McGREW - PHASE 1

THE SHOOTING OF DAN McGREW - PHASE 1

January 15, 2001

This initial design phase was done in Chavant Clay - a synthetic-based clay that does not dry out and can be endlessly reworked. Sculptors use it because it is also sulphur-free, enabling its use in mold making and casting. I like to call it expensive Plastercene.

After considerable thought about this commission, and preparation through life drawing classes and perusing museum collections in Europe of ivory sculpture in the round, I feel ready to begin. The modelling of the sculpture in clay allowed me to try out different compositions and looks for the characters. The clay figures are not meant to represent the carvings exactly, but will serve as an approximate guide for size and gesture.

My apprentice, Dwayne Cull, helped with the creation of this model, fashioning the piano and stool and the basic structure of Dan McGrew. We worked at the kitchen table at my home and my daughter Ceilidh couldn't resist helping out by creating the table and beer mugs. Her friend, Sahara, made a paper, which sits mysteriously on the table. Perhaps it is a copy of the poem itself? I tended to the figures and the composition. My son Malcolm gave advice on the handguns, suggesting that they should be a little smaller, or, otherwise, I should have far less to carve, since the scene represents the action just after the characters have shot each other.

Indeed, the scene freezes the action just after the shooting, where both Dan and the miner find themselves mortally wounded and Lou, while reacting in apparent shock and horror, is also reaching for the poke of gold, hanging from the miner's neck and lying just off his lap.

The characters will be made from mammoth ivory and the furnishings from mahogany. The base will be made from maple.

Till next time,

Shane

PS. Congrats to Larry Bagnel on recently winning the Yukon seat in Canada's Parliament during the recent federal election. Good luck Larry as you seek to represent the Yukon's interests in Ottawa as our new MP (Member of Parliament)! S

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