10ft Standing Sculpture - Gaia
Article written by Kat Knowles and Yvonne Anderson | 2024 Photos by Kat
Last year the Pal Tiya Crew received an email from retired nurse, Kat Knowles from California.
Kat had been enjoying making sculptures with Pal Tiya Premium, beautiful whimsical animals like this...
After being inspired on a past vacation to Italy, Kat wanted to have a go at making a 9-10ft standing sculpture, and wanted to do a bark type finish like we had shown in one of our YouTube tutorials.
Having never attempted anything this size, Kat asked for some advice, and we were only too happy to help!
Kat told us, "my wonderful engineer husband drew out the armature knowing it would have to be very sturdy after going to the armature section on the website. Just to double check our measurements, I emailed the drawings to the Pal Tiya Crew. They promptly sent back a professional looking drawing plus the materials it should be made of for that size. They also sent the plans to be able to separate the top and bottom...BRILLIANT! (see our email below).
We sent it to our design team with what Kat had in mind and they replied:
This dynamic figure is 9 feet tall + and will require a substantial armature.
Yep, its gotta be welded. On the plus side, this is a very easy armature design and can be done quickly by an experienced welder. It should be a minimum of 3/4 inch steel square tube. This will give the rigidity over such long thin limbs.
Rebar would be harder and require a more complex arrangement with possibly three rods per arm to be dimensionally stable. Square tube will be sooooo much easier.
An added benefit, the 9-10ft standing sculpture will be in two parts. This helps with lifting, transportation and assembly.
When sculpting around the separation joint at the hips, make sure water cannot collect there. A screwdriver or a pry bar should be able to slip into the joint easily from the outside to assist in levering the two pieces apart. A discreet access hole or shadow is a good idea.
Your base design is spot on.
Create a full sized drawing on cardboard to help your welder, or enlarge our illustration. They can weld directly over this pattern.
An important note. Any parts "overhead" or "overheight" must have chicken wire in them. In this case, the upper arms and hands. Just a safety precaution, but will make your scuptue more saleable should you choose to. Chicken wire can be added anywere else you desire.
In conclusion, pretty simple welded armature which will be very strong. You can build over this with ease and confidence.
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Kat says, "there are videos concerning size and how the Pal Tiya Premium should attach directly to the metal. I left 13 places to do that since she is 10'6" tall. Thinking about it now, there probably should have been more. OH GOSH. I'm 75 ... even if she lasts 15 years...I guess I'm OK with that.
Pal Tiya had videos for EVERYTHING....After watching the ones on texture, I followed how they created the bark/knot look."
We assured her that her 10ft standing Gaia sculpture will last for a very very long time :)
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Kat shared with us that, "all was going well EXCEPT for getting her out of the studio. We put bolts in the ceiling, hoisted her to the rafters and THANK YOU PAL TIYA...she separated into top and bottom. I wrapped her with wet towels as best I could while working and then laid her down wrapped in towels, sheets and encased in tarpaulin. I soaked her for 28 days...that was a long wait.
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OK ... the painting was the hardest part of this entire project. I wanted a patina look and after weeks of testing...that wasn't going to work. MANY emails to the Pal Tiya Crew talked me off the cliff and said YES I could use a paint remover so she wouldn't look like the "Jolly Green Giant".
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They sent a video of a friend's work as an example, which was beautiful but I couldn't replicate it very well. I ended up using a wash with shades of brown and black with light yellow and green mixed in.
We have an area in the backyard with a stream and oak trees. I wanted to put her with her own kind but my husband suggested we plant her in the front garden to be seen..........who wouldn't see her ..she's 10'6"??
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We think Kat did a fantastic job, and of ocurse her hubby and the welder!
We are thrilled that Kat can come out into the garden every day and see this standing sculpture, arms thrown wide in the air, and be proud of what she accomplished.
Here's to the next one, Kat :)
