This was a polishing day both the Little Lady and the Gorilla got shined up

2 for the price of 4

Then the second of the 4 foot columns hopped up on the bench for me

You can't move that... its too big

Draw and split then cut and trim.

Block head babe

For the faceless masses

Just needs a bit of the old rub rub... know what I mean

Thank you Egypt for showing me my first basalt figure

For those that don’t know me I have been fascinated with Egyptian sculpture for years. I just can’t seem to get enough of it. They carved Hard stone with soft tools. I owe lots of my inspiration to this ancient work by unknown individuals.

On to the next one!

Seems like I've been here before

There it is the biggest of the big ones ready to go. Ive never had a chunk of stone this big in my studio before  moving it was interesting! I will buy more of this stone to carve it is sensational!!! First I need some more money tho… So some one buy something.LOL

Here it is after 2 days

Thats up to date as of yesterday. Gonna get her finished this week! look for results on twitter @thegorilladidit

thanks for looking again

Basalt Carving pt 2

Hold Fast

Just a couple photos for you as well. Please feel free to leave comments on the video!

just needs polish

I left you with a photo of a mini column. I had shown you some progress on one of the bigger columns as well. since then I have finished 2 of the smaller columns and got a really good start on one of the really big ones. Here are some in progress and ready to polish shots .

Sharpie

This is where I start. The curves in this column really suggested the female form so I went with it. Draw first with yellow crayon for rough then closer to with blue or red depending on the colour of the stone then final with black sharpie. Don’t use sharpie on white marble or any where near your finish cause is sinks right in and you have to cut it out.

Hazy shade of studio

That great big Diamond blade really dusts up the place when you cut dry. Kind of a cool effect. I have started to cut the silhouette here.

Ive cut down the other side and cut the front of the legs. All done with a 9 inch diamond blade with a flush cut adapter.

From the other side. Ive started to cut out around the Breasts. You can see I haven’t made the side cut for the leg yet. I found a fault in the stone and it changed my design idea.

I got really focussed and forgot to take more progress pics. So here she is done ready to polish with the next column beside her. She is 38 inch tall and 85 lbs.

You can see I left the fret cuts in the waist on her back and the skin on the front. I will maybe refine the piece a bit more when I polish it. My plan is to rough a much as I can while the idea is formulating in my head. I don’t want to get stuck on nit picking while I am working this series out.

Here is the drawing and first few splits. I get pretty aggressive from here deep wide fret cuts and working really fast. This was a really fun day for me.

This is really only an hour or 2 later you can see how much I removed. the distance between cuts is just under 2 inches in most cases. Lots of dust and stone shards.

Same column on its side ready for me to make the cuts in the back. still lots of stone to cut off in this pic.

All slung up off the bench ready to be set up right so I can check proportion. At this point I hadn’t seen it standing up just rolled it around on the bench. Probably cut 200 lbs off of it .

Really liking the way this looks. Very masculine very strong with just a hint of gorilla!

This is where he sits. I have some more things I will do to it but I don’t think its going to go far from here. This is where I get really excited about carving like this . I love the textures the evidence of my tools the history of the stone. This sculpture has presence and a mass to it that I couldn’t describe in a drawing or words before I started. This is coming very close to my final idea.

Thanks for looking. Check my Twitter feed for daily updates. @thegorilladidit

6600 pounds of Basalt

For those that don’t know Basalt is one of the hardest igneous stones. Harder and more dense than Granite. If it cools slowly enough it has the most amazing way of forming columns.  This is the shape I will be working from. these columns range in diameter from 3 inches to 20 and in length from6 inches to 6 feet. It came on 2 palets and a 4×4 box. this si how it looked after unloading.

Mini colunms

These are the little ones from 3 to 6 inches in diameter. I think every one should have the joy that I felt when I saw all this stone. This is a lot of carving!!!

Lucky # 1

Gonna do this Man

Rubber boots and apron and a hammer of course.That one on the far right is gonna get  it first. But before I show you that I will show you some drawings I did as prelim.

Girl & Boy

Quick sketches just to capture a few of the more elusive ideas Ive got . So at this point I got kind of excited and went nuts just carving and having a really good time. I didn’t get too many progress pics of this first one so here is the earliest that I have.

2 hammers & a saw

So like I said  this is the earliest I have of this one. This is almost done at this point needs polishing and some small refinements. Needs the second arm which will be hanging from the hand that is out stretched. I removed about 120 lbs. This stone is fantastic!! Cuts easy breaks hard and polishes to a sexy black. some close ups for you.

All of the flats will be polished to a high gloss.

This is me Starting the hole in the hand.

A better pic of the upper body and arm as I core the hole.

In this one you can see the ribs and upper body before the holes were cored.

I am really looking for the textural differences in this work. I want the process to be evident. Also wanting to let the idea flow and not mess with it too much allowing for a fast loose  sort of style. Getting a  form thats just there . Some of the pieces will be more refined others like this one will be available for your mind  but almost more of a sketch.

This piece is cut from the mini columns. Its torso is a separate piece. Only about 2 ft tall.  I am cutting again tomorrow. Into the second piece. Maybe I won’t get so carried away and I will remember to take some progress shots.

Ribbon Dance

I made a bunch more of these Ariel Silks type pieces

Odins Totem

Odins Totem got some bling out there in BC!

Surf Boardroom Table Sketch

Got a really cool commission to make a board room table that has a surf board top. This is the sketch I proposed solid wood top and stainless steel wave for the pedestal.

Making waves

The wave part starts with 5/8 round stainless steel bar that I bent to the shape of the wave parts then cut 14 ga. sheet to the same size then hammered and used a blending disc to clean up. Oh yah its welded on there as well.

More wave parts

More of the same. I scaled up the original drawing and had to do some slight changes.

Shooting the Curl

Here the curl is starting to take shape. This is upside down. If you have ever been upside down inside a wave you may have gotten disoriented!

All the fingers have been welded onto a sheet of 1/8 inch steel plate then 14ga. webbing was done in between the fingers. You can see my cardboard patterns up against the wall. These helped me cut out the stainless sheet in the right shapes for the webbing.

Wood

The pattern for the wood changed when I went to the wood store. It ended up being Silver Maple, Cherry and Black Walnut. I thought this look way more dramatic than just two species. This is the before glue layout with the template drawn on it. All of the glue joints and shaping were done by my Father.

That guy looks like he is drinking beer!!

This is the table top rough shaped glued up and getting sanded. The shape was taken from and actual surf board. Scaled up to get some width out of it. 17ft long, 4 1/2 ft wide , 2 inches thick.

Holy Crap it worked!!!

This is the first dry fit. Man was I ever glad it all fit together!  You can see the back part of the wave looks pretty nice too.

Installed

This is the table installed after a lot of sanding some very trick epoxy work (done by my friend Lisa )and 12 coats of clear poly U.

Can you out line your hand?

Tricky I know but very effective as a pattern for a stainless hand sculpture. I also draw on every thing in the studio this counter just happens to be right next to the vice that I use to cut.

Look dem bones

1/2 inch rod cut to length with a bit of exaggeration to get the look I want now to the welding bench.

Lay me some skin brother

Welded, cut at the joints so I can bend them and with the fleshy skin pad ready to be welded.

Yah thats how its done

Just get in there with the MIG running a bit hot and melt the shit out of that rod man thats how I do it its not Rocket From The Crypt. Altho if you haven’t ever heard RFTC you really should check them out. They are cool.

Handy Man

All the welding done just a quick once over with the blending disc and its ready to be used for some thing. Yah I know its not the same hand but I made 4 of them so thats what your getting.

Lava Tube

Something Like holding up an 8 inch dia. by 6 foot acrylic tube thats been painted all fancy . Not just pretty but functional! Sss gonna be a lamp man !

You want more of this kind of stuff more often and in a more timely fashion?  TOO BAD

Ha not really follow me on Twitter @thegorilladidit

oh yah I just got 6600 lbs of basalt columns delivered to my studio so I guess Im gonna get stoned… like with a rock I say… a bunch of big rocks

I carved a bunch of wood this spring . Its Larch or hemlok.

Wood

Sketch and primary cut lines

The first few cuts

got the woman roughed now I need to get going on the man

Chunk of Larch and the sketch

the both of them roughed out

These two ended up going into a show Called “Love Kills”

I did a bunch of Grinding and sanding on them but the basic shape is there at this point. Yes guys that is a cock on him. If your gonna make pretty girls you need to have balance.

This wood was pretty wet and I carved it from whole logs. I did this on purpose so that  they would crack and shrink. This added to the idea of love kills. Showing the damage that one can sustain from a relationship. I also took them up to the back of the property and shot them full of lead!!

Him and Her finished

They ended up selling to a couple from Switzerland.

Gorilla slab and sketch

Then I carved a Gorilla (have to have some gorilla every now and then or life just isnt any fun) This is the slab with the sketch done. I did cut this log right down the middle so it wouldnt crack as much and its much dryer wood. The wood is Larch again.

There is a video of me working the chain saw but it seems to have been abducted by Aliens…. so if I find it I will post it too

This Gorilla just went into a show at Stone Worx gallery in Calgary along with 3 other wood carvings.

Enough talk now on to the good stuff!

This Is "Droplet"

Way better than I usually post hey? Thanks Alicia.

Sketch for monkey sculpture

Second sketch and some progress

If you dont do this you should!! Go ahead draw right on your work bench Its fun!!!! Any how standard process for me. Start with a bunch of Stainless rod and go from there.

Great Line Work

After I finished the monkey I when to Crimson empire in Edmonton and had Chad do some tattooing on me. The Jackalope

Bee Kingdom

Then While my arm was healing I made some stands for these guys. Fantastic glass work from Phil Tim and Ryan at Bee Kingdom glass. ( they actually let me assist them at there open house a few weeks ago, That was super cool)

The Gorilla Did IT

I also did some clay work to bake in the wood fire in BC

New Wings

Then It was back to Real work. I had to make a few new pieces for the show “Angels in the Lava” A show with my good friend Lisa Heinricks paintings and my sculpture.

Ribbon Dance

A new theme. Thanks Cirque

Sound Asleep

This is a body that I cut up to grind. I am just about to TIG it back together.

All the kings horses got it right this time

After reassembly. That brass door knob inspired the whole piece.

Dharma

Found this old planter base, jammed it all together and it looks fantastic!

Sexy Red Ribbon

Ribbon dance done and in the gallery.

What a bunch of bull

And this Bull commission takes me mostly up to date. The Guy wanted my take on the wall street Bull. I thought it needed to be a bit more raw and agressive looking.

“the castle lights are growing dim….there is no one left but me and him….till next we meet in Frankenstone…dont come alone” Vincent Price

This one is in Korea

I am going to give away one of my sculpture books “A Winged Obsession” . Its a book about the genesis of my winged figure sculptures. Its got photos and descriptions of the first seven sculptures in the series. They have now all sold!! Only three of them are in Calgary (my home town). The rest of them are all over the place!

This one is on the east coast of Canada

Normally you would have to purchase one of these sculptures to receive a book. Or get one online through Blurb. http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/983251

Its been a celebratory kind of month! So I am gonna give stuff away!!!

These two are in Texas

Wow what a bad photo!!! much better pics in the book!

All you have to do is start following me on Twitter. My user name is @thegorilladidit

After you start following me send me an email with your user name. So I know who you are and can get in touch with you to get your address ( for when you win)! Then I ship the book… and I am thinking I might sweeten the pot a little bit and send another little surprise.

So lets go over this one more time. You get on Twitter, then find me @thegorilladidit , then send me an email tobias13@shaw.ca , telling me your user name , then you win , I send you the book and another cool little prize.

Easy as pie.

I will make the draw on March 10 as soon as I get up.  Oh man I am excited about this now.

Oh yah If you already follow me on Twitter THANKS  if you send me an email you can be in the draw too!

So I sound like a used car sales add right? Cool!!

just a sketch

I needed to make a bit of copper rain gutter some tubing and a copper fish to finish it off. The customer wanted to have some ting that would disappear over the door and take the focus away from the plumbing. I did this quick sketch of the front door area with the design I had come up with.

The next step is to get a sheet of copper and transfer the drawing to it.

projection time

I traced the drawing onto some transparency paper then put it onto to overhead projector.

too bright...

The projected image on the sheet of copper. Oh yah… man was I ever excited about getting that sheet of copper!! Its 3 x8 feet and about 18 ga. I say about 18ga. because they measure copper on a penny weight scale or some such voodoo. This is .0485 inch or 36 oz.  Just draw it on there 2 times. You need a front and back you know? Then plasma cut and you are left with this…

flat fish

I cut the fins separately . I will weld them on later. Now all you have to do is beat the scales off of it… or is that on to it?

that table sure has a lot of welding holes

You will notice that I have achieved a bit of a patina here.  This comes from the annealing process. You need to get the whole piece red hot to take all the stresses out of it. This is called annealing.  If you don’t do this the copper will tear.

From this point I put some twist into it and mated the two sides together and weld away.  You will notice I left a bit of a margin around the top and bottom of the body .  I did this for 2 reasons. First it gives me some thing to clamp the sides together. Second it gives me something to weld.

Here it is welded, fins attached and the down tube welded on as well.  Great color on the copper. I have tested it to make sure the water will flow through and not drip out any seams. All the welds have been made with my TIG.

Installed

It was a cold day, snow on the ground and roof. I got it in and they were happy!  I haven’t shown the gutter fabrication. Mostly because I have to keep some mystery about the process!!!