I first saw this pose on Facebook a couple of years ago. I had a very strong reaction to it and wanted to sculpt this pose, but I did nothing with it. Then I saw it again a year later and had the same strong reaction. I realized that if I felt, as strongly about it a year later, then I should follow up. I contacted the people in the picture to see if they were interested in posing for me. Luckily they knew of me through friends who had posed for me. They said yes they would love to model for me.
But how did it go from the image that caught my eye to this finished bronze sculpture ?
Sit back, get a fresh cup of coffee and settle in. It took 220 hours of sculpting and 19 months to get to a finished product, so the process story takes a bit to tell.
I contacted the acrobats, Leah Grandstaff and Bayard Wenzel, to set up a pose photo session. When they did the original pose for me I realized that my fear of the pose being just too two-dimensional proved true. I loved the photo, but I wanted more depth in the sculpture.
The models had this same idea ahead of our session, and they developed another pose with me in mind. They showed me their pose idea, and I liked it very much. I chose this new pose.
Here is the pose.
It made sense to start with the male figure first because he is supporting the female figure. I created the armature based on the height of the model and then adjusted the wire position to match the pose. The scale of this piece is one-fourth life size.
Here is the figure along with Bayard, the male model, at the end of the first three-hour modeling/sculpting session.
Here I am in the second session working on the male figure.
The main body of the figure is sculpted in soft grey clay, but I use a stiffer red clay for the areas of the body that have a lot of detail. The red stiff clay just holds the detail so much better than the grey clay. This shows the progress at the end of the fourth session.
This shows the progress at the end of the sixth session.
I especially like this photo at the end of the seventh session, because it shows the stark contrast of one bare leg and the other leg after the sculpting the pants.
Here both pant legs are roughed-in. The seventh session was the last one working with the male model. The remaining detail work was done utilizing my reference photos. I had another 14 sessions and 40 hours on just the wrinkles and folds in the pants.
The male figure was essentially complete at this stage. The right hand was refined after the two figures were assembled together.
At this time and only halfway done I had worked on the piece for a duration of seven months. There were 36 sessions and 120 hours of sculpting so far.
Then it was time to get started on the female figure.
The first step in creating the female figure was to create the armature, based on the height of the model, and configure it in the correct pose.
This was the first test fit of many test fittings.
The trickiest part of creating sculpture of extreme poses is to figure out how to pose the model in a position that will mimic the desired composition. Leah was very helpful in figuring out how best to accomplish this.
Here is the progress at the end of the first session on the female figure.
I use a proportional caliper to take measurements of the model and then translate those scaled measurements to my sculpture. I literally do this hundreds of times throughout the sculpting process.
I experimented with a new clay for the female figure. I was trying to find a clay that was stiff enough that it would hold the detail, yet flexible enough that I could adjust the figure easily. I will not use this clay again because smells bad, feels yuckie, and does not offer me any of the advantages that I was seeking. Once I got this far along on the figure I was committed to using this clay. This explains why there are three different colors to this clay sculpture.
This shows progress after the second session, and another test fit.
The model really worked at modeling during this fifth session. We tried different poses to get what I needed for the composition. We settled on the hanging pose. Leah could only hold this position briefly so I had to observe intently and sculpt quickly.
It was critical to the success of this piece to have models that were willing to try something that none of us had ever done before. They participated in figuring the poses out as we went along, and were willing and able to hold difficult poses. I guess I wasn’t asking too much.
I switched to a shorter sculpting stand so that I could be at the same height as the model.
There is a lot of adjusting needed of the armature support system during this process. I am beginning to wear out some of my hardware. It pays to be handy if you want to be a sculptor.
This show the progress at the end of the eighth session.
It was getting close to completion after session number nine.
Session ten was the last posing session for Leah. We both enjoyed this process very much.
I asked both models back for a final posing session together. I had a few details that I needed to work on with them together.
A final group photo of Leah, Bayard, and the sculpture.
Here is the complete clay sculpture. The female figure took 90 hours of sculpting over an eight-month duration. It was 220 hours total for the piece and a duration of 15 months.
The process of mold making, creating the wax, and casting took another four months.
This is the piece in raw bronze. The black marks are from me checking the piece for any needed refinements.
The finished “Flipped Tango” bronze sculpture!
This piece was in the making for 19 months from start to finish.
To learn more about the female model, Leah, go to her social media sites.
https://leahtardwedgie.com
https://www.instagram.com/leahtard.wedgie/
I imagine your coffee is cold by now. I hope you enjoyed the story.
What a truly creative experience. To
Follow along with you in the process
Of Creation itself, is very exciting to me!
All of the details, like 3 types of clay,
ajustment of armature, repair of equipment, Patience required, attention
to smallest details, checking and rechecking to ensure perfect expression,
Willingness to steadfastly continue, in
spite of limitation, consideration of
Others perspective and many more
Qualities required of a Creator of
Spirit in Motion! This is JOY.
This is PERPOSE. THIS IS BEING ONE
WITH. The very definition of LOVE.
Sail on with your great work! SAIL ON
STEVEN
Ok. I am now convinced that you can write well. I didn’t know that you are a motivational speaker as well. I need to save this for my marketing materials. Seriously, thank you for your comments. I am glad that you enjoy experiencing the process.
Totally awesome!!!!!!
Thanks
How fascinating, Charlotte. We so enjoyed the trip from creation to finished sculpture. What a wonderful gift you have. Thank you for sharing the process.
Happy Christmas. Ed and Mitzi
Thank you so much. I am glad you enjoyed it.