Regenesis Update!

After the figure had been delivered I began working on the roots. These did not take long to finish and I was headed back to Atlanta to have them cast and bronzed.

When I arrived I got to see the figure just before it was to be poured. These are sections of the Regenesis man with hollow casts ready to be filled with molten bronze.

The work is not cast as one large piece. The clay is cut into sections and cast seperately. Yikes! There is a lot of faith required when watching someone cut months of painstaking artwork into small pieces, knowing that this is the way the process must happen. The bronze pieces will soon be welded together seamlessly.

Black Creek Show

I participated in the Black Creek Arts Council's show "The Pates", with my grandparents, dad, sister, both uncles, and three of my cousins. There were even works by my great aunt and great grandmother. All of us have ties to the art world in one way or another. If you happen to be down in the the lower part of the state, you should stop by and check it out. The show will be up for a few more weeks.

                                                                            my grandparents.

These are the pieces I put in the show.

The Mutual Respect Society

One reason I started this blog is to inform everyone about my favorite artists and artworks. Some of these are famous artists and some are friends and colleagues of mine. For the first installment of The Mutual Respect Society I have decided to write about my uncle Marty.

Marty is the man! He lives and works in GA, though he is represented by galleries all over. Marty paints portraits, landscapes, and representations of different historical events. Check out his stuff. Here are some of my favorites.

Regenesis Continued....

After the drawings were approved I had models pose in the desired positions and began sculpting.

I first created a maquette. The 13" version of my sculpture was made of wax. The wax is much better than clay for tiny detail. However, working with wax is a slower more tedious process.

 Once I felt comfortable with the look of the maquette I began work on the full sized piece.

These images show the armature, made of wood and piping. I also stuff the figure with news paper and pink insulation foam. This helps build size without adding a lot of extra weight. After hours and hours of mushing and carving the clay, he starts to take form.

 I invited people to come by the gallery and look at the Regenesis project as I worked. The most common question that I was asked was about the exposed pipes. The pipe that connects the head and the arm is simply there as reinforcement for the weight of the clay on his arm. The clay is not strong enough to support itself. The pipe in his chest is used when moving the work. I had to transport the figure and move him around the studio, but I did not want to lift him by grabbing his arms or head. So I included, in the armature, a pipe going straight through his chest that additional pipe could be added on to. That way he could be lifted with all of the weight transferred to the metal armature. None of the pipes will be included in the bronze version.

To create the face I combined portions of the model's face and my own.

After I finished the bark texture on the tree portion of the sculpture, he was ready to be cast and bronzed. So I loaded the work in the back of my truck, tied him down as securely as possible, and headed for the foundry in Atlanta.