In the Studio: Hot, Smoky Walla Walla
Jim spent most of July in Walla Walla, Washington, where the days were hot and the sky heavy with wildfire smoke. Despite the adverse conditions, the momentum inside the Moore Street Studio never slowed down.
Working side by side with Jim throughout the month were Jason Treffry, Jim’s longtime studio assistant, and Byron Peterson, an old friend and longtime collaborator (and new addition to the team).
Below are Jason’s recollections from the past month.
A New Double Venus
Jim finished a major new Double Venus in plaster with found objects, which is now ready to be molded for casting.
The work features two figures built up in plaster and integrated with tools and objects found around the shop. The surface remains raw and white, with chainsaw and rasp marks left exactly where they fell during the sculpting process. From here, the piece heads to the mold-makers before moving into bronze.
Revisiting & Reworking
Alongside creating new forms, the studio spent time this month revisiting and altering four existing sculptures:
Dog on the Forge
Byron removed the original base from Dog on the Forge and used those same elements to fabricate parts for a newly reworked version of the sculpture. The long bronze branch and its hammer now rest directly on the floor, stripped of any structural base underneath.
Two Venuses On A Log
Working from components of that same base, Byron, under Jim’s direction, added new arms to the two Venuses by bending, hammering, and sculpting directly with cast bronze. Cast tools were also incorporated into the composition. Between the new limbs and structural tools, it is essentially a brand-new work.
Pinocchio at Night
Jim and Jason repaired and re-stabilized the base of this key sculpture.
The Stew
A fresh patina was applied to The Stew, a deep green finish that completely shifted the tone and character of the piece.
About the Walla Walla Foundry
Walla Walla might seem an unexpected location for one of the largest contemporary art foundries in the world, but it has been an essential hub for over forty years.
Employing roughly one hundred technicians and artisans, the foundry operates across nearly any scale or material, from hand-held objects to public sculptures approaching sixty feet tall. Their team facilitates everything from bronze pouring and patina work to complex metal fabrication, wood shaping, mold-making, and structural engineering.
Jim has worked with the Walla Walla Foundry for decades, and his monumental 40-foot Venus (2002) remains one of the foundry’s hallmark historic projects. Today, their client roster includes major international artists such as Yayoi Kusama, Matthew Barney, Maya Lin, Hank Willis Thomas, Wangechi Mutu, Rashid Johnson, Jim Hodges, Tom Friedman, the Haas Brothers, Lynda Benglis, Terry Allen, Nancy Graves, and Ed Kienholz.
With warm regards from the studio in an ever-industrious Walla Walla,
Jim Dine Studio
