Thursday 19 June 2014

#540 In the studio: Creating "Requiem for the Fallen"


There are several dates in history that are not only remembered but one can tell you where they
were and what they were doing when the event took place.  People of my parents generation
remember the day Pearl Harbor was bombed, D-day, and the day FDR died.  My generation
remembers the Kennedy assassination, Armstrong landing on the moon, and the day Elvis died.  
More recently, who can forget where they were when the Oklahoma City bombing happened?
By far, the most painful event that most people remember is the day our homeland was attacked. 
That day shook our great nation to it's very core:  September 11, 2001 . . . more commonly known as 911. 

Throughout history artists, writers, performers, and communicators have attempted to convey 
impressions of momentous events . . . it is a basic need.  Realistically it's a need for everyone.  

On the morning of September 11, 2001, I was alone in a small auxiliary studio and apartment that I owned
in Lander, Wyoming.  It seems like tragedy and uncertainty is felt more deeply when one is alone.
I had not yet moved my headquarters from Colorado to Lander . . . I was away from home, family,
dogs, and friends . . . pacing in my studio while listening to the horrific events unfold on the news.
Unable to tear myself away from the news, I remained in the studio all day, feverishly
working on a creation that I eventually named Requiem for the Fallen.   

Several years later, after I moved into my new studio/headquarters that had been built in Lander,
the clay model was placed high on a shelf  where it gathered dust until January of this year.
I took it down and as I cleaned it, I was careful not to lose the spontaneity and freshness
of the soft clay passages executed with passion and purpose so many years before.
As I prepared it for molding and casting, I was flooded with memories of that
fateful September day, 2001 when our beloved country was changed forever.


Below, are images of the clay model after cleaning.
Years ago it did not occur to me to take photos during the creative process.




Below, the work during the patina process at the foundry as a traditional patina
is being applied using liver of sulfur, cupric nitrate and ferric nitrate.


Below are images of the completed work.  I am currently enlarging this piece to 25"H 50"W for a
collector.  It is my hope that I will have the opportunity to enlarge it into a monument in the future.
Requiem for the Fallen
16"H 33"W 8"D

Requiem for the Fallen
16"H 33"W 8"D



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Blog, text, photos, drawings, and sculpture . . . © Sandy Scott and Trish

1 comment:

  1. Stephanie Fagan19 July 2014 at 17:32

    We just stopped at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage today to see the Prix de West exhibit. I was absolutely smitten with this piece-it just spoke. Google finally led me to your blog post. Thank you for the explanation. The work is extraordinary.

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