Community College as an evening sculpture student. I thought I would be learning how to do sculpture in wood, ceramics, or plaster. I went to campus to look for class imagining it would be in a huge room filled with various art projects of other students. I could not find the classroom and was eventually directed to a small building that looked like a garage. When I entered, I found a room with large tables and with huge power tools lining the walls. Smaller power tools peeked out of every nook and cranny. The "yard" outside the class room had all kinds of metal, some rusted and worn, laying around, more large power tools and a 20 foot tall crane mounted on wheels. It was quite intimidating and as the instructor spoke I began to wonder what I had gotten myself into. It quickly became clear that the class involved construction of bronze sculptures.

The instructor outlined the rules of the class, the tools we would need and showed some slides of his work and the work of other local sculptors. Despite my misgivings, it sounded like fun. By the second week of classes, I decided to stick around. That was three years ago. I am now hooked. I thoroughly enjoy the art. The instructor is amazing. . . so knowledgeable and kind. The other students are delightful. I love seeing their work and getting to know these folks of all ages and sensibilities. We help each other every day in class. Some of my projects could not have been completed without the help of my fellow students.

This blog is about bronze and stone, what I have learned, why I do it and the people who have helped me.