Saturday, March 20, 2010

The Big Trip!!!






Hello Helloo :-) The seals took a drive to visit their new home :-). They have decided to stay :-(. I am happy they were welcomed home , however, and they will get sooo much love there. Along the way I was determined to track down my grandson Jackson, and get some pictures of him. Remember, you need a high speed lens and lots of patience to get a photo of him:-). Jackson was more than accomodating in the photo shoot, and he gave the seals a proper send off. Jackson has been my little inspiration on the project. Sooo, the seals made the long , slow trip to Lake Winnipesaukee, Baboo up front with me, and Sapere lounging in the back. With frost heaves in the roads of NH , I was afraid of too much bouncing with the seals. We made it, and they were welcomed with great fanfare, which made me very happy and very proud of them. The little one is sitting inside with a view of his playground for a few weeks, while I locate a large sunny rock for both of them. This will be my last post for a few weeks until I can get a photo of them sunning themselves on the lakes edge. Thank you all for viewing my blog, it has been so much fun for me, and I hope fun for you. What a project :-)...have a nice weekend!!! Joe

Thursday, March 18, 2010

The boys are going for a ride



The boys are headed to Lake Winnipesaukee to see their new home tomorrow. I am not sure if they like the idea of riding in a truck, but it is too far to swim :-). I will post some photos of them tomorrow.

Friday, March 12, 2010

Friday's Sealcoating :-)

I am still working on the slippery coats of the boys. I wanted to share a funny story about the carving project. I started this project the first of January thanks to the kindness and generosity of a couple who have a home on Lake Winnipesaukee.
About three weeks into the project, I was feeling a little sensitive over the time I was taking trying to get into the project. I was chiseling and cutting away at the seals trying to make some progress to show.
On a Sunday morning I received a cryptic note and a photo sent from them while they were in China. It said "they work much faster over here :-)" My jaw dropped,my lower lip quivered, and then I had a big laugh. I wrote back "OUCH". Seal carving in China is a bit different than my seal carving here. Over there it is for a family seal..like a coat of arms. Very Very Funny :-) Here is the photo they attached, I am still laughing about it, and still sensitive.... hahaha Scroll to the previous post :-)

Seal Carving

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Oops Forgot this Photo


This shows the coat a bit better.

Calm Before The Storm


Hello :-) Sorry for the lack of posting. I have been polishing the shiny coats, and it is difficult to show the progress. Jackson says they are "smooth" with a big smile...he wouldn't sit still long enough to catch him in a photo yesterday. You need a high speed lens to catch that little imp. I have attached a photo with Baboo watching the progress :-) I will write more later , I want to share a funny story about the progress. Rain rain rain tomorrow.

Monday, March 8, 2010

Hello Hello!


Ok, I have returned from a busy weekend at the NH Home Show. The boys got a lot of attention from the attendees. I had photos of them up on my computer to show off the family photos, ha ha:-) Anyway,they were anxiously awaiting my return this morning. Lots of polishing and buffing this week, their coats need to shine :-)

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Tuesday The Carving Marchs On




Today I am multitasking...I am attending the NH Home Show this weekend and I have to prepare an eyecatching display. I carved out this arch (Arc De NH Maison Montrer)today, it is going to be the surround for an outside fireplace. The granite man is my "Greek Tragedy" sculpture....when his head fell off, I did not know whether to laugh or cry :-/. Sapere is getting a thorough buffing and polishing today. My friend Andy Dumont came down from the Green Mountains of VT to help me move around the heavy granite. While trimming the arch I had Andy buffing the body of Sapere. Hey, even Rodin had his assistants roughing out blocks :-). What a beautiful day in NH, 50 degrees and sunny!

Monday, March 1, 2010

March Comes in Like a Lamb or is it a Seal :-)






Spring is on its way, finally! All weekend I kept thinking about a line in the 90's movie "Miracle on 34th Street" The little boy says" Santa has a grumpy face". I do not want Sapere to be grumpy or gloomy.... soooo back to work. I want him to be wise, happy to be with his little Baboo, and slightly bemused with his energy level. My girls , Katie and Cori, want him friendlier and ...well, we will leave their candid remarks off the record :-/. It's not clay , geesh, sensitive artist here! A lot of people think this is easy...haha! Anyway, I have been working on Sapere's face all day. Here are some preliminary photos.

Friday, February 26, 2010

Friday's Art Critics :-)


Today we were visited by family. My nephews Angelo,Elden, and my sister in law Karen stopped by for a visit. Angelo,the youngest one, said "good job". I told him he had to be completely honest in his review....not that he isn't always brutally honest, haha! His mom thought they were "sooooo cute and smooth". Now Elden, just kept smiling, and wasn't saying much.... I'll take that as a compliment as well ;-).

Well, it was a good week, I think they both gained a lot of personality over the past few days. I am going to be happy, and a bit sad when the project ends...Joe

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Rain Rain Rain



Today, we have been dodging rain squalls with not much luck. I did get a lot of buffing and polishing in on the little guy. I put some little ears in as well, they look cute. Maybe now he will listen to someone :-). Lets see, I separated the rear flippers. I guess, all in all, it has been a good day. The stormy weather has really settled in here, I may have to shift everyone inside for a few days. My nephews are coming over for a visit today, it will be interesting to get their feedback.
Yesterday, it was such a stormy day, I decided to spend the day in Boston looking around at different art galleries...I met some gallery owners, and made some great connections for the future.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Tuesday Before the Storm





Hello! It looks like a snowstorm is blowing in,flakes were blowing around me, while carving....nice. I want to thank my mom today, she is a wonderful artist, who I get lots of tips from. A little pencil mark here, a little pencil mark there, can really make a difference in a sculpture :-).

Sooooo, little Baboo has had some changes.....his eyes are bigger, his nose is shortened, the top of his head has flattened a bit, his mouth has opened up more to show his little tongue, a bit more happiness in his smile :-), touch of little whiskers above his eyes. He has had some serious Fraxel Repair, ha ha.

The older seal is getting a name today..... "Sapere"....... Italian for wisdom and knowledge...the word Sage comes from the latin word Sapere as well...very appropriate. Baboo is from the Joe language, meaning cute, childlike, happy ,little baboo ball of energy!!

Sapere has had a bit of work as well. The eyes a little bigger and less droopy, some wisdom lines at the corners of the eyes, and some whiskers above the eyes.
Everything is subject to change, ha ha...The next move is to smooth out the body lines more, I do not want any scratches, chisel marks, or roughness anywhere. The bodies need to be sleek and ready to swim off at a moments notice.

Ok, back to work....have a nice day...Joe

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Saturday




I decided to put a little time in today, what a nice day! I made the larger seals eyes bigger. Little Baboo, is going thru a big makeover, I think I will wait until Monday to post any new pictures of him....he is a bit bashful after all of the work. I am shortening his nose to look a little more proportioned, and taking the peak off of the top of his head. I was afraid Jackson was going to call him a turtle...ha ha! He is too honest for his own good. I also enlarged his eyes a bit, and worked on highlighting the eye socket a little more.
I was doing a little research at Borders last night...lots of art books. My favorite artists are Modigliani and Rodin, and have numerous books on their work. I was fortunate enough, on two separate visits to London, to see exhibits on both artists. Anyway, Modigliani did a few stone carvings in his short existence, and Rodin was a stone mason before he became a great sculptor....interesting,no? I found out that tidbit on Rodin last night.......... Ok, enough daydreaming, ha ha:-)I will attach a photo of my Modigliani style sculpture, and one of that little imp Jackson.

Friday, February 19, 2010

Cold Windy Friday





What a cold wind today...brrrr! Anyway, today I worked on the faces of both seals. The eyes are coming along, you can see the shadows better from the depth. I have started the upper eyelids of the adult seal, to give it a sleepier look. It made me sleepy doing it...haha:-) Littul Baboo, is really full of it today, he is much happier today. Everyday, as it moves along, I notice more things to be done. More smoothing of lines, more polishing of the bodies,. Overall, I am pleased with everything,I cannot wait to see them at their future home. Have a nice weekend....Joe

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Sunny Winter Day



Today all of the snow has gone, what a beautiful day. I have spent all day trying to balance out Baboo's face, and working on his little eyes. He seems a bit more attentive today, and I give him a pat on the head now and then. Hopefully he will come more to life tomorrow :-).

Monday, February 15, 2010

Eyes


A little better photo

Monday/President's Day





Sculpture never takes a holiday :-) Back at work today. I gave the seals a change of scenery, the adult seal needs to trim up a bit, a little heavy to move around...haha. I worked on the eyes and the front flipper/paw of the adult seal. On the little baboo, I trimmed his front paw down quite a bit. His eyes are tough to stand out, it must be the colors of the granite. I will get it eventually though. He is full of trouble, I can tell that already. Anyway, here are a few more photos.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Small Update

The seal carving blog is now up on a really cool stone carving site in New Zealand. Nice site, especially if you want to travel to New Zealand to learn about stone carving :-).
http://www.learnstonecarving.com/seal-carving.html

Friday, February 12, 2010

Did you know?

The difference between a sea lion and a seal........ the ears.....sea lions have external ears, and seals have internal ears. Sea Lions propel with their front flippers and steer with the back ones. Seals are just the opposite :-)

Next week

I am going to work on the eyes, and bring the little seal's flipper/paw into size. It needs to look more like a paw, and smaller. The puppy needs to be smoothed out on the sides, and the large seal needs detail on its paw, in addition to a lot of rough spots smoothed out. Have a nice weekend....Joe

Friday/




To finish out the week, I decided to work on the eyes of both seals. The process is to carefully grind out the pupils, within the eye. You leave a small v in the circle, for highlight. The trick is to create a shadow with the depth of the pupil. It is difficult detail. After I get them detailed enough, I will go back to work on the eye surrounding the pupil. They have to be rounded more, and the lids a bit more prominent.... I bought some awesome diamond bits that allow for small detailing.
The photos do not show very well, as it was a bright day,and the pupils need to be deeper and a little bit bigger. They look like great pals , however :-)

Thursday, February 11, 2010

A sunny day!



Hi, Today I am working on detailing the little sea puppy front paw and buffing the neck area. It is going well. I am also smoothing out the lines on the big seal. I need names for the seals....think think think Ok back to work :-)

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Followup

I had a few questions on the seals today. My blog is set up to show progress on the carvings. Both seals have a bit of work til completion. I have to bring the eyes out, as they are very important to the look of the seal. The little flipper on the puppy has to be thinned out, and I want them both to be very sleek. The adult seal needs the side leg/flipper to be more detailed. It is difficult, as I am trying to imagine the seals alive, and I want them to look alive as well. Thank you for viewing my blog, someday this will make a wonderful story for me , and for others close to the project :-).......Joe

Photos