The Eagle has landed ( again)

[mark yundt]

In another thread I told Dan (gumbyteeth04) that Doris was putting together the "tutorial" or more accurately "how I did it" on the Eagle seen in the new pages of my blog gallery. Well,, don't ask me how or why she did this as I imagine it took considerable work to pull off. All 25 pages from start to finish. I can't thank Doris enough for all the work she does. Helping me, helping others, doing her own work. She's an amazing woman.
Thank you Doris!
Anyway,, if you're interested in seeing what I thought was a fun,,and symbolic piece,,and especially if you like bird carvings, check it out on the blog. LOTS of pictures,,how to's from clay mock up to painting, carving, making eyes,feet,as well as carving a chisel ( literally) a lucite display case and base looking like granite etc. and a lot of reading as well.
This is the piece I'm talking about.

[markken5889]

Re: The Eagle has landed ( again)

wow Mark - BEAUTIFUL piece!!!

Mark

[CREID]

Re: The Eagle has landed ( again)

this deserves a WOW!!!!
curt

[Bill]

Re: The Eagle has landed ( again)

I remember when you posted this piece, a show stopper and a **** fine
carving, looking forward to more on this piece.
Bill

[doris]

Re: The Eagle has landed ( again)

you are welcome, mark...as to the why...as you say, this wonderful eagle story you wrote, contains so much valuable information, not only when you carve birds, but many things apply to other carvings. and our blog is about these information we want share ,,,so the eagle has found his home, and i am happy that the good info is now easy to find and hope many will enjoy reading it

[gumbyteeth04]

Re: The Eagle has landed ( again)

Mark,
You are an incredible carver/sculptor/artist.....a very humble one @ that, but, that doesn't take away from your talents one bit!! Even your clay model is every bit as real as a real Golden Eagle. Also, I have to add a plug for Doris, for doing such a fine job helping you out with your blog. I, (as I'm sure MANY others on here), am so appreciative of the time & effort people go through to post blogs & tutorials that help others. Kudos to BOTH of you & thank you, again!! Without the Mark & Doris' of websites like this one, inspiration would be much more challenging to find. Keep on carving!!

Dan

[mark yundt]

Re: The Eagle has landed ( again)

Mark, Curt and Bill,, THANK YOU very much. Kind words to say the least.

Doris, Don't know what I ( or many others) would do without you. You are always so generous with your time and talents.
And speaking of generous..I think Dan is being more so in his comments. I don't think I can take credit for many of them.
The clay model , as I said in the story, was only a guidepost to get me in the ballpark. Here you can see how the essential forms,, less all the details ,,still says Golden Eagle,, as opposed to Goldfinch and describes what the piece will be about without too much fuss or trying to find it in a massive block of wood. It's an easy and quick way to establish movement, balance,symmetry as well as describing the wood needed to start a piece and adjust it until those attributes are seen. It's all worked out and contributes to a cohesive overall piece easy to change at a moments notice..not like wood.
Thanks again for all the wonderful comments. They truly are appreciated.

[Pete Rieger]

Re: The Eagle has landed ( again)

Mark and Doris, great job on the blog, full of fascinating carvings and philosophy. When do you two sleep?
I like the idea of using spray foam with clay for a model. Any tips on using spray foam?

[Mark Dellinger]

Re: The Eagle has landed ( again)

Mark,
I don't know what is higher than WOW, but if I did I would say it. This is a a very beautiful piece and symbolic of so much that I hold dear. Thanks so much for sharing this carving with us. I did check out your blog and it is very nice.

Safe Carving and God Bless,

Mark

[mark yundt]

Re: The Eagle has landed ( again)

Thank you guys,glad you like it.
As far as the spray foam goes if it's a large piece ( as in the Shroud project I did) build it in layers and be sure the center is dry. The outside forms a sort of crust and then the interior takes a while to dry. Layers seems to work best. Especially if large.
With additional layers try to fill in the gaps as you add more layers. This eliminates pockets and will leave you with essentially a solid block of foam to work with. I used a serrated kitchen type knife to shape the foam to the basic shape and if done accurately enough as in the Shroud for example,, there is only a max of a half inch of clay that was needed . What's neat is the entire thing is very light,, doesn't need much clay and if you wish to modify it you just remove some of the clay,, slice out some foam and reapply the clay.
Going vertical the foam wants to sag so try to keep the piece horizontal.
I once did a ten foot piece for a human figure. Here I made a copper pipe skeleton that I could pose. Then to add the foam I made circular pieces to go around the "skeleton" out of sheets of styrofoam,,then added regular window screening to act as a tube connecting one disc to another. It basically looked like bamboo going from one disc to another with the screen covering it all. Then poked holes into the screen and filled it with the spray foam. Then when it was all dry I was able to peel the screen away and sculpt the foam into the shape of a body and cover it with clay.
Fun stuff and versatile as well. Give it a try.