I am going to be making this new piece this month. Not exactly sure how long it will take, but that will sort itself out.

The Gentle Dragon will be life-sized, and unlike most dragons, this one is intended to be entirely friendly. Imagine a huge, sweet, grandfatherly creature that doesn’t mind in the slightest that children like to play all over him. He should be loving, protective, but slightly frail and very old.

What will make this sculpture unique is his eyes. I’m making them in glazed ceramic, the same color of cornflower blue my dad had. These glass eyes will make this sculpture come alive.

Maquette of The Gentle Dragon

I did this small (7-inch tall) water-clay sculpture in about eight hours. I did it to establish a lot of things, most importantly the gesture. The gesture is more than just the look and position of the figure; it is the feel, the emotional core – the “why” of the piece – and this either connects with the viewer or it doesn’t.

This message must be strong, unambiguous and dimensional. The Gentle Dragon is not merely cute; he is intended to be loving and caring in a grandfatherly way. He is massive, but also frail and slightly arthritic; protective, but quietly so. And he is most certainly intelligent, in the way only those experienced, worldly, and old can be.

To capture the fleeting nature of a clear emotional state, I did the work quickly, in one sitting. It helps to have a particular person in mind when starting. This is my dad. His face was lined with the hard life of logging and injury. He lived to see all his kids grow up strong and happy, and shared a life with a wife both beautiful and loving. He lived into his 80s, and passed on just a few years ago. His wife, my mom, survives him still.

Initial glaze tests on porcelain half-spheres

A local ceramic artist, Allen Ross, was able to build three sizes of heavy porcelain eyes. The small one will be the Gentle Dragon’s; the largest ones are meant for the Tree Troll. I chose five pair for the first tests. I painted them in oxides so it was easy to see what effect I was getting. They are now ready for bisque firing, glazing and final firing.

The results of the first tests and second try

Hmmm – that will teach me to use the precious porcelain blanks on an untried method of painting. The irises came out fine, but I layered too much black oxide on the pupil, so the glaze buckled over that area. Now, sensibly, I’m doing the second tests on simple tiles instead.

There are 18 tests, all different techniques, painting styles, and multiple layers. One of these is bound to look good….

Visit Kim Graham Studios to see more of the artist’s work.

The mall has provided a lovely backdrop and stage for the demonstration. To begin, I am doing the neck, shoulders, and chest, to quickly figure out the mass of the front area. The arms will determine the overall look of the animal, whether spindly or massive.

I made the armature “casually”; I did not pre-establish any details, including the overall look. This is a lot more fun for me during the demonstration. It is possible to have everything figured out ahead of time, but that makes me more of a copyist than a sculptor. I like to let the sculpture tell me what it wants. The dialogue allows the work to be a lot more fresh and interesting.

Day 2

Filling out the neck and the other arm. The chest looks like it’s going to be pretty massive, so I thicken the neck and put in a rough head. The head will have to be a lot bigger to balance out the composition!

Day 3

Today I did the head and nothing else. I have found that if you want to have a good sculpture, you have to do the face entirely in one day. All the symmetry, balance, mass, and detail have to be roughed in, all at the same time. The look is pointy with heavy brow ridges and a strong jawline.

The body doesn’t seem like it wants to be delicate. Not an Arabian horse — not Percheron either — but definitely a draft horse.

Day 4

I moved on to the wing and back leg. A demonstration is as much a performance as a sculpture. Each day, I always try to complete something on both the front and the back of the sculpture. Concentrating on either is not interesting to the audience, who like to see the day-to-day advance. At a demonstration I always have a photo board with these daily pictures so folks can see where the sculpture was and is going. The process itself is the show.

Side note: The air conditioning and the lights are drying out the clay faster than expected. I must water every hour or cracking develops.

Day 5

The shoulders are bigger now, and the arms thicker. The neck scales are going in. It is important the audience sees detail going onto the surface; it heightens their expectations.

The armature in the chest is forcing me to broaden the whole piece. The anatomy has to be overly exaggerated so it reads well from a distance. Subtle is out! This makes the work so much more fun to do. There is a wild theatrical nature to this sort of sculpting. It must be dramatic!

The number of people is extraordinary; hundreds are coming by each hour. The people are unbelievably polite, one of the best crowds I have ever worked for. They seem mystified I am not selling something. The mall hired me for two weeks during the holidays simply for an ongoing performance.

Day 6

Back plates today. It is time to establish the silhouette to the hips. To balance out the spikiness of the head, there has to be a similar texture somewhere else on the body.

Quite a lot of people up on the stage with me today. Throughout, I have allowed anyone who wants to, kids included, to come on stage and touch the sculpture. They never leave any damage and are really respectful. I think it is important this is accessible. Part of the whole reason is to show folks it is not that hard and the sculpture is made of relatively simple materials.

Day 7

Moving down the tail and making the throat scales more consistent with the stuff on the spine. One week in and the anatomy is in place. I am on schedule!

Day 8

Worked down to the joint on the tail where I will stop applying the clay. It is important over the next week that some of the armature remains visible to show people it is a work in progress. The exposed tail is a good choice. Covering all the plaster will show so much less.

Funny, more people are impressed that I welded the armature myself than that I work for Weta Workshop.

Also, to fill out the day, I began on the detail scales on the shoulder. The work is heavy, bold, and (quite honestly) cartoonish, but for the audience it reads magnificently. The very gestural line quality keeps the surface fresh and lively.

You can see the head detail is pretty well established; I did all that on the third day. The shoulder is sketched in, but the upper hand is not done. I am having a heck of a time keeping the horns from drying out under the lights. If I were to put in this hand, it too would crack and disintegrate before the final day. The surface area is too big for the small volume of clay in these areas.  It is better to still show the armature and work for a finale.

Day 9

Scales on the neck, arms and the hips. The surface is beginning to show some real glitter.  The rounded volumes now have definition, with the lines drawn in by the presence of the scales.

Now when I come to work, the shop workers all know me. They come by every day to watch. I am now officially the Dragon Lady!

Day 10

Got some interesting patterns on the legs. It is important not to just put ordinary scales all over. There are several distinct types of scales: rosettes (pebble-like round ones), scutes (tall conical horn-like ones), pointed (raised teardrop shapes), heavy plates (over the toes, throat, and the spine), and fused (the squarish ones, like the back of an alligator) These can be small, medium, or large.

The nature of scales means these different textures need to flow and transform, one into another, over the surface. You cannot allow any one type to dominate without moving it along to the next shape. It is a lot like music. I have always imagined the plate scales to be drum beats and the rosettes to be piccolos. Easy to see the rhythm behind these patterns.

Day 11

Chest scales and working on the back.

Day 12

Only one more day to go, so I put on the tail and the upper hand.

Day 13 — final day!

I patched in the final scales and posed with the two people who made the demonstration happen, Monya and Christo Van Wyk from Westfield Mall.

I always left the back side of the sculpture open so that when people came up onto the stage they could discover something surprising. It was so lovely to see people’s faces light up when they saw the cardboard construction inside. It was a sudden “I get it!” that made my day.

I am very happy with the rhythms floating on the surface!

Contact SilkMermaid.com sculptor Kim Graham at kimsculptor (at) gmail (dot) com

Send suggestions to improve this feed or the SilkMermaid.com website to the web-apprentice: allenvarney (at) gmail (dot) com

I have begun on the shoulder scales, so the character of the dragon is becoming apparent. This will be a a brightly scaled figure, mostly because it reads better from a distance. Without color, the detail has to be pretty agressive to make up for it.

A good day’s work!

[Click either image to see a much larger photo.]

Visit Kim Graham Studios to see more of the sculptor’s work.

A good day sculpting. The anatomy is nearly established; I am working on balancing the volumes so the legs don’t look too massive or the head too tiny. I started on the spine scales, but they’re not yet pointing quite the right direction.

It’s good to review the pictures at the end of each day. They give me a fresh perspective on the shapes and lines of flow that are hard to see while I’m on the stage.

[Click any image to see a larger photo.]

Contact Kim Graham at kimsculptor (at) gmail (dot) com

The dragon after day 2. I have gotten the other arm and neck on the other side done and begun on the head. This picture shows the wrist is still a bit small and the biceps are dull. I’ll fix these tomorrow.

[Click the image to see a larger photo.]

Problems with this feed or the SilkMermaid.com website? Contact the web-learner: allenvarney (at) gmail (dot) com

The beginning of the Auckland demonstration. As you can see in the background, the mall management really dressed up the stage very nicely, far moreso than I thought possible.

I’m doing this demonstration by myself. I have two weeks, and that can be done pretty easily alone. It’s a shame — it is so much more fun to have people helping out! But if it’s done too quickly, I’ll run out of work.

[Click any image to see a larger photo.]

Visit Kim Graham Studios to see more work by the sculptor.

Kim prepared the mall dragon sculpture’s armature in advance. She writes, “The first picture is the welded steel armature built over a rough cardboard cutout version. There will be about half a ton of clay on this, so it has to be pretty strong. It took two days to build.” [Click the photo for a larger version.]

“This is the plaster and burlap covering that will support the clay. I made it small enough that I can fill out the musculature without hitting the plaster. One day to build.” [Click the photo for a larger version.]

Stay tuned for Kim’s updates on her latest dragon!

Contact SilkMermaid.com sculptor Kim Graham at kimsculptor (at) gmail (dot) com

Alas, the Silk Mermaid mold is now buttoned up and hoisted into the ceiling for long-term storage. At some point I’ll return to this wonderful project, but it will not be for some time.

The surprising news is, I’m also putting the concrete Troll away for an equally long time. The Digileg extensions have become enormously popular and required all my attention. There are now several hundred people who would like sets, and this requires a large production run. I will not be documenting that process, but will be posting some of the creative costumes fans will be building when the Digilegs go on sale.

Part of the life of an artist/entrepreneur is to be open to the unusual opportunities on your path. First I began on the Silk Mermaid, then the leg extensions, then the concrete Troll. Now the extensions are back on the front burner and heating up. Once the leg extensions are in production, I intend to resume blogging about my personal projects. It will be several months before I can begin anything new, but rest assured, whatever it is, it will challenging and fun!

Surviving as an artist is often the elastic ability to adapt from one project to another and to really enjoy that shifting challenge. I call it “dancing on quicksand.”

The new Tree Troll maquette - now on hold

Kim Graham is on YouTube as inventorgal.

About Kim Graham

At last I have finished designing my digigrade leg extensions and am now selling them to costumers, performers, and actors at Kim Graham Studios. Here is a good shot of the finished satyr version, with split hooves. These leg extensions make the wearer 14 inches taller, which makes me 6′ 7″ — and a real crowdstopper!

This one-minute Digilegs video demo on YouTube shows just how naturally they move. The hooves slide on springs; the movement constantly hides the foot mechanism and gives the wonderful impression of an additional ankle joint.

For Steamcon, a steampunk convention in Seattle (October 23-25, 2009), I’m already planning a “steam-powered” version with gears and moving parts. A Jules Verne mechanical satyr — it will be so cool!

If you have questions, please contact me at kimsculptor (at) gmail (dot) com.

Visit Kim Graham Studios to see more of the artist’s work.

I am determined to make the concrete Tree Troll almost indistinguishable from real wood. To do that, it is important to understand the complex language of surface texture. The whorls, knots, cracks, and crevices that trees gain as they grow are very characteristic.

Each day I mix up a pint batch of mortar and spend about an hour and practicing, using old weathered driftwood as reference. Pictured here are some samples of the real thing, along with some good tests — and some dreadful ones. Another photo after the jump.


It will take about a month to really get a feel for this. At that point I should be able to teach others a simple set of techniques that get good results.

Contact SilkMermaid.com sculptor Kim Graham at kimsculptor (at) gmail (dot) com

After a great deal of thought, I have decided to put the Red Silk Mermaid sculpture on hold for the time being.

The single biggest reason is the economy. If I were to finish her now, it is unlikely she would sell for some time. Instead, for the time being, I am going to make more accessible pieces. Silk Mermaid fans, be assured I am not abandoning the Mermaid, merely delaying her for a better time. My profound thanks to all the volunteers who have helped so far on the great lady. I will contact all of you personally as soon as the work resumes.

This site has become a way to connect with artists around the world and exchange ideas and techniques. This will continue as I document and construct another project very close to my heart, and also much less demanding to build. I have begun work on a new Tree Troll — a 12-foot-tall, two-ton concrete Troll for a children’s playground.

More about the new Troll, with many photos of the foil maquette, after the jump.

Over 15 days in 2005, my team of 25 volunteers built the first version of the Troll sculpture in papier mache. I wanted to discover if you can build very large-scale sculptures with entirely nontoxic materials. We succeeded, but the first Troll suffered in that it could not be put outdoors. Large sculptures are notoriously hard to place indoors; their size really restricts available venues.

This project continues my desire to work with nontoxic materials. Concrete, the only material I am considering, lets me make a sculpture that can be played on by children and adults alike. (Okay, there is bronze, but the cost would be astronomical.)

I began by making a maquette (model) to see the general outline of the piece. A friend took a lot of pictures of me in this pose so I could translate it into a simple wire armature for the maquette.

The fastest sculpting material of the 20th Century: aluminum foil and hot glue. You can do fabulous treelike textures with this, with wonderful freedom to easily create all the necessary shapes and contours.

This foil maquette took about seven hours. From this I can design the larger armature. There are a bunch of considerations:

• Weight of the concrete: two tons.
• Weight of ten adults climbing on it for a photo shot: two more tons.
• The final sculpture must be dissassembled, transported, and reassembled at least twice, and possibly more.
• Each piece must have hidden “pick points” for hooks and cables used during construction.
• All the pieces will fit together with “gravity fit” joints, held in place by their own weight with simple pin and sockets.
• The foundation has to be moved too.

I will post my approaches to each of these considerations here as the Troll project develops.

Send suggestions to improve this feed or the SilkMermaid.com website to the web-apprentice: allenvarney (at) gmail (dot) com

I made the original Satyr Legs feet with bicycle tires bolted over the steel feet. The problem with using real tires is they have a lot of grooves and very little gripping surface; this reduces friction on the road. I needed a lot more contact with the ground.

To solve this, I used perforated steel and poured rubber to cast directly onto the steel feet. This is a tough rubber called VytaFlex 60. It is critical you first abrade the steel surface to remove surface oils before casting.

A closeup of the foot after the jump.

After my initial test with the legs, I decided to make quite a few changes. The legs need to be longer. (You can see in the picture where the old foot was cut off and the new, longer version welded in.) The joints are a bit wide and need to be trimmed, and there should be more movement in the foot. The satyr feet are spring-loaded, but not enough to hide the actual foot during movement. I’ll need longer springs and bolts.

Visit Kim Graham Studios to see more of the sculptor’s work.

I created a costume with the new Satyr Leg extensions and then went by the corporate offices of Wizards of the Coast, where I used to work. I still have some great friends there. (The photo shows me with Dawn Murin.) We took it as an opportunity to test the leg extensions for comfort and show them off to a company filled with fantasy lovers. It was a terrific hit.

Two more photos after the jump.

Cynda Calloway (l) and me

As you can see, the full costume allows me to tower over people at nearly 7 feet. The only problem was the ceiling lights!

Cynda Calloway (l)

Contact Kim Graham at kimsculptor (at) gmail (dot) com