Saved by Tiny Boulders

Work is slow. Even the Las Vegas casino sculpture is dead in the water. What's a pro sculptor to do?

Ask around.

A friend's brother wanted a custom business card holder to give to his sales staff. I'm happy to create it for him...( I don't have to sign it.) Good thing the work was small because so was the budget.

The thing with tiny work is that it can take as much time as a far larger piece. My goal was to design and sculpt the entire job in three hours. To save time, I built it around an existing plastic card holder so the cards would fit. Working this small every mark has to count.

Talking with the manufacturer I learned that the wider bottom was necessary to allow a paintbrush easy access with the bronze face coat. I built the forms for the mountains and logo on an angle so that it will demold easily and allow for painting. The end material will be a cold cast bronze resin so I left some areas rough. The textures will add dimension on the very shallow relief, dark in the recesses and bright metal where polished.

No experience is wasted. All the stone walls I've built were there to help me shape the boulders. The client was pleased because one of the company's divisions is in landscape rock. Could the work it be better? Absolutely. 8 hours would have given a sweet relief but three was the deadline. Bang it out as skillfully as possible, and let it go.