Completed Swans

Today I went down to the waterfront to clean and paint the Swans. They had been fairly well washed in the torrential rain of yesterday so really all I needed to do was clean off a bit of cement from the bases and give them a final paint.

That is it they are now completed.










Yesterday I drove around the town so that I could approach them from the 4 junctions of the cross roads. I am pleased with how they look... However I see things that others will not, bits I want to tweak. I always feel it is best not to feel too pleased with your work as there is always room for improvement!

Swans

Today I spent some time cleaning my newly installed Swans, touching up the paint work where necessary.



Whilst on the other side of the road Martin and his colleague finished installing the last pieces.
Over the weekend I will finish off the final clean up. Once all the barriers are removed I'll be able to take some more photos.

It was quite nice working on site today. Despite all the negative reports the local paper has chosen to print regarding the Renaissance project all I received was positive feedback from passers by. Comments ranged from, "very good" to "well it's about time we had something nice to look at in Selby". I was pleasantly surprised by this and it just goes to show that people do appreciate the effort put into regenerating areas such as the waterfront.... despite what the press might say!

Sited Swans July 2009

Work began installing the Swans on Thursday 30th July and was completed on Friday 31st.


Funny!

A little force being applied to bed the pieces in.

Pointing the gap.

Number 1 Swan

I'm hoping for some photos with nice shadows cast by the sculptures.

The swans are back!

On Friday June 26th the Swans were delivered back to the studio. All that's left to do is a bit of fettling and then paint them ready for siting.

Swans at the foundry

The Swans have been cast. A little fettling and they'll be ready to go.

Swans nearing completion

Finally today I feel I've turned a corner with these. Up until now I've felt as though I was struggling with them. I'm not sure why, perhaps it's just that they're the last pieces in a long project. This has been a solid 6 months, without a break... at last I can see light at the end of the tunnel!! I hope to complete these by Tuesday next week and deliver them to the foundry for casting. Once they are out of the studio I will be able to breath again.

Swans progressing...

The six Swan pieces are coming along. This week I started on number 4. The others are not completed but I am now alternating between pieces. Nos 5 and 6 have been roughed out and I hope to work into them next week.

Tomorrow (Friday May 1st) Re-Launch will be delivered back to my studio from the foundry. 

Swans in progress.

Selby Town Features

The site of the Abbey was confirmed when its founder, Benedict, witnessed three swans alighting on the river and recognised a scene from his vision. The swans became the symbol of Selby, featuring in the Abbey’s coat of arms. I've designed a series of sculptures to be placed at the entrance to the town, depicting swans in all three elements - on land, water and in flight - as a unique celebration of Selby’s divine and earthly heritages.