The Museum sent Welpakcorp Fine Art Shippers to the studio to pack the sculpture and drive it to New York.  Ethan Tune and Railyn Rodriguez did a wonderful job, and I look forward to seeing them again when they bring the sculpture back to the studio this fall.

BEHIND THE SCENES:

As the sculpture is fired stoneware clay,  my concern was the cannon, especially the wheels and spokes.  Having those created in fired clay would be a bit risky with the transporation and installation involved.   After much pondering (and praying), God gave me a wonderful solution!  What I needed was a sturdy armature (internal frame) for the cannon.  My youngest son, Robert IV, is the inventor in the family and owns a 3D printer.  So we worked closely together to create an armature for the cannon that would be the right size to the figures and would have the structural stability and historical accuracy that I needed.  In the photo below you see the armature of the printed cannon.  However the spokes are 'blocky' and there are obvious seams.  If the cannon armature had just been placed by the sculpted figures - the result would have been awful.  So by using the 3D model as an armature I was able to begin a three step process to create a sculpted cannon that would blend beautifully with the sculpted figures.   The photo below shows part of this process.  The white parts show the first step of an epoxy putty that was smoothed over the entire armature.  This strengthens the armature and also provides the first layer of a sculpted texture.

The photo below shows how the texture on the end of the cannon carriage was then enhanced by the second and third steps:  an application of French Clay and then lightly sanding by hand after the clay has dried.

Then I had to do something with those blocky spokes.  The photo below shows the BEFORE version:

I used a dremel tool to go around each spoke knocking off the blocky edges, using the tool to create more of a carved and sculpted appearance. 

The photo below shows the results.  

Robert and I also reinforced the axles to the cannon with long screws. After all these steps over the entire cannon, then it was put in place with the figures and the sculpture as whole was given a light colored patina. I finished with an antique wax from a recipe I specifically created for my sculptures. I also created an ornate footed base for the entire sculpture inspired by antique bases of that period.  The  results were stunning!  The base sets off the sculpture and the sculpted cannon enhanced the scene with the figures, helping to set the stage and tell the story of John and Margaret Corbin.