Hurricane Harvey - sculpture day 15 “bringing home the bacon”

My day started with an empty tank. I was ready to roll and I had to run refill my argon tank.  :( 

really irritating  

Refilling my Argonne tank.  

After lunch I finally got to work. Yesterday, I started the pig’s groin. I figured a pig’s groin looks like a dog’s groin. Not true - I decided to double check, and it turns out pig groins are pudgy and round. Dog groins are more like an empty bowl. It’s good I checked! 
Here are images I used for reference. I googled “pig groin” and .....you don’t want to do that. People only post images of pig groins that a Veterinarian should see. I then googled “carrying a pig”. The below image shows how pudgy their grojns are.

Once I lay the lath over the armature, it will look a lot different. It looks weird now. I only put the armature at places that protrude. In the concave places, I will press the lath in. That is why the nose looks bizarre.

I can’t wait until tomorrow to do the hands. :) 

Hurricane Harvey - sculpture day 14 “bringing home the bacon”

The tension is starting to build.

For this piece to work I have to be able to show the strain or tension between the man and the pig.
The pig is huge and would have been extremely heavy to pick up. And pigs are not comfortable being carried, he would have been squirming like crazy to pull away from the rescuer.  

I added the man’s head outline first. I want his head to thrust back to add to the tension between the man and the pig. Then I added the largest part of the pig's stomach. I need to know where the biggest part is in order to figure out where the man’s arms and hands are going to be gripping the pig. The man's hands will be just above the larges part of the pig gripping it tightly.

Front view  

You can now start seeing the tension created with the pull of the man’s head and his arms vs the pigs legs. 

Note to self on the head- make the armature on the small side, I can always add plaster to make it larger.  

From the back

I still need- pig ears, tail, and to finish the pig’s legs and abdomen. The man needs his head, hands  and more definition or volume on the arms.  

INSPIRATION- 

 I am always looking for inspiration to use when sculpting. I follow @mcteams3842 who photographs  Navy Seals in training. When I saw the image below I thought of the energy needed to of lift  a big pig. I took a screen shot and saved it to my file of photos I look at when working on the piece. I would love to have the rescuer’s head this far back ....... I will have to experiment with it. 

I highly recommend @mcteam3842 for amazing photography.  

I am thinking of putting a cap on him and loved the brim on the below Navy Seals cap. instagram is a treasure chest of inspiration. 

Hurricane Harvey - sculpture day 13 “bringing home the bacon”

Chest,  hoofs and dewclaws 

Upper chest connected  

Hoof and dewclaw

Hoof and dew claw  

Hoof and dew claw

Hurricane Harvey - sculpture day 11 later that night- “bringing home the bacon”

I clipped the in-progress pig armature to the in-progress headless man armature. It may look crazy now, but it is coming together fine (I think, fingers crossed) so far. I have some new ideas on how to create the texture of this pig water rescue and I cannot wait to see if they are good ideas or bad idea..

Hurricane Harvey - sculpture day 12 - missing body parts - “bringing home the bacon”

Both pieces are missing major body parts. The man needs arms, neck, and head. The pig needs the bridge of his nose, pig belly, the third hoof, ears, and tail.

I decided that before I finish the last body parts, I need to attach the pig to the man. That is the only way to know where I should position the final pieces. Once the pig is in place, I can put the man's arms around the pig. I can then manipulate the position of the pig's legs, head, and how big his abdomen is.

The first step is to clip the pig to the man where I want to weld him.

It is important that the piece balance. It is standing on its own. The piece is about the physical energy of rescuing livestock; in this case, a pig. The pig would be uncomfortable being hoisted up, so he would be fighting or trying to wiggle out of the man's grip. I also want the man’s face to be seen from the front, so the pig is off-center.

I welded in between the pig and the man small pieces of rebar as spacers. These spacers will give me room to wrap the lath on the man and lath on the pig. The lath will hold on the plaster. 

I won’t attach the lower half of the pig until after I adjust the position of the pigs legs. 

Before start bending the pigs legs and head around I will attached the mans feet to the base.  

Houston Flood Museum

A selection of my Hurricane Harvey Heroes monotypes and one of the Humanities pieces are now exhibited in the Houston Flood Museum. 

 https://houstonfloodmuseum.org/hurricane-harvey-heroes-and-humanity/

Hurricane Harvey - sculpture day 11 “bringing home the bacon”

Today I made and attached the 2-4th legs and 3 hoofs. 

View from the front 

Left side view  

View from the back  

Right side view 

The legs are only attached by 1 piece of pencil rebar at this point. Once I know exactly what position I want them in I will attach them at 2-3 more locations.  

Hurricane Harvey - sculpture day 10 “bringing home the bacon”

Pig nose  

Building up the nose tip.  

Aerial view  

Nose and snout 

side view 

back view 

The other side  

Front view- pig nose, snout, back and 1 back leg, clipped to rescuer  

Side view of rescuer and part of the pig. 

View from the back.  

Right side view.  

Hurricane Harvey - sculpture day 9 “bringing home the bacon”

Today I adjusted the shoulder width, started the chest and connected the back extensions at the top.  

View from the front  

View from the back  

I might need to trim up his chest tomorrow. Grrrrrr

Hurricane Harvey - sculpture day 8 “bringing home the bacon”

I started the upper torso.  

I always make the shoulders too broad and then have to adjust them. I will do that tomorrow.  

Hurricane Harvey - sculpture day 7 “bringing home the bacon”

My work day was short today.  

Hurricane Harvey - sculpture day 6 “bringing home the bacon”

Hurricane Harvey - sculpture day 5 “bringing home the bacon”

Today I spent a lot of time cutting off and rewelding. The upper leg/booty was too big. After four hours  it now has a trimmer. 

I am trying to decide if I need to reinforce the lower half of the body or move on. Once I reinforce the joints it is a lot more difficult to make changes. If I move on without reinforcing the welding joints, the piece could fall apart. That is my dilemma. 

Hurricane Harvey - sculpture day 4 “bringing home the bacon”

Connecting the legs and reinforcing them.  

Building the hips and connecting the legs

Side view  

View from back

I create triangles to give the piece stability and strength.

Left side view with triangles 

View from the back

view of the right side

Using scraps to create triangles to strengthen the ankles.  

Looking back, I can now see the hips are not right and are exaggerating the movement. I will have the movement exaggerated when the piece is finished, but for the armature, I will have to tone it down.

2018 looking back with Molly

 https://www.houstonchronicle.com/entertainment/arts-theater/article/Best-of-visual-art-2018-13488904.php

I feel so fortunate to be in a city that offers so much in the arts. And easy winter weather. 

Hurricane Harvey - sculpture day 3 bringing home the bacon

This sculpture is about the movement and the energy of rescuing livestock (a pig) during Hurricane Harvey. Today I have to decide on where the figure's weight needs to be to best balance the sculpture and express the energy of hoisting the swine to safety. The photos I took of Griffin while he was walking helped me committe to the foot placement. For the weight, I need new reference photos taken from each side. I am fortunate that my husband is always agreeable to posing for me. We wrapped a stool in a towel to stand in for the pig. Below are the new photos.

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View from the front  

View of the left side  

back view 

An artist who inspires me

He is a poet. 

 https://texashighways.com/culture/art-music/how-beaumont-photographer-keith-carter-redefined-the-artform/

Hurricane Harvey - sculpture day 2 “brining home the bacon”

Step one - I find or take a photo to use as a reference. Many times I take screen shots from videos I find online. This time I took photos of Griffin and Alex. At the time I was planning on sculpting “The Guy In the Astros Cap”. I had Griffin carry Alex and I took photos as he walked. I can still use the pictures of Griffin walking. Alex is too cute and tiny to stand in for the pig. I will have to wing the pig.

Photo if Griffin’s feet.  

Step 2- I start with the armature for the feet, piecing  them together from the small leftover scraps of my last sculpture.

Left foot, right foot  

I really like the pigeon toed aspect of this photo. 

Even though I like work from photos I feel free to change anything I want. 

Gust- patina

November 15, 2018

I am working in the spacious new Glassell Foundry. There is abundance of space to work in.  

Hat 👍🏼 Patina👍🏼 Torch👍🏼 Welding gloves👍🏼 Paint brushes👍🏼 Respirator👍🏼 Eye protector👍🏼 

The patina I am using is a layered hot patina. First I heat the piece with a torch. Then I start laying a heavy dark brown, then a heavy layer of titanium oxide. About 30 minutes in I spilled the titanium patina.  

It is really a bummer because once I remix it I can not use it for 24 hours, the chemicals need to bind together. Grrrrrrrrr.😬  

November 19,2018 

Starting where I left off.  

Three days before thanksgiving and I can’t help myself, I want to finish this patina today.  

After a heavy layer of titanium ash I ran out of butane. Luckily a second tank was ready to go.  

Robert Ira Travis

With sadness, the family of Robert Ira Travis announces his passing on March 24, 2018, at the age of 90.

Bob Travis jr., Janet Travis Fortune, Dean Travis and his dog Johnny, and Cindee Travis Klement. Bobby’s kids after setting up for his wake in the pets barn warehouse. as he requested

He was born to the late Gene Louise Young and Robert Fleming Travis on December 10, 1927.

photos from my grand parent’s high school, senior year, yearbook pages. They were married in high school and my father’s baby picture is also in the book. I wish I had that picture. 

My Dad’s parents Granny Gene and Bob -pa as I remember them. 

Bobby attended Austin high school,graduating in the class of 1946, where he excelled in football, basketball, and track.

a page from the Austin high school yearbook 

On my Dad’s birthday- my dad with a drawing I made of him from an old newspaper clipping of him running track.  

the Austin high school football team

After high school, he enlisted in the Army and was stationed in the 11th Weather Squadron in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska.

He then attended Texas Western, now known as UTEP, where he was a brother in the Phi Tau fraternity.

from left- Robert Fleming Travis Jr., Robert Ira Travis Sr., Robert Ira Travis Jr., Robert Fleming Travis Sr. 

Starting his family, he managed one of the farms in the lower valley of El Paso owned by his grandfather, Robert Fleming Travis Senior.

From 1951 through 1964 he was one of the pioneering farmers who helped utilize water pumps to establish the large acreage of Dell City for cotton farming, a foundational industry for the small town that continues to this day. He was also a rider on the Dell City Cowboy Polo team, which brought home a world title in the early 1960s. He additionally farmed in Laredo, Texas from 1964 to 1966.

In his early forties, he took over the Valley Feed store on North Loop Drive in El Paso, Texas, which grew during his life time from a small store front and warehouse in an inauspicious strip mall to become the Pet’s Barn chain of pet food and supply stores with 24 locations in El Paso, San Antonio, and Las Cruces.

After family and business his passion was football. When I left El Paso in order to stay close to my Dad I started watching college and professional football. He was a cowboys fan but for me he wore a Texans hat. 

Many times after he had checked on the west side stores he would stop by my house with a sucker for my kids. I drew the piece above from a photo taken on one such day. I was already to take my kids picture in their Easter clothes. 

 COMB HERE I

30" X 22" charcoal, ink and pastel 2015

Comb Here
This piece is inspired by an out of focus photo I took in 1993.  My father stopped by my home as I was taking my son’s Easter photo. To make sure every hair was in place my father of little hair whipped out the comb he always carried in his shirt pocket. The quality of the photo was poor but the moment was priceless.

While he was a great sports fan, especially fond of the patient, strategic pace of a Diablos baseball game (and attending cold beer, Diablo dog, and peanuts), he was a greater fan of people. He liked to drive his pick-up truck from store to store in El Paso, ostensibly to make deliveries, but it was pretty clear his aim was to connect with employees and remind them all to always keep a comb and pocket knife handy. It is quite possible that there is not a road in El Paso he has not driven in search of a good meal and good conversation.

It was his way to connect with others over food, and he was a connoisseur of El Paso cuisine. On his rounds, he scouted the city for locally owned gems to share with those he loved. He was a fine cook as well, especially known for his smoked meats, and knew that care and attention to detail could make any meal, from a 20 hour brisket to a simple bowl of corn flakes, memorable.

Bobby was a self-starter with an independent streak, and while fortune did not always shine on his ambitions, he possessed the resilience and (he’d insist) plain dumb luck to build a lasting legacy. Not just in the business he helped start, but in the wit, wisdom, and love he shared with friends and family.

He is survived by sons Bob Travis (partner Terri Sanderson) and Dean Travis (partner Linda Razloznik)  (El Paso);  daughters Cindee Klement (husband Curtis) (Houston) and Janet Fortune; and his son-in-law Craig Fortune (El Paso); grandchildren Barrett Travis (partner Amber Giese) (Milwaukee, Wisconsin), Eric Travis (wife Josette) (ElPaso), Aaron Travis (San Antonio), Nicole Ramirez (husband Renee)  (Columbus, Ohio), Kyle Razloznik, Ryan Razloznik (wife Shellie) (San Antonio), Griffin Klement (wife Alex Groome) (College Station), Sage Klement (Houston), Travis Fortune (El Paso), and Reese Fortune (El Paso); sister Genie Lou Irvin (husband Widgie) (Columbia, Missouri); brother Warren Travis (San Francisco, California); great-grandchildren Abby, Emma and Danica Travis, Adam Hernandez and Julian Perez (El Paso), Collin Travis (Milwaukee, Wisconsin), Aiden and Harper Razloznik(San Antonio), and Evan Ramirez (Columbus, Ohio); and brother- and sister-in-lawsRobert and Mary Earp (El Paso).

A wake will be held in the warehouse of Pet’s Barn at 368 Yarbrough, El Paso, on

Sunday May 6th, 2018 at 2:00pm, where his family and friends are invited to celebrate his life.

Memorial funds may be donated to theAnimal Rescue League of El Paso, 7256 La Junta Dr., Canutillo, Texas79835, www.arlep.org/. 915-877-3785, 

Eileen and me at the wake. Neither one of us could talk we were so teary. Thank you Eileen for everything.  

His family extends a special heartfelt thanks to Christina Rodriguez, whose care throughout the years made it possible for him to live at home, and to Eileen Carbajal, whose endless personal assistance and friendship throughout the years relieved him of daily worries and helped to maintain the independence he valued so greatly.

At his 90th birthday party

Below is a song my sister Janet Fortune and I wrote for his birthday. We all sang every year for his birthday. 🎄😀

“You’ll remember me when the west wind moves upon the fields of barley. You can tell the sun in his jealous sky when we walked in fields of gold.”

🌾

Thanks to my nephew Barrett Travis for writing such a beautiful obituary and adding the younger generations perspective.