Heading to a Warmer Place.

The snow seen in the last posting has melted, that's a plus here in North Carolina, snow does not stay on the ground for long. Our destination is Costa Rica, on tour with O.A.T. We'll have about ten days of warmth. My bones can use some warm weather. It's about 85 degrees during the day in Costa Rica, but there seems to be regular shower activity going on. I'm not the traveler my wife is. She loves it. My deer will miss me I'm sure, well maybe not me , but they'll miss the corn I put out each morning and evening. My friend Phil said the birds down there are spectacular, his group counted 350 different species. I'm going to need a bird book. I tried to get a fly rod into my checked bag, but it was 2" too long and too good a rod to bend for fitting. Any how, there will be much to do on this trip.

Snows come to North Carolina

Here we are in sunny North Carolina , it's the 20th of Jan '09. This looks like the North country. We have a new President. The ceremony in Washington was wonderful, President Obama is an inspiration to all.

That Little Red Dress; Too Low, Too Short, and Too Tight

While taking a metal sculpture course with Kevin Eischner I was able to create some small wax female figures and cast them in bronze, using the lost wax process. The whole thing is a labor intense effort. This particular bronze sculpture explores that part of a man's brain where girls with long blond hair zoom around in red convertible sports cars.....and dreams still linger. The dress was modeled of strips of wax warmed just right to be workable and yet cool enough not slump like melting ice cream. This was not an easy task. A sort of balancing act with a hair dryer and some iced water was in play here. After the pouring process was completed the casting was freed from it's sand mold. The straps for the dress were made of flattened bronze brazing wire welded in place as the last step. After cleaning and smoothing the areas that needed some work. The surface was heated and an red oxide dye was brushed on and the color slowly built up. This was the easiest way to apply color without getting into the complex chemistry of patinas. Even the smaller figure studies I did were labor intensive. Each step in the process was an opportunity for a mistake. Although intense, there was tremendous gratification in casting these bronze pieces.