Tribute to Ed

Edward passed away during 2020, and I’ve been intending to sculpt this tribute to him ever since.  The design underwent many changes, and several failed attempts.  It was frustrating, but after struggling off and on for the past 2 years… it all came together rather quickly in the end, and out of scraps of nothingness at that.  I felt that I had to do this as part of the grieving process.  I’ve lost friends and family before, but nothing quite hit me like losing this animal who was dedicated to me from morning till night.

I was very hung up on the design.  Initially I was going to make it as realistic as possible,  but I came to realize that Ed was an outsized individual.  He deserves an over the top larger than life sculpture.  He used to loom over me atop furniture, and peer down on me as I’d sleep like a feline gargoyle.  With that in mind I went with a very exaggerated Tim Burton aesthetic instead.  Like an elongated cat version of the Oscar.

I am not a religious person in the least but, I’m bringing this to Burning Man with me so that I can place it in the Temple.  The Temple is a non denominal place of spirituality where people place shrines and messages to lost loved ones.  Then on the last evening of the event, it is cathartically burned down to the ground along with everything inside.  

So why slave over a piece of art for months only to have it destroyed so spectacularly?  As a child did you ever make a sandcastle on the beach, and then pull a Godzilla by smashing the hell out of it?  That’s the feeling.  Again, I am not religious in the least, but after everything over the past few years this just feels like something I need to do right now.

With that in mind.  I wanted to make the project as non-toxic and combustible as possible.  Which is why I used scraps of cardboard, wire, foil, and newspaper for the armature (skeleton).  The clay itself is made from wood pulp (think an Italian version of paper mache).  It’s harder to work with than polymer clay, but non toxic when exposed to heat.  It feels like earthen clay, but doesn’t chip/crack as much in my experience while air drying.  It looks like stone when dried completely, but I also coated everything in industrial strength wood glue several times to serve as an exoskeleton.  I've worked with many different clays before, but this is my new favorite.

Fixed within the armature are some of Ed’s bandages from his cancer treatments.  Mixed within the paper clay itself is a small bit of his fur.  I know that’s weird and kinda gross, but this is obviously a very personal project.  Also, fuck cancer.

For lack of color there’s so much complexity that goes into a Siamese coat’s monochrome.  I worried over the amount of paint, the shade, and how to properly capture a creature that is essentially partially albino.  Ed was described as an “apple headed seal point Siamese” in terms of cat.  So I blocked out the basic colors and then used a series of washes to blend them.  Washes means I thin the paint, apply it, and then wipe it off.  Blend. Rinse.  Repeat.

I didn’t dare attempt to paint his eyes.  There’s just no way I could capture, and reproduce them on such a scale and be happy with it. Instead I painted a blue sparkly placard with his name to accompany the statue.

Eventually I’ll make another more modest sculpture in his remembrance to keep at home.  I’ll worry over that one at a later date.