John 3:16 cathedral calligraphy piece
----Finishing the border----
Hello,and welcome back to another thrilling episode of "Building A Cathedral"! To recap the previous episodes,we learned in "Part 1" the basic introduction to acrylic gesso as a sculpting medium and the techniques of applying it as well as the types of paints and gilding mediums used for the piece with step by step pictures of the beginning processes. In "Part 2", we follow the continuation of the piece from the penciled layout stage through the finished capital letter section. In "Part 3",we learned about the concepts and use of "Flying Buttresses" and followed the construction of the ones for the top border section from start to finish. In "Part 4",we will see the fruition of the piece through the construction of the right side and bottom sections of the border. So sit back,put some coffee grounds in your eyes,eat a handful of sugar cubes and hopefully be entertained and maybe learn a few helpful tips and tricks along the way to use in your own artworks! Without further adieu,we will start the show...
When trying to get the ideas and concepts together for this piece in the very beginning,I did a lot of research on the European cathedrals,particularly those in England,France and Germany. Many hours were spent collecting,comparing and cross referencing stock photo images from most all of the major buildings. There was only a limited amount of space feasibly available and the best parts of the plethora of cathedrals would be impossible to include in just the one work! From Westminster Abbey,Canterbury,York Minster,St. Paul,Salisbury et al from England to Notre-Dame,Chartres,Laon,Rouen,St.Chapelle,Rheims et al in France to Mainz,Regensburg,Schwerin,Munster,Cologne et al in Germany with the beautiful cathedral in Prague..........all were poured over,sifted through,considered,pondered upon and contemplated around!!!!!! The conclusion I reached was that one would have to do 100 or more pieces to include the best of all those magnificent buildings. So,for practical purposes and to satisfy the overwhelming need to quell the feeling of being overwhelmed, I filtered it down to 3 finalists. Rheims Cathedral in France happens to be my favorite,so naturally the overall theme would be based upon it. The capital and the top flying buttress sections are both heavily based on Rheims. For the right side and bottom,I wanted to include at least 1 or 2 other cathedrals.For the right side,I chose a portion of Koln(Cologne) Cathedral in Germany. For me,the Cologne Cathedral is the absolute epitome of classical(and somewhat dark/eerie) Gothic architecture in form,style and attitude! It is arguably my 2nd favorite cathedral and I do plan to exclusively incorporate it into a future piece! For the bottom border, I chose a section from my 3rd favorite cathedral in St. Chapelle,France which is incomparable in its Divinely magical stained glass sanctuary!!! If you look closely at the bottom border of the piece,you will see that I relied heavily on the layout and design of the bases for the stained glass windows in St. Chapelle. Now that the inquiring minds have been satisfied,we will begin with the mechanics of the building process,starting with the right border from Cologne Cathedral.
Fig.1 - Facade of Koln(Cologne) Cathedral,Germany
----Guten Tag from Germany----
The photos in Fig.1 are of the facade of the cathedral and on the left is a close up of the awesomely intricate tracery above the arch of one of the windows. It is here,from the stacked windows that I chose what to incorporate into the piece. Before throwing up the picture of my attempts at it,I have to say that due to the miniature size,I could not replicate the fine tracery in its absolution with the tools I had at the time. I could only do a general likeness and of course,took the liberties needed to adapt it to the piece,and there are unfortunately no pictures of the transient stages of the part,only pictures of the finished product.Now that I have put forth the necessary disclaimer/excuse....I will put up the picture!
Fig.2 - View of right border
Figure 2 shows my attempt at the Cologne portion.The tracery is very small and was a nightmare(to say the least) to get it worked out! This section is actually more of a paper modeling/sculpting work than it is a gesso sculpture. The spires, traceries and main columns were done completely from thick backing paper. The lace works on the traceries were drawn out with a 0.5mm mechanical pencil and very....very.....VERY meticulously cut out with an X-acto knife. Once the pieces were glued together,all of it was brushed repeatedly with gesso(up to 10 times) in order to insure the full saturation of the fibers in the paper. Once all of it had dried,the hollow insides of the column were poured completely full of gesso,just like a mold form for concrete. The piece was then placed onto the paper in its entirety and very carefully plumbed into place with its layout lines.
Fig.3 - Frontal view of border
Figure 3 gives us the frontal and full view of the right side border. The measurement to this part is 1" wide X 14" high. The portraits are from oil paints of the Winsor & Newton brand. The metal gilding work is explained back in "Part 1" of the article. Now,at this point,I feel it is worth noting that whenever we do works,we pretty much always have some part or some thing that we wished we could have done differently. If I have one actual regret to draw from this piece,it is the portrait itself. At the time,I was running out of steam for ideas and did it half cocked. If it could be done over,I would have simply tried to reproduce the cathedral window as it actually is. If there can be an excuse put forth,I would simply chalk it up to inexperience as I had only been doing art for slightly less than a year when I attempted it. Anyway.....it is what it is,as they say. We just keep moving forward and keep working to improve all the way around! Now that the right side border has been explained, we will take our own good advice and "move forward" to the bottom section. Again,this part is based heavily upon the foundation bases for the huge stained glass windows of St. Chapelle Cathedral,France.
Fig.4 - St. Chapelle Cathedral sanctuary
Figure 4 shows the magnificent grandeur that is the St. Chapelle sanctuary. The towering stained glass windows and impeccably carved stone works leaves one breathless in its wake! The triple arched base section,pictured to the bottom left in the photo is what was chosen for the bottom border.
----Let's all get eyestrain,shall we?----
Fig.5 - Part for the bottom border
Figure 5 is of the built up and painted part used for the bottom portion of the border. The dip pen sitting on top serves to show the sheer micro-miniature scale of the piece. The column statues measure only 1/2" tall X 1/8" wide on average,and are all full bodied,only making contact by the bases they are standing on. The micro-mini-miniature statue figures between the tops of the arches measure around 1/8" tall X 1/16" wide on average!!! The traceries were all made and carved out of paper. Whereas the right side border is an exercise in paper/gesso modeling and sculpting,this section takes it to the mountain,but just as the right side was filled with gesso and placed,so is the bottom done in this manner. In Fig.6 below,you see the finished product mounted into place!
Fig.6 - Bottom border finished
Fig.7 - The finished piece
Figure 7 shows the finished piece.....the cathedral has been built!!! I must say that it has been a pleasurable adventure relating the story and the "nuts and bolts" behind this project. At the time,it was a huge undertaking,considering that I had only been doing art for a few months and was still trying to just learn the foundational techniques for every step involved.....calligraphy,painting,sculpting! I learned a LOT in a short time by tackling this one,and though I have not done a sculpted piece on THIS scale since, I have incorporated sculpting and the techniques learned here in many of my later works. I am not much of a qualified "advice giver",but if I had to pass along anything,it would be to never be afraid of experimenting with new techniques and mediums,and if you are into trying pieces like this, remember to have patience!!!!!!! Slow and deliberate conquers the day here. Being a long time machinist gave me a natural leg up for the virtue of patience and its use for these works. Again,it is my sincere hope that these articles provide you with some helpful hints and tips and maybe even inspire you to try something new and radical! Remember....never say die and always do your absolute best,progress will come on its own.My uncle,who was in WW2, once gave some profound advice that always stuck heartily with me......"If you do your best,that is all that is required and you have done your duty"!
No comments:
Post a Comment