After waiting a few weeks for the Ascending Spirit sculpture to dry out, Justin came over to help me carry it from the garage into the basement studio. What a challenge that turned out to be! First, it still weighed over a hundred pounds and second, it was so large that it required careful maneuvering to get through the doors and halls.
Originally I picked up the top end while Justin lifted the base then when I noticed that I was straining under the weight and he found it easy, I suggested that we switch ends. He willingly obliged. I could easily hold the wood base while he had to hug the sculpture's wings and endure pricks from protruding mire mesh ends.
Getting out of the garage was easy. Carrying it through the front door and down the hall was challenging. (I scratched the paint in the hall and now need to patch it up.) Carrying the sculpture down the stairs into the basement border lined on impossible but we made it. By the end we were both sweating and Justin displayed numerous bloody scratches on his hands and arms. Everyone knew that if it got any heavier and bigger there was no way to get it out of the basement.
The quandary was in deciding what to do next. The fact that it was still so heavy surprised me and I wondered if the clay was still heavy from water weight. Maybe if we waiting a few more weeks it would become light enough to carry. I crossed my fingers and decided to wait while monitoring its weight loss.
Originally I picked up the top end while Justin lifted the base then when I noticed that I was straining under the weight and he found it easy, I suggested that we switch ends. He willingly obliged. I could easily hold the wood base while he had to hug the sculpture's wings and endure pricks from protruding mire mesh ends.
Getting out of the garage was easy. Carrying it through the front door and down the hall was challenging. (I scratched the paint in the hall and now need to patch it up.) Carrying the sculpture down the stairs into the basement border lined on impossible but we made it. By the end we were both sweating and Justin displayed numerous bloody scratches on his hands and arms. Everyone knew that if it got any heavier and bigger there was no way to get it out of the basement.
The quandary was in deciding what to do next. The fact that it was still so heavy surprised me and I wondered if the clay was still heavy from water weight. Maybe if we waiting a few more weeks it would become light enough to carry. I crossed my fingers and decided to wait while monitoring its weight loss.
The sculpture suffered a lot of cracks during the move from Art on the Street to my house and the chips of loose WInterstone fell out while we carried it into the basement. I'm sure it can be fixed if we decide to proceed.
Plan B is to remove the top half of the sculpture and replace it at a smaller scale. Being so much work, I hope we don't have to resort to Plan B.
Plan B is to remove the top half of the sculpture and replace it at a smaller scale. Being so much work, I hope we don't have to resort to Plan B.
In the mean time I'm working on the scale model which is only 85 cm high. The Winterstone clay layers are almost complete and ready for the icing layers to be installed.
I also found some time to try acrylic painting again. Flipping through a Group of Seven book I found two Lawren Harris paintings to make studies from. I painted them on small 6" x 8" boards that Donna Kramp gave me. Thanks Donna!
This is the other Lawren Harris study. Sondra liked it and will find a place for it on one of her walls. I'm happy it found a home.
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