Churchill's Journey

Many of you may recall me writing about our friend the sculptor, Don Wiegand. For the past 2 years, Don has been working on a bas relief of Winston Churchill, commissioned by the Churchill Foundation to be placed at Westminster University in Fulton, Missouri.  This is the location where Churchill gave his famous Iron Curtain speech.

We got a call to come and see the piece before it traveled to Fulton.

Time is getting tight, but perfection is Don's motto.

Apparently Sir Winston needed a few touch-ups before making his grand entrance to Fulton.  Here you see him being lovingly buffed and polished before a final sand blast occurs.

Sir Winston needs a bit more sparkle to his eyes. A light brush of a special artist's compound should do the trick.

Once the piece is assembled, this will form the top of Churchill's podium.

Don chats with another visitor, the Mayor of Chesterfield, Missouri.

This gentleman is filming the process for a locally produced documentary.

Here's the plan for the finished project at the Winston Churchill Memorial Plaza.

A few days after we visited, the heavy bronze pieces were trucked to Fulton and assembled on site. 

Ta-da! The finished product.

Congratulations to Don and his hard-working crew. He's produced yet another masterpiece.

Am I ever lucky. I know some of the coolest people!

Marking Time

It's wonderful to have great friends...especially when those friends have more than a few special talents.

Don Wiegand is one of those people. I've blogged before about Don. His studio is more museum than workplace. Outside his geese, ducks, exotic chickens, and peacocks roam the yard. I received my first goose egg (no, not a knock on the head) from Don. It sat in the refrigerator making all the regular chicken eggs look the size of a robin's.

And then there are his bronze sculptures. They're best described as "scary good". It looks as though they could come to life any moment.

When he's not working on a myriad of other projects, Don is kind enough to do hand casts. Last year, on our wedding anniversary, he did ours.

First, oil up hands and arms. Sort of like greasing the frying pan for that "no stick" effect.

Next, get hands in proper position.

Then in comes the gooey pink stuff. If you've ever had a dental impression before, you know what I'm talking about. Hold perfectly still and wait about 5 minutes. Slowly and carefully pull out hands. Then plaster is poured into the impression which sits for a few hours. Finally the bucket is dumped and a giant pink rubbery mound is revealed.

The next task is to carve away the pink stuff. Careful! You could lop off a finger!

Finally! My ring tore a little groove in the cast which makes my hand look like the aftermath of a knife attack.  But not to worry. Don can fix it. About one month later...

Voila! The finished product. Interestingly, the cast captures every line, bump, crease, and wrinkle. In other words, you may not want to biggify this picture.

Though we did the cast last year, a few days ago, on August 21, 2010 we celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary. It got me to thinking just how much our old hands have been through over the years...

Palms together on our wedding day, signing papers on our first home, digging in the garden, scrubbing, painting, pounding a nail, writing endless checks, cradling a baby, applauding accomplishments, wagging a finger of admonishment, carrying a load that sometimes felt far too heavy, wiping away tears, surrounding a loved one with a gentle hug. I guess we really have earned every single mark that's detailed on our cast.

And I wouldn't trade them for anything.

Sculpter Par Excellence

Sculpted by Don Wiegand

I'm lucky enough to have a dear friend who also happens to be a world class sculpter. His name is Don Wiegand, and his studio is located in Chesterfield, Missouri. He's sculpted the likeness of such notables as Bob Hope, Cliff Robertson, Pope John Paul, Charles Lindbergh, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, August Busch, and Stan Musial, just to name a few.

Don is not only exceptionally talented, he's one of the most humble and down-to-earth people you could ever meet. Yet he knows everyone (and I do mean everyone) from the White House right on down the line. One day when I was at his place he put in a quick phone call to Loretta Swit out in Hollywood so the whole group of us could seranade her for her birthday. He says Miss Swit enjoyed our song, but I'm not deaf and imagine that she was just being polite.

Don lives in an incredible place that started out as an old slaughterhouse. He's worked on it from the time he was 16 years old and it's become an impressive structure that now serves as both home and studio. The place reminds me of an old castle with 20+ foot tall ceilings and oversized gothic furniture. Truly amazing.

While Don really doesn't sculpt animals, he does have a colorful menagerie of ducks, geese, and peacocks that share his spacious yard. They have their own little house complete with heat for those cold Missouri winters.

And with the cacophony of honks, quacks, and screeches, they make a pretty effective natural doorbell.