Grandma Gatewood Statue Project | Searching For Clothes For Grandma Gatewood Statue
It may appear quiet in the studio, but it does not mean we are not busy with the Grandma Gatewood Statue Project. Trying to find vintage clothes, i.e., pants, shirt, and shoes, in the model’s size, has been a big undertaking, and slowing our progress to a crawl. I’ll also be looking at glasses. Her glasses did not appear to have wireframes in many pictures, but we have to have wireframes for bronze. We might even have to beef them up. After all, we don’t want anyone coming and stealing Grandma’s bronze glasses. The glasses are the least of my worries. I can get them relatively quickly. It is the clothes.
The steps in this part of the creative process are:
- Find clothes.
- Schedule a photo sitting. In this photo sitting, we will try several poses and present the best to the cemetery and family.
- We may have to have a second sitting once we decide on a pose. In this sitting, I take photographs all around the model. These will be my reference, and will soon litter the floor and walls, like the pebbles on the trail.
How to pick the right pose?
We would like to raise enough funds for two sculptures. This process of picking a pose is tricky, as we must pick one that will work in both spots. One statue will go to her cemetery plot, and the other will go somewhere near the Appalachian Trail. The second bronze statue’s placement will have more factors in the pose and how it relates to its surroundings. Finding a second place would help us know the best pose in the studio. Sure, I could do a, here is “Grandma Gatewood,” like you see in most of the images of her- a static pose. However, I don’t believe Grandma Gatewood was ever “static.” I’d like to see her in motion.
I have posted the clothing search on the Houston Women’s Hiking group. I’m chatting with two members who are helping with the search. Someone called yesterday and said they have shoes, and Tammy, a member of our group, is getting measurements on Grandma Gatewood’s homemade bag and making one for me.
Meanwhile, I search the internet for vintage clothes and hope it all comes together soon. Stay tuned. We are getting there.
Photos: Top- My intern pulling together a wire armature for me to use in making the maquette.
Bottom-a friend from Houston Women’s Hiking helps with ideas.
From Bridgette Mongeon’s studio.
I’ve had good luck finding Gma Gatewood clothes for my dramatization at Thrift stores! Also the AT Museum in Garners, PA has a display of her bag and shoes that she wore on the trail!
This July after presenting my program on Grandma a lady came up to me and said that she was one of the Girl Scouts at a Scout Camp in PA where Grandma stopped to visit during her ’55 and ’57 through hikes! It was so neat to talk with someone who remembered her and had spent time with her!