Back at it… ⚒️🏃🏻‍♂️

Currently working on the right hand and feeling like I’m a little more than halfway through this marathon. Once I finish this hand I’m going to move on to the shoes or the head. Maybe the shoes because they’ll be easier and carving hands makes my brain hurt.

Once I “finish” everything, I’ll then need to go back and make adjustments and refinements. Still a lot left to do.

Done for today ⚒️🏃🏻‍♂️

Today I worked on the left arm and started defining the right arm, shoulder and hand.

You’re seeing the panel after I’ve just done some light sanding of the background and washed the dust away with water. With a bright overhead light. Gives me a more accurate progress update.

Back at it tomorrow.

Thank you!

Thank you. I think maybe I’m just too close to it right now and need to sit back for a while and let it percolate in my mind. Maybe I’ll like it more when the rest of the details come together around it… either way I’ll reevaluate later on.

Studio selfie ⚒️🏃🏻‍♂️

I’ve been working on this Hal Finney relief for over a month now. Gives you time to think. We have so much to be grateful for with Bitcoin, and to Hal, we owe a great deal. Wish I could have met him.

For those just seeing this, I’m planning to auction this piece off on nostr:npub1rujwkh9c3jnq70g3v62rrm6m7pxqsz25675narm74q9emcwqltjswe00fg for the 4th annual Running Bitcoin Challenge benefitting ALS research.

This is a relief carving in reclaimed slate, and the panel is almost 2 feet tall, so my largest relief yet.

Stay tuned for more updates and wish me luck. It’s going to be a race to finish this in time for the auction mid January..

Thanks buddy. And I wouldn’t be making Bitcoin art without 21 Lessons!Miss you my friend. Would love to catch up on a zoom sometime.

Carving update ⚒️🏃🏻‍♂️

Made some progress on the left hand but still not finished / happy with it yet. I’m moving on to the left arm and other areas for a bit though. Done for today. Back at it tomorrow.

We picked up some stone today.

Carrara marble on the left that I’ll be splitting into smaller pieces.

Persian red travertine in the middle. Likely going to make that into a planter.

Italian ice alabaster in the back right… I’m thinking a melting fiat ice cube theme🧊 for that one.

And a small block of New Mexico travertine that’ll likely end up as another planter.

Successfull haul.💪

Currently on my way to grab drinks with friends. Been working nonstop on this piece and need a mental break. 🧠

Unfortunately I am a sculptor which means that even when I’m not in my studio, I can’t help but analyze my work and plan what needs to be done next. Is the angle of the calf right? Oh yeah the inner thigh probably needs to be brought in a bit more sharply. How am I going to make the hair look right? Gonna need to test that texture before I do that. That right shoulder definitely needs to get pushed in more so I have more room to work with when I carve the head. Shoelaces!!! nostr:note16ry5fg985tvleg9s7ngup03y33q234p3z4204ue0z6yfkkljxc3sj8pa6n

Lol not the first person to say that. I actually have a silicon based finish that I sometimes use to bring out the color in various stones and it makes polished slate look exactly like carbonite. Won’t be using it for this though…

Progress continues ⚒️🏃🏻‍♂️

Currently working on the left hand… trying to stay true to the perspective in the photo and it’s not easy. If I was doing the design from scratch I would have positioned Hal’s fingers so they’re fully visible and not curled inwards. It’s proving tricky to get the right perspective…

Back to work ⚒️🏃🏻‍♂️

‼️“Free Yourself” Bronze Casts‼️

Reach out to me ASAP if you’d like to acquire one for your collection.

Limited to 21 pieces and I still have some numbers available.

$5,000+shipping

The foundry I work with will be pouring some molten metal VERY soon.

Yes. I think it got even better for the later ones.

Been reading a ton of his work after Lyn recommended it. The whole mistborn series is great. Would highly recommend the audiobooks too if you’re into that.

Progress continues ⚒️🏃🏻‍♂️

At this phase I’m using just hammer and chisel and sand paper. It’s a very slow process but worth it for the control it provides.

I read once that Michelangelo’s early carving, Madonna of the Stairs, took him between two and three years to complete, and it’s no wonder why. Reliefs are different than sculpting in the round. I’m starting to think of it as less sculpting stone and more as the sculpting of light and shadow.

With a classic statue, you create something in three dimensions. Still very difficult, but you don’t have to create the illusion of depth. With reliefs, it’s more akin to painting, or rather, halfway in between. You get to play in three dimensions, but you’re constrained in the third dimension and have to create more depth than there actually is.

Ya😅 I’m confident in getting the body right but the head/face is going to be a challenge. Have to get it perfect and get the emotion right or it’ll just look creepy..

Nowhere near complete, but it’s starting to come together. ⚒️🏃🏻‍♂️

For now, I’m focused on the broad strokes and making sure the depth of each part appears correct.

Relief carving is all about creating the illusion of true depth. Which are the high points, closest to the viewer? Which points need to be deeper to make them appear further away?

In this phase, even as it starts going from 2D to more of a 3D appearance, it still has a somewhat cartoonish feel. But once I get depths right, I’ll move onto the details and finish, and that will bring everything together. If all goes well, the end result will be true to the photo of Hal we all know so well. Back to work…

$100,000 ✅

Hey folks. What are your favorite wallet apps to use with nostr in the US?

I do not want to open any lightning channels at this time and I’m looking for something like WoS that still works in the states…