The Form of 2015 Plaque

The upper left corner of the plaque shows a cake topped with a vinyl record to honor the Steve Aoki music event. The upper right shows a shield with the Isthmian symbol celebrating their win of the Club Cup. In the center is Mount Everest with the Nepalese flag, representing the devastating April 2015 earthquake. The bottom left has a laptop with a clock on it, representing 24-hour access to the internet in dorms. The bottom right, a stack of alphabet blocks represents a different academic schedule during each of the Form’s four years.

2015 Plaque Progress: Plaque Completed

The Form of 2015 plaque is now completed.  The detail photograph above shows a sample of the painted finish on the plaque – the Isthmian club shield representing their win of the Club Cup.

The completed framed plaque will be revealed on Anniversary Weekend on Saturday June 4th – at which time photographs of the finished plaque will be published online.  Thank you to the representatives from the Form of 2015 for their help with this project – make sure to stop by the Upper to see your plaque if you are visiting that weekend!

2015 Plaque Progress: Carving Completed

The carving for the Form of 2015 plaque is completed. Below are some detail images – with carved elements illustrating the following design themes:

• Upper Left: A cake with a vinyl record on top representing the Steve Aoki event
• Center: Mount Everest with the flag of Nepal on the summit representing the devastating earth quake in April of 2015
• Upper Right: A shield with the Isthmian symbol representing their win of the Club Cup
• Bottom Left: A laptop with a clock representing 24 hour access to the internet
• Bottom Right: A stack of alphabet blocks representing the four different academic schedules during the four years of the Form of 2015

I will now start working on the painted finish, and plan on having this plaque completed in time for Anniversary weekend at the end of May. More details to follow.

2015 Plaque Progress: Design Completed

The design stage is complete for the 2015 form plaque. I worked with members of the Form of 2015 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 2015:

• Upper Left: A cake with a vinyl record on top representing the Steve Aoki event
• Upper Right: A shield with the Isthmian symbol representing their win of the Club Cup
• Center: Mount Everest with the flag of Nepal on the summit representing the devastating earth quake in April of 2015
• Bottom Left: A laptop with a clock representing 24 hour access to the internet
• Bottom Right: A stack of alphabet blocks representing the four different academic schedules during the four years of the Form of 2015

I have started work on the carving of the 2015 plaque and will be posting photos of the carving process as it progresses – stay tuned for more information!

The Form of 2012 Plaque

Here is a photograph of the completed plaque for the Form of 2012. It was dedicated on June 1, 2013 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 2012. Below the photo is the description of the elements incorporated in the plaque design.

The upper left corner of the plaque features an open book with the initials MGH carved onto the pages, representing the beginning of the Rectorship of Michael Gifford Hirschfeld, Thirteenth Rector of St. Paul’s School. The book symbolizes the Rural Record, a journal of day-to-day life that was kept at St. Paul’s School from 1857 into the early 20th century. The upper right corner shows the symbol for the Delphians – the Greek letter Delta surrounded by a laurel wreath – winners of the Club Cup competition for the School year. The upper center of the plaque has the World Trade Center towers and in the middle left section the date 9/11/11is carved – marking the tenth anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attack. A snowman holding a Jack-o-lantern is carved in the lower right corner of the plaque, representing the big snowstorm on Halloween – the only significant snowstorm of the winter season. To the left of the snowman is the newly constructed Lindsay Center for Mathematics and Science, dedicated on November 29, 2011.

The Form of 2008 Plaque

Here is a photograph of the completed plaque for the Form of 2008. It was dedicated on June 1, 2013 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 2008. Below the photo is the description of the elements incorporated in the plaque design.

The 2008 economic recession is represented in the central image by a very grumpy bear holding a stock market chart with a downward-pointing arrow – a reference to the sharp down-turn of the market during that time. The boys’ varsity squash team won the New England Championship, and this event is represented by the two crossed squash racquets behind the bear. 2008 saw the end of the use of lunch trays in the dining hall and this is represented by the SPS monogrammed tray located to the left of the bear. Opposite the tray on the right of the bear is a SPS Waffle, representing the new waffle iron that was acquired in the dining hall that features the SPS shield. The winter of 2007/2008 produced record amounts of snow and ice. To represent the wintery weather conditions in Millville the background behind the bear shows the snow-covered School grounds, including a layer of ice beneath his feet.

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!

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!