Commissions- It's You and Me

           Creating a sculpture, for me, usually comes about from personal experiences, such as being in situations with my children- watching them in some activity or just in the exuberance of youth. I try to capture the emotion of a moment and transfer it into clay. When I am commissioned to create a sculpture it becomes a different experience; not am I only drawing on my experiences and ideas, but now I am collaborating with one or more individuals to share in a collective vision. What a rewarding experience!

            A recent opportunity took place this last summer when a local resident brought to me a picture of her grandfather from approximately 1895 and asked if I could create a sculpture of him. I was intrigued with the opportunity because her grandfather was a cowboy and is shown in the picture wearing angora chaps. I agreed to the project. She was delighted to hear it and brought many more pictures of her grandfather for me to use. And that is where the fun began.

            I referenced many books and spoke to actual cowboys to make sure that sculpting all the gear this particular man was wearing was to be accurate and true. As the clay was moving along, the patron came to my studio a number of times to give me input, not just to let me know how it looks, but also to share stories of the man I was sculpting. It was important for me to hear those stories of the individual so that I could feel like I wasn’t just working from pictures and reference material, but that I was actually capturing the personality of her grandfather and that it would show in the finished work.

            From clay to bronze is a time consuming endeavor. Once the clay is finished the anticipation begins. The casting process has many steps, each one as important as the next. But how wonderful is the payoff! I was so happy with the way this sculpture turned out. There is a change that occurs when my pliable, soft clay creation is now a hard, bronze sculpture that will last for generations. It is humbling in a way to know that something I created will outlast me on this earth. But even more important is that for this family, they will have a lasting memory of their grandfather that will be passed down through generations. How wonderful to combine different experiences from vastly different lives and see it’s culmination in a bronze sculpture.