The Ascending Christ

"And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him.

When the architects at McMillian Pazdan and Smith first came to my dad to discuss the art that would be placed outside of the new St. Francis Cancer Treatment Center in Greenville SC, the idea was for a small to medium sized, semi abstracted, serviceable sculpture. Someone suggested the idea of a representation of Christ ascending into heaven. Immediately, my dad and I knew that small or serviceable would not do. Only the best we could possibly create would suffice.

As always, we started with concept drawings and sketches. We mapped out ideas and then took hundreds of photos as reference for anatomy and drapery. I had an idea to create robes that fall all the way to the ground. These robes could then serve as the support for the figure allowing the feet of Christ to be lifted off the ground as he rises into the air. After the drawings were completed a miniature maquette was made. 

To start the full size figure, we had to spend a few months of planning and engineering. Our good friend Bill Sykes helped engineer to armature. Because of the tremendous weight that comes with an 11ft clay sculpture, an armature was needed to prevent the piece from collapsing. A steel bar was installed from ceiling to floor in our studio. Steel pipes were put in place where the arms and legs would be. Next we glued pink insulation foam to the pipes. The foam gave the interior structure some body and some strength while adding very little additional weight to the final clay piece. The foam was then carved down to fit the desired form. 

To ensure accurate proportions, we put the clay on as a nude figure first. It is difficult to keep the various body parts proportional to one another when working in the large scale. How far is the distance between a man's heel and knee, if the man wears size 41 shoes?

The next step was to add clothes to the figure. Copper wire was added to some of the flowing drapes that would not be able to support their own weight otherwise. 

Photos, like the one below, that include my dad or myself, show how large this piece really is. 

Here I am working on the pierced feet of Christ. The steel frame was still visible at this point in the sculpting process. Once the clay was cast and bronzed, the steel bar was removed. The only thing holding the figure off the ground will be cloth, giving him the weightless feeling of the ascension.

One of my favorite views of the sculpture is from the rear. I was really pleased with how the billowy folds of his drapery turned out.

After the clay is complete, my main man Carl from the Inferno Art Foundry came to our studio to begin the casting. He first paints the entire sculpture in several layers of liquid rubber. Plaster is then added on top of the rubber. The rubber sinks into every detail and the plaster gives it additional strength. Once everything dried, Carl took apart the casts he made, loaded them in his van, and headed back to Atlanta. At the foundry, the casts are filled with molten wax. So, when the casts are again removed, we are left with an identical wax copy of the original sculpture. The wax is then covered in a heat resistant ceramic.

Here are some pictures of Jesus' head; in wax and covered with the ceramic.

The ceramics are made with vents and holes in them. This is so that when the pieces are heated and the wax melts again all of the wax can escape leaving a hollow ceramic shell. The vents are then reused as a funnel to pour molten bronze into the hollow ceramic.

Here is a section of the bronze, after the ceramic is sandblasted away.

Dad went to approve the final sculpture after all the bronze pieces had been welded back together. The patina color was also picked out on this visit.

A heavy duty crane was used to place the 3000+ lb sculpture of Christ into place. And Carl came back to handle the installation. In this picture Carl is drilling into the concrete base to create an attachment for the bronze.

While Carl handled the light work, I cut the plastic wrap off of the figure. Boy I was exhausted.

Finally, the piece was complete and installed. As we cleaned up the mess from the installation, a good friend of mine, who is currently battling cancer, walked up to The Cancer Treatment Center. She had just been reassigned to this new location. This woman, just younger than me, has been battling cancer for a few years now. But, despite her situation of pain and fear, she is just a ray of sunshine every time I see her. I was sooo happy to see her and it was fitting that it should be on this day. The purpose of The ascending Christ sculpture is to be a beacon of hope and a sign of inspiration for all those who enter the treatment center. All along, I had known this and I had imagined the faces of those who might be touched by our work. This day however, I was blessed to see one of those faces as she looked looked into the face of Christ, on her way to treatment. The entire experience was one I will never forget. The entire project has been the highlight of my career and a blessing to my life. Hopefully it will be blessing to many more.

"The Ascending Christ"

Bronze

11'x9'x4'

2014

"And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.”

Forest Lake Show

Earlier this week I had the honor and pleasure of showing some work at the Forest Lake Country Club in Columbia SC. The event was hosted by Raymond James, Eagle Investment Group, and Guggenheim Investments. As my first solo show in Columbia, the event was a great opportunity to show work in the midlands and was a very warm welcome for my my wife and I; who just moved to the area in July. 

I showed 30 pieces of recent work in the beautiful "Lake View Room" of the club.

Some small...

Some large.

Ruins, St. Matthews

Oil on Board

35"x44"

$4,000-5,500 (framed)

The event was well attended. I was pleased to see many new faces and a few old friends. 

Everyone shared food and drinks and had a fun evening. 

To view the entire show online, click HERE.

A Closer Look at The Veteran's Monument

A few weeks ago was the 70th anniversary of the WWII battle of Normandy and D-Day. As I watched the Veterans being honored on TV, I remembered what a great honor and privilege it was to work on the Veteran's Monument for Hartsville SC. I remembered all the Veterans that my dad and I interviewed for the project. These men and women had the most amazing stories and details that we were able to add into the monument. I thought it might be nice to share a few of these stories.

The first panel of the monument was WWI. The figure in the front is actually a portrait of my great grandfather, William Hardy Russ. He actually looks a lot like my dad and uncles. Grandpa Russ served with the 118th infantry of the 30th Division aka "Ole Hickory". He was in the Signal Corp, responsible for communications mostly by telegraph. 

While creating this sculpture, Dad and I wanted to include lots of small details that would forever capture the stories we heard from the veterans and invite viewers to pursue more stories on their own. The portrait includes one of these small details; a tiny Signal Corp button on Grandpa Russ' jacket.

Each panel of the Veteran's Monument was created with a different feeling. The WWII panel is the most proud of the five. The WWII veterans that we interviewed acknowledged the horrors of war, but they all showed great pride in their service and what was accomplished during the war. The figure in the very front was intentionally made to mimic a beautiful painting, "Americans at War" by Norman Rockwell.

           

The man just to the left, in the bronze WWII panel is a portrait of William (Billy) Farrow. A native of the Hartsville area, Billy Farrow was a part of the Doolittle bombing raid over Japan. He was captured and ultimately executed. In the sculpture he holds a letter that was written to his mother before his execution.

"Don't let this get you down. Just remember God will make everything right and that I'll see you all again in the hereafter. . . . Read "Thanatopsis" by Bryant if you want to know how I am taking this. My faith in God is complete, so I am unafraid." -William Farrow

For the third panel, we decided to have the central figure giving a "thumbs up" signal, as is common among fighter pilots.  Since this was the first great conflict in which jet airplanes were commonly used in combat, we wanted the scene to include an authentic representation of that.  The Korean War is often referred to as the "forgotten war" because of the lack of attention it received both during and after the conflict. This is also due to the war's position in history between two of American conflicts (WWII and Vietnam) that were so large. The Korean War panel shows the only figure of the entire monument that makes direct eye contact with the viewer, drawing him or her into the scene and begging them not to forget his time Korea. 

The Vietnam War panel conveys a different mood. We observed from our interviews that this conflict did not end with a victorious and heroic atmosphere like WWII; so we tried to communicate that through the artwork.  Many veterans that we interviewed suggested that the message that Dad and I should try to convey is simply one of tragedy. In the center of the panel there is a female nurse holding a dead GI. This is the only dead soldier depicted in the monument.

Out of the five great 20th century conflicts, the Persian Gulf War was most recent in American history.  During Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm the US forces had to be ready to face a chemical attack. They were facing an enemy that had already shown both the capability and willingness to engage in chemical warfare. This threat of chemical warfare added a whole new dynamic to the horrors of war. The unforgettable image of soldiers in gas masks haunted Americans who were shown televised pictures from this war like never before.

The hands of John Singer Sargent

So... John Singer Sargent is my favorite painter, of all time. I have probably only mentioned it 1,000 times on this blog! He was an amazing draftsman. He had a rare ability to capture color and light. Even the greatest artists throughout history have a few bad pieces, but it seems as though everything Sargent touched ended up to be a success.

One aspect of Sargent's work that I really love is how he paints hands. Many artists are shy about drawing, painting, and sculpting hands. 

But hands are usually my favorite part of a piece of figurative art.

I enjoy studying Sargent's paintings. It is important to study and practice your craft. And studying his sketches is an awesome way to look at the notes left from a master's problem solving. 

One of the most amazing and frustrating things about Sargent is his ability to accurately capture shape with loose gestural brushstrokes. The painting seems so effortless. Yet, each line is intentional. There is nothing careless about it.

Really... is there anything better, in the whole world?

The Ascension of Christ (Sneak Preview)

A few days ago I put out a "preview" of a sculpture Dad and I have been working on. I was very surprised that this low quality image seemed to draw so much interest. For now all I can say is that this is a photo (cellphone) of the Ascension of Christ. It will be cast in bronze and erected in Greenville SC.  I will post an update of the project soon with more information, location details, and MORE PICTURES!!

Sarah

I got married in Dec. 2013, to this beauty. My dad surprised us at the reception with a beautiful portrait of Sarah. I am often influenced and inspired by his work. So, naturally, I decided to paint my own version of my beautiful bride. 

This is my painting.

My wife, Sarah.

Sculpting class with Philippe Faraut

Recently, my dad and I had the privilege of attending a figure sculpting class with Phillippe Faraut at The Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota Florida.

From his website bio:

Philippe Faraut received his degree in woodcarving and the construction of French fine furniture from Germain Sommeillier in Annecy, France, his boyhood home. An avid traveler, Philippe's destinations have allowed him the opportunity to study the cultures of many countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Caribbean, thus influencing his work in portraiture sculpting. After establishing residence in the Chesapeake Bay area of Virginia, he developed an interest in modeling the head in clay. Soon thereafter, he relocated his studio to New York State and began teaching sculpting classes.

The class had 20 or so students who had traveled from all over to attend this class. Some of the students were taking one of Phillippe's classes for the second or third time.

We started by creating clay"sketches". These 10-15 minute sculptures really helped work on gestural poses and anatomical proportions while becoming familiar with the medium. 

I was not used to using the water-based clay. 

Because of drying issues, I have always used an oil-based clay. 

We started our larger piece by sculpting a lone torso. 

No arms, legs, or head yet. 

Dad is concentrating on his craft.

The second day we were allowed to proceed with the head and neck as well as the legs and the feet. Before starting a new part of the body, Phillippe gave a great demonstration on how to attack each area. I was surprised at how much of the class concentrated on anatomical lessons. Taking several anatomy classes at SCAD, I thought I knew a lot. I was quickly aware of how much I need to learn.

I really enjoyed learning about how to sculpt feet!

Here, Dad is getting some hands-on help.

On the last day, we added the arms and hands. We also learned Phillippe's technique for surface texture as well as how to protect water-based sculptures as they dry.

Because Dad and I elected to fly to and from Sarasota we were not able to bring our pieces home. Dad destroyed his. Always the conservationist, he cut his sculpture into pieces so that the clay could be reused by the next class. Before I could cut my piece up, a fellow student asked if she could have it. I was very happy NOT having to destroy it.