ROCK TALK
MONTOYA SCULPTURE & SUPPLY since 1973

Interesting sculpture related news, technical tips, special offers and other important information
By Jeff Halverson
Sculptor and Owner of Montoya Sculpture & Supply
http://www.MontoyaSculpture.com

November / December 17, 2003
Issue 6
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IN THIS ISSUE:
1. Editor's Note
2. Malvina Hoffman - Part 1 by Vince Ricci
3. Sculpture Mounting and Display Advice - Part 2
4. Current Sale
5. Upcoming Events
6. Please send sculpture quotes (maybe win $25 gift certificate)

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SCULPTURE QUOTE
A quote from Camille Claudel, a major sculptor who worked in the shadow of Rodin.

“I don't understand a thing about theoretical questions in matters of art. I just do it. I leave to others - who don't understand it any better than I – the work of discussing these otiose points. Believe me, I'm quite ignorant.”
Source #.Claris, De l'Impressionisme en sculpture (Paris: La Nouvelle Revue, 1902).

Submitted by
Sherman Moore, a fan of sculpture and beginning worker of stone.
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1. EDITOR'S NOTE

SEASONS GREATINGS and BEST WISHES FOR THE NEW YEAR.

I picked the quote above because many feel this way. They have no formal education in Sculpture, they just do it and enjoy the creative process. Thanks Sherman for submitting it. We are sending you the $25 Gift Certificate in appreciation.

Montoya kicked off our new Workshop Season with Vince Ricci (you can read his interview in Issue 3). The four-day workshop with Vince Ricci had eight participants and was very successful. Like I would tell you different- right. Really it did go very well. Vince is highly qualified and spends a lot of time on the details with each person. The website has two new posts (under testimonials) from two of the participants which is probably better than me going on about the workshop. They were:

November 22, 2003
"Vincent was great - I had been stuck for months on several problems that he helped me to resolve. His understanding of anatomy - and ability to explain things was critical to doing figure work. The class was fantastic and I learned a lot"
D. Cary, Stuart FL

November 22, 2003
"Vince Ricci has truly mastered the art of teaching as well as sculpting. I can't remember a time where I learned & used the information in a 4-day period. This workshop is a must"
H. Gottlieb, Plantation FL

I participated myself, but I will hold back on my own testimonial, as you might be suspicious. But the best part of these workshops is the energy that develops as you work with others.

I gave out the new T-Shirts that participants get for attending. On the back of the yellow shirt in deep maroon is “Stone Sculptor”. And in smaller letters “Life is hard…when you play with stone”.

Through December and January all orders will include a $15 discount coupon good on a stone order of at least $100 (or $30 off of a $200 order of stone). And we have a big shipment arriving this week so if you are thinking of ordering something now is a good time to get the discount coupon good on your next stone order.

One last thing. Many of you have purchased Milani Riffler Rasps from us. They are the best rifflers made. Last year Merv (one of our local regular carvers and good friend) went to Italy. While he was there he visited the Milani “factory” just outside of Pietrasanta, Italy. We have the largest collection of these tools in North America. They are a quality hand made tool. If you go to the website (www.MontoyaSculpture.com) on the home page lower right you will see the icon “Milani Tool Factory” there is a picture there also. If you click on that you will be able to see some great pictures of where the tools are made and how they are made. It really is a hand made tool. Please check it out. I think you will enjoy it.

Because you have given us your email you will soon receive an entry form to enter a free drawing for one of our 18th Season Sculpture Workshops. The value of the workshop is usually a $395 value. But I also include stone, and free equipment rental so the value climbs up to about $700. I hope you will take advantage of the opportunity to enter. They are unique, educational, and interesting events.

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2. Malvina Hoffman - Part 1 by Vince Ricci

In the course of my life as a sculptor and teacher I have shared many stories about my experiences and life as an artist. When I was asked if I might write something that would be of interest to students, I thought first that I would write about some aspect of sculpture technique. I quickly realized that almost everything I wanted to convey to my students was encapsulated in my own life experiences and the people I met along the way.
As a result, I have decided to write a series of articles which feature important artists with whom I have studied and worked. Among those are Malvina Hoffman, Donald DeLue, and several others from my studies in America, and Emilio Greco, Giacomo Manzu, and others from my studies in Italy.

I begin with Malvina Hoffman. Malvina was someone that anyone coming from America and having an interest in sculpture should know about. She was an extremely talented artist and author who influenced sculpture in America for over half a century. For more then sixty years one of her books “Sculpture Inside And Out” has been treasured and used to learn basic skills by scores of young and older Americans; at the same time she showed the world that a woman could be a part of one of the most important moments of modern day sculpture. Malvina had the distinction of being the only American artist to have the great privilege to work and study with the renowned August Rodin. After her time with Rodin she returned to America and was chosen by The Chicago Field Institute to do one of the greatest commissions that a single artist has ever undertaken, The Races of Man, which was documented in her first book “Heads and Tales”. Traveling around the world she sculpted on location over one hundred figures and portraits of men and women from all parts of the world. In the mid-1930's when the world was still mostly unknown to the average person and the winds of war and conquest were beginning to be felt by some, she like Amelia Earhart was off on a great adventure.


My first meeting with Malvina was through a wonderful sculptress who I was working for by the name of Eleanor Mellon. One day at her studio she asked for critique of a greater then life size figure of St. Christopher we had been working on. She told me it was finished. After looking it over for a few minutes I said it couldn't be finished, as I had noticed that the inside of a hand was not as complete as the outside was. I pointed out that in the darkest corners of the cathedrals of southern France if one were to take a flash light, one could see that all the figures were as complete as those that set out in the light for all to see. Of course, this comment had been taken straight out of one of Malvina books. She smiled and said, “I see you have read Malvina's book”. Adding, “do you know her?” After my apologies and explaining my admiration for Malvina she asked if I would like to meet her. One week later, spring of 1964, I found myself standing at the door of Malvina's home and studios. With the arrival of Eleanor we were allowed in under the watchful eye of Golda, Malvina's secretary. I was immediately overwhelmed by the largeness of space and the feeling that I was moving back in time as I entered what I came to call her reception studio. Almost fifty feet long and about thirty feet across, it was imposing. As I looked around I had the impression I was in a museum not a working studio. On the one hand I felt disappointed, and sad that I was too late, what I was hoping I would find, I thought must be long gone.

Malvina was sitting in a comfortable chair in her office at the front of the building when I was introduced to her. Malvina seemed old and tired, yet as we spoke she seemed to still have some power and a sparkle in her eyes. She seemed to be looking for something from me. The conversation was lighthearted but direct. I could see she was scrutinizing me the whole time. She seemed not to be overly interested by my admiration for her achievements, though she accepted my complements with grace. After awhile she said, “what do you want from me, my day is done?” I looked at her and said, “What I want is to learn from you, and work with you”. She sat up straight and told me, “I have nothing for you to do. I am old, and tired, just a few things to finishing up and send to museums”. I spoke to her like a child would to their parent, trying to convince her that she had all the time in the world, and lots to do before her time was up. She seemed unconvinced.
I then thought I would play the same card I did with Eleanor, who had been sitting next to me through what I made myself believe was an interview to work with this great and powerful artist.

In Malvina's book Heads And Tales she describes how she meets and convinces Rodin to take her in as a student. Rodin, at first, refused her entry into his studios, and had rejected her, she thought mostly because she was a woman, an American, and believed she was dilettante. She said in her book after his rejection that she was determined to work with him. Being strong willed and fearless, she pulled up her courage and said to him that she would arrive every morning and sit on his doorstep until he accepted her, and let her in to work with him. After several days Rodin opened his doors to her and she became one of his students. As I sat in front of her I looked her in the eyes and with a smile on my face, I said, “well of course you understand that I will be here tomorrow morning sitting on your doorstep until you let me in”. Malvina gave a wonderful laugh and smiled. Her next words were music to my ears, what time could she expect me to arrive, “I don't serve coffee, as I am a tea drinker”. This was the beginning of a wonderful two and a half year relationship in which Malvina shared much of her life's stories, showed and explained some of her ideas about art making, and started me on a path of life and art that has become so much more then I ever thought it could be. After our initial meeting and during the time I worked with Malvina, there was one thing that I think made our relationship so close and beneficial for me. Although she had been the only American artist to work with Rodin, a fact that followed her through her life, I never asked directly about him. I focused on Malvina and our relationship, which I believe was what made it so good. When we talked about Rodin it was she how initiated the subject, and was almost always about something she had learned from him, rather then about him. I think because I did not focus on him as so many had done before me our relationship was closer and more productive. I once read some place “Great Oaks never grow well under the shade of other great Oaks.” With me Malvina was always in the bright light of the sun.

Coming next in my series: Working with Malvina.

About the writer Vincent M. Ricci:
Vincent was born in New Haven, CT. His parents were both Italian. He studied first as a painter and then moved to New York City, were he started working and studying sculpture. He attended The Art Students League, and The National Academy of Design, where he was awarded scholarships. After working with several outstanding sculptors, Vincent opened a studio in Greenwich Village. After a few years and exhibits, he applied to the Ecole de Beaux Arts in Paris and was conditionally accepted. Vincent was a constant visitor to the Rodin museum and spent many hours in the many great museums of Paris. He completed his exams at the Beaux Arts and remained there for a year. Whereupon he moved to Italy and entered The Academia di Belli Arti where he completed a four-year degree program. At the Accadamia he met and later studied with Emilio Greco, Giacomo Manzu and many others who he kept company with and with whom he exchanged his views. Upon completion of the Accadamia he lived and worked in Italy for and additional year with success. He returned to NY and then on to Boston where he taught at New England School Of Art, as the Dean of Students, Boston University, where he helped write the foundations study program, and at The School Of The Museum Of Fine Arts, as a permanent member of the teaching staff for 20 Years. Vincent is the founder of The Center For The Arts at Villa Maria, one of the longest surviving sculpture and fine arts studies abroad programs, which was established in 1984. Currently, he conducts workshops in Italy, in Palm Beach, Florida at Montoya Sculpture & Supplies and in St. Petersburg, FL at his studio.

Vince will be at Montoya to conduct his next 4 day workshop on March 31-April 3
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3. SCULPTURE MOUNTING AND DISPLAY ADVICE – Part 2

In Issue 5 I discusses some of the reasons to mount your sculpture. One of the main reasons is that it says this work is finished and it's good enough to be mounted on its own base. A base is to a sculpture as a frame is to a picture.

As I mentioned in Part 1 sometimes a base will be incorporated out of the same stone that the sculpture is carved from. This type of base is integral to the sculpture. If a separate base is selected it can be permanently mounted (fixed) or mounted with a turning pin.

Lets look at the TURNING PIN option first. A turning pin can be a two or three part piece. One part, a female end, is placed into the base, the second part, another female end is placed into the sculpture. These first two parts are usually epoxied into place in holes made in the sculpture. The base and the sculpture are attached with the use of a pin or rod (the third part). The composition can be assembled and disassembled with ease. The rod simply slides into each end. This is a beautiful and clean mounting. The turning pins come in different sizes (see below under current sale), and the size should be selected based on the weight of your sculpture.

There are several advantages to using a turning pin. Those are:
- Allows the breakdown of heavy compositions (base and sculpture together) for transport. This reduces the potential of damaging the sculpture or base.
- Allows you to rotate the sculpture, without moving the base, to take advantage of lighting and viewing directions.
- Reduces the need to drill through the base. The female ends have a slightly wider lip or ring that rests on the base. With the epoxy in place the weight of the sculpture is evenly distributed through the base.
- It looks professional.
While the turning pins can handle hundreds of pounds, your limitations will more likely be based on the thickness of your base and the eccentric (of center) loading. Here is an important trick in case you need it in the future. Lets say that the sculpture is rather heavy or that the place into which one of the female ends will be placed on the sculpture is narrow. You might be worried that the loading will cause pin to break out. If you need the extra strength cut the last _” of the female end off (the end that will be deepest in the stone). Then use a longer rod (say 3-4 times longer). The rod should be a stainless steel so it does not bend. Brass bends very easily. This will transfer the turning moment (the force that wants to cause the break out, deeper into the stone. Now there will still be forces on the outer side of the female end but that is the part you learn to handle with experience. Its best to be safe, think about how you plan on mounting the work as you are working it. Specific size mounting pins for larger works can be made to specifications. The mounting pins shown below in Current Sale, are good for large weight but are best when the center of mass is directly over the pin. When the center of mass is directly over the pin the weight will be transferred directly to the base. When the weigh is off center a turning moment will be set up and this could cause the female end to want to break out of the base or sculpture. This is an important concern when the sculpture starts to get over 50 lbs. As the center of mass is offset from center your base has to be able to accommodate the weight distribution. It looks s like I am rambling so I will quit with this line of thought. I think you get the idea and see the advantages of the turning pin. The next part will address fixed mountings.
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4. CURRENT SALE

Super Special-till Dec 31,2003
Mounting supplies-Black Marble, all sizes in stock– 20% off, All other bases 30% off (green, brown, white).
TURNING PINS– 25% OFF (made in Italy)
64001- 3/8”x 3.5” reg 19.50 now $14.63
64002– 1/2”x3.5” reg 21.50 now $16.30
64004– 3/4”x3.5” reg 32.95 now $24.72
64005– 1”x 3.5” reg 43.50 now $32.63
RASPS & FILES—Lowest Price EVER at 30% off, Great for alab, soapst, & wonderstones
14050 Cabnt Rasp 8” was 10.50 now $7.35
14051 Cabnt Rasp 10” was 14.50 now $10.15
14052 Cabnt Rasp 12” was 16.50 now $11.55
14053 Course Rasp 12” was19.95 now $13.97
14054 Combo Rasp 8” was 12.95 now $9.07
14055 Combo Rasp 10”was15.95 now $11.17
14056 Round Crse 6” was 9.50 now $6.65
14057 Round Crse 8” was 11.50 now $8.05
14058 Round Crse 10” was 13.50 now $9.45
15019 Vixen half rnd 12” 20.95 now $ 16.77
My very favorite, aggressive but smooth
15020 Vixen Flat 12” was 20.95 now $ 14.67
15025 Vixen half rnd 8” was18.95now $13.27
15023 Bracelet Rasp was 38.95 now $ 27.27
For those concave areas
15024 Killer Rasp was 38.95 now $27.27
Curved at both ends, 8” long, two textures

POLYESTER ADHESIVES –Save 25% Easy to use to join and mount
63001-Pint Transp flowing now $13.47
63002-Quart Transp flowing now 22.49
Knife Grade (soft butter consistency)
63005-Pint Transp KG 17.95now $13.47
63006-Quart Transp KG now $22.49
63007-Pint White KG 17.95 now $13.47
63008-Quart White KG now $22.49
We carry all the tints needed to color these Adhesives to the color you need

Milani Rasp Riffler Factory pictures posted. Check out those pictures of the tools being made in Italy. They are posted on the right side of the home page near the bottom.

NEW ALABASTERS Arriving by Dec 16th with lower everyday prices.
Mountain Mahogany- Orange, red and gold peach (colors of the sunset) $1.55
War Paint - Green with Red to Brick veining $1.55
Sea Green - Very Green with red to brown veining $1.55
Storm Cloud- Silver Gray w/Black veining $1.55
Ebony- Black with a little to a lot of white to tan veining $1.55
Aztec Rust- Red to Brick with Green layers $1.55

GIFT CERTIFICATE--With the holidays coming up, drop a hint that you prefer a GIFT CERTIFICATE from Montoya. They come in $25 denominations. Get what you really want. Easy to buy, mail, wrap, and use.
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5. UPCOMING EVENTS

Our Next Stone Carving Workshop
VISION IN STONE
January 21-24, Stone Carving Workshop, 4- day
With over 22 years of experience Marny Glasser returns for a 2nd season.
Walk in the footsteps of the ancient stone carvers but equipped with modern tools which take you further. Learn how to rapidly advance in the techniques of stone carving and to apply your creative instincts. To accomplish this, participants will learn the application of modern tools. Starting with a raw stone and ending with a completed form. Involved will be such tools as pneumatic air hammers, die grinders, angle grinders and others, progressing to smoothing the form with files and rasps and ending with sanding and polishing. Small class paced to individual abilities and experience.
Limited to 10 participants.
JAN 21-24 (Wed–Sat), 4 days, 9:30 –5:00 [$395]. call 561-832-4401 to reserve your place.
Get to know Marny, read Issue 4 of our eNewsletter (online) for her interview

Montoya's 18th Season, Workshop & Class Schedule.
I think you will enjoy the selection. Interviews with the teachers are posted in the pervious issues. See our workshop schedule at http://www.montoyasculpture.com/workshops.html. for more information. You can also find area accommodations from this page. The closest hotel to us is the Marriott (formerly The Sheraton).
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6. PLEASE SEND SCULPTURE QUOTES (maybe win $25 gift certificate)

I have included a sculpture related quote at the top of this issue. I hope it is inspiring and interesting. If you have an interesting sculpture related quote please send it to me. Please include the name of the person who said it. All of the quotes that are sent are being compiled into a list of quotes related to sculpture that I will soon be posting on the Montoya website. I would appreciate your help in building this list of quotes directly related to sculpture. Quotes can be from recognized sculptors of the past or from a teacher or friend. Send me your sculpture related quote by September 10, and if it is selected I will send you a Montoya Sculpture & Supply $25 gift certificate and put the quote in the next issue. Email me at Jeff@MontoyaSculpture.com

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(c)Copyright 2003 Jeff Halverson
We hope you will be joining us on a regular basis, but if you wish to be removed from our list, please email us at info@MontoyaSculpture.com