Kindred Spirits, Fairy Sculpture Work in Progress

This is blog number two as this project continues. I've got the body parts of the fairy rough shaped, and now I'm beginning to work on some of the details.

 

Above & Below: One leg shaped except for the foot which looks like long swim fin at this point

I like the feeling that the piece is already inside the metal and I'm just freeing it

Both legs shaped except for feet, the body is in good shape to except for the head which still needs a considerable amount of work

 

One arm shaped except for the hand

 

Both arms shaped, the arms and legs need to be mirror images. My method allows me to compare the pieces as I work. It's all subtraction of material and hand work, so it's imperfect by nature, but I can manage to get pretty close. Since the final pieces will be bent into different positions, any imperfections seem to disappear.

 

Body, arms and legs rough shaped and ready for some details. Right now it looks like there's been a terrible accident

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My Newest Fairy Sculpture is now a Work in Progress

Now and the I get a request from someone to create a work specifically for them. I enjoy this type of collaboration. This request was for a copper fairy on a poka-dot mushroom. Working with the client we came up with the following Photoshop version of the design. Now the challenge for me is to see how close I can come with the actual work.

 

The piece will be titled "Kindred Spirits"

I start these sculptures with some pieces of copper. I need a pretty big piece for the body so I have to cut it from a thick copper block (not really an ad for DeWalt tools)

 

These pieces will  be the fairy's body, arms and legs

 

Then I start the rough grinding

 

Each step gets a little closer to the finished component

The metal gets pretty hot during grinding. That discoloring is the result, but it's just on the surface

She's starting to take shape

 

I leave quite a bit of material for the head since I have to subtract the material (math was never my strong suit). She has a bit of an alien quality at this stage

She's in there; stay tuned.

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The fairy is awake!

Waking Fairy, Copper and Cholla Cactus Wood Sculpture

I just completed my latest sculpture. Handcrafted Copper and Cholla Cactus Wood Sculpture on Oak Base; approx. 7" high x 9-1/4" wide. Hand cut and forged free-standing art.

On warm summer nights fairies like to sleep in cool, fragrant flower beds where they can gaze at the stars and moon. This fairy found a nice cholla log to curl up in, and now she is waking up to start her day. http://www.lunarskies.com/pages1/wakingfairy1.html

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Fairy, Still a Work In Progress

Did you ever notice how everything you create takes more time than you thought it would. Happens to me all the time. So my fairy is still not finished; consider this a progress report.

 

She's not in pain, trust me. I haven't even applied any heat yet.

 

If you think a lot have holes have been drill, you're right. I glue the pattern onto the copper with a glue stick, simple!

 

After I've cut out the metal, I have to remove the pattern. I used to struggle with this step. I tried just peeling the paper off; nope, it separates. I tried soaking in mineral spirits; nope, better but mostly just messy and it leaves a nasty residue. The solution? If all else fails, read the instructions. The glue used for glue sticks is water soluble. After about two minutes soaking in plain water the paper just floats away from the metal. Boy is my face red. Great, red face and green hands, and it's not anywhere close to Christmas.

 

That's better! I'm working on the hair now. After that I can start putting her together.

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