Form of 2019 Plaque

The upper left corner of the Form of 2019 plaque shows a shirt with a multi-gender symbol on it, representing the updating of the school dress code to apply equally to all students regardless of gender identity. The upper right corner shows a rose window, representing the catastrophic fire of Notre Dame cathedral in April of 2019. The upper center shows the Hugh Camp Cup, with Roman numerals III, IV, V, VI, representing that the cup was won by a member of the Form of 2019 each of their four years. The lower left section of the plaque features a football with the numbers 8 – 0 to celebrate the undefeated winning season for the football team in the fall. The lower center shows a closed book with the SPS shield on the cover and a bookmark bearing the initials A C R, represents the service of Amy C. Richards as Interim Rector. The lower right section has a female symbol stylized into the letter S and C, to represent the first time in SPS history that both the President and Vice President of the Student Council were female. In the background of the lower section of the plaque two crossed oars celebrate the new rowing tanks that opened during the 2018/2019 school year.

2019 Plaque Progress: Carving Completed

 

The carving for the Form of 2019 plaque is now completed. The representatives from the Form of 2019 chose the following events to be illustrated on the plaque:

• Upper left: Shows a shirt with a multi-gender symbol on it, representing the updating of the school dress code to apply equally to all students regardless of gender identity.
• Upper right corner: Shows a rose window, representing the catastrophic fire of Notre Dame cathedral.
• Upper center: Shows the Hugh Camp Cup, with Roman numerals III, IV, V, VI, representing that the cup was won by a member of the Form of 2019 each of their four years.
• Lower left: A football celebrates the 8 – 0 winning season for the football team.
• Lower center: A closed book with the School shield, with a bookmark bearing the initials A C R, represents the service of Amy C. Richards as Interim Rector.
• Lower right: A female symbol stylized into the letter S and C, represents the first time in SPS history that both the President and Vice President of the Student Council were female.
• Lower background: Shows crossed oars from the new rowing tanks that opened during the 2018/2019 school year.

Now that the carving process is completed, I will apply a painted finish to the plaque to have it ready to hang in it’s permanent place in the Friedman Community Center. Stay tuned for updates on the completion of the plaque!

Upper left: Shows a shirt with a multi-gender symbol on it, representing the updating of the school dress code to apply equally to all students regardless of gender identity.

Upper center: Shows the Hugh Camp Cup, with Roman numerals III, IV, V, VI, representing that the cup was won by a member of the Form of 2019 each of their four years.

Upper right corner: Shows a rose window, representing the catastrophic fire of Notre Dame cathedral.

Lower left: A football celebrates the 8 – 0 winning season for the football team.

Lower center: A closed book with the School shield, with a bookmark bearing the initials A C R, represents the service of Amy C. Richards as Interim Rector.

Lower right: A female symbol stylized into the letter S and C, represents the first time in SPS history that both the President and Vice President of the Student Council were female. Lower background: Shows crossed oars from the new rowing tanks that opened during the 2018/2019 school year.

2019 Plaque Progress: Design Completed

The design stage was completed for the 2019 form plaque early last summer. I worked with representatives from the Form of 2019 to come up with a list of events, and the following were chosen by them to represent their 6th Form experiences at SPS:

• Upper left: Shows a shirt with a multi-gender symbol on it, representing the updating of the school dress code to apply equally to all students regardless of gender identity.
• Upper right corner: Shows a rose window, representing the catastrophic fire of Notre Dame cathedral.
• Upper center: Shows the Hugh Camp Cup, with Roman numerals III, IV, V, VI, representing that the cup was won by a member of the Form of 2019 each of their four years.
• Lower left: A football celebrates the 8 – 0 winning season for the football team.
• Lower center: A closed book with the School shield, with a bookmark bearing the initials A C R, represents the service of Amy C. Richards as Interim Rector.
• Lower right: A female symbol stylized into the letter S and C, represents the first time in SPS history that both the President and Vice President of the Student Council were female.
• Lower background: Shows crossed oars from the new rowing tanks that opened during the 2018/2019 school year.

This design has been used to create the wood carving of the 2019 form plaque. I will document the carving process in an upcoming post.

The Form of 2011 Plaque

Here is a photograph of the completed plaque for the Form of 2011.  It is being dedicated on June 2, 2012 and hangs in the Middle Dining Hall of Coit (The Upper) above the panels that contain the names of all the members of the Form of 2011.  Below the photo is the description of the elements incorporated in the plaque design.

In 2011 the revival of the Club Cup competition was the big event of the school year.  The cup itself is represented in the center of the plaque with the symbol above it of the winning club, the Delphians – the Greek letter Delta surrounded by a laurel wreath.  In the upper left of the plaque a closed book is carved with the initials WRM which represents the end of Twelfth Rector William R. Matthews’ Rectorship.  The book symbolizes the Rural Record, a journal of day-to-day life at St. Paul’s School that was kept from 1857 up into the early 20th century.  The upper right corner of the plaque has a map of Japan with circles radiating out from the epicenter of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that occurred in March of 2011.  The lower left and right sections of the plaque represent the crew team competing at the Henley Royal Regatta in June of 2011.  A shield super-imposed above and to the left of the crew team features an element from the coat-of-arms from the Henley-on-Thames Town Hall.

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.

2011 Plaque Progress: Beginning Carving

The following photos show the progress so far on the Form of 2011 plaque. The photo above shows the design outline transferred onto the plaque blank.  Just the major design elements are transferred at this point.

The photo above shows the plaque after the background has been removed using a small format router.  This very rough stage is smoothed over using carving tools, and the outlines are then cleaned up and refined.

Here is a photo of me adding some of the initial detail to the plaque design – the laurel wreath around the Delphian Delta is starting to take shape.

In this photo you can see the finished football center left, and the map of Japan top right.  The book with Mr. Matthews’ initials is almost complete at this stage.

More details need to be added and the lower section needs to take shape, so there is still quite a bit to be done before this carving is complete.  I will update with more photos soon.