Mixed fortunes

A wild day today with the wind whirling around the yard making it hard to get out of the way of the dust. I made excellent progress on the fourth side until disaster struck half way through the afternoon with the sander snatching at a corner and breaking of a chip. My heart sank as at first sight it looked pretty disastrous, but after consideration I was able to re-work one section and carve the break out. You have to be very careful when working close to an edge as it is easy to come a little too close to that edge and for the sander to ‘grab’ as it did today. You can just about make out the remains of my mistake at the left hand end of the fourth row from the bottom. Tomorrow I shall sand out the error completely. No one will ever know ( except you and me).

Third side

Mmm, turning this piece around is very challenging. Why do I do this to myself? The problem is that when I roll the marble over all the weight is in a couple of little points for a moment. Once the sculpture is complete however I will no longer have to roll it. How the nights are drawing in. I have to get my light into action at about three o’clock as the gloom is getting too much. Although it was a wonderful sunny day today, the temperature plummeted as soon as the sun disappeared.

 

Cutting the teeth

This larger sculpture is beginning to take shape as I cut out the forms on the first face. I am using the sanding and polishing sandpaper at this stage in order to avoid turning the sculpture too many times. Turning a sculpture this heavy and delicate will be tricky and run the risk of damaging it. I will probably have to make a special frame in order to transport this piece safely. It will be fine once it is standing, the risk is in the moving.

A bigger version with no twist

I am on a bigger version now with the diminishing column wobbling upwards from both side to side and front to back. I toyed with the idea of round forms like mushrooms, or almond shapes but am a little nervous of losing too much strength when working on this larger scale. This carving is quite large at about seven feet. I am not sure this one will fit in the gallery… I am enjoying these forms built of units however and will continue whilst there is room to explore the idea further.

Fine tuning

I have spent the day working over the surface of the carving with sandpapers. I start with a really rough ‘Tarmac’ grade which removes lots of material enabling one to make small alterations to the forms. Once I have worked the whole surface over with this I progress through ever finer papers. Each step up in grade removes less material but improves the quality of the finish. I did not quite have time to stand it up today. Moving this sculpture is going to be tricky as there are lots of delicate points everywhere. I might have to build a special frame to transport it.

Bigger stack with a twist

This piece is coming on well and I am looking forward to standing it up. It has been several days since my last post as I have been attending an exhibition Out of Nature in Herefordshire. All sorts of sculpture on display in the gardens of the magnificent Newport house. I was asked to give a talk about my working practices. I followed Satish Kumar in talking as he opened the exhibition; always a hard act to follow. He speaks brilliantly! Mine was ok although there is certainly room to improve, I find that standing in front of lots of people makes me a little nervous and as a consequence muddle all that I want to say. Carving this new piece is easier for me than public speaking. I must consider what kind of base to put it on.

Bigger version with a twist

I liked the last piece with the square mushrooms wobbling upwards, so I am trying a new version. The top forms will be twisted 45% from the bottom. I am taking a good deal of trouble to get the shape of the sculpture as I want it before getting involved with the individual forms. I am of course itching to reveal those forms and have to hold myself back to some extent. The Matbro is back and working thanks to my wonderful neighbour Rich. I was alarmed however to find that it was not where I parked it last night. The handbrake obviously needs some further adjustment as the machine had rolled out of the shed in the night. Luckily the wheels were not aligned and it turned away from the huge hole that I have dug for the compost. Had the wheels been turned the other way, it would have rolled straight in!