Lintel face

[Gargoyle]

This is 18" tall, 8" relief, (45cm tall, 20cm relief) carved in Indiana limestone. Not quite done yet, but getting there. It will go in the middle of a lintel over the porch of a greystone house in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood. Its a restoration project, they had to pretty rebuild the entire facade.

It's based on a piece the client saw on an old building in France, and photos of his daughters face.



Here is where it's going. Not visible in the above photo, but there is a 10" square plug of stone sticking out 4" from the back of the block. (so I started from a 12" thick block of stone).

 

[Mike Cirelli]

That's going to look really cool there. With the plain stone around framing it your work will really stand out. Good job.

 

[monk]

except for the color, this lady looks real. an admirable job, for sure

 

[Dave London]

Whow
Fantastic Gargoyle

 

[Marcus Hunt]

Fantastic work!

 

[mitch]

so will it be mortared in place, wedged with a key of some sort, or?

 

[DakotaDocMartin]

Very nice! Too bad they went so plain with the rest of the stonework. Some acanthus leaf scrolls in the corners... or something.

 

[Mike Fennell]

Beautiful work Walter and a nice upgrade for the building.

There are a lot of nice buildings in that area. I lived there for many years before moving to the country.

It was a pleasure to meet you and Fely at the museum.

 

[golden forge]

Just have to say that she will be the nicest part of that building.

 

[Gargoyle]

BTW, I didn't have any involvement in any other aspect of the project, except for two replacement finials to go on the roof.

so will it be mortared in place, wedged with a key of some sort, or?

Square plug on the back, with a matching square pocket in the lintel; it will be epoxied in place. They may add a stainless rod, but that isn't essential.

 

[Gargoyle]

Finished up the eyes this morning, and did some changes to the cheeks and jaw. Ready to go unless I spot anything that bothers me. (sometimes you just have to stop looking at a piece and move on).

 

[Marrinan]

Truly a beautiful piece of work. Thank you for sharing your skills with us. Fred

 

[Doc Mark]

Gargoyle,

It's fabulous! I must admit that I was a bit put off by the eyes in the first photo. They just had that "thousand yard stare". I didn't realize that they were unfinished! I should have known better. Now, with the finished pupils, iris and "reflection", the whole face becomes alive. I'm so glad to see that, at least some, architectural sculpture is finding it's way back into our mirror glass and steel boxes that pass for style in todays cities.

 

[Gargoyle]

Gargoyle,

It's fabulous! I must admit that I was a bit put off by the eyes in the first photo.

They were just penciled in, lids and sockets weren't finished.

 

[Sam]

Walter, you never cease to amaze. Wonderful sculpture!

 

[Mike Bissell]

Throughout history there have only been a hand full of men that could give life to stone, Gargoyle you are one of them!!

 

[Gargoyle]

Throughout history there have only been a hand full of men that could give life to stone, Gargoyle you are one of them!!

Well, I have gotten blood from a stone, but generally because I hit my hand with a hammer.

 

[dimovengraving]

Beautiful and outstanding work Gargoyle :bow:


I love symbiosis between something so ancient and classical like stone carving , and something so modern and contemporary as a web signature:

 

[rod]

Yes, Evgeni, that .com signing should help to carbon date this fine timeless sculpture in millenniums to come!

Walter, may I add my accolades to the many here, splendid, and always inspiring to see your work. We really cannot get any closer to our human roots than working stone.

May I ask, do you need to, where possible, elevate your works in progress to their final viewing height to get a sense of the perspective, and is that taken into account in the carving itself?

And my follow up question, with regard to large sculptures like the marble "David" in Florence, so tall, and stretching so far up from the observer, would they need perspective 'warping' to feel right from street level? This might be a silly sculpture 101 question, but I am not a carver.

Rod

 

[Gargoyle]

Rod, most of the time I had it set at an angle on the bench, so I was viewing from a low angle. However, I had it on a turntable, and moved it around a lot.
However, bottom line is, you need to know by instinct, by feel, how it will look. Sort of like Beethoven being able to compose after he was deaf, at a certain point you feel how it should be. It must be similar, for example if you work in a small shop with artificial light on a gun which the owner will show off outdoors on a range or a hunt. You need to instinctively judge how it will look under other conditions.