A three month long project, full Reveal: 19th October
Firstly, I’m forever grateful for receiving the opportunity to create this piece and can barely contain my excitement for the project. On top of this, it’s a topic that has been important to me since I first saw one. It has been an absolute pleasure to create this sculpture and I hope its presence benefits those that require the support of the commissioner.
Initially a daunting challenge, once underway it really took off. Dare I say I’ve enjoyed every part of this piece (even the fiddly, scary bits!) and already have plans to apply focus to this area next year.
What am I talking about? Check out the progress below!
Please click on the above image to see the next in the sequence
The first image is the beginning of the design stage after discussing with my client what they’d like from the sculpture. Intent researching ensues for a suitable image to base the majority of the design on, including the internal frame (thank you Pro-Fab!). This also acts as my continual reference and helps me keep my proportions correct.
Once the frame is built and ready to go - using galvanised steel - I begin to shape the main muscle groups, flank, shoulders, rib cage, and give myself a general idea of where other joints (and the head!) will go.
Moving on further, I start focussing on and around muscle groups such as; the point of shoulder, gaskin, hock etc. Once density has increased, I finish with my 2mm wire and swap to 1.6mm to start finessing what will be the final layer. This smooths and ties together all the muscle groups and joints.
At this point I can get into tackling areas requiring more details, like the head. After marking eye features, “filling in” (increasing the surface density) can continue, as well as introducing a hammer. It’s with this that I refine the surface and add curves/ridges to accentuate or disolve shadows, depending on what’s needed.
In the final steps, the entire surface is gently hammered and checked for stray or sharp edges, final details - such as the mane and tail - are added and most importantly, Mum gives it a final look over.