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"In Liberta"
The Creation of an Original Sculpture
by Stacey Mayer, artist
   
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Milestone™ stone, 12" high, on 12'
solid maple base
Presented
to the Liberty Class winner of the
1997
European Championships, Verona, Italy |
(1) Milestone™ is a two part material. Dry
powder, plus a liquid. It is a specially mixed derivative of Portland cement blended with
acrylic additives, and has been used as an architectural building material for floors,
counters, wall finishes - and by artists to create sculpture.
The material is good, consistent white color, (a few other
colors are available pre-mixed,) plus you may add any pure pigment to create Milestone™ in any custom solid color.
Thus, your project may be created in any color you can dream of. Pure pigment, the same
ingredient that a paint store adds to a can of special mix paint is what is used to color
the mixture; not the artist's pigments from a tube of "Liquitex or Hyplar."
Castings have many color choices, too - you may decide before hand what color you want. |
(2) Many
layers of small batches of Milestone™
have been carefully modeled on the wooden armature, to reach the point shown here. Layers
of tulle, or bridal netting, were used to apply the first layer to the dry and unwelcoming
wood. After the first layers are laid down, the work proceeds more quickly.
As the Milestone™
hardens, (over the course of several hours in a very warm room, or two days at normal
temperature,) carving every detail becomes easily possible - with the added security that
any slips of the knife may be easily repaired, or any "mistakes"
re-worked. This gives the artist
freedom to undertake any project. Good carving stone or wood is very expensive; but
experience is everything - and this material allows you to experiment in a good carving
material without needing a good piece of wood just for practice. I have found this medium
to be exciting, forgiving, and comparatively quite affordable.
The photo above shows the first stages of painting the
almost finished original carved and modeled work. |
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(3) Here are views of both sides before the
painting process was begun. As I applied the colors, (acrylics,) I could see small
imperfections come to light, and I was able to easily made changes. Sometimes, I could see
areas that could use more detail, or some details became lost in shadows, so I was able to
work on those as well. The color made things so much easier to see. (Think about color
T.V. versus black and white.) This is also the point I would have made a mold, to cast
this project into a limited edition work, but this particular sculpture was an original.
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| (4) Below is the finished work, now on it's way to
the European Championships. (Thanks to my friends for helping me pack it so securely, and
U.P.S for being the carrier.) |
 
| (5) My husband, Philip, custom made the solid
maple base and engineered the permanent fastening of the sculpture to the base. Philip's
brother, Darryl Mayer, loaned us the use of his marvelous shop! Thanks, Darryl. |
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The Milestone™ medium is extraordinarily
strong - after a few days, carving is almost impossible! After all, this can be made into
floor material! I have seen a beautiful wooden writing desk totally covered with it in a
lovely jade green. It felt like a Corian™ countertop. Milestone™ also
comes in a mixture just for carving enthusiasts. I look forward to making many more
originals and using these marvelously durable works as unique pieces; as well as originals
to made molds from, and then cast limited editions.
 We took the
work to the mail carrier with heavy hearts - going so far away, will we ever see it again?
Will the recipient enjoy the piece, and treasure it? As my daughters Shannon and Cassandra
thought about this with me, Cassandra, 13, told me, "Mom, it's so beautiful. Anyone
who recieves this as a trophy will treat it like a treasure." Shannon, (16,) then
added, "Think Mom, these people are Arabian horse lovers, of course they will love
your sculpture."
With this boost to my faith, we signed the papers for
Italian Customs, and sent it with joy. I believe my daughters were right, and this
sculpture, a gift from all of us at AWhitehorse.com™,
will be enjoyed always by the winner of this year's European Liberty Championship.
Thank - you to all of the Show organizers for allowing me
to send "Le Liberta," to this years event. - Stacey Mayer, artist
Just received! Here it is at
the Show!!
Yes, the Italians loved it! - SM |
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