Taking a break from the famous Missourian commission to work on some pieces for the April 13 show at Leopold gallery. 

New experiments in plastic. 

And he's installed! Thanks to @Marglawlor @fletchSchubert & @BrianPuyear for help with the install and documentation! Install pics to follow. 

Just applied the final wax coat and... he's finished! Delivering to down town Olathe on Monday in the am. 

Always the scariest moment. Every thing is cast and now we cross our fingers and hope that a perfect face stares back when we take it out of the mold. 630 lbs of composite cement. 5 ft by 3 ft by 4 ft. 

Experimental color tests. 

Carved out the iris and pupils. Looks tons better. Now ready for the mold. 

Side view. 61" tall, 36" wide, 38" deep. 

Almost finished in clay. Not sure if the eyes will stay solid and create the iris and pupil using stain, or if I should carve them out. 

Moving forward.  If you don't plan ahead, then you take whatever color clay the supplier has!  Same type and hardness but almost pink instead  of green. 

Clay work starts on the big head for Olathe. Notice the coffee cup for scale. 

Head number 2. 

Progress on the 5 ft tall head continues. 

...and I thought I would be able to safely get one more on top!  These are huge foam blocks for Gertrude the enlarging machine to devour. 4' by 3' by 6'. 

Gertrude, the sculpture enlarging machine.

Well, I know you have all been waiting with baited breath for photos of Gertrude in action. You shall wait no more!  Here is the first photo taken about half of the way thru the first rough pass.  Notice that I positioned the 4'x2'x2' foam block forward 3 inches too far.  No problem except I had to carve through that 3 inches! Next time I will be more precise. This is just a positioning/functionability/does-this-thing-even-work,test, so the block is a scrap that is only 4 ft tall.  That is about 1 foot short of the final size if this was a real 3x enlargement.  The foam sculpture has only been carved using a 1.25 inch bit, so none of the detail is showing right now.  After the final detail pass, we will coat the foam with .25 inches of clay to sculpt the surface detail.  So, I am pronouncing Gertrude a success!  Enjoy the photo, more to come.  (FYI: the small model is 20 inches tall, and 8 inches square)

The MCC Insider: Artist to gift sculpture at gala

The MCC Insider: Artist to gift sculpture at gala: "When representatives from the Francis Family Foundation are awarded MCC’s highest honor at this month’s Five Star Gala, they won’t be presen..."

Another cryptic photo of the beautiful parts that will combine to make "Gertrude" the worlds greatest sculpture enlarging machine!!!!!!!!

It may look like a mess if metal and chain to you but to me it looks like a functioning gear drive on the enlarging machine!  She rises by Friday!!!!! Mwuhahahajajaj!

Article on the Big Thelma head.

AOL News article about the Mama statue. Who knew that this thing would start to grow legs. Short legs, but legs none-the-less. I hope they can raise the money. I will be starting on the maquette in a few weeks.

The big guy gets his first coat of rubber.