June 3rd

We had a great day today. Donna knawed on her piece with persistence, getting the left side to match all she did yesterday. I cranked on the wire tying and discovered I was hugely along. By midday I was DONE!

Now I need to arrange for a truck to drive the steel armature up the mountain so I can set it in place, dug a footer and cement it in place. Then I will spend two long days mixing cement and covering the structure with a thin layer making a strong but some what flexible piece.

Freed up for the afternoon I began a new idea...

A little rain fell in the afternoon, but it stopped in time for a world class hike! We went further up the mountain and saw a world we both are falling in love with.

June 2nd

The snow lingered today! But we had a good day of work in the tent. I am doing the chicken wire and it is tedious and meticulous work. Every layer needs to be securely tied to the steel structure so as to keep the overall thickness as minimal as possible. I expect to move up to the mountain next week and then secure the piece and cement it in place. It will be a great experience to be up above tree line for many days of hard work!

Donna keeps up the careful shaping that makes her piece a daily joy to observe.

June 1st SNOW!!

We woke up to 4" of snow today. The tent is drippy and chilly. This place is WILD!

Day # 12

It was wet and cold all day. I planned to bring my piece into the big tent*, but it is too tall. So I worked outside applying chicken wire. I got soaked three times and dried in between. It is tedious work getting the wire smooth and tied tightly to the steel structure.

*The tent we are all working in is huge and solid - 30 x 100 feet with 12 ' height in the center. There are 7 of us working in there, and then another 6 swiss artists are working in their own studios but join us for some of the events.

After a slow day on my part (Donna CRANKED again -- see image!) we had the local office of tourism stop by with "fixings".

The plan had been to go to a party spot in the forest under a big shelter, but temps foreclosed that agenda. The partay came to us! And these folks know how to party! We began with good swiss wine (after a long day of work...) and then enjoyed raquette - a local specialty where they singe a HUGE wheel of cheese and the scrape the browned skin and melted slurry over small potatoes with pickled onions and sweet gerkings. The company was diverse - a traveler who was working with the tourism office on a booking computer program - a jazz musician who hauled out his fugal horn - a local boy who knew how to run the raquette cooker and regaled us with stories about growing up with fighting cows... ETC...

After lots of great food and wine and music and dancing they broke out the pear liqueur and coffee. As we strolled back to our apartment a hedge hog crossed our path, and the chill was intense. A change was in the air!

Day # 11

Day 11 was a hard day of work for both of us. Rain and even snow is in the forecast so I knew I needed to get welding done or I would be unable to work for several days, so work I did. Welding is easy work, but steady, and it takes persistent focus to do an efficient job. I am getting better everyday! I pushed HARD and worked into dinner time before I simply said DONE. Tomorrow, come rain or shine I can begin layering the chickenwire on for the cement coating.

Donna worked SO HARD. She is up on scaffolding and climbs up and down constantly to reposition or just see where she is going. She uses mostly a hand saw in the firm foam so she is constantly using her full body to shape her Stork. These are 12 - 14 hour days, and she stays mostly cheery and seems refreshed even as she comes off the ladder covered in lavender dust.

The rest of our crew are very interesting. We have a traditional wood carver, Tim Holmes, who has a to-die-for red larch log. It was 30' long with a massive girth, but he felt he could ONLY complete a 12' piece in the month allowed, so he had it cut in two and hauled up the mountain to Verbier. It is a richly scented wood fresh cut and oozing. He is doing a loosely figurative piece. He is British, but he lives in France with a temporary place in Verbier. He is hoping to show and sell here well enough to ski and sculpt forever in Verbier.

Day #10

A fun couple had stopped in the tent where we work early in the week and invited us to a sip of wine at 1, so we were thrilled to visit The Bagnions at their fun chalet for a midday break. They proved be delightful company. He is French and runs a vineyard in Saint George. It has been in family for generations, and the vintner who manages the grapes and processing has been there for three generations! They KNOW the soil, vines and wine.

Today was a Sunday and all power tools and noise was prohibited. We came to the work site and worked quietly but not all that productively. Donna was slowed since she could not use the sawzall, but I was able to weld quietly. After our day of less the optimal effort we came to the conclusion that Sundays are best left to hikes and exploration.

Day #9

We had another AWESOME day! Sunny and bright -- but SO COLD! Sculptors who wore shorts were chilly all day. Even midday when it warmed up the chill was present, and returned as soon as the sun angle lowered.

Saturday saw a bump in curious visitors. People came from as far away as Geneva to see what they had read about in the paper.

Donna was up on her scaffolding all day carving huge chunks from the beak and freeing her wings almost to the waist. Proportions and shape are fully evident as she works to rough the huge pillar of polystyrene foam. She is a curiosity that has the crowds talking. I welded and fiddled with ambition. HUGE progress, but my welds remain fragile and sloppy. I am NOT a welder...


Paul Goodwin, a curator from Tate Britain in London came in at 4 for high tea and conversation. He talked with us each individually to familiarize himself with the work and our ideas. Tomorrow we will each have a deeper individual conversation with him. He is here now and then will return when the work is done. His role is one of added ideas, providing curatorial context and writing about the entire residency. It was exciting to meet him and we all found him to be an accessible and generous thinker.

For dinner we had an exceptional gathering of the most generous of Verbier community leaders at the home of Madeleine Paternot, one of the Residency founders. What a spread, what fine company, what an exceptional home we all enjoyed. The fireplace was aflame and a much needed barrier to the MAY! chill. The languages were aswirl.

Madeleine's father and best friend proved to be college buddies of Peter Haines, one of Donna's (and now my) good friends. Peter is a member of Boston Sculptor's Gallery with Donna and I. It was one of many amazing coincidences of this residency. Verbier is a focal point in the world. Small in population, but hugely influential people accumulate in the chalets and ski slopes. We are so lucky to be here.

Our crisp walk home as the night ended was alight with stars. We chatted about ALL the people we are meeting and remarked that all these friendships will be with us for a lifetime.