From the ground up

My artist statement: For centuries people of all ages have been drawn to sporting events. Competition is a thread that runs deeply through our society, and my art reflects this phenomenon. More specifically I explore how simple games have become tremendously meaningful to our human experience. Metaphor, being a fan, and the making of memories are important themes in my work. Each piece, weather carved or painted, exudes the passion, drama, and emotion that encompass our desire to participate in sporting events, both as an athlete and an avid spectator. By examining these themes, we better understand a vital part of what makes us human.

        When considering the direction I would take for my senior project, I knew fairly quickly what form this project would take. As a woodworker and a sports fan, I have sculpted dozens of small sports figures in various actionn poses. My competency grew slowly, and my last five were many times better than my first five. Thus the logical next step was to transform this knowledge of human porportion, the behavior of clothing, and action poses to a grander scale. More specifically, a life-size scale.
Materials: My hunt for materials began early last June. My sculpture was to be almost entirely of wood, and I didn't want to spend a fortune on materials. Therefore I took a hand saw and headed into the woods behind my house. There I found a thick, bent piece of dead hardwood, that would serve as the left leg of my figure. I continued in this fashion until I had found most of the raw material I would need for the project. Some pieces came from my yard, but others came from felled trees in neighbors' yard. I found pine, maple, poplar, and basswood.
At this point I began the process of finding visual material from which I would carve. I gathered pictures from magazines, photocopied from books, and even found some of my old toys that would help me with the particular stance I had invisioned. I drew out some ideas, as well as carved a small model as a guide.
My last goal was to gather the necessary tools I would need. I purchased a number of power tools that would help my project, and because my materials were more or less free, the purchase price was an acceptable investment.

Carving and Assembling
For one reason or another, my style has always been peace meal. That is, to carve each limb separately and assemble at a later time. This process saves space, allows for multiple work stations, and is easier for me to visualize. Thus I began with the lower body; sawing, grinding and shaping the wood into approximate proportions. I also made use of a laminating process, as seen on the right, to shape the core and waist of the figure.I used a lot of wood glue, and some filler when needed.
A strategy that helped move things along was a plan to shift to a different body part if I was experiencing slow going. For instance, I carved a foot while taking a mental rest from the legs and torso.

One practical complication was the amount of sawdust I was creating. I was using tools that generated a lot of airborn dust, and cleaning up thoroughly took a lot of time. I then decided it would be more prudent to work outside whenever possible.

Taking Shape
A little bit at a time, the legs began to look like legs, and the rear end started to take shape. I also rediscovered an interesting phenomenon: The process of doing 7 hours of work spread out over a week can be more effective that 7 hours spread over two days. It seemed every time I stepped away, then returned to the project, I saw it a little more clearly. Just that small break enabled my eyes to more readily see what area needed improvement, and how to make those improvements.
One area of concern was in joining the legs to the core. I decided to use a "peg" system, and by drilling and inserting dowels, I created a strong joint.

Once my legs were joined, I began trying to sand and clean up the surface. The old, dead tree had many imperfections, and the texture was unsatisfactory.  One technique that helped in this process was to white prime the wood completely. That way I could very clearly see , without various shades of wood interfering, areas that were rough or gaps that needed to be filled. If doing it over, I would have done a better job of assembling the base, because I ended  up taking a lot of time filling in voids.