Bronze sculpture art studio fine art bronze sculpture
Operating as usual
The next 4 days in Loveland, CO will be the 38th annual Sculpture in the Park event. 2000 sculptures (bronze, wood, stone, ceramic, metal and mixed media) created by 157 national and international artists. Booths are in 4 large white tents. Staged my big blue heron today in front of a flower garden, am in Tent A and will be doing setup of my booth in this inside space today and tomorrow. Show goes through Sunday. Excited! If you are interested, go to www.sculptureinthepark.org
More than exciting for me to see the first figure of my 6' hospice commission in bronze! Rohn Miller from Bronze Services is doing an amazing job of metal chasing. This is my first attempt at creating smooth surfaces on such a large scale. I am beyond thankful for all of those at the foundry who have helped me come up a very steep learning curve. I will not let that investment go to waste.
Patina will be the final step at the foundry. AND I just heard the
VIP Grand Opening reception for the inpatient hospice care center will be on June 7th when this "labor of love" sculpture of mine will be officially unveiled.
To complete the story, here are two other photos tied to the last video. The first is the current 2D hospice logo I was asked to make into a 3D abstract sculpture. The other photo shows how the space between the two figures under sunlight can project the shadow of a heart to represent the care, comfort and compassion being provided in that sacred space.
Here is a quick video from my studio. This is my maquette which is a small preliminary model of my eventual 6' hospice commission. The large figure represents the team of people working together as one to provide care, comfort and compassion. The smaller figure represents the client or patient and their supporting network of family and friends being impacted. The space between the caregiver and the patient is the sacred space where the hard and the beautiful happens. I wanted to capture that space as a heart seen either by looking through the piece or in a shadow projected by the sun or outdoor lighting. The patina on the piece starts darker brown at the bottom and becomes lighter towards the top of the piece. From my family's experiece with hospice, I wanted that feathering of color to represent how the hospice staff is able to lighten the load at a difficult time. I also will be rubbing back the patina to the bronze on the leading edge of the piece to emphasize the actual 2D hospice logo that I have interpreted into a 3D abstract, contemporary bronze sculpture.
There is a reason I haven’t posted much new work over the last year. I have been focused on a large commission to go in front of this new Pathways 12-bed inpatient care center being built between Loveland and Ft. Collins.
Here is a rendering of the building. It will provide the beauty and tranquility of a mountain lodge setting with large enough rooms to accommodate groups of visitors and 1-2 family members who can choose to stay overnight.
It has been my honor to work on a 6’ tall more abstract, contemporary piece that is a 3D interpretation of their 2D logo. My greatest hope is the final sculpture in bronze conveys a strong sense of the extraordinary care, comfort and compassion that have become hallmarks of this organization.
To read more about the vision for the center, I invite you to go to www.pathways-care.org/capital-campaign/.
Family who bought my 5’ snowboarding penguin posed for a group shot with Snoked over Christmas. He felt loved!
For part of 2020 and 2021 my 5’ snowboarding penguin chick was hosted on display by the Loveland DQ. A local couple would drive by and said they laughed with joy every time they passed it. One day they drove into the DQ lot to look at it and saw he was available for sale. They called me to say they wanted him to go to the new house they were building. Here he is two days ago with his fresh new patina and red bib. Soon he will be delivered to his forever home with a wonderful large family. Makes me very happy to know he will be loved and create memories for the owners and all the kids and grandchildren.
A client who bought my life-size great blue heron sent me these fall photos this week of a collaboration between two artists, Mother Nature and me. Now this has got to "wash away from your soul the dust of everyday life." (Picasso)
I love it when clients send me photos of my creatures in their new forever homes. A client in Kansas just sent me this one of "Busted". He placed it prominently on the corner of his office desk and said he enjoys looking at it and remembering all his quail hunting trips. Doesn't get any better than that!
RED ALERT (name of the piece) - I had a fun photo shoot of my new piece, the red-tailed hawk, with a great Loveland fine art photographer, Mel Schockner. He is so good at capturing the spirit and energy in the sculpture that I had to share his work. I cast 2 of an edition of 20. #1 is shipping off to live happily in California. #2 is available for sale.
Worked with Paul Dehner at Bronze Services on the patina today for my new red-tailed hawk. I could not be more pleased with Paul's partnership. His talent, ability to listen and love of his work resulted in bringing great visual interest to the piece without giving it a painted look. Here is Paul with the piece before we applied the lacquer and two views after the lacquer was applied. Waiting for a natural sandstone base and then will mount it. What a FUN day for me!
Worked with the metal chaser, Rohn Miller, at Bronze Services today to get the orientation right and finalize the welding of my red-tailed hawk now that is has been cast in bronze. This is just raw bronze metal color before sandblasting. Thinking of now calling it RED ALERT!
Some final welding, fill and surface work need to be completed but I already felt his energy, intense alertness and strength. The eyes are penetrating. Looking forward to collaborating with the patineur to experiment with ferrics for the final surface color treatment and then giving birth.
Just finished a red tailed hawk in clay. We have them soaring over our property frequently. They go on high alert when they spot something of interest. I wanted one that was on a precarious high perch and about to pounce. Taking this to Dan Ochs, my mold maker, tomorrow.
A WHIMSICAL SCULPTURE IN A FUN OUTDOOR SETTING - What goes better than a 5' snowboarding penguin near a children's play area at a Dairy Queen? As of this week, I am honored to have one of my large pieces displayed on an outdoor pedestal at the Loveland Dairy Queen on 300 E. Eisenhower Blvd.
This Loveland DQ has been named the top-volume treat store in the nation for two years in a row. Located in a heavy traffic area at the intersection of two U.S. highways - Lincoln Avenue and Eisenhower Boulevard, this spot is a top draw for great customers.
The owner of this Dairy Queen has long supported the arts by displaying bronze sculptures for customers to enjoy along with with their DQ treats. I want to thank the owner of Bronze Services (my foundry) and the owner of the Dairy Queen for their collaboration in allowing me to do this. Come enjoy a blizzard at the Loveland DQ and say hello to "Snoked". At least give him a shoutout while you drive by on Eisenhower! I promise he will make you smile!
Had a Loveland photographer, Mel Schockner, take some professional photos of Amazing Grace. My plan is to use these for magazine layouts plus starting to dip my toe in the world of sculpture competitions. Mel has an eye, the skills and a passion that captures not only the detail but the energy in the work. I'm blessed to partner with him!
Just sharing some joy! That's me in my red scarf when I was notified today! 🙂
I found out I am invited back to the 2020 Loveland Sculpture in the Park show and don't have to jury in. Woohoo!
HOLD THE 2020 DATES: Aug. 7, 8 and 9.
Here are some photos to give you a sense of the teamwork it took to install Amazing Grace. Moving the 230 pound sculpture (thanks Tim from Ward Construction), getting the right orientation on the fountain rocks/drilling the holes/ and cementing in the piece (thanks Tom and Mike from Bronze Services) and my husband Dave for moral support and helping to orchestrate. I have to say I am busting out with joy right now. The owners and this home on the lake are perfect for my bronze baby. We have to wait 24 hours for the cement to cure and turn on the fountain. Adding flowing water to this composition will make this heron one happy boy in his new forever home. Life is so sweet!
Installation successful!
Beautiful fall day. Client cried when she saw sculpture and described their response as "ecstatic".
Amazing Grace is born! Worked with Ed Darchuk at Bronze Services this morning to do the patina that brought my big blue heron to life! He is a master at what he does. Will post more photos once the piece is installed later in October. Woohoo! So happy!
Checked the metal chasing on Amazing Grace today. It is ready to be sandblasted and have the patina started tomorrow! Rohn Miller, the metal chaser at Bronze Services, did an amazing job. He said it was one of the hardest pieces he has ever done. So happy!
Once again I am impressed with all the other artisans that make my sculptures happen. From that pile of bronze cast parts I posted earlier, a great welder and metal chaser at Bronze Services is bringing my 4' Great Blue Heron back to life. Here is his unfinished re-construction from the cast raw metal parts. The iridescent blue and purple hues show where the heron is being seamed back together. Amazing talent at all stages of the casting process make my vision happen! I am so blessed to live and sculpt in Loveland! Bravo to all the contributing artisans at Bronze Services!
One of many joys as an artist is hearing back from clients who purchase your work. Got these photos from a delightful couple that purchased Berry Good Life at the 2019 Sculpture in the Park . They have a beautiful base to display him on. He looks quite regal don't you think! They told me they have truly enjoy having him in their home and consider him a "treasure". He looks very happy!
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Show update: We will call this so far the year of ravens and crows. Sold 5 pieces so far. One more day to go. You learn to love red dots they put on your sign for each piece when you make a sale.
Sold two of my first piece, Herald. One to a volunteer at the show who loved the energy in the piece. The other one to a metal worker who is thinking about building it into the entry gate at his home in Ohio. Sold 1 of Berry Good Life on a beautiful basalt column to a local couple. Sold a Some Bunny Loves You to an uncle for his 30 something niece who is not married yet. He wanted to remind her Some Bunny Loves Her! His motivation touched my heart. My small single penguin in the silent auction has had several bids. And I have gotten tremendously positive feedback on my newest piece, the blue heron.
Lots of return visits and hugs from clients who have bought before. And again, had the help of a dear friend, Cyndi, to share the experience with and help make sales. What is not to be jazzed about!!!! Here are a few photos to make it real!
LET THE SHOW BEGIN!
The foundation of a great show is built on the support of friends and family to make it happen!
TODAY WAS SETUP!
Just finished a new patina on my wolf and raven sculpture for the upcoming Loveland Sculpture in the Park show. This odd couple are engaged in play. The pair up in the wild. The raven alerts the wolf to other predators in the area when the wolf is feasting on a kill. When the wolf is full, the raven is allowed to eat. After resting, the raven initiates play time by pecking at the wolf's tail. The wolf when ready jumps up and starts to run through the meadow while the raven flies high then takes a deep dive to peck the side of the wolf. Observers of this interaction have said it is for no other purpose than play.
I've tried to capture the moment after the raven has just made contact. I call the piece Playtime! I'm excited to see reaction to my pieces in this year's show. Looking forward to seeing all of you who have told me you plan to come. Enjoy!
Patina just finished on the small heron so Amazing Grace is ready for the sculpture show! Show dates are Saturday, Aug. 10 and Sunday, Aug. 11. Hugs for everyone waiting in my booth!
There is much destruction in the process of creation when it comes to casting bronze fine art. Here is an example.
I finished sculpting all the final detail in CLAY for my 4 ft. Great Blue Heron. Last week, I took it to my mold maker, Dan Ochs here in Loveland.
Here is a frontal shot of the completed piece I dropped off and four photos of what happened next to it. The mold maker decides how to cut up the clay sculpture into pieces that will work best for each step of the process going forward.
Hard to watch your clay baby be cut up, but necessary to get to the end goal. :-(
Each of these 12 wax molds will carry the detail I had in clay through the front part of the process. Then the wax pieces once covered in a ceramic shell get melted down and destroyed once again (creating negative space in the ceramic mold for the molten bronze in the final casting).
After that, a metal chaser will reassemble all the parts of my heron, chase the seams plus clean details, then sandblast the entire piece to ready it for patina. When I get my metal baby back the final fun begins with selecting a surface treatment and color for it (the patina)!
The whole process is about 2-3 weeks for wax molding/pouring and 10 -12 weeks to work through the final casting. I'm blessed to work with so many talented artisans to produce the piece along the way! :-)
Just got my combo stone and wood base for Horn of Plenty done. Will get a professional photo taken for marketing but couldn't wait to show the piece and how organic it feels mounted. I'll add a bronze name plate and then it should be ready for the Loveland sculpture show in August. Organic is good to my eye! You agree?
Making progress on Amazing Grace. Using a stall in our garage given the size. Started to work the front detail on the big guy. Gosh this is fun!
A few of you have asked about the process I am going to use to enlarge the small version of my blue heron to 4 ft. It really involves magic at the intersection of art and technology.
Nothing speaks better than pictures so here is a very basic step outline and associated photos for what I have done so far:
1) First the small clay maquette I sculpted was scanned three times in different colors to create a computer model. Powerful computers and lots of data! You can see the purple, blue and greenish yellow for the three scans in the computer image. The smaller clay model was preserved so I can still cast the heron in the small size too.
2) The scan (computer model) was then used with a 3D printer made in Loveland to print a smaller 3D model of my work. That smaller white plastic model (you can see pieces of them in the photos) was then traced with a scribe on one end of a mechanical arm while the blue foam was being cut in the larger size at the other end of the mechanical arm. Very labor intensive! The company who did the enlarging is getting a new machine in a month that will eliminate the need for a human to scribe the piece in order to cut the larger blue foam version. This time for my piece it required a human interface.
3) The smaller grass reeds, the legs and 2 head feathers for the heron were also 3D printed in plastic for the larger size because they were too fragile in foam.
4) The carved blue foam pieces for the 4' heron were then glued together, assembled with an armature anchored to internal metal bars extending into the wings and a pool of resin inside the foam belly of the heron. This stabilized the piece for transport and for me to add my clay to finish sculpting the final detail. The 3D printed plastic pieces were then attached with metal rods. The blue in the photos is the dense foam. The white are the 3D printed plastic parts.
5) Once the enlarger was done and the piece stabilized, we rented a van and brought the piece home. I'll be sculpting the final version in the garage due to it's size. The last photo is of it sitting on half of our ping pong table.
Hope you enjoy either the photos or learning from the description of steps. Great day for me today bringing my big blue baby with it's plastic parts home. Now the work begins again!
Celebrate! Celebrate! Dance to the great news!!
A client couple has requested I enlarge my recent blue heron maquette to 4 feet tall. They want to install it at the top of some angular rocks that form a beautiful water fountain in the middle of their turnaround drive. Woohoo! Enlarged the heron will be about 48” tall with an impressive wing span of about 44”. I am beyond excited!! Here is a grainy mockup of the proposed sculpture sized to fit on top of their water fountain.
I hope I can draw on the brilliance in each of you to pull this off. I have much learning ahead of me working with enlargers and structural engineers, especially since this is going to be a large outdoor installation.
One of my goals as a sculptor has been to have a large piece in a public setting before I die. This is a private home but I’m counting it. It can easily be seen from the cul de sac. Even better for my blue heron, the home is on a lake!! Feeling so blessed! Hope life is great for all of you!
One of my latest projects is a Great Blue Heron. It is the most common and largest of North American herons. Because it has a wingspan of 5.5' to 6.6' it is a joy to see flapping it's wings. That was my inspiration!
Two little bunnies just out of the foundry in time for Valentine's Day! Looking for their forever homes. I made sure to fill them with joy, love and happiness.
Each one measures 4"H, 2 1/2"W, 3 1/2"D. On this base the sculpture is about 8 1/2" tall. Name plate says "Some Bunny Loves You" and each bunny priced at $430.
Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!
Can you spot my BIG boy penguin greeting everyone from the the front window of Knox Gallery/Beaver Creek? The gallery just sent out New Year's greetings to all their clients using this photo. Made me chuckle! Nothing like a 5 ft. snowboarding penguin to spread some cheer! Happy New Year to everyone!!
Loveland, CO
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Here is a quick video from my studio. This is my maquette which is a small preliminary model of my eventual 6' hospice commission. The large figure represents the team of people working together as one to provide care, comfort and compassion. The smaller figure represents the client or patient and their supporting network of family and friends being impacted. The space between the caregiver and the patient is the sacred space where the hard and the beautiful happens. I wanted to capture that space as a heart seen either by looking through the piece or in a shadow projected by the sun or outdoor lighting. The patina on the piece starts darker brown at the bottom and becomes lighter towards the top of the piece. From my family's experiece with hospice, I wanted that feathering of color to represent how the hospice staff is able to lighten the load at a difficult time. I also will be rubbing back the patina to the bronze on the leading edge of the piece to emphasize the actual 2D hospice logo that I have interpreted into a 3D abstract, contemporary bronze sculpture.
Hot Sulphur Springs Creative Arts Council
Hot Sulphur Springs 80451Craigs Painting Etc and Restoration
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WAYNE THIEBAUD | 70 Years of Painting
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