You’re welcome to contact the sculptor for more details and images at artist@chinacatsunflower.net
Many thanks to all who helped install the sculpture and support it's creation in the first place.
Temporary Home at Wheatridge Cyclery
Sunday evening a great group of friends came over to get the sculpture on the trailer. It took us some time to figure out the logistics of our lift and load. Jason is in training, so he worked as "Chief Lifter".
Monday morning, in the midst of pouring rain, the sculpture was off-loaded and installed in it's temporary home. The drive to the site was spooky and had to use side streets. Oddly, as the stone was passing through downtown, we drove past the underground gallery where I last saw Anthony and purchased one of his photos.
Again, there was a great group of people who coordinated the effort to move the beast of a stone into a small garden near the entrance of the shop. Gill had a great idea to place it there.
The final touches will be made on Saturday by placing the memorial plaque created by Terry. Also the cache will be filled with it's contents. Carrie brought a pair of Anthony's bike shoes to add to the cache. Dave added an ESC key and beer opener. All things that are evidence of how close Anthony still lives in their thoughts and hearts.
Many thanks to all who helped put the project together.
More photos to come!
It's STANDING!
The sculpture was up-righted with an automotive cherry-picker rated for 3000 lbs. The fitted tabs slid in perfect. Then the sculpture was drilled and anchored. It's secure and ready for installation. If you'd like to come see it in person, contact me for an appointment.
Here's the Pedestal
Last night I stayed up late to finish the fabrication of the pedestal. The base will hold the stone upright. The upper tabs will support four 1/2" x 8" bolts into the stone to secure. In the lower tab, I will install ten (10) 3/8" x 3 1/2" pin-head anchors into a proposed concrete slab. Those anchors will have a rating of nearly 40,000 lbs. of support strength.
In the lower portion, I propose to collect MTB parts from mutual friends. It will be a personal cache of hand-written notes on chain rings, sprockets ...whatever parts deemed appropriate for the cache. Once collected, the open area will be enclosed with an expanded steel mesh.
The effect of the open portion will have many messages. For the sculpture, it will give the large stone a sense of floating and a lighten spiritual feel. For the friends, it will give an opportunity to share thoughts and words for his passing. For the MTB-community, it will provide a message of support and commonality to our love of the sport.
Complete
The sculpture is just about ready for installation. Once the installation date and location is set, more details will be forth coming.
THEN... The Carving
This stone proved to be all sandstone has to offer. It's not the soft stuff on patios. Once the stone has set into these large blocks, they eat tools. I used a long-stroke in-line chisel. Broke the first carbide tip and quickly ordered one for granite. Even so, the new tip hardly dug into the grain. Boring the hole using a 'pluck and feather' carving technique, the stone finally gave.
To flatten the base, a technique 'burn and slash' work with a diamond wheel worked well. The finishing texture started with a 5-prong short-stroke chisel, leaving marks of bruised stone. By the time the finishing was completed, the stone made the chisel to a 4-prong tool.
The numerous hours it took to carve the stone gave me many hours to think about Anthony. I hope my thoughts fell and pressed into the stone. I hope inside the meditation, somehow he knows about all the people who miss him. I hope that the folks who loved him might rest their hand upon those grooves and feel the same from him.
The ROCK
Ok... with big truck and trailer, this bastard got into the studio. It's heavy, but beautiful.
I made special arrangements to get up to the quarry to seek a special carving stone. Not all stone is good for carving. I spent three hours combing the quarry, taping all the prospects to hear good percussion. I found this one. When you find a good stone, it's special, as it calls you. Really. It's a sculptor's thing, like a blood hound to a secret single-track.
The Model
"Beauty in the eyes of the beholder."
This one was simple to make. The sculpture should be simple. You think about such a complex person, with so many friends, so many stories, the sculpture that represents him should make room for every glance, every smile, every word.
It's up to you to look through the 'peep' hole and listen to what he's saying.
Our Friend, Anthony Sloan
Throughout the Colorado Front Range mountain biking community, we morn the passing of Anthony Sloan. His memory, his laugh, his smile... we'll all remember.
This sculpture has been created in sandstone. It's the view through a camera lens. It's the shadow cast by a man and a good friend. It's for you to interpret it's spirit. He was a good soul.
This project has come about by COMBA, it's board of directors and Terry Breheny. Financial supporters of the project are COMBA, Yeti Cycles and Wheatridge Cyclery.
Colorado Mountain Bike Association (COMBA)
Yeti Cycles
Wheatridge Cyclery
Reven- wow this is beautiful!
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