Throughout our lives, as we pass through the stages of adulthood our understanding of ourselves and our place in this world grows deeper. From Me to Our to Us. We experience a full life of Grace.
Grace is a statue that reflects this complete personal journey. Not to be confused with the traditional Three Graces or Three Charities. This is one life as lived through one person; a woman named Grace. She reminds us that we all live in Grace.
20 tons of rock has worked its way from the stone queries of Marble Colorado to Tay Tower Studio all with specific projects in mind. This 8 foot block was chosen for Adam & Eve the pear and for more on the story of my design just click and read my post on the clay maquette.
In a perfect world the block would have arrived with a perfectly square bottom, and ready to be placed standing. But that’s not the world we live in, so after the base was flattened there was no easy, that is to say inexpensive way to stand this 7 ton block upright. This was my poor artist way of standing the stone, I do not recommend this method to anyone else…
Using the simplest of tools the wedge and jack, the first step was to lift the block to 45 degrees. This dramatically reduces the amount of lifting force needed to stand the block upright… easier said than done. And with every pump of the lever or shove of the wedge, careful attention to work place safety is needed. No finger or toes ever go under the stone. In theory.
In practice, hands are at risk as jacks are adjusted. I ensured there were always three points of contact between the marble and stays. (two wedges and two jacks with only one of these adjusted at one time)
7 tons has a lot of momentum and once the marble was on the move great care was needed to ensure that it didn’t continue to fall. These two back stops flexed with the stone ensuring the truck’s front end wasn’t crushed.
With years of sculpting ahead the need for shade and raised platform was the next step. Work can now begin
With my previous marble Pieta Spero, I go into detail on blocking and rounding of stone. With The Pear, I have added a quick reference rectangular prism to help with measuring cuts.
Imagine for a moment that we were miraculously transformed back to innocence. Once again to see the world as a wondrous playground. Where what we imagined could be real. Faith comes easier for children. And so it was for Saint Peter who so wanted to have faith as firm as rock. He hoped to brave the stormy sea, tried to defend the lord with sword in hand, believed he would never betray Jesus.
When the apostles faith was challenged Jesus would teach; “unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven… If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all… You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church.” With this in mind, I like to see Peter in his full strength, as a child.
Both Saint Peter and Jesus are represented as innocent toddlers. Peter sitting upon the rock, supporting and being supported by Jesus. Both physically and emotionally. Peter tethers Jesus to the rock, uniquely responsible for the unity of the Church body with Jesus and his teachings. More significantly for Peter, though he sits grounded on the rock, he is emotional tied to Jesus. Clasping hands, Peter’s faith is strengthened as it was during stormy weather. And so, just as Jesus buoyed Peter from sinking into the sea, so now is his faith lifted to lead the Church, trusting in the Word eternal. In this way, Jesus is Peter’s Rock.
I have mixed emotions when I look at stone. The excitement of imagining how my vision will look once released is dampened by the doubt in my ability to avoid making any lasting mistakes while carving. As I start any new project, or new section on an existing work, there is always the lurking fear of failure. I have to constantly encourage myself to just keep at it. Step by step. Take my time. I work alone at my studio, and I often wonder what a passer-by would say on seeing me crawl around my marble, musing to myself.
These contradictions quickly vanish once I’m in the groove and the confidence returns. Stone is unforgiving, in that there is no doubt. However, your eye is very precise, and we instinctively know what looks right, and what needs to go.
From the blank featureless space, I pencil in where Mary’s eyes nose and mouth should go. Then I slowly push the stone back, millimeters at a time, working the entire face. As I only have modest amount of natural talent, I don’t attempt to carve the face to its natural depth straightaway. A little fear is a good thing. And as stone is unforgiving, if I go ahead and carve too deep or slightly off center, there is no going back.
Viewing the statue from all angles and continuing to hatch out stone that needs to go, I continue to carve down until I’m about 90 percent complete. As Mary’s face is nestled within the Statue, it’s important not to finish her completely. First I will need to complete Jesus’ heel and her shoulder to ensure a good fit.
Everything is interconnected. Hands are supported by feet, that position the thigh, that align the back, that angle the shoulder, which anchors the face, and cradles the thigh while centering the face that nestles the soul…. that’s why I work in the round.
The hands and feet are next, and once again there is the excess stone that needs to be slowly worked back. Using kids plastecine as quick models to keep the angles right, I continue to chip, chisel and grind my way around the statue.
The modeling clay really can be helpful when dealing with a limited area of stone. I was doing my best to maximize the overall size of my Pieta while working within a confined amount of stone. In both Mary’s forearm and Jesus’ elbow I really could have used an additional centimeter or two. Hopefully no one will notice.
One problem I have to always keep an open eye on is my tendency to distort perspective. When I carve, my face is typically no more than a foot or two away from the chisel or grinder. I’m really too close to appreciate the varying proportions of hands vs. faces vs. feet. Again, this is why I only carve to 90 percent complete. It’s always nice to have a little wiggle room… Once the work is done, I can always go back and try for a 95.
Pieta Spero is nearly complete. Now all that is left is final details and lots of polishing. I’m satisfied, though I would like the ability to go back in time and redo areas that I know are less than perfect. The act of sculpting stone is a very humbling experience. The artist is forced to confront two very different states of being. The courage to deliver our finest results with the serenity to accept the limits of our human abilities. For me, my best is good enough, I’ll leave perfection to God.
There is nothing more interesting to look at than the human face. Believe it or not, you can study faces for hours and not grow tired. This may sound strange but in fact, we do this every day. Whether you’re walking down a busy street, dealing with co-workers, or sitting in front of the TV taking in your favorite show, we spend a great deal of our day scanning our surrounding looking for faces. This is ingrained in us, coded in our DNA. We need to know if we can trust a stranger… Are we being lied to? Is this someone I can trust, would I like this person’s company , find attractive?
So natural is this that our subconscious mind is constantly scanning while our conscious thoughts are focused on other matters. For me, I was chatting with a friend when I had this uncanny suspicion that I was being watched. Wondering who may be on the street, I stared out the window, and then within a few moments noticed the face of a child looking back. There really is nothing more interesting than the human face.
We intuitively know the emotions of a persons simply by looking. And this is why faces are so difficult to sculpt well. Sure, a manikin’s head may appear human, but would you want to be left alone in a room full of manikins? Though the proportions may be correct, there is absolutely no life in those eyes.
This is the miracle gifted into Michelangelo’s work. Carving life into the stone. You can stare into the eyes of realism all day… This is one of the raison d’être, the primary purpose of sculpture; to allow us the space and time to stare into the eyes of creation.
And, this is the impossible standard I would like to follow. to advance my rounded sculpture and add realism and emotion. To try my best to have this cold stone warm with life.
As I mentioned in a previous entry, the face poses the greatest challenge. This is why I saved the hardest for last, hoping that my skills have improved.
This is the importance of following the original design directly from my maquette. Sure the instinct may be to start chiseling with wayward abandon, but then you risk running out of stone, or sending the nose off on the wrong angle. Once the stone is gone, its gone. This is why Michelangelo started with drawing, crafting maquettes and stayed on plan.
Carve a small section at a time, examining the features in the round. From all angles and sides. Trust your eyes ability to spot mistakes. Remember we naturally are aware of the human face. We intuitively know how this face should look. So while looking and carving, it is important to ‘feel’ the emotions your trying to emote… If your in an ugly mood, that what you’ll carve. Using hatch marks, you can highlight the areas that are two high… 
by moving around the statue, getting close, and stepping back, you can ensure all your angles are on their proper tangents. The angle of the nose runs perpendicular to the set of the brow. With continued work finishing and sanding, I’m 90 percent completed with the face. And this is close enough for now. The work is both mentally and physically exhausting.. At least for me, so don’t rush, and take as many breaks as you need… one mistake can change everything. Infact, as I’m happy with my progress as of this day, I’m going to stop and move on to Mary’s face… change is as good as a rest. More on that next time.
