Starting a new piece for the new year.
I little wax sketch of an idea for a new piece which will be made of two full-size brooms intimately entwined.
Platter gets some finish
Bread's bread board gets some color.
Bread gets a bread board!
9 slices in...
I inlaid the wood and welded the perimeter of the last two slices. I will have to weld a bit more and grind them flush tomorrow. I have to soak the wood and put out fires as I weld the gaps. Even so- the wood still burns a bit but it will all be sanded off afterwards.
The heel slice of "Bread".
Two slices to go but I did the end piece tonight because I was tired. 🍞
Bread. Sliced. 3 more to go.
Tumbling Tumbleweed
Tumbleweed is back to where it was 3 weeks ago except with stronger, shinier thorns. Here's a little reveal: Tomorrow I start coating this with velvet flocking. Yep. Everything except the thorns and the joints. The thorns will remain raw bronze, coming through the velvet flocking, and the joints might get a slight patina or remain raw as well. Getting exciting.
Thorny!
The next step for Tumbleweed will take a bit of time and dramatically change it's appearance and then I might call it finished.
Split...
I started welding my sculpture "Split" together tonight. I haven't decided how it will be shown but I wasn't expecting it to balance on it's own.
Platter
The steel is etched and the saw teeth are cut. Now I have to sand, grind, and weld the flaws out of the steel and drill holes to fit the cast bronze saw handles, before sending the steel to get coated in porcelain.
Together
Reconstruction # 1. I have all the elements in place but I think I want to make a few changes, like bringing the bronze out a bit in the jaws and teeth. I felted the bottom bronze stand and attached it to a travertine base. The red strap is leather. I'll live with this for a few days and see how I feel about it afterwards.
Stitched
Recontruction #1 continues...
Reconstruction #1. I'm just working out a few ideas for presentation before I start the patina and stitching.
I had to drill many tiny holes in the bronze in order to stitch the crocodile shoes on to the bronze casting.
Recontruction #1
Reconstruction #1 was cast in bronze today. Now I have to fine chase the teeth, patina the bronze, and sew the crocodile shoes onto the bronze before I call it finished.
Cutting the 25" steel disc into a double spiral
I'm on step 2 of the Platter sculpture. The steel disc is cut and I will be honing the edges and spiraling lines before cutting the "teeth" into the edge.
Reconstruction Series
Reconstruction #1
In my reconstruction series, I have taken personal items from my past and transformed them back towards their previous state before I acquired them. In Reconstruction #1, I have transformed a pair of crocodile shoes which I bought in Bamako, Mali. This is the wax version which will be cast in bronze and sewn back on to the crocodile shoes. The wax is slightly bigger than the shoes now, but it will shrink 2% when cast in bronze.
Bread
Bread. The inside (oak) and the outside (bronze). Due to shrinkage during casting, it's going to take a lot of finessing and patience to fit the bronze perfectly around each oak slice. Now the fun begins. #notenoughwhiskey #bronzenyc #brooklynsculpture
Old school overhead projection.
Projecting a spiral on a 25" steel disc for Platter.