How Did Dick Feel About Time And Watches?

While working on Dick’s arms I began to notice that he wore a watch. Opposite wrist as mine, he wore his on his right wrist. I wondered what type of watch Dick Hathaway would have, would it be a Mickey Mouse watch, or would he be more formal? I also wondered how he felt about time. Are there any hathawayisms concerning time?

More Hathawayisms

Hathawayisms provided with permission from Tom Slayton

        It was that amazing combination of brilliant wit, deep learning, and blather,  that would turn a cymbidium orchid into what he called, “An iris that’s gone Episcopalian,” a bottle of ginseng tablets into “a placebo for intellectuals,” a plastic case for Star Wars figures as “a post-industrial fantasy item,”

( picture is a book in Dick's office)

Hathawayism

"It is my job to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable."

Hathawayism provided by Linda G

(Picture is a jar from Dick's office)

Dick's Smile Makes Me Smile

Hathawayism
"My body is just something I use to carry around my head."

A comment Dick used concerning exercise

I hope I have that hathawayism correct

Hey Dick, What's Cooking?

I have not been back to work on the sculpture of Dick in over a week, instead I am writing about the process of finding Dick Hathaway and sculpting the deceased. Hopefully Dick and I will be reunited in a week or so. Until then I thought it appropriate to post a picture or two of our beloved friend and professor. Hey Dick, what’s cooking?

More Than Half Way

Jennifer is gone but, before she left she and I were able to make our way ½ way around Dick- his right hand and foot, right arm and leg.

I’m taking a break from the sculpting to spend my days writing my black book for school- writing and sculpting. I have had this little dance my entire life. When I am sculpting I think of things I want to write and when writing I wish I were back sculpting. The push pull is not as bad as it used to be when I was younger. Now I enjoy the time doing each, and know the other ferments inside of me. It builds my passion to write or to sculpt.

This writing does give me less time to think on Dick and on Charlotte. I feel myself emotionally and physically distancing myself from them when I am upstairs in the office writing instead of down in the studio.

I have interviewed a new apprentice. We will see how that works out.

Goodbye Jennifer- I'm Now In The Market For A New Apprentice

My apprentice, Jennifer, had her last day today. I will miss her greatly! She was such a trooper, working diligently to improve my creation. Have fun in Key West Jennifer! A well deserved vacation.

Now I hope I can find someone to replace her. Someone who loves art and wants to learn. I love having apprentices. It is such an informal way to instruct and to learn. For the life of me I don't know why we don't have more of that sort of things these days. The lost art of apprenticeship.

Moving Around Dick Hathaway

The shirt on the side and part of back, as well as part of the pants on the right side of Dick have been roughed in and are ready for Jennifer to smooth out. The legs are far from being done.

I have added the roughed in right hand to see how the entire side works together. I am debating about making the right hand a bit higher and need to decide this, but major reconstruction and cutting of the underlying metal will have to be done to accommodate this. I have put the roughed in shoe under Dick. When the shoe is not there a coffee can supports the weight of Dick Hathaway. I can’t wait to get going on this lower leg. Now, with the shoe in place, I’ll be thinking about the entire area, shoe, pants, leg and right arm/hand. Everything is worked on while I look at my reference photographs of my fellow classmate that posed for me. YOU NEVER HAVE ENOUGH REFERENCE! Plus some of the pictures of the classmate pose has small changes that probably only I notice. And the left arm is not in the position that I would like so I have to be very creative with the other arm and hand. Presently no work has been done on the left arm and hand.

Jennifer groaned a little as she began to smooth out Dick. She is off on Tuesday so I am anxious to see how far she will get with smoothing out Dick through the week before her last day on Friday. Jennifer’s internship is a nonpaid internship and this has helped me tremendously in being able to donate my $16,000 to this project.

Beginning the Finalization of Dick Hathaway

As I said the mass of clay now really needs detail and attention. Prior to this Dicks front looked pouched and fat, but as I begin to carve the details of each fold, using the photographs of my classmate in the position, I can see things shaping up. I have placed real buttons on the clay to help me as a visual guide. Slowly I’ll move around the shirt and pants looking, comparing carving and adding. Somehow it all adds up. There is a good chance that the areas that I spent so much time on this week will be changed or modified as the rest of the sculpture takes shape.

I Found Shoes

Sculpting the shoes we start with foam. Jennifer carved the foam and glued pieces together with foundry wax and wooden dowels. Then we added the clay on top. It is important to match the sculpted shoes with the real shoes from all directions. Looking at them from top together, bottom together and the side. As I said before compare, compare compare!
Jennifer diligently worked on the shoes and I have to admit that I enjoyed working on them one day for three hours in front of the television. It felt good to work on something little for a while. We are modifying the design of the store bought shoes. I also could only find a size 11. I hope that works. Jennifer worked on them for a couple of hours and had to quit. It is mind-boggling trying to figure out what shoelace goes where. I love working on them and can’t wait for more time to make them looks old and worn

I have been trying to focus on getting everything roughed in on Dick. The reason being is that this coming week is my last week with Jennifer. Smoothing the clay once it is roughed in is a tremendous amount of work and is very hard on my wrists and hands. I want to be able to take advantage of her young hands. If I have my way the entire shirt and pants will be complete by the end of next week. Then I hope to take a week off of sculpting to focus on schoolwork and writing. After that it is just a matter of finished dicks hands, shoes and then of course taking his head back off of the sculpture and finalizing the head. We are so close to finishing! I sure wish I had another apprentice coming in.

I’m Lonely

One thing that this commission has revealed to me is how much I miss the interaction with the surviving relatives. I sat in the studio thinking about it and became very lonely. I thought about Charlotte and pictured here there watching and I felt better. It is strange the person that gives me the most comfort in sculpting this deceased is the deceased.

11 Days Of Sculpting!

I found shoes today; I had to spend $35.00 on them. They are new. I wrapped them with plastic in hopes that I can return them in a few weeks. It will be so helpful to have some three dimensional reference. Jennifer began by putting together some foam and is going to get a basic shape for the shoe. She is catching up with me. She has the hands roughed in for me and will soon have the shoes. I hope by the time the shoes are roughed in I can have some parts ready for her to do on the main torso. I only have her for a couple more weeks.

The details on the hands will probably take me two days, and the shoes about four. We cut off the other shoe from the main sculpture so that we could work on them both at the table. This is much easier than crawling around on the floor.

I wonder what others think when they see the sculpture. Can they see it yet? A friend came by and said that she does see it and that it is coming along. I do think it has come a long way in just eleven days. Here are some pictures of Dick and I. Once again everything is just roughed in and some parts not roughed in at all.

( my dog Emmy wanted to get in the photograph with Dick)

Shoes…..

I am going nuts trying to find shoes. One would think I could find a simple pare of sneakers at the second hand store. After a few stops I was discouraged. Today I head off to Payless to buy a brand new pare of shoes. Or at least try to.

Why am I so obsessed with the shoes? Maybe I have just become used to having the shoes on my past commissions. It is such a wonderful reference to have and a great place to begin to capture detail. Besides, it is something that Jennifer can work on while I am busy trying to figure out the details on Dick’s torso.