My Studio Will Be Closed Till June 1st

Taking the 4 day weekend... Enjoy everyone.

The Protector - Creating the Shield Today

Taking from the construction of actual war shields, I attempt to make one out of burlap, wax, and copper tubing. Dipping the burlap in melted wax, then doubling it up and then cutting out a circular shape. I then form copper tubing into a hoop shape to stretch the burlap over. Then I run string from one side to the other to act as rawhide straps to draw the burlap tight on the hoop of copper.



Final Photographs.

Bronc Stompin - Edition of 40

Spent today photographing the bronze of BRONC STOMPIN for publication and my website. I found this on how Indians broke horses compared to cowboys. Pictures of my bronze follow the article.

How did Indians break horses, as opposed to the cowboy way?
True West Magazine
By: Marshall Trimble 09/25/2009

Some of the ways they broke horses was to Indians usually did not use saddles. Some of the ways they broke horses was to run them into deep water and let ’em buck until they wore themselves out. Indians also loped the horses in deep sand, when possible, up a steep grade, until the horses were too tired to buck—that always took the starch out of them in a hurry. I’ve tried all those methods myself, and each one makes a horse lose interest in bucking pretty fast.run them into deep water and let ’em buck until they wore themselves out.

Cowboys had (and have) many ways to break horses. A favorite was blind-folding the animal with a jacket before getting on and “pulling the blind” just when the cowboy’s butt hit the saddle. They might also tie the bronco to a tree without water, so he can feed for a few hours before the cowboy saddles him. Or they tied down the horse until he was saddled, then jumped into the saddle as he was turned loose and standing up. Bronc busters, like any other specialists, had their favorite ways of breaking a horse.
Once in the saddle, a bronc buster did his best to keep the horse’s head up. If he was thrown, he’d get back on as quick as possible, so the horse wouldn’t think it won the fight.
One bronc buster offered this piece of wry wisdom: “The trick to breaking horses,” he opined, “is, after you get bucked off, keep gettin’ back on ’til the horse gets bored.”

Photographs of Bronc Stompin

Coloring Bronc Stompin - The First Bronze

Spent the afternoon at Northwest Art Castings in Bozeman Montana to color the first copy of BRONC STOMPIN in bronze.



Final photograps today..

The Protector - Hair

The warrior stops being bald today. I did a lot a research this weekend and have tried to interpret the paintings and sketch's from Charlie Russell and any other source I could find. The hair style I'm doing is Blackfoot. Not sure yet of the feather arraignment..
Tomorrow, I'll be at Northwest Artcasting, in Bozeman Montana, coloring the first bronze of BRONC STOMPIN. Look for the video tomorrow night.



Final Photographs today.

Magpie Versus Cat - Death Wish? Or Playmates?

The Protector - Turning Pearls into Brass Beads

I spent the day researching accessories that the warrior will wear. I found a necklace with Grizzly Bear Claws in a book on Blackfeet artifacts. I wanted to put claws on a necklace but didn't want to make a heavy necklace. The one I picked was light and still fascinating to view.
I'll be gone tomorrow. I need to get my tire fixed and then I'm off to the foundry to get more clay. I'm way low on clay. My son Jason is coming up to visit me this weekend. Can't wait. See you all on Monday.



Final photographs.

The Protector - Left Hand and Sleeves Today

Day didn't start out great. Power kept going off at my house, and the Internet died. Got to the studio and I had one power outage at the beginning of the day and then one at the end of the day. So got a lot done today.
Ran my van into a hole on the way home and blew my left front tire.. got home and power was off for nearly 4 hours.. it had been off since noon. Three power lines shorted out, and melted a couple of streets over from my house. Great day.



Final Photographs today

The Protector - Clay, Power, Lightning and Thundre Today

I realized after I got to the studio this morning, the shirt tails were uneven so I had to readjust. I couldn't get far today, because a heavy thunder and rain storm moved into our valley.. and since our power lines probably date back to Edison's time, we kept getting power outages. Gets real dark in the studio without power, so I called it quits after the 5th outage..

The Protector - A Goal Set Today - Let's See If I can Meet It

Very short day today. I had to go to Bozeman Montana (120 mile round trip) today to pick up my new glasses.
Did manage to get started on the bottom part of the shirt, and made a decision on the placement of the shield.



Final Photographs

Painting by Charles Russell, called, "Buffalo Coat". Not the bottom of the shirt.

Yellowstone Park and Lots of Buffalo Today

Took a short trip to Yellowstone National Park. It's only 75 miles from where I live, and it was just a beautiful day
The video below is restricted in some countries. If you have a problem viewing it, go to this link onetruemedia.com

The Protector - Blanket Leggings and Loin Cloth

Started the day with a real hum dinger of a headache. Late afternoon I was fine, so went into the studio and launched into getting the leggings and the loincloths finished. Well I got close on both. Monday I'll be back to finish up the lower half of this warrior.



Final Photograph today.

The Protector - Base to Loincloth

Needed to create the base. I first, using Duct tape, I make a reservoir for Taxidermy Foam to be poured into. This saves probably 20 pounds in clay. Then once I tighten up the legs, I melt wax and dip cloth into it for the loincloth.

The Protector - Adding the Shirt

Went in real early this morning, and almost finished the shirt before I had to leave.. an appointment in Bozeman Montana.
I fiddled with his face a bit, then started to try and make the shirt look like a cotton trade shirt, using a photograph of Curly, a Crow Indian from the 1870's and my imagination.



Final Photographs.

The Protector - Head Off, Neck Shortened, Head Re-Attached

I just was not fully functional today. I came real close to destroying the clay. So rather than that drastic measure, I went home early.
Did manage to shorten his neck and start the cotton trade shirt. Hopefully, I'll be out of my funk tomorrow.

The Protector - What I Cut Off, I Can Put Back On

Beheaded him yesterday and gave him a new one today. Started the day by making an new armature for the new head. Then spent the rest of the day sculpting it. When you see the two side by side.. the old and the new, you see why I had to decapitate him yesterday.



Final Photographs today. In the first photo, note the size difference of old to new head.

The Protector - Changes and Another Head Cut Off

After being away from a clay for a couple of months, the things that bothered you, before you put it aside, just keep bothering you when you come back to it. So for the past few days, I've been bothered by proportions not seeming to work. Today, after stripping back on the piece, the part that was off showed up clearly. It's the head. Way to big, and it threw off the rest of the figure. So I cut it off.



The beheading.. lol

Still on the Protector's Face and head

Had very little clay. Forgot to soften another block last night. So mainly worked on the Protector's face and head. I'll be out of the studio tomorrow. I have an eye appointment tomorrow in Bozeman. Will be back on Thursday.



Final Photographs

The Protector - Losing His Feathers

Started the day, removing the feathers, from the warrior's headdress, to rework them and patch damaged areas on each of them.
After working on 10 of the feathers, I started to correct the head and repair areas damaged when taking the feathers off. I end up changing the head position twice. Then I start to work on his cheeks and mouth. I then correct the position of the left eye. I start to envision a major change in design.



Final photographs of the warrior's face.