before
Hat day - and finding my voice as an artist
This sculpture began my journey to find and define my voice as an artist.
I inherited a family treasure from my grandfather Bob-pa, Robert Fleming Travis. This inheritance is not an object it is an impression of a human spirit. With this object I tell the story of the pain and challenges the harsh west Texas weathers imprints on a soul through tears, rips and holes in a satin lining. I see evidence of daily habits necessary to survive alcoholism, and diabetes through the creases still living in the felt. I see a love between two people committed for life in the tattered remnants of a gross grain ribbon. I see financial hardship that shapes character in the frayed and moth eaten edges of the brim. This well-worn inheritance quietly mirrors my grandfather’s life and character. Shaped by growing up in the Depression, he knew hard times as he later farmed cotton and raised cattle in the harsh West Texas desert near El Paso.
Photo by will michels.
“gust”
This hat is planned to be the 2nd in the series.
I ended up with cool spots in the pour resulting in spots that the bronze did not fill, big spots that did not pour. :(
I am going to clean them up and see what can be done to save it.
The sprues are cut to the stub
I have cut the sprue stub off flush with the felt.
I have repaired the texture .
“gust” - series update
I started working on this series in 2013.
October 19, 2017 - I have cast approximately a dozen pieces in the series. I did not cast them in the order that they will be installed. Instead, I started with the last pieces in the series. I am now ready to start applying the patina to the first pieces of the series; however, they have not been poured yet. This forces me to start with the last hat that I have cast: “gust #3."
The abstraction of the shapes of the hats reveals the power of Mother Nature, the patina of each piece outlines the impressions of the human spirit left on the felt.
The Patina Process-
I use a torch to impose a heat energy to the surface of the hat, when the metal glows a deep amber the surface is ready to unveil it’s history. I slowly brush on a ferric patina (a dark beige) and as the fluid darkness evaporates off the bronze evidence of an invested grip by determined fingers surfaces, I layer a white wash and the memories of opportunities missed fade into the folds. Next the ferric reveals unfortunate circumstances suffered during the darkest hours, then white washed with life’s lessons. With each layer the impression of the human spirit tell the story of a life well lived.
Below is the progresss after one evening of applying the patina.
I slowly brush on a ferric patina (a dark beige) and as the fluid darkness evaporates off the surface evidence of an invested grip by determined fingers is revealed,
I layer a white wash and the memories of opportunities missed fade into the folds.
Next the ferric reveals unfortunate circumstances suffered during the darkest hours,
then white washed with life’s lessons
