Arnaud Van Tilburgh
~ Elite 1000 Member ~
Beautiful work
arnaud
arnaud
Big piece of rock
- Thread starter Gargoyle
- Start date
Gargoyle
Official Cafe Stone Carver
Father Damen built Holy Family Parish, the second oldest Catholic church in Chicago. It predated and survived the 1871 Chicago fire. Last night I finished carving the church in relief on the back of his chair.
KCSteve
~ Elite 1000 Member ~
What a compelling gaze. I predict that over the years there will be many references by students to being judged by those eyes.
Gargoyle
Official Cafe Stone Carver
I was hoping to make him someone they could consult with, confide in, or be counseled by, or just in general relate to, rather than feeling he was judging them.
But the artist only does the first 95% of the work- every viewer brings the final 5%, finishing it in their own way, with their own response and interpretation.
Dave London
~ Elite 1000 Member ~
My I ask how do you remove the background,on the rear panel thanks Dave
Doc Mark
~ Elite 1000 Member ~
Brilliant question Dave. I was about to ask the very same thing! I wondered if a power tool like a "stone router" was use to rough out the background and then hand finished.
Gargoyle
Official Cafe Stone Carver
Chisel. Then a tiny bit of sanding. I hate sanding, so I just take it as far as possible with a chisel.
Mike Fennell
Elite Cafe Member
You really captured Fr. Damen. I recall that he also founded St. Ignatius College, from which Loyola University originated.
Since your marble sculpture will be installed outdoors, what measures will be taken to protect the fine detail in your work from the mild acidity of the rain and Chicago atmosphere?
Since your marble sculpture will be installed outdoors, what measures will be taken to protect the fine detail in your work from the mild acidity of the rain and Chicago atmosphere?
Gargoyle
Official Cafe Stone Carver
Limestone, not marble. Marble suffers from the freeze-thaw cycles here, but limestone holds up fine. I will give it a waterproofing (a permeable/breathable high quality product). That lasts perhaps 3 years. The stone is fresh quarried, so still soft (after 180 million or so years sitting in the ground), it will harden up over the next few years.
This photo is from Leonard Volk's memorial to himself and his wife, in Chicago's Rosehill Cemetery, carved by Englebert Gast. It's 120 years old. Dirty, stained, weathered, but the carving is still crisp.
Dave London
~ Elite 1000 Member ~
Thanks Gargoyle, quite amazing and beautiful work. Dave
Gargoyle
Official Cafe Stone Carver
OK, I'm just about done whittlin' down that big piece of rock..
Gargoyle
Official Cafe Stone Carver
Neither of my forklifts is big enough, so I had to borrow this one from Sam. He uses it to move some of his larger knives around his shop.
Gargoyle
Official Cafe Stone Carver
The crane operator had a scale- final weight was just 7,700 lbs. The block started at 23,000. (3500 kg/10500 kg)
That's ice on the pedestal. Once the ice was in place they pulled the 2x4's, set down the stone, and removed the slings, then let it settle down as the ice melted. Ancient technique for getting the slings out when it's a flush setting.
That's ice on the pedestal. Once the ice was in place they pulled the 2x4's, set down the stone, and removed the slings, then let it settle down as the ice melted. Ancient technique for getting the slings out when it's a flush setting.
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Gargoyle
Official Cafe Stone Carver
Sitting on his plinth. Tomorrow I clean the studio and get rolling on the firefighter memorial.
Idaho Flint
Elite Cafe Member
Wow, it turned out perfect. Thank you so much for sharing.
Please share the firefighter memorial with us. I am really interested in seeing it.
Thanks
Mike
Please share the firefighter memorial with us. I am really interested in seeing it.
Thanks
Mike
Leonardo
Elite Cafe Member
The eyes.
Fantastic work Walter!
It always amaze me how important are the eyes when you are representing (drawing, engraving, carving, etc.) a living creature.
At this point, doing a good job you can bring it to life or, in the other hand, ruin it forever! (Which is not your case, of course!!)
Thank you very much for sharing so great work of art from the start to the end.
Leonardo
Fantastic work Walter!
It always amaze me how important are the eyes when you are representing (drawing, engraving, carving, etc.) a living creature.
At this point, doing a good job you can bring it to life or, in the other hand, ruin it forever! (Which is not your case, of course!!)
Thank you very much for sharing so great work of art from the start to the end.
Leonardo
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Marrinan
~ Elite 1000 Member ~
Walter, A wonderful work. and thanks for sharing it the several times during the process. A question. Do you use saws to get to the general shape before your magic with chisels begin? I know that the old masters used apprentices and saws (hand of course) before they used chisels. Just curious about the early stages of your sculpting. I read that the statue of David sat for years between the apprentice roughing and the finishing as no established sculptor would accept the job as the marble had been left to the elements and the feared that it would be a catastrophe to attempt to finish it. Correct that story if I am remembering wrong if you please.
Again thank you for sharing some of your non floral work with us. I noted a large number of busts in you shop. Could you share some of those with use when you have time. I was watching a YouTube video about some of the sculptures in Egypt and one on Easter Island (about walking them from the quarry to their final site using just their unique bases and pulling on ropes-some several miles) The Video on the faces noted that the are absolutely symmetrical on the Sphinx and the two largest statues ever done. Of course the point was this could not have been done whit a copper chisel and a rock to pound with. Sorry for running on. Fred
Again thank you for sharing some of your non floral work with us. I noted a large number of busts in you shop. Could you share some of those with use when you have time. I was watching a YouTube video about some of the sculptures in Egypt and one on Easter Island (about walking them from the quarry to their final site using just their unique bases and pulling on ropes-some several miles) The Video on the faces noted that the are absolutely symmetrical on the Sphinx and the two largest statues ever done. Of course the point was this could not have been done whit a copper chisel and a rock to pound with. Sorry for running on. Fred
Gargoyle
Official Cafe Stone Carver
Roughout was with diamond saws (7 and 9" diameter blades), pitching tool (a flat blunt chisel with a face 2 or 3" wide by about 3/8", hit with a 2 lb hammer to break off large chunks), and then larger carbide tipped chisels and air hammer.
Marrinan
~ Elite 1000 Member ~
Thanks for the information Walter. I figured something like that was probably the case. Fred
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