Well, I THOUGHT "Tolt" was ready to go, but my customer wants me to work on her face a bit more. But before I could do that, my rotator cuff tore completely off the bone - yes, it was painful! I had surgery on September 15 and am just now beginning to be able to do a little bit of work again between naps - seriously. My left arm won't be back to normal until maybe March, maybe later, so I'm told, but I'm also told I'm doing really well with my therapy. I just can't type long, can't carry much in my left hand, can't do any serious work with it, can't ride on my own (although I've started back riding, taking lunge-line lessons at a walk while my daughter, who's my trainer, works on my foot and leg position to avoid stressing my shoulder, bless her. She has a four step mounting block made to help riders get on 18 hand horses, so getting on my 15.2 guy is EASY from that block!)
Anyway - Tolt is on hold while my customer gets new pictures to me as well as a list of what she wants touched up, but I'm working on other things in the meantime. I was the featured artist at the Town & Country Fine Art Gallery in Kettering, Ohio, for the month of November. I did a demo there every Saturday and on "Black Friday" of what I call "one handed sculpting" - making small medallions that will be Christmas ornaments or trophy medals. Sorry, I can't show them to you - some of them will be Christmas presents from me to certain people! After Christmas, I'll be happy to share them and then they'll be for sale, too.
Today I made a mold for the medallions and tomorrow I hope to start casting them in resin. I'm excited! Making the mold was a lot harder on my shoulder than I thought it would be, but DUH! I can't scrape leftovers out of a pot into a storage container without hurting my shoulder. Making a mold is very much a similar motion! I didn't HURT myself, but I'm sore. Luckily, resin is easier to mix and pour than mold material!
My BIG news is that I have a LIFE-SIZE COMMISSION of a Friesian stallion at play! I'll be making the maquette (the small version, like my normal sculptures) and the foundry will have it digitally enlarged since it may be a year before I'm strong enough to do that kind of work. They will have clay applied all over it and will get it close to what I'd sculpted, and then my customer and I will visit there (in Oregon) and he'll make sure I have the details right in the life-size (he will have already done this for the Maquette) and I'll do the finishing touches on the life-size, then the molds will be made, the piece cut up and it will be hauled to the foundry, where it will be cast. It will take 3-4 months for me to sculpt the original, then a mold will be made on the original Maquette and a wax sent to the place where it will be enlarged. While the enlargement is being done, the Maquette will be cast as a bronze edition, which will take 3-4 months. The life-size will be finished 3-4 months after the Maquette is finished. I'll post progress photos as I work on it.
Did I mention that my second novel, "Star Sons Book 2: The Gathering Alliance" is now on Amazon and other outlets? Just do a search on my name and you'll find it. You can also order it from your local bookstore by giving them the ISBN number. I hope y'all will enjoy it! It was great fun to write!
As I said, I've had shoulder surgery recently and can't sculpt normally with both hands. Because of that, my dear non-artist hubby has volunteered to build the armature and lay on the clay for me. I should be able to sculpt the horse one-handed for the most part once those things are done. My customer is a kind and patient man who understands I'm recovering from serious surgery, so the timetable isn't as strict as it might be - a lot depends on how long I can work each day. Right now, I can work a couple of hours and then I need to nap a couple of hours - seriously. But I'm getting stronger every day! And I'm REALLY excited at this opportunity! I hope you'll enjoy watching this sculpture being created!
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