Rise - Copyright 2009 Cobalt Designworks, LLC

After a few people commented that they’d love a small version of our sculpture Rise , we got to thinking about creating a mini rendition of the 9-foot winged woman. At first it seemed counter to the norm; artists usually create a smaller model, or maquette, before creating the larger piece. A maquette allows you to present a design concept for a large piece to potential clients, as well as figure out the best construction techniques and determine where fabrication issues might arise. It is a less costly practice piece, and as such it is usually constructed faster and less deliberately than the final sculpture.

We never built a maquette for Rise, but instead used computer design software (Rhino) to create a 3-D version of my conceptual sketch that could be shown, or rendered, from any angle. It’s the next best way to present a concept without the time and expense of building a physical model.

Rise - Copyright 2009 Cobalt Designworks, LLC

When redesigning a 9 foot high sculpture into a 2 foot version, some modifications must be made in both design and fabrication technique. The basic concept is the same but it’s not an identical sculpture. The biggest change is the body; instead of a hollow form with curves in all the right places, the body of the small Rise is a solid piece of 1/2″ steel, as shown below. Other fabrication differences include the way the head is attached and the construction of the conical base, still made of of sheet metal but using a different fab technique. We are considering having future bases machined.

Luckily there were no changes in either the wings or the luscious “lollipop red” powder coat, the two dominating traits of the sculpture. Here is the finished Rise – mini-style!

Rise (26″ x 12″ x 4″) Copyright 2009 Cobalt Designworks, LLC

Some work-in-progress shots:

Rise - Copyright 2009 Cobalt Designworks, LLC