Monumental Public Art Commissions
Zemp Legacy Monument
"Zemp Lagacy" Monument, Bronze. Installed on the grounds of the Carnegie Library in Howell, Michigan
This commissioned monument to local hero Duane Zemper includes over 50 “Easter egg” references to his stories many were familiar with and lifelong contributions to the community tucked throughout the sculpture and the book stack. He stands in front of the Carnegie library where he was instrumental in creating the city archives and holds his iconic camera that he used to photograph much of the community.
This is the final full-size Zemp clay moments after finishing. Less than 10 minutes after the photo was taken we started cutting it apart to prepare for molding. Scroll down and you can see a video of the entire process.
From the very beginning the community has embraced this monument, very much making it their own.. Through the years we have been delighted to occasionally receive a snapshot of what he's been up to.
Here we are refining the surface on the maquette. After approval from the 18 member committee, we then enlarge this to its final larger-than-life scale. Yes, we've tidied ourselves up for the photo – usually we are bit more clay splattered.
Here is a 5 minute video of the entire process of making "The Zemp Legacy" monument, including sculpting the original maquette through enlarging, mold-making, wax pouring and dressing, bronze chasing, patina and installation.
Compassion Sculpture Restoration in Bronze
The original eroded concrete sculpture on the left and the new bronze restoration on the right. Arlington, VA.
This was an exciting project completed in December 2023 and due to be officially unveiled in 2024. Una Hanbury (1904-1990) was my grandmother, mentor and hero. Some of my earliest memories are of her studio. In fact there are three bronze sculptures by Una of me sculpting in her studio as a child. My first monumental bronze was with a collaboration with her and now, many decades later, we collaborate once again.
This sculpture of a man cradling a child was originally sculpted in clay and cast in concrete. Over its nearly 55 years in the public realm, time and weather took their toll, eroding the surface and rendering the sculpture unrecognizable. Due to the condition of the original sculpture, two independent conservators agreed that the sculpture could not be repaired.
This sculpture of a man cradling a child was originally sculpted in clay and cast in concrete. Over its nearly 55 years in the public realm, time and weather took their toll, eroding the surface and rendering the sculpture unrecognizable. Due to the condition of the original sculpture, two independent conservators agreed that the sculpture could not be repaired.
The final bronze at the foundry a few minutes after patina and waxing.
The clay that she used is no longer commercially available so I mixed a custom clay to mimic the qualities of what she would have used. After the project was under way, we discovered that there was a bronze maquette and this was a wonderful resource. You can see it here in this photo as well as one of her other sculptures in the background.
Here I'm using the exact same tools that she did to reproduce her surface textures. This is the nearly finished full-size clay. In the left photo you can see the figure's right foot has been replaced based on the maquette. This foot was entirely missing, whether from erosion or a casting error, from the concrete version.
This very small photo is the only image of the original clay sculpture on the day it was cast. This was an invaluable resource and I relied on this image to re-sculpt her piece. Her tools can be seen around the base.
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These are some of the tools she used. The one on the left is a replica we made to replace one that has worn away.
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