Mid June- Adventures in Restoration and Deep Sea Anglers

Recently I have been working on several projects involving the reproduction or restoration of architectural elements at The Tampa Theatre and more recently the possibility of restoring some fountains at the Westfield Mall in Brandon FL.
My first attempt at sculpting and reproducing one of the Tampa Theater gargoyles (which is basically a lion head) is documented in images below.
The original form. These gargoyles line the entrance to the theater in the lobby area. They are only one type in an amazing variety of elements that decorate the Tampa Theater's spaces.
Beginning from sketches done on site.
Measurements were taken and sketches done from the originals.
First comparison- needs quite a bit of work! Chin, upper lip, brow almost everything.

Todays first pull from the mold. Soon there will be product.

On June 9th I did a walk through with Adam Sich, the Assistant General Manager of Westfield Mall at Brandon Town Center, Brandon FL to look at restoring some fountains that had ceased to function properly. Not having a clue as to the problems these water features had i encountered these bizarre works.

A manatee fountain with once moving flippers.
An alligator fountain with once snapping jaws.
And a three fold frog fountain with various leg motions, all now static.

The interesting part of these pieces is that they all function on the pressure of the pump's output. They are all designed with water wheels that power the movements of the features.

All of these machines are however frozen with corrosion. The pumps are also burned out and what water is moving through the system is not what was originally designed into them. So, when the pumps have been replaced I will be out in Brandon again to see if any of these creatures creak back to life.

Finally here is a view of the anglerfish sculpture that i am working on for the Tempus Projects "Shelved" exhibition. It has two LEDs and is made of resin,epoxy and wood. More info on this little guy to come in the next post.