Thursday, October 30, 2008

Iron Horn - Monumental - Adding More Clay

Not much to see today. Just spent the day adding clay to the bottom of the shirt and the loin cloth. My camera batteries ran out. So not much to show.


I decided to come back in about 8pm and work on Iron Horn a bit more. Here I am adding clay while listening to a 1940 interview. Featuring H. G. Wells when he was in his 70's and Orson Wells. Talking about the famous War of the Worlds show that played on October the 30th 1939. Just thought it was interesting so I put the whole video here, with the interview in the background.


The begining of this video you'll hear Orson Wells with the final lines from the War of the Worlds radio show. I just love it.

Final video showing Iron Horn as of the night before Halloween 2008.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Reference Material Can Be Found Anywhere

Since I'm a Western Bronze Artist.. I'm always on the look out for reference material. You just never know when your going to come upon a bit of good reference.
Today, after getting back from Bozeman, I stopped at the local grocery store here in Ennis and saw a cowboy go into the store. What caught my eye was the great hat he was wearing.
As I walked to the store I saw his saddle in the back of his truck. I ran back to my van and grabbed my digital camera and shot these photo's.


That is a ranch jacket tied on the back of the saddle.. I may use this for a future piece. Always carry a camera.

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Iron Horn - Monumental - Dragnet.. And Foam

Finished up cutting up the wax I started to soften on Thursday.



Guess I should explain the Dragnet in my title for todays entry. I was listening to that show on Old Time Radio, XM Channel 164. I love that channel. Well at one point in my video below, the show's, Dum da dum dum, played.. at an interesting point. You'll just have to watch to see what I'm talking about. Today I worked on creating a foam filler for the Indian's shot pouch, or shooting pouch. "POSSIBLES" were kept in the shot pouch. These were small, but highly important collection of valuables the trapper or Indian kept by his side in his shooting pouch, which could mean the difference between life and death when put afoot without a rifle. Of course the Indian did have hand made weapons to fall back on.

Well that's it folks for the weekend.. Till next week.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Hunter's Feed today

Well I won't be in my studio today. Every year we have what's called a Hunter's Feed. It's where the people of Ennis, and the Madison Valley cook up main courses, using nothing but game meat. They set up on the sidewalks of down town Ennis, and you walk up and down both sides of main street getting samples from each of the locals who cook. It's to welcome the hunters who come to this area for the Opening of Hunting Season on Saturday. Please enjoy this video I shot today during the feed.



Now I don't hunt. Never had the time to. At these hunters feeds, I've eaten everything from black bear, which is a lot like pork, to mountain lion stew. Didn't ask for seconds on that one. Alligator was not bad. Love snake meat.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Iron Horn - Monumental - Shirt Fringe

I spent the first few hours of today at the studio, filling in gaps in the fringe on the legs. Then I prepared the clay for the days work.
Here are photo's showing how I anchored the bottom of the spear to the base of the life-size. I used screws to surround the pipe. This holds it in place. I then tape the spear to the hand to hold in place. I'll get to the spear later.

I now prepare the clay that's been softening. I cut it into smaller, and more manageable pieces. I apologize for the sound. Had the heater on, and the air from it must have been hitting the mic on the camera, distorting the sound. Here are video's of how I create the shirts bottom edge fringe.



After doing the fringe out of clay, I realized, clay could easily be damaged because it's so soft. So I had to start again by using wax. If you have any questions about the type of wax or clay I use and where I purchase it, feel free to contact me at mtlemon@gmail.com



Final, detailed, photo's of the fringe painted at the end of the day.

Winterizing

Winterizing my home on Wednesday... So was unable to get to the studio.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Iron Horn - Monumental - Foam and Wax

Had a short day today at the studio. The following video explains what I did this afternoon.


Thought I'd show you a short video of my trip from my studio to my house. It was just starting to snow.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Iron Horn - Monumental - Filling In - Old Wax

Finished up filling in holes on the fringe of his left leg and then created the bead and quill work on the left moccasin.



I received, a wax that had been in storage for almost 20 years, at Valley Bronze in Oregon today. I completed the clay of this piece, Custer, on March the 15th 1987. Just thought you'd like to see the piece. Haven't had a photo of it in years.


Saturday, October 18, 2008

Iron Horn - Monumental - Last of of the lower Fringe

Final bit of fringe on the lower half goes onto the left leg.

First part of next week i finish up the lower half and then comes the upper half.

Friday, October 17, 2008

Iron Horn - Monumental - I had Visitors

Today, I had two young missionaries from the LDS (Mormons, or Church of Latter day Saints) stopped by to visit.
My brother, Kevin, served a mission years ago in England. I met these two gentlemen a couple of weeks back at the Otterbanks Gallery and Gift Shop, while I was there working on "Ain't No Cowboy". Well they stopped by today and I made a video, so that their families and friends could see them.

I worked on the right moccasin and the bead work on the left leg today.

Here are the final photographs of the beadwork on the left leg. Tomorrow I add the fringe to the legging. Can't wait.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

A Old Trapper Once Said Lewis & Clark Camped Here?

The words in the title were taken from a very old weathered sign in Cardwell Montana. (Remember you can click on photos to make them larger)


The last two days, I've traveled to Bozeman to the foundry there, and to Butte Montana today on buisness. On these two trips I passed right by two areas where Lewis and Clark camped in the early 1800s.
Here are Photographs of those camp sites.


This is a photo of that scenery.


Next to the above wood sign is a bronze sign as well. It's pictured in the photo above.


Here is an area north of my home, near Cardwell Montana, is another campsite that saw a few members of the Lewis and Clark expidition camped in 1806. The campsite according to the sign shown below, is on the far bank of the river, somewhere between the two buildings.



This sign is right next to the above sign. The story covers the same area shown above.


The following photos are just scenes on the way home from Cardwell Montana today. The first is of the Jefferson River. The rest are of old cabins and buildings dating back to the late 1800's and early 1900's.






A pile sand and gravel that the road department loves to spread on our icy roads. The kind that break windshields. I thought the wind shaped pile was fasinating.


The picture below is what's left of a homestead that was built by a family with the last name Lemon. Wonder if they were related. We did settle the west in the 1840's. So it could very well be.


Tomorrow I'm back on the clay. Check back tomorrow night...

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Winter's First Snow

Rocky, and Kathy Hawkins, sent me these photo's of their place 30 miles north of where I live. in Harrison. They were taken this last weekend.
Ennis didn't get hit with as much snow. We just lost a tree across the street to the wind.














Monday, October 13, 2008

Iron Horn - Monumental - Paint and Fill

I took a sample of the clay to the paint store and got paint mixed to match the color of the clay.



A photo at the endo of the day.


Friday, October 10, 2008

Iron Horn - Monumental - Fringe

I'm trying something for the first time. Making fringe out of string. Here is a photo I took of the model, showing the moccasins and the leggings as well as the fringe.



I try one method. I tie a string onto two screws and then I measure and cut lengths of string and tie them to the string between the screws. I figure if I make a section of fringe, and then when I dip it in wax and place it on the leg it just might work.





Then I add glue to the knots.


Now here is a video, showing the method I finally came up with for making this fringe.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Iron Horn - Monumental - Lazy Stich

Just as I was getting ready to do this days entry, I saw that this is my 105th entry since I started in March 2008 doing this.
Lazy Stich is the style of beading. It used to be called the lazy squaw stitch. Although "squaw" is a Algonkian word (not an English word) for woman, and is a perfectly good word, it's now considered by many to be a derogatory word. So I don't use it.
You can read more about this word here http://www.nativeweb.org/pages/legal/squaw.html
So today I started the bead work on the right legging of my life size warrior. Lazy stitch is illustrated in a crude drawing I've made below.


To make my wax beads look like rows of lazy stitch, I roll a piece of clay to place down the center of an area of beads to give it a raised base. I do that on both areas that the beads will be placed.





Now I start to form the beads (refer to the last entry for method).



After I've finished arrainging beads, I use a scraper to pick up a group of them, by just putting the edge against the edge of the wax. Then I position it and then place them. Pressing them down on both sides.




After several hours, I have the two rows of beads on the leg.



Tomorrow, and I can't wait, I start putting the fringe on this leg.