Ghost Bicycle Memorial Project

April 14th 2010 

A Brooklyn motorist who sped through a red light and killed a young bicyclist Wednesday was driving with a suspended license

Jake was a graffiti writer, and was into street art scene, 
This wall was decorated by his friends in his memory. 
It was shortly demolished for the shooting 
of an episode of "Rescue Me." 

The news came to all Brooklyn College students (myself included) as huge shock. Here it was, a freshman on his way to school struck down and killed because of one person's ignorance and negligence. I was profoundly moved when I heard. My B.F.A. Thesis show was based on Bicycle Culture. Themes embodied  in my work include the idea of cyclist vulnerability and how pedestrians and cyclists could be marginalized by careless drivers.

When I heard about this, I knew instantly, that I wanted to do something for him. 

I didn't know Jake McDonough personally, But over the next few months I would learn about him through meeting his parents and close friends. 

The images below document the process through several months. 

Installation View.

DRIP was Jake's Tag.
I painted it to reflect his memorial wall piece, in a shade of blue he frequently used.

Other side of installation view.

The lettering was painted in acrylic and a clear overcoat applied. 

Jake is survived by his parents, Denny and Larraine McDonough. 

This Memorial along with Jake's works are  on view through Feb 28th at the Brooklyn College Library.

http://www.brooklyn.cuny.edu/pub/2368.htm

Work In Progress Documentation

After making a template I cut the letters out of steel.

As with all my work, I document each step. However, To save time I will skip over a lot of the prep work such as removing the paint off the bicycle and taking it apart. The following photos will give a brief overview of this project.

The letters were cut out of 1/8th steel using Beverly sheers. Then pounded flat against an anvil. 

The seam line for the  cut outs are welded clean and buffed.

After the letters were cut I cleaned them and prepped them to be connected. I welded them from behind so the welds would not be seen from the front, leaving a cleaner look.

Tires were filled with spray foam to retain an inflated shape.

Mounting the tires back on after the foam had set was no easy task. For this labor, I enlisted the help of fellow Brooklyn College sculptor Heriberto Ferrer.

Reassembly and welded
steel plates to frame.

Semi-assembled bicycle sans handle bars, seat post , saddle and pedals.

Pre-Painted Steel

I used a paint brush to get the
 fine clean lines to outline DRIP

Painting process

Primered Stee

The painting process involved many coats of primer and clear coat. Both sides were painted and every component was also painted such as tires and chain.

Larraine and Denny McDonough loved the piece. 

I'm glad I was able to make this for them.

Koopa Shell

Coming from my love for nostalgia, I wanted to create a life size replica of one of my childhood icons. And as always in an attempt to expand my portfolio full of things that I can design and sculpt, I wanted to make one from scratch. I looked at many images and toys and even plush versions to find my inspiration. In the end I realized there are a lot of different versions of the Koopa Shell even within the Mario world, so I settled with my favorite one.

My Sculpt next to a 25 Cent sized Toy version.

Front View

Back View

Aerial View

Soon this will be molded and casted  by yours truly. Stay tuned! 

Work In Progress Documentation

Crude Shell before details.  

To begin this project I had first taken my bicycle helmet and made a mold of it. Then I cast a positive out of plaster. After cleaning up the cast I had a base to sculpt on.The Chavant NSP hard was then modeled on top of the plaster cast of the bicycle helmet.

A Sharpie marker is used to show scale. 

Crude Detailing onto surface.

Lines defined and then the areas are smoothed out portion by portion using an alcohol torch and kemper wood tools to scrape excess clay from some areas and add back some where needed.

New works in progress..

So in my job search, I have not been able to find something full time in the creative field. What is an artist to do? I decided to sculpt as much as I could while I'm looking.

 Post undergraduate life is not as glamorous as the speakers at my graduation speech made it seem.

I digress, so basically I thought to myself that I needed to diversify my portfolio and create more works to show my range as a sculptor/artist.  This series of sculptures falls under a group I call "the art of being unemployed."

This was very fun to sculpt, and came together quickly. It was sculpted over the course on and off over a 3 day span. 

Life size Koopa Shell, 12''x10'' Will cast these for fun (and possibly rent money if people are willing to buy..)

Front

Side 

Onto another project.

This life size baby is still a work in progress. Body parts have been roughed out and will begin refining soon

Roughly work time is on and off during a 4 day span so far.

Roughly measures about 27'' long from head to toe. ( if it were standing). Its you know, like a baby's size.

Aerial View

                                                                          Frontal View (Sorta)

This other work is an idea i had for a fencing mask. Well clearly it wouldn't be functional but the idea is that its made of bones. It is sculpted over a face cast of myself. It measures approximately 11'' x 7.5''.

Sculpting took place over a 5 day span, on and off a few hours at a time. clearly this is at a more refined stage. Will be completed soon!

                                                                         Frontal view.

Bottom View.

Top View.

3/4th View.

All sculpting in Chavant NSP hard grey unless indicated. 

More to come..