All projects begin with a sketch. This drawing was submitted by the client and did a great job of getting the idea across but, there were construction issues. The piece was proposed to be mounted on an aluminum awning frame. As such, the dangling tentacles presented logistical liabilities.

I took it upon myself to redesign the piece so as to make it more compact and cartoony in keeping with the parade but, the design was shot down as it would have detracted attention from the windows themselves which, of course were the more important attraction.

It became apparent that the awning idea represented too many problems so, rather than mounting a 12" relief on an awning frame, it was determined that increasing the depth of the relief to 30" would solve the afore mentioned problems and allow us to mount the sculpture flushly to the building.

In the end, the designer took all of these issues into account and presented me with this very well considered design which became the basis and or bible for what would ultimately become the finished piece.

Once the design is nailed down, the drawing is projected onto the blocks and cut out.

I love this step in the process because it gives me the first sense of how the piece will actually occupy space.

The rough out is enormously gratifying as the inner shapes begin to emerge.

The wire brush creates beautiful textures, none of which, in this project, would be preserved.

As the piece becomes more refined the character becomes more defined.

Within a different context, this detail easily stands alone. It appears to be reaching for a bit of spray adhesive, as if to attach it's self to the rest of the sculpt.

The next ten shots or so illustrate the filling process. This gives me a very smooth and well defined surface and spares me the potential fragility of filling after the hard coating.

This was the first time the piece is stood upright since the rough out stage. It seemed as long as a school bus. The effect was pleasantly startling.

If you click on this shot to enlarge it, you will see that the piece is absolutely seamless and with out static moments. It flows and seems to have emerged from a single piece of material.

This is the hard coating process in which the piece is sprayed with a rapid cure, structural poly urethane resin.

The octopus is then primed and ready for paint.

The piece was painted "wet in wet" with high grade exterior latex enamels. This method creates a more old school and personal effect than air bush and requires no varnishing or sealing there after.

I have to admit that the octopus exceeded my expectations as it clung to the building, it seemed some how, to have always belonged there.