2008 Plaque Progress: Plaque Complete

The Form of 2008 plaque is now complete.  The above photograph shows a sample of the color finish on the plaque, the top center element featuring the very grumpy looking stock market bear.

The completed framed plaque will be revealed on Anniversary Weekend on Saturday June 1st – at which time photographs of the finished plaque will be published online.  Thank you to the representative from the Form of 2008 for your help with this project -  I am looking forward to seeing members of the Form of 2008 at the SPS Anniversary event to celebrate your new Form plaque!

1998 Form Plaque Progress: Design Complete

The design stage is complete for the 1998 Form plaque. I worked with a representative of the Form of 1998 to come up with a list of events, and the following design elements were chosen:

1998 Form Plaque Design Elements

Plaque designs traditionally incorporate one world news event and three to five School events.

World Event:

• Center: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day – the march from SPS to State House to encourage the addition of MLK’s name to the State Holiday. This is shown as the State House dome with the initials MLK in the tympanum.

School Events:

• Upper right: An open book with the initials CBA to represent the beginning of the Right Reverend Dr. Craig Barry Anderson term as Eleventh Rector of St. Paul’s School.
• Upper left: A trophy with the Roman numerals IV representing the four sports teams that won New England championships that school year – Field Hockey, Wrestling, Boys’ Crew, and Girls’ Crew.
• Lower center: A shield featuring an element from the coat-of-arms from the Henley-on-Thames Town Hall representing that the boy’s and girl’s crew teams went to the Henley Regatta – the girls’ team winning the Peabody cup.
• Lower left and right: Four feathers represent each of the Quad dorms that were renovated and re-dedicated on October 3, 1997.  Each of the dorms has a stone carving representing a different bird – an owl for Manville, a pelican for Simpson, a rooster for Brewster, and an eagle for Ford – so feathers are shown from each kind of bird.

I will begin working on carving the plaque next and will post images of the carving as the work progresses.

2008 Form Plaque Progress: Carving Complete

Above is a photo of the completed carving for the 2008 Form plaque.  The carving has been sealed with an oil finish and is ready for the painting process to begin.  The photos below show details of the finished carving:

The central design represents the 2008 recession with a bear holding a chart with an arrow representing the dramatic down-turn the bear market took. Here is a detail of the very grumpy looking bear.

In the background two crossed quash racquets represents the boys’ Varsity Squash Team winning the New England Championships. Shown above is a detail of one of the racquets.

On the left of the bear is a tray with the SPS monogram representing the end of using trays in the dining hall – an effort that significantly saved resources and cut food waste.

To the right of the bear is a SPS Waffle, representing the new waffle irons in the dining hall that feature the SPS Shield. Below the waffle is a detail of the winter scene of Millville covered in snow – representing the record snowfall that winter.

I will now begin the painting process for the 2008 plaque.  Check back soon for a sneak peek at the finished product!

Form of 2012 Plaque Progress: Plaque Complete

The Form of 2012 plaque is now complete.  The above photograph shows a sample of the color finish on the plaque, the bottom right corner featuring the snowman holding a pumpkin.  This part of the design represents the heavy snowfall that we had on Halloween last year.

The completed framed plaque will be revealed on Anniversary Weekend on Saturday June 1st – at which time photographs of the finished plaque will be published online.  Thank you to the representatives from the Form of 2012 for your help with this project, I am looking forward to seeing you back at SPS at Anniversary to celebrate your new Form plaque!

2012 Form Plaque Progress: Carving Complete

The carving process for the 2012 Form plaque is complete.  Below are some photographs of the carving process, with details of the finished carving as well.

This first photograph shows the design layout on the plaque blank, with outlines in place as guides for roughing out the background.

This shows the plaque after being roughed out with a small format router.  This sets an even depth for the background of the plaque. From this point forward all the carving is done using hand tools.

A big jump to the finished carving – after many, many hours of work the fine details are all in place.  I first carve the rough shapes for the entire design and then refine each element to its finished state.

This detail shows the book with Mr. Hirschfeld’s initials – marking the beginning of his Rectorship.  The World Trade Center towers are on the right of the photograph with the 10th anniversary date of the 9/11 terrorist attack.

This detail shows the Delphian symbol – winners of the Club Cup for the 2011/2012 School year.

The Lindsay Center for Mathematics and Science is shown in this detail.

The snowman and Jack-O-lantern representing the Halloween storm that blanketed Millville in deep snow.

The next stage in the process involves sealing the plaque with oil and then painting it and adding the protective finish.  The next time you will be able to see the plaque will be Anniversary weekend at the beginning of June of 2013.  I’m looking forward to finishing the plaque and sharing it with all the members of the Form of 2012!

2012 Form Plaque Progress: Design Complete

The design stage is complete for the 2012 Form plaque. I worked with members of the Form of 2012 during the previous School year to come up with a list of events, and the following was chosen by them to represent the 6th Form experiences of the Form of 2012:

• Upper left:  An open book with the initials MGH. The book symbol represents the Rural Record, a diary of day-to-day School life that was kept from 1857 into the early twentieth century.  Michael Hirschfeld’s initials are incorporated on the pages of the  open book, symbolizing the beginning of his Rectorship and representing the recording of the event of the change in leadership into School history.
• Upper right: The symbol for the Delphians – the Greek letter Delta surrounded by a laurel wreath – winners of the Club Cup competition.
• Upper center and middle left: The World Trade Center towers and the date 9/11/11 – marking the tenth anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attack.
• Lower right: A snowman holding a Jack-o-lantern representing the big snowstorm on Halloween – the only significant snowstorm of the winter season.
• Lower left and center:  The Lindsay Center for Mathematics and Science, dedicated on November 29, 2011.

I will now begin working on the carving process, with the plan to have the finished plaque to present at Anniversary weekend in June this year.  Photos of the process will be posted on the blog, so stay tuned for more information!

Form of 1996 Plaque Design & Progress

The design stage for the 1996 Form plaque design was completed a few months ago.  After working with the Form Director a list of events was chosen to illustrate the 6th Form experiences of the Form of 1996:

The design elements are as follows:

•  Central Motif:  The development of the Humanities program is represented by an owl perched on a book, with pen, pencil and brush behind it.  The owl symbol is for wisdom, the pen/pencil/brush symbols represent arts and literature, and the book symbol is for learning (history, philosophy, and religion).
•  Upper Left:  An ‘at’ (@) key from a computer keyboard to symbolize the first School assigned email addresses for students.
•  Upper Right: The closed book with initials DVH representing the end of David Hicks’ leadership as tenth Rector.
• Lower Right:  A woman’s symbol with ‘XXV’ inside to represent the 25^th anniversary of co-education.

I am currently working on the carving process – following are a few photos of the progress:

This shows the carving in its current state – it has been roughed out, the background levels established, the rough carving done, and many areas are being worked into their finished state.

This shows a detail of the owl – much of the detail still needs to be worked on.

This photo shows the details of the feet and talons that are being cleaned up.

This detail shows the @ key, the @ symbol still needs to be carved into the surface.

This last photograph shows the symbol for coeducation and the book that will be carved with David V. Hicks’ initials.

I will have this plaque with me at Anniversary on June 2nd, although it won’t be entirely complete.  I will post more pictures here when the carving is finished, stained and sealed.

UPDATE – July 19, 2012: Pictures and details of the finished carving can be seen in the Form Plaque Gallery by clicking HERE.

2001 Form Plaque Progress: Carving Complete

The following photos are of the carving process for the 2001 Form plaque:

This first photograph shows the prepared basswood carving blank ready to begin:

After using a router to rough out the background levels:

Cleaned up from the router and background levels established, with a little of the initial rough carving done:

The finished carving:

Detail of the Democratic donkey:

And of the Republican elephant:

The carving at this stage is ready for the final painted finish to be applied.

Note: Painting was completed during the second week of May, and now the plaque is drying and awaiting the final sealing finish to be applied in time for Anniversary on June 2nd.   I will be posting photos of the finished plaque after that date – stay tuned!

2001 Form Plaque Progress: Design Complete

The design stage is complete for the 2001 Form plaque design.  After working with the Form Director and reaching out to Form members, a list of events was chosen to illustrate the 6th Form experiences of the Form of 2001:

• The design includes a central theme of the November 2000 presidential election, and shows a ballot from Florida – complete with hanging chads – being claimed by both the Democratic Donkey and the Republican Elephant.
• The shield in the upper center features an element from the coat-of-arms from the Henley-on-Thames Town Hall representing the crew’s trip there that summer.
• The crossed sword (William Wallace’s sword) and torch represent the Form’s senior prank, inspired by the movie Braveheart.
• The Blass Clubhouse is shown at the bottom center and represents the re-design of the original clubhouse that was built in 1893 . Lord Fermoy’s clock is in shown in front of the clubhouse.

I will now begin working on the carving process, with the plan to have the finished plaque to present at Anniversary weekend in June this year.  Photos of the process will be posted on the blog, so stay tuned for more information.

2006 Form Plaque Progress: Carving Completed

The carving stage is now complete for the Form of 2006 plaque. Here are a few photos showing the finished carving:

In the center is St. Paul himself, with the elements of the School shield separated around him.  The upper left corner has the open book, commemorating the beginning of Mr. Matthews’ tenure as Rector.  The spiral form in the upper right represents Hurricane Katrina.  The Sesquicentennial dates are shown in pencil on the ribbon behind St. Paul and will be painted in as part of the finish.

The detail above shows one of the waves created to represent the Mother’s Day flood of 2006. The Episcopal shield appears at the base as part of the Sesquicentennial logo.

The next stage of the process involves sealing the wood and adding the painted finish.

From here forward the project will go undercover: The completed plaque – with painted finish and mounted in its frame – will be kept a secret until it can be unveiled during the 2012 Anniversary Weekend celebration in June of 2012.  Details to follow as we get closer to the date.

I will now begin working on the 2001 and 1996 plaques, with plans to complete them both in time for Anniversary 2012. Progress on those plaques will be documented here as with the 2006 plaque, so check back often to see how things are progressing.