Making the mine
The sculpture will be made, initially, at half-life size. This is so that the composition, movement and details can be read in the studio as if one were looking at the finished work from afar. Also, at this scale, it is a lot easier to make changes as the work develops. The first stage, before scaling too half-life size, is to work out what the dimensions are in reality. We do this by taking the basic dimensions of the Mk XV11 mine, that I took on my visit to HMS Collingwood, and superimposing them onto photos. From this, and with George's kind help, the finer details can be worked out. We construct a jig from which to create the basic form Then we make an armature to support the clay...the galvanised horizontal pole going away from you here will, once the mine is complete, be welded to a supporting back iron to hold the mine aloft. The first clay coat is applied and left to harden off for a few days. ...and in the meantime, we make a half size tr
