What
a week it’s been!
We
got back from our trip to Minneapolis and hit the week hard. Since it’s the
last week of the month my business took some extra time so my time in the
studio was at a minimum.
Still
it is surprising what one can accomplish when the plan ahead is clear and one
is focused. Last weekend I did described a plan for how the back of the “Throne
of Swords” would have to be done. Originally, As you know I had envisioned a
single sheet of clay making up the back of this throne. It had become obvious that
would not do, as the size of the chair demanded a back too large for the
strength of one sheet. So let us begin with the lower back!
Since
I had already measured and cut the sheets needed for this next step last week,
I simply needed to do the assembling of the pieces. Before we left for
Minneapolis I had to run back to the studio as I’d left these clay pieces in a relatively
unwrapped state so they would dry to a leather hard state and be ready for
assembly on the next day, Saturday. Well, now with the trip we would be gone till
Monday, two extra days of drying time would result in the pieces becoming too
dry, so I re-wrapped them much tighter in light of that new reality.
As
you can see in the top photo, I began by adding the lower back, inner support
pieces. You can see I made those round openings in the back panel of the chair
and also in the middle of the support pieces. This is to facilitate the
movement of heated air through the inner parts of the hollow back. We cannot
have any air locks anywhere. Also, this will allow the temperature to even out
throughout the whole chair easily during the firing process. You might be
wondering about the strange material on these supports, it’s wet paper
towelling. This is simply to keep them from drying further as I work and to
actually soften the edges so the connection with the next piece will be a good
one. Damp pieces of paper towelling is my “go to” way of keeping my pieces at the
correct moisture levels as it takes time working on large pieces like this. The
drying continues and one has to control it at all times.
After
this I prepared the next piece, a large slab of clay that would now become the
new back of the chair, resting against these supports. I scored every edge,
added the “cement”, (wet clay) then carrying the clay slap on the board it had
been drying on, simply placed it in the upright position against the bottom and
let it gently lean onto these supports. Since it was leather hard it stood on
it’s own which made it easy to simply apply pressure on the contact points with
these supports for a good bond. You can see the results on the photos to the
right.
Many
people have been asking me, “How long did it take to do this sculpture?” I have
had a real problem answering that as the work is so varied in what is involved.
So, for the first time I am actually logging my hours on a project. What you
see done here took 2.5 hours. So, in total I have now logged exactly 50 hours
on this project! And I still have the upper back to do plus the king who will
be sitting on this chair! Wow. It’s going to be a few hours!
Tomorrow,
we tackle the upper part of the back of the chair. How will I do this? mmmmm?
“If anyone remains joined to me, and I
to him, he will bear a lot of fruit...”
John 15:5
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