ta-da!!!

The seal is now looming large in full, living color at Little Harbour School! It's on the wall and looking good. I'm so proud!!! Just a few touch-ups, and she'll be ready for the ball!

Big Day!

It was so great to be back at the Little Harbour School! We had a great cook out and everyone really enjoyed the finished sculpture. The 5th graders all signed the ball, so when the seal is put up on the building, they will be part of the school for years and years to come. It was such an honor to be part of this project!

Rain, rain, rain!!!

Well, it rained for about a week...just as I was supposed to be finishing the seal. Luckily, there was enough space in the basement to paint all the parts, and still do the laundry (unfortunately).

Shifting gears

Unfortunately, no matter how many layers of paint you apply to MDF board, it is still as brittle as a precious little snowflake in a monster truck rally! So, I scratched that idea and decided to go with 2x4's instead. This is actually more in line with my work anyway, as I prefer to use "industrial" materials whenever possible.

Sandwich time!

My initial thought was that I could use a strong piece of plywood for the inside, and layer some smoother MDF board on the surface of either side. Then I would apply roughly a million coats of paint to seal it for all eternity.

The big layout...

Next, I sketched the body of the seal onto a sheet of plywood. This was to serve as the main structure for my sculpture.

Start with a sketch...

The first edition was going to be made of steel tubing, shaped into a slightly abstracted seal form.

However, since the proposed site was going to now be the brick side of the school building, I decided to go with a more solid form.

Also, it was suggested that the sculpture be more in line with the school colors, so I changed it from gray to a brighter blues.

Little Harbour School's Big Blue Seal!!!

This sculpture was commissioned by the 5th graders and PTO at Little Harbour School, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. I can't thank them enough for their support and help in making this project become a reality!

I was fortunate enough to spend some time as a visiting artist at LHS last year, working with all the exceptionally talented kids there. We built some really cool works of art together and had an amazing show at the end of the year.

I spent the bulk of my time working with the 4th graders on recycled art, however. So, when they became 5th graders and were ready to graduate to the middle school, they asked me to come back and build a sculpture for the school. It was presented to the school at their "Moving On" ceremony in June, 2011. Hopefully, it will find a home there for years to come.