It's Official!! My First Public Monument!!

Last night (January 17th) the city of Arcadi City Council, gave it's official thumbs up for the completion of the Lucky Baldwin Monument. I was commissioned by the Great, Great, Grandaughter of the Western Icon, to create a 9' monument to him, that would be donated to the City of Arcadia (of which Lucky was it's first mayor). I started by creating a 1:4 scale maquette (seen in progress in this photo). There weren't that many useable photos of him from this period in his life, so the process of capturing his likeness was difficult. In the end, I think I created a good representation of the western entrepeneur.

Now that the city has given the approval to move onto the large scale figure, it's time to start putting together the materials and resources I'll need to create the nine foot figure. First, I'll be pricing out the process of digital scanning and foam enlargement. It's a way to get the piece mostly bulked out in very little time. It's an expensive process, but the time saved can make up that difference. I also have to use someone else's facility to sculpt the large piece, as my studio is limited to an eight foot ceiling height. Luckily, I've been allowed a place where I can work (rent free) to complete the sculpt.

I'll probably need to bring in some assistants at some point to help cover the foam in clay and do some of the smoothing. I'll also need help durring the molding phase. Luckily, I have some very talented and skilled friends who are ready to help.

This whole project should be completed and installed by this summer. So I'm really looking forward to getting started, and seeing this figure standing on his pedestal.

I'll update this site from time to time with progress news and photos of the process. I hope you come back and see the latest news as it's posted.

Cheers!!

Alfred