Carved Wonders
by Mike Schaefer
The Project of a Lifetime
Not every artist gets to say he has had "the project of a lifetime" but I can. I was contacted by a builder of historical ships, Melbourne Smith, and asked to design and build an eagle figurehead for the remake of the historic tall ship USS Hornet of 1805 for the Naval Heritage Society. We had no image of the original eagle, only a sketch and the knowledge that one had originally been there. I entered a contract with William King, the Executive Director of NHS, and Joseph Sturiale, CFO in August 2012 and submitted design sketches. Shortly thereafter I received the shipbuilder's drawings and commenced work on the figurehead.
Triumphant at Unveiling
Click The finished work was gilded in 23.75 kt. gold by Robert Marshall & Assoc. to make it both beautiful and seaworthy. "Triumphant" was formally unvelied in a glorious ceremony at the National Museum of the Navy.Starting the work
Click Now for some progress pictures for those, like me, who enjoy such things. This massive glue-up consists of a couple thousand dollars worth of 2" thick 10 foot long Hondouran mahogany boards layered and epoxied together in preparation for carving. A single mistake could cost over $900, so I didn't make any. There's a great story about this but it's too long to write here. Each wing weighed approximately 300lbs. to start, and I had to find a way to make them removeable for when the ship would encounter high seas.Detailing a wing
My My carving arsenal consists of 4 chainsaws of varying sizes, 6 different grinders, tons of sanding tools and about 200 hand carving gouges and chisels like the one pictured here. I also have a small table saw, bandsaw and jointer. All were used to arrive at this work-in-progress view of one of the wings.initial assembly
Here the eagle is assembled so that I can work it holistically and blend the parts together. Notice how the wings are pinned into place at the eagle's shoulders. The assembly weighs about 800 lbs. The sheer size of the pieces made this a challenging bit of jointery. Wooden dowels and screwdrivers were replaced by large stainless steel bolts at final assembly.
nearly finished
Click I used to wheel the work out in my driveway for better lighting and really to just show off. A lot of my neighbors were following the progress. Each time I'd finish an area, I would turn my back to the piece and walk 20 yards, then 30, then 50 yards away and turn. When I could tell exactly what it was from 50 yards I know I had the right form, detail and shading for a piece meant to be inspirational on a ship returning from the sea.delivery
I loaded "Triumphant" up in a van and drove to Nashville, where I met up with Will King, on the right, and Joe Sturiale, who took this picture. We set Triumphant up on the bank of the Cumberland River across from Titan's Stadium for final approval and acceptance. Then we retired to a nearby pub and swapped stories and plans before heading back. Will and Joe took Triumphant to Philadelphia, where the gilding would take place in Robert Marshall's studio in preparation for the unveiling.call to action
Click Here is Will King, on the battle deck of USS Constitution, with "Triumphant" in the foreground, addressing the crowd at the unveiling ceremony. It was a magnificent event, well publicized and attended.
And that brings us to now. USS Hornet is yet to be built. The final set of investors has not been assembled. Will King's nickname is "The Inevitable" for good reason, which will become apparent if you meet him."In my life, I built a ship".
If you're a qualified investor, to whom this statement resonates, as it does for us, please contact me through this site. I'll introduce you to Will so you can get involved with this "project of a lifetime".