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.