Dear Art Lover,
There are
times when I realize just how much I left back in Texas. Today, I am referring to my sculpture tools
and supplies. In the end, I found no
reason to turn down what I hope will be a fun
commission experience. I had
previously wondered if I would ever create another bronze after being
disappointed with an experience I had with a foundry last year. Now, it seems I will learn something about at
least one foundry in Italia.
Anyway,
despite all the supplies and tools I have in storage in Texas, they will not do
me any good in Italia. So, I have bought
wire and am using things that I find in and around my home. It turns out that my landlord once again
saves my days. Not only does he allow me to borrow his tools, he also used to work in a metal shop. Recently we drove together to Firenze to pick
up in his van some furniture that I had bought from a friend. Along the way he pointed out many of the
greenhouses that he helped to create and install in Tuscany.
Thursday
we returned with his dog Gregory to his former place of work and he cut a few pipe
parts and grabbed a small metal “slab” and welded together a pipe to the base
and created an adjustable horizontal bar to my specs. This will be the part of the sculpture
armature that will add extra support outside
of the actual sculpture. The sculpture
will also have metal under the clay, or I may be using foam under the larger
sections…just woke up from a nap with an idea on how I might be able to solve I
problem that I have been mulling over.
Will keep you posted, if it works!
 |
| Gregory, the puppy, is not a fan of welding. Tuscany, Italy |
Anyway,
here is an image of the welding being done.
My landlord’s dog Gregory did NOT like the fire and apparently is a
brave one, even at five months old. He
kept running right up into the work area and tugging on his companion’s pant
legs to “save him.” It was cute, and you
may see a few more images of Gregory at work on my Facebook page. However, it was dangerous and soon after this
shot, I grabbed the puppy during a break from the fire and took him into
another room to distract him.
 |
| The armature is what supports the weight of the clay and future mold. |
This
second image I took today. It shows a
definite work-in-progress! I am creating
a bronze sculpture, possibly to also exist as a fountain if the new owners
choose, that will in any event sit down inside of a small circular pond. The upside down bucket you see is a visual
space holder. I want to create a design
that looks beautiful above the top
ledge of the wall, as well as have it look good as one approaches the pond and
looks down into the well. I moved everything inside since we have been having many days of rain lately.
This
sculpture is an adaptation and enlargement of my original bronze “Cattails and Frog Legs” that I
described in my last post here:
See more images of the bronze here:
I hope your weekend was
a refreshing change of pace from your normal week. Please share any of these posts that you find
interesting.
Peace,
Kelly
