Making The Supper Trail
It began with wood and wire!
Shayne started with a wooden horseshoe replica on a base, then built the armature for the horse and man with wood and wire. The draft horseshoe in the sculpture is an exact copy of the size of Jim and Bally's shoes, kept in the family all these years.
Now add clay....
Bit by bit, in the evenings and on weekends when he wasn't working as a forester or playing in the band, the sculpture began to take shape.
Lots of Models...
Our good friends Chuck and Terri Maple let Shayne spend a day photographing their draft horse Dan and taking measurements. Their neighbor Jenni Bogar rode Dan for model photos.
Many Studio Hours...
Getting close here. Shayne posed for an elementary school project where a cutout of a girl travels around to see the sights. Here's Flat Ainsley with Shayne.
A Trip to Parks Bronze Foundry
The foundry process using the "lost wax method" is quite complicated. The original clay sculpture is divided into strategic sections, molds are made for reproducing the pieces in wax, then the pieces are cast in bronze and welded back together. It took about 4 months to get to this stage. They are here in bronze, ready for the patinas.
The patina and done!
From the photos above, you can see that Bart at Parks Bronze in Enterprise, OR, completed four different patinas for The Supper Trail.
Once completed, Shayne mounted them on the black walnut bases and prepared them for sale/delivery.