19″ Resin Cast with Iron/Iron Oxide Patina
The heavy weight has been lifted. Only through years of training has she built the sufficient strength for it. Even so, it requires an explosive, coordinated motion to raise it overhead. But the movement is not complete; she still needs to stand up. She will rise, she will conquer; the world and herself.
I started this sculpture in early 2018 and it took almost a year to complete as I had to brush up on several skills throughout the process. I went back to study figure anatomy, portraiture and to revisit mold-making and casting during that time.
Being my first independent work, it took me forever to work up the courage to ask one of my CrossFit coaches Savannah Swift if she would model for me. I was amazed at how supportive she was to help an artist starting out. The thought came to me as I saw how the other young women in our box reacted to Sav. They were obsessed with her physicality, how she looked, and what she could do. That was interesting to me; no longer was a young woman hoping to fit into skinny jeans or a tight dress. Now, she wanted her shoulders and triceps to pop in a tank top and she wanted powerful thick thighs and buttocks that not only looked good, but could lift a truck. I saw this trend, this new aesthetic unfolding on Instagram and decided I wanted to represent this Strong Woman movement in my artwork.
I had a particular pose in mind, the one arm dumbbell snatch at the moment after the weight snatched overhead but before she stood up. I think that will be a theme in this series, the heavy work over but movement just yet to be completed.
During our conversations I learned more about my coach and her pursuits. She wanted to be a competitive CrossFit athlete and she dreamed of opening her own gym one day. As I was exploring the aesthetic of the strong woman, she openly discussed her own self image musings. She exudes confidence and was very happy with how she looked and the curves with which muscularity provides. She shared a concern however, that to go further competitively some sacrifices may be made to her femininity if her body composition continued to change. But this would not stop her, as she is driven by a passion to always keep improving as she embraces the Strong Woman.
After a few failed attempts at hollow casting, I completed this first casting in urethane resin and added a layer of iron/epoxy to provide the metallic finish. This layer was thick enough to polish and to lightly oxidize. In Finding Balance and Shouldering the Load I went to a full iron cold-casting with a much more aggressive iron oxide finish. I came back and applied these learnings for the second casting.
Well, in less time than it took for me to finish this sculpture, Savannah had realized her dream and opened a new gym, Carbon Heights CrossFit in Lindsay with another female trainer. She now runs her own online training business. Inspiring to see strong women entrepreneurs, showcasing their strength and conquering their dreams.