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!

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!

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!

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.

Alumni Volunteer Weekend

On October 1st during the SPS Alumni Volunteer Weekend I set up a display of the progress on the plaque project.  The display was in the Upper Dining Hall and took place during the Saturday luncheon.

I displayed the completed carving for the 2011 Form Plaque (below, center) and the progress of the 2006 Form plaque, shown on the right.  To the left is a rough carving blank – the form of the basswood when I start the carving process. On display in the front of the plaques in this photo is the design drawing for the 2011 plaque, and my design sketchbook open to the page of the 2/3rd scale concept drawing.

The second half of the display featured other examples of my carving work, including a carved bear with a Celtic knot motif, the SPS pelican shield, and the Spanish cedar carving in progress of a pelican on her nest.

The luncheon event provided me with the opportunity to meet a number of representatives from the Forms in need of plaques and to introduce them to the process.  I had a great time talking with everyone and answering questions about Form plaques past, present, and future.

Form of 2011 Plaque Progress: Carving Completed

The carving stage is now complete for the Form of 2011 plaque. Here are a few photos showing the finished carving:

This detail shows the waves and water surrounding the crew team – representing the trip to Henley.

This detail shows the closed book with Mr. Matthews’ initials representing the end of his term as Rector, and a portion of the Delphian emblem representing their Club Cup victory.

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 work on carving plaques for the Forms missing plaques from the last twenty years.  In the works are designs and plaques for the Forms of 1996, 2001 and 2006.  Progress on those plaques will be documented here as with the 2011 plaque, so check back often to see how things are progressing.

The Carving Process: Roughing Out

The next stage in the carving process involves roughing out the pattern and removing the larger areas of wood so that the form begins to emerge.  In this photo you can see that the basic shape of the head and neck are in place, and I have begun to work on the curve of the wing.  A few of the feathers leading from the body into the wing have been roughed out to help define the flow of the transition into the curve of the wing.

In this image you can see the rough shape of the nest and the begining of the outline of the pelican chicks.  The opposite wing still need to be roughed out, and once I have the inside curve of both wings completed I will work from the back to finish giving the wings their shape.

Roughing out is usually done with larger carving tool profiles using a mallet.  I started with large gouges to remove the greatest portion of the wood, and then work down to smaller profiles to smooth it to the finished rough form.  The roughing out stage  can be a little awkward as you transition from the clean outline of the pattern to the rough form of the carving.  It can be hard to resist the urge to begin refining areas as you get them to a good roughed out point, but it is important to rough the entire form out to the same degree before beginning on the detail.

As I mentioned earlier, this particular piece of wood came from a selection of wood that has been stored in barns at SPS going as far back as the early years of the 20th century.  Although it is impossible to know how long this piece of wood has been at the school, I did find out a little more information about it.  After an informative tour of the boat house and the workshop, Mr. Bailey (who maintains and restores the crew boats at  SPS) showed me the collection of wood stored there for use in repairing and restoring the crew boats.  This wood is a type of mahogany called Spanish cedar.  This is a deceptive name, since it isn’t from Spain, and it isn’t a type of cedar, but this resinous wood  has a wonderful aroma, and is highly resistant to rotting in water.  Spanish cedar has been long used to make cigar boxes and for the lining of humidors, as well as for making boats.  So the piece of Spanish cedar I am using for this carving was very likely purchased by the school at some point for use in building and repairing the rowing boats – a tradition at SPS that goes back to the 1870s.