"A Road Well Traveled"

Where does life begin  and when does it end?   Is it when we are born and when we die?  I think not. I think our lives have many beginnings and we die many times.  I know  what it feels like to be reborn and I know what it feels like to die.   I have lived a long time and enjoyed traveling on a multitude of roads. I've always wondered...  exactly how long is the road well traveled? My road with Jim has proven to be very long. I am posting this in his honor and because the last sentence that he wrote struck me like a ton of bricks, which is something you will not understand. Mary will know what I am talking about and so will Jim.   Jim was my sculpting teacher, my friend and my lifelong fellow artist.

This is directly from Jim's website:  http://aginginamerica.us/artist_and_eagle_at%20Scottsdale_studio.htm  The photo above shows me at work on the model for the life size   Golden Eagle bronze which was to be  attached on the arm of the clay figure in the far right background.  The completed bronze is entitled "Eagle Keeper."   The Jim Branscum Art Studio was located for five years  at the Scottsdale Center for the Arts complex in Scottsdale,  Arizona. The foreground shows my first two bronzes,  a 1/2 scale bust of myself entitled "The Dream Lives on Forever,"   and a 1/3 scale bronze of young Navajo girl and her goat entitled "Reflections"  which was modeled after a drawing of the same name; both bronzes are sold out  and available only on the secondary market. Approximately one year after beginning the "Aging in America- Our Heritage of Wisdom"  drawing project, I closed the studio due to the extensive travel required for the  Aging in America (AIA) drawing project and because my efforts on the AIA project  prevented further commissions for three years or more.  As I write this description,   the three years has become six years and counting. However, like General McArthur once said,  "I shall return."   At the completion of the AIA project, my plans are to reopen my studio and gallery in Scottsdale.

"I Am A Trial Version..."

Time Passages:

But that was yesterday, and yesterday's gone...

Time...one day we turn around and realize that it's like the wind blowing through Wyoming mountains on a cold winter day, brisk, etherial and gone in a flash without really knowing how much it impacted our lives. Sometimes I secretly wish that I could take a butterfly net and catch the time I've lost. I wonder how much of it would fit in the tiny net and how much would fall through the holes.

I have wasted much time in my life, but then again there were moments when I got it right and lived to the fullest in every way possible despite the eliments that surrounded me. Creating the sculpture proved to be one of these moments.

The clay sculpture went through its appropriate transition into bronze at a foundry in Sarasota. http://www.bronzart.com/ It has since been placed on its final resting place at New Port Richey's Trinity Memorial Gardens. The sculpture towers over the grave of Mr. and Mrs. Bissi on a beautiful headstone that holds a massive pedistal of Georgia Green granite. To tell you that I cried when they placed the sculpture "Eternal Love" on its pedistal, would be an understatement. I cried the kind of tears that stem from deep down in ones soul and seeps through a plethora of emotions. Mine were not the first tears shed for this was also the first time Mr. Bissi had seen the sculpture since it had been cast into bronze. The moment was so dear that I'll never forget that May 8 day. I have a feeling that I am not the only one that will cherish the memories made.

Have I told you that I absolutely adore Mr. Bissi? I do, very much so...He was is one of the kindest souls I've ever known and it isn't any wonder that his wife loved him so much. I also adore his kids, especially Doug whom I've had the pleasure of getting know on a more personal basis. We spent a lot of time together going back and forth to the foundry that is located in Sarasota, 87 miles from my home. Doug and I fretted over each step of casting. We fretted over the stone, over the color or the bronze, it's placement and just about everything imaginable We are both natural born fretters that happen to love fretting. But what we did not do was take Mr. Bissi to the foundry because of the hours we spent there and the fact that the trip would have been too much for him. Besides this, I think it would have been difficult for him to see the stages that the clay went through. You'll see what I mean in the photographs.

Now please do not think he is a frail man, because he is anything but frail or fragile. Mr. Bissi works every day at his business, remains a loyal and devoted father, lives alone and visits his wife's grave every week. This may not sound so unusual, but if one considers the fact that this fine gentlemen is 92 years young, well need I say more? He is strong and willful. He is proud and very capapble of doing anything he wants. It is with this knowledge that I will share a very special moment with you.

Taken May 8, 2008...This was the moment of truth, one I shall never forget.

In Colorado...

/1/08 The clay started last year at my Dad's house. I worked from only a portrait photograph of the mural that I painted for the Bissi's. It was here that I sculpted both heads and the hands.

In Port Richey.

10/26/08 Back home at my studio I began sculpting the two bodies and arms so that I could attach the heads and hands.

It's all about growth, dedication and fearlessness.

11/7/08 Photo by John Tischner

April 28, 2008 My friend, photographer and newspaper editor, John Tischner.

12/20/07 Photos by Larry Gerkin

April 28, 2008 The finished clay complete with wedding rings, texture and refinement.

April 10, 2008 Mold taken from clay sculpture.

April 22, 2008 Sculpting stand holding wax figure to determine

the best placement of the final sculpture.

April 24, 2008 Gated wax head of Mr. Bissi.

April 27, 2008 Raw bronze just before welding pieces together.

May 5, 2008 Welded raw bronze getting the first layers of Patina.

May 6, 2008 Finished patina on sculpture. Beautiful transition!

May 8, 2008 My birthday, the installation day.

May 11, 2008 Dedication of Eternal Life.

Time Passages: A moment that describes what happened in my life this past year; a year that I somehow managed to not waste. A year full of moments that I will always cherish and remember...

Meaningless Trasitions

This day 

not unlike yesterday  

slowly melts

into each moment

producing meaningless 

transitions

gradually becoming one. 

Slide Show Of The Bissi Sculpture:

Restoration In Progress

Four years ago I won a National competition to paint a mural that is located in downtown New Port Richey, Florida. It was the first mural that the city had ever had painted and one they had waited 8 years for. I was proud to have won the competition and I still am. There are now 5 murals in the city, each of which are very unique and beautifully rendered. I am lucky to have painted two of them.

A few weeks ago I took some out of town guests to see the murals and was horrified to see the condition of the NPR mural. It is based on New Port Richey during the 1920's and has a number of old buildings, movie stars, cars, posters and stuff through out the mural. One of the actors is Charlie Chaplan who has just walked out of a building onto the street. Charlie is wearing a baggy suit that was typical attire for the charming comedian. Someone decided that he needed an appendage between his legs, so they scratched a large one on him with a sharp object. Not far from him is an elderly woman reading to a child. The woman is the owner of the building's Mother that passed away years ago, and the child is his daughter. Someone vomited on the woman and scuffed the section with shoes, chairs and hard objects that ruined the paint. It is heartbreaking to see that anyone could damage something so special.

The entire bottom portion of the mural has damage of some sort and it's ONLY 4 years old! I've never had one of my murals treated so disrespectfully before, and I have numerous public murals that are seen weekly by hundreds of people.

Yesterday, I began the restoration process. First I cleaned the entire wall, let it dry then began surveying the true damage. I will need to repaint the entire bottom portion because the damage is excessive and the paint has oxidized. Oxidation of paint is a normal process that all murals experience regardless of location. Matching oxidized paint takes a lot of time, I could easily spend a few months matching the old paint. I would do this if the damage was less, but it isn't so I've opted to repaint all the areas that are damaged.

I love painting! The neat thing is that I've discovered my painting skills have changed since creating the wall four years ago. My brush work is more painterly now and the color is bolder than before. I like what I'm doing, I only hope that the city likes it as well. I also hope that in the future they take better precautions and protect the wall during special events. Most of the damage was caused during these events. I know this because I can see where the backs of chairs and tables have scraped the wall. There are huge black marks that resemble tires, perhaps from bicycles or skate boards. There is substantial damage caused from people standing with a foot on the wall, these areas scraped the paint down to the concrete. The wall is a mess and it upsets me that I have to repaint everything.