I received one of those nuts emails today packed with images of crazy creative shit, like a tractor turned into a mail box or a barbecue made to look like a locomotive. Some of these creativity efforts probably took years. Some of it was absolutely magnificent; I’m talking world class.
I’ve made a few goofy metal-art pieces in my life and I enjoy the shit out of the creative process. After a cursory study of bronze sculptures by Jeff Decker and some lessons from local art teachers and folks who sculpt, I pondered trying to carve a bronze sculpture for a Sturgis charity auction. Of course, then my grandson brought over all of his bikes, including a wrecked Dyna for repairs.
So much of life is just doing it and getting it done, which means many things to many folks, like get up and dance. If you don’t go to the fuckin’ ballpark, you’ll never play the game, etc. You get the picture.
Let’s get up to speed. First, I needed to pick a subject: no problem there. I have a favorite board track racer bike from a slippery source, which will not be named. Natch, there must be an outlaw element. This is far and away my favorite bike, a 1916 Excelsior Moto-Cycle, which Markus Cuff shot while it moved from collection to collection. Unfortunately, the bike isn’t entirely real, a major disappointment, so it never screamed around board tracks. It was basically built from parts and pieces.
But this is art, so it doesn’t matter. The bike is still accurate in many respects, and I decided to shoot for a Rollie Free historic pose with a Hamster at the helm, since the charity is Hamster-funded. The squirrely bunch has been raising over $200,000 a year for a Children’s Hospital in Rapid City for about a decade and I have always wanted to contribute. Brother Hamsters all over the country paint tanks, hot rod doors and make wild shit every year for this silent auction in Spearfish.
I actually bought a book about sculpture art and the redhead bought me some tools. To my relief, most sculptures start with a metal skeleton, which was right up my alley. I tried my best to determine a scale to the original bike and I came up with 60 percent of the actual size. Then I started brazing pieces together.
First, I need the skeleton, and then I will need to cover it with clay and sculpt it. Next comes a plaster layer to form molds to take to the bronze guys for pouring. And finally I will need to put the pieces together with brass or bronze rod.
So, here’s the condition my condition is in. Hopefully, I will make serious strides this weekend. I would imagine Jeff has terrific hand-eye coordination to carve clay to look like motorcycle parts at the correct scale.
And finally, I will need to find art, or a stuffed Hamster to follow to build the rider. Hang on for the next episode.
