We are moving the beast!

There are appendages everywhere in the studio. 

Here we are at the first of May and we have the following sculpted:

1. A very large rock
2. 4 incredibly large paws and legs, with tiger stripes
3. 1 large tail- with tiger stripes
4. 1 large head growling- with tiger stripes

The studio porch has been covered for weeks. It has helped
to give us a bit more space when sculpting pieces. It will
be nice to uncover it again. We will however, miss eating
lunch at the pond.  Instead we will be eating in a dark
warehouse.  

The only thing left is for us to put the pieces together and carve and sculpt the torso of the tiger. This means we need 13 1/2+ foot clearance,  which we do not have in my studio. So, we are moving.  Yes, Sunday morning we will be hauling sculpted paws, rocks, tail and heading to another location and assembling them in the warehouse.

While trying to move the rear end of the tiger, yes this is just
1/2 of the torso. it got wedged between a tree and a waterfall.
Waiting for male interns to come rescue us from the situation.
This may be a foam armature, but the  reinforcement inside is
making it very, heavy.   

This is a little unnerving as I don't want to harm any of the work that we have already done, but it is also a part of the process.

Working by lamp light at night on a very large claw. 

We will miss the atmosphere of my studio. We love to have lunch at the pond with the turtles, instead we will be in the belly of a large, non air conditioned warehouse space, with no windows.

We are motivated to finish this last part quickly as there is no air conditioning in the warehouse, and we are in Texas, and it does get hot, and my clay melts! So the clock is ticking.  The final countdown begins.


The hoist  has been installed in the new/old warehouse space.  I am happy to report no one was injured hanging this hoist 20 feet in the air.  I have had nightmares about this part.  I must say, when looking up at how high this sculpture is going to stand I say the same thing over and over, "That is a really big cat!"

Moving
One of my interns and I tried moving the back end of the tiger foam, and well... it is very heavy and we are waiting for ( male ) assistance as we now have it wedged between a tree and a waterfall. This  rear end is headed to a welder to modify the armature.  Then it will be brought to the new location with the rest of the pieces on Sunday.

Our goal is to get the sculpting done and the sculpture approved in 3-4 weeks, or less. Remember we are motivated by working in the heat. Then we will take the sculpture apart and send it through the foundry process.

The hoist has been installed in the warehouse. We are
lifting the tiger next week! I'll be sure to post some pictures.