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Here is a pattern I made to Help me gauge how big each finger section should be.
Here I have tacked the first and second joints.
Once I decide if I like the placement of each joint then I will strengthen the welds.
The fingers on both hands seem to be ok. Hopefully when the lath and concrete are added I will still be happy.
11/15/2017
As I work on a piece I start tinkering with what the artist statement should be. Many times both the piece and the artist statement take on unexpected directions and meanings. Below is my latest rendition.
“score”
artist statement
From the beginning of time music has been used as a powerful way to influence human emotion. Modern scientists report that music has the ability to change brainwaves that control our emotional energy. It is presently used not only as an artistic expression, but also in physical and emotional therapy.
“score” was inspired by a slow shutter release photograph of my cousin, Concert Master Andrew Irvin, that captures multiple images as he plays his violin. Applying this concept of multiple images with the raw materials recycled wire, steel, and white concrete “score” embraces both the primal impact, music has on our emotions and the contemporary elements of music. ”score” not only expresses the energy of playing the violin but also the raw energy expressed through music. The application is raw, emotional and visceral
11/14/2017
The figure is wearing a tux with tails.
View from the backside of the piece- I added the back of the pants leg and jacket tail on the left side of the figure.
full body view
Both jacket tails welded in.
This piece is abstract but, in order to capture the gesture I really have to understand where the musician is exerting his energy in regards to how he holds the instrument. I found the below link online that talks about the proper way to hold the bow. I also researched how to hold the violin. It is held with the chin and chest leaving the fingers the ability to move up and down freely.
http://www.singingwood.com/violin-bow-hold/HowToHoldTheViolinBow.html
The fingers that hold the bow.
The left hand is missing all the fingers. That is the palm and back of the left hand. I will work on the fingers tomorrow.
I have attached the right upper and forearm, hopefully in the right place. I am welding the armature for the concrete part of the sculpture. Attached to this armature will be the metal lath that the concrete rest on and the additional wire that will extend outside of the Concrete showing the energy of the music created by the violinist. I see the violinist as a pedestal for the sculpture. A very specific pedestal.
Right arm and torso
front view
View or right side
View from back
Left side
the bayling wire head head is a stand in. It was laying in my studio.
....to hold the muIcal instrument.
I need to repositioning the left forearm to hold the violin. I have a bailing wire face attached to you he neck of the armature to help me visualize where the head would be.
front view
left side of front
left side
backside
figures backright side
Front right side of figure
I am excited that the piece still balances on it’s own, however it is starting to want to lean forward. In order to keep it balanced I will add the right arm next.
People ask me all the time where do I get my ideas. And I too am fascinated by where creativity comes from. I do not believe it can be taught and for most part it is not easy to describe as creativity, it is one of the great mysteries of the brain. However the Eudora Welty quote in Glasstire this morning beautifully states how I often find inspiration, or how inspiration often finds me.
“The title That Day underscores the viewer’s sense of being there beside the photographer and the way in which the captured moment remains ever fresh in the image, some of which were made as early as 1979. That was the year when Dallas-based Wilson began assisting Richard Avedon with his own six-year photography project, In The American West. Describing Avedon’s portraiture process in her 2004 book, Avedon At Work In The American West, Wilson noted that he would wait for what Eudora Welty called “a story teller’s truth… the moment in which people reveal themselves. You have to be ready, in yourself; you have to know the moment when you see it.” “
- gene Fowler
-http://glasstire.com/author/gene-fowler/
I guess the question should be why are some people
ready, why do some people know the moment?
a moment caught by a "gust"
11/09/2017
I decided to weld the arm pieces onto the torso. I started with the left arm and the palm of the hand. I am totally winging this. Since the piece is in motion I want the arm position to reflect movement. The left shoulder dips and the elbow digs into his side. The left forearm has to be free so the fingers can to move up and down the violin. The violin will be held in place between his chin and his shoulder/chest.
Next I decide to trace my hand to determine how long the finger pieces of steel should be. Then I draw in the bones and measure how long each finger bone is between the joints. My hand is smaller than the figures would be but by the time I add the lath and cement it should be the right size.
My hand pattern with bone measurements.
The hand pattern with two pieces of the palm of the hand bones cut.
Detail of the left arm and the palm of his hand.
The bones in the palm of the hand.
Now I need to see if I am anywhere close on the angle of the forearm and back of hand. I will do this by holding up a violin to the figure.
No, I missed it. Tomorrow I will cut the forearm off and reattach it with the wrist right under the violin. Then I will look at the angle of the hand. That might also need to be altered. Totally winging it.
I am ready build the armature for the head. I find this terrifying for some reason. I have this wire fac I made last spring. I have attached it to the neck in order to experiment with the size/and shape of the head.
I continue to tweak new versions of possible artist statements for “gust”, looking for the perfect words.
How does this sound?
“Gust”
Woven in felt, every hat tells a story, shaped with memories, recording beliefs, and veiling sorrow, some eloquent and some twisted. Cradled in our imagination, they blow in strange, wonderful ways, spinning from past generations that are inhabited by our respect to balancing our present responsibilities and fears. In generations past, in fable and in legend, hats sheltered spirits, represented people and occupations, and defended against the elements.
“gust” In my kitchen after applying the patina. Living with this hat for a few days making sure I am finished with the patina in it.
I continue to do my bronze work every Thursday night in the Foundry Class at Glassell, it is located in the temporary TXRX location in east Houston. Tonight I started applying patina to a second piece in the series.
Using a torch I heat the piece.
My left hand holds the torch and heats the piece starting at the top. With a paint brush in my left hand I apply a chemical to the heated metal.
Before
After
In the TXRX MFAH Glassell foubdry studio.
October 31, 2917
happt halloween
I worked on adding to the torso today.
The torso is basically the pedestal for the sculpture. In this case the figure/pedestal is not only an intregal part of the sculpture it is structural. If has to stand alone firmly, support the concrete and added wire and add to the energy of the music.
Before
Front view
after
Right side of figure
Back side of figure
Left side of figure
Front side
Working on this piece I am seeing music everywhere. A year ago I was seeing pigeons everywhere as I was sculpting a pigeon out of a different material every week.
chaotic string instruments.
Soft billowy distant sounds accented with distinct short beats of a drum.
I started working on this series in 2013.
October 19, 2017 - I have cast approximately a dozen pieces in the series. I did not cast them in the order that they will be installed. Instead, I started with the last pieces in the series. I am now ready to start applying the patina to the first pieces of the series; however, they have not been poured yet. This forces me to start with the last hat that I have cast: “gust #3."
The abstraction of the shapes of the hats reveals the power of Mother Nature, the patina of each piece outlines the impressions of the human spirit left on the felt.
The Patina Process-
I use a torch to impose a heat energy to the surface of the hat, when the metal glows a deep amber the surface is ready to unveil it’s history. I slowly brush on a ferric patina (a dark beige) and as the fluid darkness evaporates off the bronze evidence of an invested grip by determined fingers surfaces, I layer a white wash and the memories of opportunities missed fade into the folds. Next the ferric reveals unfortunate circumstances suffered during the darkest hours, then white washed with life’s lessons. With each layer the impression of the human spirit tell the story of a life well lived.
Below is the progresss after one evening of applying the patina.
I slowly brush on a ferric patina (a dark beige) and as the fluid darkness evaporates off the surface evidence of an invested grip by determined fingers is revealed,
I layer a white wash and the memories of opportunities missed fade into the folds.
Next the ferric reveals unfortunate circumstances suffered during the darkest hours,
then white washed with life’s lessons
During my recent travels, I have kept my eye out for an appropriate title for this new piece. I was reading an article in Papercity magazine about art curator Anna Brodbeck (see the quote below).
"A curator I recently worked with described the act of curating as conducting the artist’s score, and I think that’s true," she says. "It’s our responsibility to bring an artist’s vision to bear, while framing it in comprehensive ways for audiences, and hopefully discovering something new or challenging old assumptions."
- Anna Brodbeck.
Her use of the word score made me think about the piece I am currently working on. Wikipedia defines score as "a written or printed representation of a musical work". Could it also mean a sculptural representation of the energy of a musical work? I think so. For now, I am going to refer to this piece as "score". I say "for now" because I have discovered that, as I build pieces, adding layer upon layer additional meanings are exposed and sometimes the new meanings are more important than my original concept.
In addition, the shadows of this piece will be awesome to work with.
I am still experimenting with my runner image movement and monoprints.
Detail
" the turn IV"
30" x 20"
water color, ink, and pastel
monoprint
I am starting the upper torso, it is also what I consider the most challenging section of the armature.
10/12/2017
Still working on the lower half of the figure.
10/11/2017
Day two of welding the armature.
I am building up the pants leg keeping in mind the piece is about the energy created by the music.
