The Sculpture

The Spirit Warriors drawing was translated by John Collins, landscape architect, into a grid structural drawing to establish scale, reinforce stress points and determine mounting points for the bronze sculpture. By the end of July 2002 the structural drawing was approved by the National Park Service and there was no turning back to rework the basic design. Work moved forward on developing the sculptural model. The structural drawing was used by the general contractor to pour the concrete foundation in which the sculpture will be mounted. 

To enlarge the drawing to its full scale, 35'x14', a curved plywood wall was built to correspond to the circular arc of the earthwork memorial in which the sculpture will be installed. John Collins is shown here producing the large scale drawing outdoors in their Pennsylvania studio during the summer of 2002. Luckily, John completed the drawing before he was bitten by a copperhead snake while repairing a stone wall on the property.

Eagle Bronze engineer, Tony Hoyt, ran wind stress tests on the design using a program for testing airplanes. This established both load and wind stresses to determine the thickness and length of steel stilts inserted into the horses legs. 

The steel stilts will be sunk into the concrete and extend a few inches above the foundation and into the legs of horses carrying the weight. The elevated sculpture will not touch the ground or horizon line allowing the sculpture to suggest something other than an earthly dimension.

Chris Collins, sculptor, shaped and built a metal armature to began the sculptural model. The armature sections for each horse and figure required welding. Joining slots were made so the sections could be assembled and disassembled for later packing and delivery to the foundry.

The metal tube armature begins to take shape by first wrapping it in plaster soaked burlap and gauze. Once the desired thickness is achieved, a sculptor's wax is applied over the dried inner layer of plaster. The sculptor's wax allows for easier shaping and modeling and to create a varied texture. The model coloring does not reflect the color of patina that will ultimately be applied to the bronze sculpture.

This scene of the full scale model under a tarp at night was cause for celebration in September 2002 when the model was completed. John and Chris Collins invited filmmakers, sculptors, architects, and artists. The Collins celebrated by mounting their signatures into the sculpture. Colleen would sign the sculpture later.

Join the team as they embark on this historical journey of the Spirit Warriors. Updates will occur as the sculpture progresses towards the dedication date on June 25, 2003.

Back to Scenes 1 ~ Scenes 3 ~ Moulds and Bronze Casting

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Enlargement
of Drawing

Welding the Armature