#609 In the studio: Flexible molds

A flexible mold is the term commonly used for a rubber mold and is the type of mold used by most sculptors today.  

For an in-depth discussion about flexible molds, please go to blog #572,
posted October 8, 2014 and blog #574, posted October 15, 2014.

Blog #572              Blog #574

Flexible molds have a varied longevity or "shelf life" which refers to how long the completed mold will last in years.  

Note: Some sculptors refer to shelf life as "library life" or time in storage.  My molds have been made in the studio by 

Trish for over 25 years and during that time, while using Black-Tuffy, Smooth-on, and other products, we've experienced numerous mold failures or loss of mold usage due to the rubber liquifying and turning to an unusable goo.   

Keep in mind, the possible short shelf life of these products is printed on their labels and after losing

some of our older molds before the edition was cast, we've changed to a newer, more stable product. 

Inexplicably, we have 20 year old molds made from Smooth-on that are still good while some have failed after less than 4 years of use!  Most of the old ones, however have failed.  For the past six years, we've been using a product called Polytek
(see blogs #572 and #574) and so far, have experienced no mold failures.

       http://www.polytek.com

The sculpture shown below, entitled Takers of the Anasazi Sun was introduced and sold at
 Prix de West in 1994 and another one was cast and consigned to Knox Gallery in Colorado.

The sculpture is listed in the book about my work - Spirit of the Wild Things - The Art of Sandy Scott -
as an edition of 35 but only two were cast before the Smooth-on mold failed after less than 3 years.
The clay model of the work does not exist nor is there a wax replica of the piece in existence.

http://Spirit of the Wild Things

While works such as the sculpture show above will never be cast again, another older work has been given new life.
In 1999, I created a sculpture entitled, Promising Pup.  After only a few castings, the mold failed but a wax replica
of the clay model was retained before the mold had to be discarded.  Last summer, I totally remodeled and
reworked the wax and Trish molded it into a similar but new sculpture entitled, First Season Promise.

Shown below, is First Season Promise in clay and Trish starting the mold.
More about flexible molds in next Wednesday's blog.

Shown below is view #1 of the new bronze, First Season Promise which will be introduced at two upcoming shows:
The Briscoe Museums's Night of the Artists on March 28, 2015 and
The Cheryl Newby Gallery's The Power of Three show which opens April 25, 2015.

More about both shows in upcoming blogs.

http://Night of the Artists

http://Cheryl Newby Gallery.com

First Season Promise
11"H 15"W 9"D



Go to the BLOG INDEX on the right for more information.

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

#571 "Spirit of the Wild Things", con't . . . it's a beautiful day

This blog is the fourth in a series of posts beginning with #568,
posted September 24, 2014, spotlighting excerpts from the book
"Spirit of the Wild Things - The Art of Sandy Scott".  Published
in 1998 by Stony Press,
the book chronicles early work and is also a learning tool for anyone interested in sculpture studio techniques and insights into an artist's working methods.

The story reprinted below is one of 46 stories and musings taken from early
journals and organized into the book written by Susan Hallsten McGarry on
the occasion of the 1998 Gilcrease Museum Retrospective of my work.
Many of the stories, such as the one below, are about time spent at the
Canadian cabin studio located on an island on Lake of the Woods.

http://www.spiritofthewildthings

It's a Beautiful Day . . . from the book entitled "Spirit of the Wild Things - The Art of Sandy Scott".

As autumn nears, like many people, I instinctively feel an urge to gather and harvest.  In the spring, I'm compelled to plant.  
Akin to the animals, humans have instincts, and mine are manifested in the land, to which I feel a closeness.

My father and my grandparents on both my father's and mother's sides of the family and their fathers before them made their living by farming.  In my own little way I carry on the agrarian tradition.  I have chickens for eggs, a small orchard and a garden. 
I have found that I am content in a rural or a wilderness habitat.

My live-off-the-land compulsion extends to draining and closing time as winter nears at my cabin.
At the end of the season, using Evelyn Cottam's special techniques, I can and put up lake
trout and pike in quart jars.  For the traditional Canadian Thanksgiving in October,
we eat Ruffed Grouse harvested from the island.

But it is the North Country that I identify with and where I feel at home.  
There I feel a part of an existence where life is simple.  The open horizons and the 
freedom of the wilderness - since my youth - have given my life meaning and purpose.

Below, are pictures of crappie and walleye caught for the evening supper . . . . both are excellent tablefare.
While at the cabin, we eat fish at almost every meal and in the fall,
grouse - or partridge as the Canadians call them - are a favorite delicacy.

Below, are walleye filets cooked in the old Presto fryer that's been in use at the cabin for almost 40 years.

Below, is a drawing of a walleye from my sketchbook and an original etching of a crappie.

Below, is a picture of our bird dog in a boat who would rather be grouse hunting.

Below, grouse hunting last week on a remote logging road not far from the cabin.

Below, grouse wings and tail will be put to use as reference for a
new sculpture in progress depicting a pair of Ruffed Grouse in flight.

Below, is an original etching entitled, "The Red Canoe" which was used to illustrate a story in the book,
"Spirit of the Wild Things - The Art of Sandy Scott".

Go to the BLOG INDEX on the right for more information. 

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

   

#569 "Spirit of the Wild Things", con't . . . pelicans

Please go to the previous blog for more information about this series of posts.

It's a cold, overcast, and blustery morning at the island studio on
Lake of the Woods in Ontario . . . a perfect time for the warmth of
a birch fire and reflecting upon times past at the cabin.

Seventeen years ago, Trish and I spent the months of late summer and fall here pouring over my journals and compiling 46 stories and musings for Susan Hallsten McGarry to organize into a publication about my work entitled "Spirit of the Wild Things".  Her superb writing and editing, along with forwards by Bill Kerr and Bob Kuhn, and
essays by Robin Salmon and Brooks Joyner, resulted in a book that was introduced on the occasion of the 1998 Gilcrease Museum Retrospective of my work. 

http://www.spiritofthewildthings  

Many of the stories were inspired by time spent in Canada since my youth . . . exploring and learning.

The book chronicles early work and summarizes A lifelong love of animals and the outdoors.

Below, is another story taken from an early journal and included in the book.

Pelicans . . .  from the book entitled, "Spirit of the Wild Things - The Art of Sandy Scott".


From May to mid-October I live and 
work at the studio in my cabin.
I load up supplies and books and head 
north when the ice goes out - 
I go to my source where new and familiar 
adventure waits.  What anticipation!

When summer days of exploring are gone I'm 
always overwhelmed by memories of younger times,
yet I know that the past is as vital as the 
leaves that break down into the soil.




I note the pelican's absence and the loon's 
rich black color change to a dull gray . . . 
whispering wings fly overhead.  
The beautiful Colorado winter is waiting and 
there's work to be realized in the studio there.

The golden days are to be savored.  
Every yellow birch leaf reminds me it's 
autumn . . . it's time to close up and go south.  
Spring will come.

Below, is an image of Pelican Bookends . . . created in the early 90s.

Below, is an image of an original etching created for the back cover of Gray's Sporting Journal in 1981.

Below, are images of drawings from my sketchbook.

Below, is a photo taken yesterday across the bay from the island.  Although the color looks enhanced . . . it is not.
  The fall color this year is stunning,

Go to the BLOG INDEX on the right for more information. 

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

#568 "Spirit of the Wild Things" . . . my island

After the Cody show (see the previous 2 posts), Trish and I returned to the island studio on Lake of the Woods in Ontario.  The studio is seasonal and must be drained and closed in the late fall and opened in the spring when the ice goes out.  We spend as much time at the lake as possible during those months as it is the source and inspiration for my work.

I'm a journal keeper and have been for as long as I can remember.  Almost twenty years ago a book about
my work was published which included thoughts and musings from the journals. . . many of the stories are
about time spent at the island studio on Lake of the Woods.


 Below, is an excerpt from the Stony Press publication, entitled Spirit of the Wild Things.

www.//Spirit of the Wild Things

My Island . . . from the book entitled, "Spirit of the Wild Things"

The most important days of one's life are spent when one is young for that is when the foundation of what comes
later is laid.  My parents laid that foundation by taking me to Canada.  Later in life I bought a cabin on the
north end of an island across the bay from Red Deer Lodge which we had visited many years earlier.

My island on Lake of the Woods in Ontario, Canada holds a special place in my heart.  It represents a place
of solitude where loons call, eagles cry from high pine limbs and moose thrive in bog and muskeg.
It is flooded with memories of spring portages, of summers fishing for walleyed pike
and warm autumn days hunting ruffed grouse on lonely logging roads.  

Above all, this place is my source:  Ravens, jays, pelicans, partridge, ducks, geese, beaver, fox, squirrel,
wolf, deer, kingfishers, otter, mink, mergansers, cormorants, osprey, herons, gulls, woodpeckers,
black bear,  and the ever present loons and eagles are common in this rugged, watery wilderness.
I've experience these creatures in their domain as the seasons change for my island has given
me a choice seat from which to observe them and the wonders of the great Northland.

Sound of the North Country
4 1/4" X 8
An original etching by Sandy Scott


Lake of the Woods is enormous . . over 70 miles long and wide with thousands of islands and bays.  Most of the lake is in Ontario but parts of it are in Manitoba and northern Minnesota.  Below, is a view of the bay where my island is located.

Below, is a picture taken this rainy morning from the deck of the studio, looking north.

Below, a birch fire takes the chill out of the air on a rainy morning.

Below, is a picture of the boat house and sign taken from the deck on a calm morning.

Below, the sculpture entitled Moose Junction, was started at the cabin studio a few years ago and completed
this year for introduction at the National Museum of Wildlife Art Western Visions show earlier this month.
A locker and game processor is across the bay from our place and quality time was
spent there observing anatomy while hunters brought in deer and moose during hunting season.

Below, is a drawing of the birch tree outside the studio window.

To learn more about the subjects go to the links below.

For a complete list of the blog index go to the Index Page and

type the subject in the Search This Blog link on the upper right.

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