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In the fall of 2018 I started this piece to add to my Heritage series of sculptures. As a teen, I shaped hats in my father's western wear store and I began to understand that old hats are reflections of their owners, that they keep a bit of the spirit of the person who wore them. When I start a piece I am often thinking about a specific individual and a challenge they're facing. While working on this piece I had a conversation with a friend about his career. This friend is very very passionate about his profession and has an admirable work ethic. His work situation has been frustrating for several years. There was not a way he could remedy the situation. In the end he turned challenging circumstances into a new opportunity. He took the leap and carved a new path.
Initially, when I broke the piece out of the shell I was disappointed that there were so many spots that did not pour. The texture is exactly what I wanted, well worn and full of passion and character.
A little frustrated but keeping an open mind, I set it on my utility room counter. I like to set pieces I am working on there so I can glance at them quickly as I go about my household tasks. This allows me to think and rethink my next step with the piece.
I walked by it and glanced over quickly and it hit me, those patches that did not pour could resemble the new path that my friend carved. Is it possible this piece took on bit of the spirit of my friend and his circumstances?
The next step with this piece is to do the metal chasing. Once the metal work is done I need to make a decision regarding the cool spots. Do I want to patch the cool spots or leave it as is.
I will have to ponder that.
Below is a list of the other things that I was thinking about as I shaped this piece.
Turning challenging circumstances into opportunities.
The human ability to start over.
understanding the hardship and struggles of another people.
Resilience and having a dream and perusing that dream.
Molding and changing a dream until we reach our dreams.
lifes struggles
dedication and passion
a connection to the earth
compassion that drives us
courage to carve your own path
quiet strength
laugh lines
hope for a better life through hard work
In the fall of 2018 I started this piece to add to my Heritage series of sculptures. As a teen, I shaped hats in my father's western wear store and I began to understand that old hats are reflections of their owners, that they keep a bit of the spirit of the person who wore them. When I start a piece I am often thinking about a specific individual and a challenge they're facing. While working on this piece I had a conversation with a friend about his career. This friend is very very passionate about his profession and has an admirable work ethic. His work situation has been frustrating for several years. There was not a way he could remedy the situation. In the end he turned challenging circumstances into a new opportunity. He took the leap and carved a new path.
Initially, when I broke the piece out of the shell I was disappointed that there were so many spots that did not pour. The texture is exactly what I wanted, well worn and full of passion and character.
A little frustrated but keeping an open mind, I set it on my utility room counter. I like to set pieces I am working on there so I can glance at them quickly as I go about my household tasks. This allows me to think and rethink my next step with the piece.
I walked by it and glanced over quickly and it hit me, those patches that did not pour could resemble the new path that my friend carved. Is it possible this piece took on bit of the spirit of my friend and his circumstances?
The next step with this piece is to do the metal chasing. Once the metal work is done I need to make a decision regarding the cool spots. Do I want to patch the cool spots or leave it as is.
I will have to ponder that.
It is still sitting in my utility room. I do love the shadows. ????????????
before
dip 3 - wet
Ready for dip 4
the top of the cup is cut off and the blind vents are cut open in order to allow the wax to expand and milt out of the shell.
In the furnace to burn out the wax and the felt
with the wax melted out I now blow out what is left of the felt.
burn out number 2
With an pneumatic air hose I blew out the charred debris from each hat.
A cure from above looking into the cup that the bronze will be poured into.
After blowing out the pieces for a second time I seal all the holes with sparset.
Last Thursday we did our best to pour these but............. plan B we will pour them this this Thursday.
1/19/2018
I am starting two new pieces for my “gust” series.
Here is the first one viewed from every side.
I have two coats of wax on it. Now I need to clean off and wax that is clumpy and make sure it does not loose its shape and character. Then I can begin the molding process to cast it in bronze.
This hat is planned to be the 2nd in the series.
I ended up with cool spots in the pour resulting in spots that the bronze did not fill, big spots that did not pour. :(
I am going to clean them up and see what can be done to save it.
The sprues are cut to the stub
I have cut the sprue stub off flush with the felt.
I have repaired the texture .
11/10/2017
guess what I did last night?
this is the first piece in the series where the lining has blown away and the moth holes have grown into full fledge hole.
The torn grossgrain ribbon and rip in felt.
10/6/2016
Prepared the shells for burnout
Here I am wearing ear and eye protection, a respirator and using my angle grinder with a diamond blade to cut off the top of the cup and blind vents.
Shells ready for the first burnout.
