Building “Boundless”


The first step is a scale model of the proposed sculpture  I submitted this to FKSPCA  June, 2017.  This idea had been in my head and heart for about two years  

I got invited out for a site visit in late January  At this stage it’s difficult to imagine the completed project

Accepted!  Now the work can begin  II made life size drawings of the first figure, the seven year old girl  125 percent life size scale seemed appropriate so she wouldn’t blend in with the crowd  

Now the metal sculpting happens. Half inch rebar will provide strength. Notice the rebar follows the OUTSIDE contours of the form to ensure both  tensile strength and resistance  to crushing forces.

 

After sixteen long days, the metal sculpture was finally complete. Half inch rebar provides the big support, with lots of large and small galvanized wire  doing its share.

The invisible girl becomes visible. Every bit of rebar and wire has to be covered with fiber cement, a combination of Portland cement and stainless steel wool.  Then the whole shebang is wrapped with a layer of galvanized wire  This is one strong girl!

Nine days later, and the central figure was completely covered with fiber cement and ready for another layer of galvanized wire.

Out comes the Grays Anatomy (the reference, not the tv show) and I start sculpting the muscles from GFRC sand cement.

It was hard not to drag her to the dumpster and break her into little pieces with a hammer. At this stage, which seemed to last such a long time, she was so ugly!

A few more layers of GFRC, and she began to look like herself.

I got a surprise visit from a scarlet macaw.


Two weeks later, the main figure had a startled parrot on her shoulder.

My husband loved Mayhem the bad puppy…

 

Once all the figures were completed and everything was shined and polished we installed her on site with plenty of time to spare before the grand opening. Many thanks to Jeff, Brian, Jane, Koz, and Gary’s Plumbing for help with the installation.

Artist’s Note:  Boundless forced my hand and made me turn pro. Even though I had depended on the money from my art for many years, it was a huge moment for me as an artist when I quit my other job to build full time. It marked a commitment to build as many sculptures and tell as many stories as I can in the twenty or so years left to me.