Postlude: Sculpture Unveiling

The unveiling of sculpture, C.W. Lonsdale, at the Real Carriage Door wood shop

Gallery photos from the party on January 17th & 19th, 2013

Thank you to all who came! It seemed everyone had a wonderful time at the Real Carriage Door wood shop which was transformed into a sparkling winter party. Beer was served by local 7 Seas Brewing; jazz music was played by Zizzy Zi Zixxy, with the unveiling of the sculpture as the focus of the evening. Locals browsed the gallery of sculptures by Mardie Rees, while drinking beer and chatting with friends. Children joined the fun by dancing to the jazz music in front of the band. Many doors were displayed for enjoyment to add to the creative mood. At 6 pm, Beth Rees introduced a new video about Real Carriage Door Company (viewable on a large screen held aloft by a forklift). Thursday night, the current Headmaster from Shawnigan Lake School, David Robertson, shared some background about the school and expressed their excitement in receiving the sculpture of their founder and headmaster, C.W. Lonsdale, and his faithful German Shepherd. Sculptor Mardie Rees was later introduced, and she elaborated on the process of creating the monumental sculpture over the last three years. After much anticipation, Mardie spoke the key words, "Let's take a look," and upon the count of three, the canvas was dropped to a round of applause.

The sculpture will be at the foundry (Two Raven Studio in Tacoma) through the end of the summer, and the official unveiling of the sculpture cast in bronze to be scheduled for October 2013.

Headmaster meets Headmaster

November 14th, 2012 was the important day I had been waiting for. I had worked especially hard during the last two months (in addition to the past three years) to have finally reached the moment my larger-than-life sculpture would be shown to Shawnigan Lake School.

Headmaster David Robertson and director of Advancement Rudy Massimo joined myself and Stuart Milbrad in the studio (currently at Real Carriage Door Co.) to see the substantially complete sculpture of founder and first Headmaster of Shawnigan Lake School: Christopher Windley Lonsdale.

left to right: Stuart Milbrad, David Robertson, Mardie Rees, Rudy Massimo

My favorite photo of Lonsdale. Here he is pictured in front of the school shortly after the fire. 

We discussed the Work for nearly two hours. I described to them the process of making the piece, the thoughts behind it, and what I imagined Lonsdale to be thinking about as he stood (in my mind) looking out over his school campus in the year 1925. We thumbed through all the archival photographs of Lonsdale on my iPad (I've memorized them all by this point). I pointed out various characteristics about him in each photo and the inspiration for the piece. The Work was received with much enthusiasm, and it was a pleasure to create such a work,  knowing that even alumni who were personally acquainted with Lonsdale will get a chance to enjoy it, as well as current and future alumni. 

Finishing Dog Feet

I'm finishing up the details on all 4 feet of my sculpture of a German shepherd dog (representing the many dogs C.W. Lonsdale had as Headmaster). My model for the body and feet is a white German Shepherd named, Finn. He is the sweetest and most well behaved dog I have ever had modeling for me. Julie (Finn's owner) does a good job keeping him still. Usually he models for me a couple hours at a time. 

Home Stretch

The Fall brought beautiful weather with sun and warm temperatures. The last three months has been the homestretch for a project I have been working on since the beginning of 2012. Because we had an indian summer, I was able to work with the large roll up door open and the sun streaming in my studio (at Real Carriage, Gig Harbor - WA). My German Shepherd Dogs (I have two of them) spent many hours in my studio modeling as I worked out the kinks and sculpted the portrait. It was a lot of fun working with a live dog in my studio! 

Then as life would have it - the rains came in late October (just as I begin to return to the portrait) and it got cold, so I had to figure out how to once again work with artificial lighting. 

My dog after many adjustments

In late September my husband, Jeremy, help me install the platform under their feet. 

foil on the feet to protect finished shoes from getting damaged from dropped tools and clay when I'm working up high. 

Getting the lighting right so I could properly work on the portrait has been a challenge. Tools, scaffolding, lighting, and over tiredness are all things that you have to work to overcome so that the Work doesn't suffer.