The post New Clays to View appeared first on Bronze Africa by John Tolmay.
]]>As usual, I’ve been busy in the studio working on new pieces. A charging elephant bull, capturing that intense moment just before a possible encounter when things could go either way for you or the elephant. This dynamic and energetic pose was a challenge, but I’m really pleased with the result and look forward to seeing it in the bronze. I am calling this one “When An Elephant Comes To Kill You.”
The dimensions are 23″L 13.5″W 14″H.
And yes, it’s time for another warthog piece! “To Run Or Not To Run.” This little guy is full of attitude, ready to either dash off if danger is real or get back to what it is that warthogs do best – keep very busy.
The dimensions are 15″L 12″W 13″H.
I was raised in the midlands of Rhodesia where this little antelope was seen every day if you were out in the bush. I was given a .22 rifle when I was still a very young boy and this animal, as far as my Dad was concerned was Royal Game and I was never allowed to hunt one. The Steen Buck is diurnal and hardly moves at night and as such was not a fellow that bothered my mothers flowers and her vegetables under the cover of darkness. The Grey Duiker that also frequented the same habitat was a different story and if he could would plague my mothers garden. This fellow is heavier than the Steen Buck and according to my Dad fair game and many of them found their way into the skinning shed. To this day I hold this little red antelope in high esteem and whenever I am in Africa it remains a real pleasure to see them and to realize that they are still wondering the grasslands of Southern Africa. I have called this piece The Grassland Pixie whose dimensions are: 9″L 5″W 11″H.
CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE
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]]>The post December news from the Studio appeared first on Bronze Africa by John Tolmay.
]]>A few updates from the Studio to follow.
I have decided that The Banker was so difficult to deal with as a wall mount due to its weight and the limitations that put on the ability to hang it on any wall. It would be better served as a bust that can be set into a plinth or exist as a free-standing piece. This image below will give you an idea of what to expect to see. The first image is the piece begin worked on in the foundry and the second piece is of the piece with the patina completed.
And as always I have been keeping very busy in the studio with two new sculptures of those interesting African scenes that have become less and less likely to see unless you’re very far off the beaten track. Observations of little moments in everyday life that are fleeting but so important.
Thorn Tree Surgery is a piece similar to Running Repairs of which there are two left in the edition, but this time I have a keenly interested dog and an indifferent goat in the piece with a huge amount of detail to keep the eye entertained at every angle. Estimated size at this point is: 12″L 13″D 11″T (with the spear).
The second piece is called Loading the Daily Water Supply where it takes two women to help each other get those big clay pots onto each other’s heads. The pots are filled from the creek using the gourd carried by one women to decant the water into the pots. Woman number one is helped by woman number two to load the first pot onto her head. Then the second pot is loaded by both the women only this time woman number one is already loaded and she has to balance her load while helping woman number two load the second pot onto her head. The whole exercise is centred around strength, dexterity, cooperation and balance. They dare not drop those pots because it’s back to the potter and the kiln for a new pot and no doubt comments from the other women in the village. Nowadays it’s 4 gallon plastic jerry cans or metal buckets that are carried. There is no running water in many African villages – even today. The estimated size at this point is: 12″L 8″W 17″T.
Both pieces are at the Hefestus foundry waiting to be cast – holding thumbs I’ll have one or both with me at the Dallas Safari Club and SEWE.
Click through the various poses below.
The post December news from the Studio appeared first on Bronze Africa by John Tolmay.
]]>The post Six new pieces in the gallery appeared first on Bronze Africa by John Tolmay.
]]>Everything’s big and better in the Lone Star State, where last night we weathered a storm with lightning that lit up the sky, thunder that boomed like a cannon and rain that fell sporadically, interrupting our sleep. It got me thinking that four months of this year have already slipped through our fingers, and the Dallas Safari Club and Southeastern Wildlife Exposition seem like distant memories. I ain’t sent out one newsletter since then, so good to see y’all again!
I sculpted a number of small pieces last year which proved popular with folks who were downsizing. Herewith the selection of all six which garnered chuckles, chortles oooh’s and aaah’s and this lovely comment about Spooked from Jim and Diane who are long-time collectors: “We are delighted with our latest Tolmay, it is stunning. Lovely patina. Will find a proper placement”.
Most of this year I’ve been working on commissions, like finishing up the larger version of a water fountain, which is my take on “The Mermaid,” – it’s currently being cast at the foundry. With no constraints or limits, I was able to let my imagination run wild and come up with an entirely new take for the project – so watch this space.
A charging buffalo! Now there’s a subject that’ll get your heart racing. I call my piece “Use Enough Gun.” It’s a reminder that, when it comes to buffalo, you don’t want to be caught without enough firepower. Again have been allowed to really use my imagination on this one having mercifully never had to face a charging buffalo down. Made sure there was plenty of fire power and my clients were accurate with their rifles. Excited to release this piece.
Also working on a table-top piece of running black lechwe which is a really great challenge.
So a diverse selection of pieces to keep me occupied until the end of May when we head to France to visit our daughter Georgie, and then we’re off to Zimbabwe to see friends and family. We won’t be back until the end of July, so hopefully we’ll miss some of the worst of the Texas heat.
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]]>The post Some little pieces in progress appeared first on Bronze Africa by John Tolmay.
]]>After the epic mission of sculpting the Gwase Bull I was quite happy to shift down a gear or two size-wise and sculpt these three little pieces. It was a great way to ease myself into the new studio here in East Texas and get a good feel for the new space, the different light and the much needed AC unit to try and deal with the crazy heat of the last month. Even my clay was melting before the installation and don’t even mention trying to work a piece of wax for the smaller details like horns on the giraffe and the legs on the dung beetle! If you would like to pre-order any of these pieces, let me know so we can get the ball rolling with the Foundry.
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]]>The post Bringing the Gwasi Bull to life appeared first on Bronze Africa by John Tolmay.
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The Gwasi Bull is made up of some 50 odd pieces of individually cast pieces of bronze that are then expertly welded together to make up the sculpture. This is an incredibly important process that requires a truly skilled artisan and craftsman to make it happen the right way. Thereafter the patina is painstakingly applied. This process too requires patience and skill and a real vision of what one wants the sculpture to look like in the end.
I think the picture of myself, Kevin and Jimmy says it all. I am very very happy with how this is coming together. Number 1 of this sculpture will be making its home with a long-time collector of my work here in Texas and there will be 4 more cast – so if you’re interested in having a Gwasi Bull of your own you know where to find me.
Look out for the final piece in an upcoming newsletter.
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]]>The post The Elephant!! appeared first on Bronze Africa by John Tolmay.
]]>A very good friend and collector of my work commissioned me to sculpt an Elephant. What an adventure this has been.
Watch the video of the work in progress here
He asked that the animal should not be displayed in an aggressive pose and that the animal be alert without anger but to nevertheless portray the power of the beast. I decided to take a wax production of an Elephant I had sculpted some time ago and modify it to achieve a posture of power without the aggression, thereby enabling the client to be involved in the process before proceeding with the final enlarged product.
The moquette
Having completed the modification of the moquette in wax I realized that I had in fact created what I think is the best depiction of an Elephant bull carrying large ivory that I have done to date.
I decided to build the animal out of ply board, metal, wood and Styrofoam to save on the cost of pointing up. I could have and should have sent the wax moquette to Colorado to be pointed up to the exact shoulder height of 48” as per the client’s request and then I would apply the clay and sculpt and texture the piece as I have done before with other enlarged sculptures. Anyway, I didn’t and let’s just say that the process has been very exacting, very interesting and very long to say nothing of being physically exhausting. And for those of you know me well, you can imagine how ‘colorful’ my language has been from time to time.
The Styrofoam is poured as a liquid into makeshift molds of plastic bags around the wood and metal skeleton and then cut and shaved with sanding tools, serrated kitchen knives, wood saws and a chainsaw while eyeballing the moquette to get the desired pose.
The moquette will be caste into bronze and if you are interested please let me know and the large sculpture has an edition of 3 per kind favor of the friend that commissioned it and likewise if you are interested please contact me.
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]]>The post Timoti, Torch Batteries and the Lioness appeared first on Bronze Africa by John Tolmay.
]]>His name was Timoti Mlalazi. This wonderful guy who could cook steak and eggs to perfection and his own maize meal grits and that was all, suited us just fine. The words from Rudyard Kipling’s poem Gunga Din are brought to my mind when he wrote ‘Of all the black-faced crew the finest man I knew was our regimental Bhisti Gunga Din’. Those words fit precisely the man that Timoti was. He was a very strong fellow and if he tightened something by hand you could not open it without a wrench. He spoke no English, only Ndebele, his native language and a smattering of the universal Kitchen Dutch, understood and spoken by all the people of Southern Africa.
When the hostilities ended and Rhodesia became Zimbabwe, Timoti, now un-employed, joined my crew and ultimately became our family and safari cook and quickly became my wife Di’s favorite employee. One day we were camped on the shores of Lake Kariba with hunting clients from Florida. I had gone to Kariba village to restock the larder and on my return in the late afternoon, some few hundred yards on the track running into camp, drove by a beautiful lioness strolling toward the camp.
I joined the party which included Duff Gifford and Alan Lowe who were helping to guide the hunt and while cracking a bottle of beverage I mentioned the lioness. Hardly had I spoken when she walked into the edge of the camp and came to stop right near the 7 ton truck which was our skinning shed. She had picked up the scent of the groceries nicely salted and curing on the bed of the truck. I had a big flash light on the table which I grabbed to put light onto the cat as it was all but dark by now. The batteries were flat and so I called softly to Timoti to smartly get the 458 and some batteries by my bed.
All the while the cat stood dead still with her tail making wide swishes in the air – not a good sign. I got the rifle from Timoti. Now, remember I told you he was very strong… He was standing next to me and soon had my attention, I could see his eyes staring at the cat, mesmerised with fear and he was literally banging me in the ribs with the flash light batteries. That beautiful cat then gave a really wide sweep of her tail and I expected her to come at us but with the last swish she turned and strolled back into the night.
For a long time after I was reminded of the incident when I felt the bruises on my left side!!
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]]>The post The Markhor Commission for Don Wall appeared first on Bronze Africa by John Tolmay.
]]>I would say that the Markhor and the Marco Polo or Altai Agali sheep tops the list of the most desirable of all the various species found in the high places of the world. However despite the desire to hunt one of these animals they were off limits to hunters in all the areas that these magnificent animals call home. The Astor subspecies inhabits the mountains of Kashmir in Pakistan and there is another very spectacular subspecies in Tajikistan called the Bukharan Markhor.
These animals were on the brink of extinction in their home range due to illicit hunting by meat hunters. I think I need to make a point here – if I was living in those environments where poverty is as normal as the thin air they breathe, I too would hunt to feed my family or to sell the spoils of the hunt to survive. Fortunately for the Markhor, an American university professor persuaded the various Governments of those countries where the Markhor are found to allow foreign hunters a very limited quota at a very high fee and in the case of the Kashmir Markhor where Don hunted, 80% of the fee for the animal hunted is paid to the local community.
One easy lesson for those people who are against hunting, the Markhor population throughout their range has exploded! Now they are protected by the very people that poached them only a few years ago. From rags to riches has turned the Markhor into a precious resource and in one easy step these animals have already recovered from certain decimation to a burgeoning population of majestic mountain creatures.
Hunting in many places of the world has saved many species from total destruction. The Markhor is just one and the Black Rhino in Namibia is another. The purpose of all this is to say thank you Don Wall – you helped save a magnificent animal and then commissioned me to sculpt it. Great challenge and we love the result. Think we could do the same for the Snow Leopard so it too can enjoy this type of protection?
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]]>Did you know Duff Gifford? He came with me on a number of hunting trips. On this occasion he was assisting Alan Lowe and I on a hunting trip in the Nyakasanga area of the Zambezi Valley. We had three American hunters on that trip, Joe Colvin, George Bezeckny and Doug Parker. Believe me it was never dull when these guys were in Africa.
We hunted buffalo for bait as both George and Doug were hunting Lion. As the Lions were not being co-operative we had time to do some plains game hunting. One morning we were all sitting on a high bank overlooking the Zambezi floodplain just above an ox bow mud pool left by the annual flood of the Zambezi. We were about 200 yards from where we had set a Lion bait for George. We noticed that there appeared to be a dead Hippo in the pool which was covered in dense water lilies. The carcass was apparently being fed on by fish or something because it had some bobbing movement every now and then. The head was hidden by the lilies but for sure it was dead. What a find, with George’s Lion bait only 200 yards away, all we needed to do was get a rope on the carcass and drag it with a Land Rover to the bait tree and we would have what Duff referred to as a ‘Grenulch’ which is in effect a pile of meat in various stages of decomposition. Duff, being the junior member of the guide team was tasked with carcass retrieval. We left Duff with Mahlambe, my faithful right hand man, tracker, skinner, terrorist, mechanic, driver, part-time cook and the most amoral black man east of the Atlantic. The rest of us left to go hunting.
Duff, being one of those devil may care types, simply discarded his pants and waded out to the carcass with the plan being to cut a slit in the hide, attach the rope and he would have the carcass out in a jiffy. So with Mahlambe holding one end of the rope, Duff waded out into that murky stuff to the hippo carcass bobbing about obviously being fed on from below by fish or heaven forbid a crocodile. Reaching the rear end of the hippo carcass he took a good hold on his Puma knife and with all his weight behind it, gave it a full blow to penetrate the hippo hide which is very thick. The blade went in all the way and the Hippo erupted – full of life! It had only been sleeping!
Duff said later that as far as he knew there were only two people in history who walked on water and he was one of them! Mahlambe wisely abandoned the rope and took off and to add insult to injury when Duff arrived at the Land Rover, covered in mud and grime with his eyes out on stalks, Mahlambe laughed so hard that he wet himself. When I got back to camp I walked past Duff’s tent where I was told he was taking a nap and when I asked in passing how the carcass project had gone, he grunted from inside the tent some malevolent very explicit expletives that indicated to me that things had not gone exactly according to plan…
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]]>The post Far from town appeared first on Bronze Africa by John Tolmay.
]]>We had a Muslim cook in our house in Zimbabwe and one year we decided to take him into the safari area to assist Timoti, the tall and very much liked Matabele camp cook. The camp was on the banks of the Zambezi in the north of the Chewore Safari Area across from Zambia on the north bank. The house cooks name was Frank. The journey into the proposed camping site was crazy far from Harare and the track was a nightmare. When we did get there with the Landcruiser, hunting cars and the 7 ton Isuzu loaded with supplies and everything to build the camp everyone fell out of the truck and we rolled out the sleeping mats and stretcher beds and without further ado the whole team greeted the night by being fast asleep very quickly. The next morning everyone was famished as we had slept without supper the night before, we needed to have more than a few canned beans and corn meal to eat so I went out onto the flood plain and in short order collected an Impala for the pot.
The crew were delighted when I pulled in with the Impala and set about skinning and butchering the animal right away. The crew had the pot going with the meat along with their vegetables and corn meal which is like grits, their staple diet, when along comes Frank to say to me that he cannot eat the meat because he did not cut the animals throat and intone the Muslim prayer. Well I had a big box with earth worms for fishing which was always part of our equipment especially when our two kids were with us, they love to fish and so I gave Frank a little tin can with some worms in it and a piece of fishing line and a hook and told him he can fish for his food but not in my time and left it at that. About an hour later I was driving out in the Landcruiser to hunt another Impala as the first one was not going to last long and as I drove past where the crew were eating and there was Frank stuffing himself with Impala stew. I stopped and asked him what the hell he was doing eating this non-halal meat, he grinned at me with his mouth full of Impala stew and said “God will not see me this far from town.” African reasoning – can you beat that!
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