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How long does it take to build? Is the sculpture permanent and durable? How do I secure my frog sculpture? How long have you been doing this? How do you give them such character? What is your training as an artist? Do you get bored of making frogs?
How long does it take to build? For a large frog I like to have a month - or longer if possible. Some frogs can be done sooner than others. There are many variables: complexity of the work, the prop or props that are associated with the frog, the patina, and availability of materials, to name a few. I have many sculptures going at once. So it is hard to say just how long one particular sculpture takes. Also, nowadays, I have assistants. I can tell you this: I can probably build a frog much faster than most people on this planet. I have been at this for many years. Ideally, I will have more time on each piece that less. But this is not necessarily because I want to give the frog more labor. Sometimes the best work happens from the most efficient solutions. It isn't necessarily about how long the work takes. It is much more about the art and craftsmanship that go into solving all the problems along the way. That's what produces excellence in my sculpture. The surface coloring of the sculpture is typically called the patina. No patina is indestructible. The patina can be scratched off or worn off in various ways. That said, the blue-green patina on the frog sculpture will remain throughout the life of the sculpture. That is to say, the patina is permanent. It may change subtly. Usually, the patina turns greener over time and lightens a little. At the Atlanta botanical Gardens, there is a Smith frog sculpture that has been that has been pet on its head so often that the patina has worn down, and the oil from people's hands has left a beautiful bronze color on that spot. I find that endearing. I do not seal the patina with sealants such as an acrylic spray or epoxy resin because that is unnatural. What is much more natural and appealing is to allow the patina direct contact with the elements. It may change subtly over time, but not much. And, if perchance for some reason the sculpture gets scratched or the patina is worn off, it is easy enough to apply a new patina to the sculpture if that is what is desired. Art stores sell small solutions that can be applied to copper and produce a blue-green patina. Just make sure to read the directions and take the proper precautions such as wearing goggles and having proper ventilation. Over the years people have asked me how I produce the patina on my sculpture. It is something of a secret. But really, most people are not advised to work with the chemicals that I work with and go through the processes required. This type of work is best left to professionals, with the exception of touchup jobs which you can get your handyman to do with a bottle of patina solution you buy at the art store. I have been asked if cold weather or hot weather will damage the patina. The basic answer is no. If, however, you were to run water constantly over the sculpture, such a force could wear down the patina and probably would wear down the patina. In fact, I had one owner of one of my frog sculptures say that the sprinkler at the that watered his lawn would constantly splashed water against a certain area of his frog sculpture, and this war down the patina in that area and produced a new patina, that blue-green coloring of that area. This frog sculpture under told me he liked the new coloring in that area. This is to say that subtle changes of the surface of the frog sculpture, I see as an enhancement of the sculpture. I can also say that no two patinas on any of my frog sculptures are the same. Every patina is unique. Is the sculpture permanent and durable? Yes. The large human sized copper frog sculptures are monumental sculptures. Many of them are installed in public places. They have to be sturdy. They have to be durable. I reinforce my sculptures. They are strong and sturdy. I used all noncorrosive metals: copper, brass, bronze, and stainless steel. The sculpture is likely to last thousands of years or more. It will be here long enough for your grandchildren at your grandchildren's grandchildren to enjoy. This is a permanent sculpture. I think about safety when I sculpt the frog. The frog is a physical object. It is going in a living space, whether that is in your home, around your home, or in a public place. I am careful to design user-friendly sculpture, not something that's going to hurt you because you trip over to run into it or have it cut or chap you. This is sculpture to live with, sculpture to have around because is is beneficial for your health and happiness. I want my frogs to be helpful, good friends, and those sort of friends care about your safety and securi How do I secure my frog sculpture? Something to think about, preventing theft, or a strong wind to knock it down... it would have to be a very strong wind, but such is possible. The frogs are made of copper, not granit. You have a number of options when securing the sculpture. I customarily put a bolt in the seed of the frog so one can bolt it to wherever it will be placed. If you are setting the frog on a bench, of course someone could steal the bench as well as the frog. But this would be more of an effort. I can put a loop on the bolt so that one could loop of chain through the bottom of secure the chain, and this certainly would deter a criminal. For the most permanent securement, one can bolt the feet into concrete. On occasion I fix it so that one can bolt the feet from the bottom of the ankle, if this is the plan, to bolt the feet securely in this way. How one secures the sculpture really depends on how permanent one wants the securement and where the sculpture is going to be placed. However one does it, I do most often discussed this aspect with my clients who commissioned frogs from me. Understand then that these frogs are monumental sculptures and that securement is an issue I address. I design the frog with securement in mind. Standing frogs are securely placed on a thick quarter inch stainless steel base that can easily be bolted down to wherever the frog is placed. I also suggest, especially for the large frogs, that you do have insurance on these creatures because they are valuable and people, including criminals, recognize that. Homeowners insurance should do it, and I recommend that you let them know that you have a valuable sculpture on your premises. It's also a good idea to put a light on the sculpture, maybe one of those lights that lights up when you walk past it, or simply a few small lights that allow the frog to twinkle a bit at night. For those reluctant to chain up a frog sculpture, something I have done of course many times, I have this to say: the ancient Greeks used to chain up their sculptures. For the longest time it bothered me to chain up a frog. The frog in chains? That doesn't seem right. But if it was okay for the Greeks, well then, I guess it's okay for me.
Not very. A large, human sized copper frog is typically around 75 to 100 pounds. Though they are hollow within, they are heavily reinforced. But they are reinforced with stainless steel, not solid concrete. Some frogs, however, weigh much more. I build a standing bass playing frog, and that is probably the heaviest frog I build. But that type of frog is really like to frogs in one because the base is so big. The frog in the garden... the frog outdoors... or that of the outdoors indoors... a frog in your home... what does the frog do? It reconnects us to nature have whimsy. It touches us with joy and humor. It makes us laugh at appreciate life. I have my ideas about why frogs in particular touch people the way they do. The truth is that frogs to touch people, and I can have my ideas about why. But I also accept this truth as rather a mystery as well. I do think that the frog is an underdog. What do I mean? Well, the frogs are homely but also cute. They are little -- well, my frogs are an exception to this -- but they can do big things like retrieve a golden ball for a princess or become a prince, once kissed. And why is an underdog so lovable? We love underdogs. We don't want someone as their hero that is too smart or too big for his britches were too strong. We want so one not only that we could possibly identify with but who was a little bit less than ourselves. The frog is a likable lovable friend. Big or little. The symbolism behind the frog is very powerful as it is with many animals. The frog symbolizes among other things transformation, healing, the moon and lunar cycles, the bridge between worlds, joy, purification, and abundance. Regardless of my ideas about why frogs are so lovable and desirable as art subjects, the truth is also that the medium that I work in, that is copper and brass and other noncorrosive metals hammered and braised, works remarkably well for the subject. It just does. For example, the blue green patina is especially appropriate for frogs. It just happens that way. One of the beauties for an artist is discovering a subject that works very well with the medium that he is working in. Such discoveries are one of the great joys of making art. So it is that the frog works very well with the medium of braised copper.
For the past 20 years I have made a living sculpting large human sized copper frogs. I have during that time made other creatures. But the frog has been the mainstay. I plan to make many other creatures. Maybe, if I am lucky, one of those creatures will be as successful in the marketplace as my frogs are. Even half as successful would be fine with me. For the frogs have been and continue to be very appealing and very marketable, and this is a great boon for in the artist. But if in all my days I simply remained a sculptor of nothing but frogs that would not bother me in the least. I am passionate about my work, and I also work in other mediums and am passionate about what I create in those other mediums. Besides being a sculptor I am also a writer, a singer-songwriter, and a painter. I keep myself busy, and art is my life. How long have you been doing this? As I said in the preceding answer, I have been making a living sculpting frogs for the past 20 years. But I have been a sculptor for much longer than that. And I have been an artist all my adult life. I finished art school back in 85. Before that I had been sculpting and writing and painting... I come from a family of artists, and art has always been my life. My father, who was also a sculptor, originated the large human sized copper frog design in the early 80s. My brother and I had apprenticed with him. We were around for the inception of this marvelous creature, and when it became apparent how marketable it was, my brother and I hopped on the bandwagon and began making frogs ourselves. As a group, we have sometimes referred to ourselves as frogSmiths because our last name is Smith, and we make frogs, and instead of being blacksmiths we are FrogSmiths. How do you give them such character? As a sculptor and artist, I've always been able to bring presence to my work. When in art school studying film animation and illustration, one teacher said of my work that it had presence. My art has always been alive. Working day in and out on the Frogs has given me the skill to also instill in my creations the kind of character that makes them seem part human. I liken this to the Pinocchio story: Geppetto produced, miracle of miracles, a living puppet. But for the puppet to become a real boy, he had to gather character and integrity from life experience. So through my own art, I have developed my skill to a level where my art has not only presence but character as well. I like to think that every frog that I'm building, I'm bringing to life. Sometimes the metal goes in a direction and you just follow it. The creature is there, already, and I'm helping him to come alive - my version of Michelangelo's statement about how he removed everything from the rock that wasn't the sculpture and then he had the sculpture. Often what inspires a frog are activities I enjoy (other than frog building). I love to make music, read, write, and do sports. What also inspires me is literature and classic myths, particularly Greek myths and classic fairy tales. What is your training as an artist? I grew up in a family of artists. My grandmother was a watercolor artist. My father is a metal sculptor, like me. From my mother I received a love of literature. From my teenage years on, I have played music, written songs, written books (I'll let you know when I have any published by a major publisher) and stories, and painted and sculpted. From my teenage years on, I have worked with my father in his metal sculpture shop. That's where I leaned the art and craft of metal sculpture. I graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Rhode Island School of Design where I studied film animation and illustration. Prior to sculpting frogs, I made a living in graphic arts while also creating, showing, and selling my sculptures and paintings. The
Atlanta Botanical Gardens If
you want to see Frogs in a gallery, call first to make sure that
have one (or more) in, and consider, if you go to a gallery, buying
from them. If you plan to buy a Frog and you want to meet me and see a Frog or two in progress, email or call and we can schedule a visit to my workshop. Do you get bored of making frogs? No. I love my work. Frogs are fascinating. I make my work fascinating. I learn something new every day about crafting frogs. Ever since my father originated these creatures many years ago, they have evolved through the work of my father, brother, and me. The frogs are art. Art is not boring to make. It's fun and exciting. The
frog is a dance that I do that is different every time. |
