MUSINGS UN DESIGN: SCULPTOR BOBBIE CARLYLE
We have been extremely fortunate to exhibit many of Bobbie Carlyle’s bronze sculptures at Eye of the Day in our showroom and our outdoor areas for the last year. Last month brought this internationally recognized sculptor from Colorado to Carpinteria to take part in our Art in the Garden and Water Conservation weekend.
About the Artist
This tiny, quiet blonde woman produces an incredible array of sculptures including wildlife, figurative, fantasy and historical figures. Bobbie spent much of her time during her three days with us working on a new sculpture, showing us how much quiet diligence it takes to create something physical from an idea.
One of Bobbie’s most well known sculptures is “Self Made Man,” a man carving himself out of stone, “carving his character, carving his future.” This 14’ monument is a great example of Bobbie’s vision. She recently installed a piece in Los Angeles called “Seaswept” at one of the entrances of the new Robert F. Kennedy Inspiration Park, the former site of the Ambassador Hotel and we have the same beautiful sculpture here at Eye of the Day.
Our showroom and annex holds many pieces of Bobbie’s garden art: a tiny fairy sitting atop a mushroom, a young baseball catcher crouching behind an excited batter, a boy leaping to catch a frog and a life-size girl holding her day’s catch, a tiny minnow, and with her can of worms at her side.
Behind the Art
After looking at her website and then having the opportunity to see so many of Bobbie’s pieces, I was interested in finding out what would happen next in the process of creating a full size sculpture from the lovely little figure she was sculpting at Eye of the Day.
She first creates the figure in modeling clay in order to get the proportions and stance the way she wants them. A mold is then made first in latex or silicone backed with plaster to hold the shape. The clay is removed and molten wax is poured into the mold and cooled, after which the wax is removed and coated with ten coats of silica gel, dried and fired in a kiln in which the wax melts and the silica becomes a ceramic shell. 2200° molten bronze is poured into the now empty shell. After cooling, the bronze is cleaned by sandblasting, welding, metal chasing. And there you have it… finished.
Curiosity quenched.
To learn more about the artist and to view Bobbie’s work, please visit Bobbie Carlyle Sculpture.
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