Making Waves

                                       

       My Friend Harold Meeski, art director at the USAF Base in Torrejón, Spain showed up at my apartment in Madrid one afternoon with his arms full of sculpting tools and a kilo of bee's wax  and said, "I'm here to cure you of your frustrations caused by bullfighting politics."       Harold was well apprised of the problems that I had been going through as an outsider living in Spain and trying to put together a vocation as a Matador. He had been a big help in many ways. For one thing he owned a car and we would tie torero's tools, capes, swords and bull fighter's suits on the top and load the car with my crew; two banderilleros, a sword handler, my manager and sometimes a photographer and then Harold would drive us long distances through the night to bullrings in remote provinces.     "What am I supposed to do with all this wax?" I asked.       

     "Model it..Make sculpture. It will calm you, quiet you, rest you and make you feel good." he replied.    "Make sculptures of what"    "The things you love and miss most!"..............And I turned my hand and mind to memories of California and the beautiful waves that rise and then crack on the beaches, and sooth me it did.

     These first efforts were photographed by Dick Metz when he passed through Madrid in 1960

               A collection of  bee's wax sculptures awaiting the bronze casting process. 


                            And here are some of my more recent wave sculptures .

    Another wax wave, waiting to be cast in bronze shows a wave colliding with back-wash. 
                       The centuries old process used is called, lost wax casting.                                                                                               

                    This piece having been cast in bronze is being prepared for the Patina

                              Having been washed in potash and cleaned of residue it is ready

                                      for the heat and chemicals that will create the color.

      The magnificent colors seen here are caused by the blazing heat and will disappear when cooled.

Glass Wave – Sits on a light box .

 Wave # 34

Newport Wedge  #2

                                                            Colliding Wave

A rendition of  Kelly's Machine Wave

Broken Wave

Wave  # 32

Wave  #36   Back Wash

Close-up of the burnished patina

Bronze Contents

                                                                                Photos by Bud Hedrick

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Available At Amazon Books

Available at Amazon Books